Hot Pepper Cranberry Sauce/Relish/Jam

Cranberries are special.  They're one of only three fruits native to North America, (along with blueberries and Concord grapes) they're loaded with antioxidants, they have an explosive flavor, and a brilliant color--- they should really have a life beyond November.  They could mingle with roast beef, chicken, pork, and lamb.  This sauce could be the star of your next cheese plate.  It would be killer on sandwiches.

   
My blogging friend Susan at Beyond My Kitchen Window is lucky enough to live 10 minutes from a cranberry bog. She stocked up and she's been cooking lots of inspiring cranberry creations lately. I took her lead and bought a few extra bags of berries to experiment with.  

Plain cranberry sauce is about the easiest recipe on the planet, and it's a perfect thing to assign to one of the kids.  My youngest daughter has claimed simple cranberry sauce as 'her' dish, and every Thanksgiving she makes it and gets raves.

This is one for the adults though; it's kicked up with fresh cayenne pepper and a dash of vinegar.  Hot pepper and cranberries are one of those unexpected pairings that just works, like peanut butter and bacon, rum and raisin, Kim and Kris...you know what I mean.

We all know it, our classic American Thanksgiving plate is a little... bland, but, not to worry, this spicy/sweet sauce will instantly jazz it up.  And whatever you do don't forget about it once the last turkey wing is picked clean. You can use this throughout the winter. (It will keep you warm.)

One word of caution, before you plop this sauce down on your holiday table, make sure you give people fair warning, you don't want Great Uncle Ned to get a hot surprise.

Hot Pepper Cranberry Sauce

1 or 2 cayenne peppers, seeded and minced (leave the seeds in if you're brave)
12 oz (1 bag) fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp cider vinegar 

Rinse the berries and put in a pot.  Add the water, sugar, vinegar and pepper(s).  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  The berries will start to pop, so stand back a bit.  Once the sauce has come to a boil, it will be foaming and the berries will no longer be popping, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Take off the heat and let the sauce cool completely.  Then transfer it to a storage or serving dish.  Refrigerate until set. Cranberry sauce firms up as it cools, and eventually it will be of a spreadable consistency, perfect for sandwiches and cheese plates.

Note: Cooking with hot peppers is tricky.  You can't always predict the level of heat you're going to get because hot peppers vary greatly, even within the same variety.  One seeded pepper will usually give you a sauce with a kick, but on the tamer side.  Use two peppers if you want a more pronounced heat.  The high sugar content dampens the heat a bit.

Psssssst: put some on a cracker on top of cream cheese or soft goat cheese.  You won't be able to stop stuffing them in your mouth.  I swear.
 

Check back later this week...I'll be making one more version of cranberry sauce, this one strictly for the over 21 crowd...