Cranberry and dried cherry upside-down cake (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
Cranberries appear in stores around this time of the year, and we take them for granted as accompaniment to turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This tart and colorful berry deserves additional exploration not only for its health benefits as a superfood to match blueberries due to its high antioxidant content, but also for a delicious addition to our seasonal cooking.
Cranberries grow in cold climates in North America, Europe, and Chile. In late fall we encounter fresh berries, but the rest of the year frozen and dried cranberries are widely available. Dried berries are wonderful in green salads, especially paired with toasted pecans adding tartness and texture. Poached pears with fresh cranberries make a colorful holiday desert. Fresh berries also lend themselves to fruit compotes with apples or pears and add a wonderfully colorful fruit component in cakes and pies as shown by the following recipes.
Cranberry and dried cherry upside-down cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with oven rack in center position. Spray a 9-inch-by-2-inch round cake pan with buttery cooking spray. Rinse and pick over fresh cranberries to make 2 cups.
Melt 5 tbsp unsalted butter, pour it evenly in the pan, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar. Cover with the cranberries and 1 cup dried cherries and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt. In a medium bowl cream 1/2 cup softened butter with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp lemon flavoring. Now stir in alternate portions of the flour mix and 3/4 cups buttermilk, starting and ending with flour.
Mix thoroughly for about 15 seconds and pour the mixture over the berries in the pan. Using a spatula even out the top and bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake edges are just pulling away from the pan.
Transfer to a wire rack, cool for 5 minutes, and invert the hot cake on a serving plate. Cool cake and serve.
One of my favorite Christmas desserts is a lattice cranberry-apple pie, since the lattice makes for the appetizing red color to peek through when you bring the pie to the table.
Cranberry-apple pie
Cranberry-apple pie (Photo courtesy I. Winicov Harrington)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using pre-made pie dough from the deli case, roll out one pie crust and line a 9- or 10-inch pie plate.
In a saucepan combine 3/4 cups water, 5 cups peeled, cored, and sliced crisp apples, and 1 1/2 cups washed and picked over cranberries. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes.
In a small bowl combine 1 3/4 cups sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts and add to the fruit. Cook until mixture thickens and boils, then pile it in the pastry-lined pie plate and dot with 4 tbsp butter.
Cut the second rolled out pie crust in wide strips and weave a lattice top. Crimp the edges together, brush all lightly with cream, and lightly sprinkle with nutmeg and a bit of sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes until the top is pleasantly browned.
The bright red color of cranberry juice also makes for a delightful, mulled holiday drink great for all ages. For an adult gathering add a bit of rum for extra spice.
Mulled cranberry-apple plus rum cider
Remove the peel from an orange in long strips using a vegetable peeler. Place strips in a large pot, halve the orange, and squeeze the juice in the pan. Add juice of 1/2 lemon, 5 cups cranberry juice cocktail, 3 cups apple cider, 1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar, four 3-4 inch cinnamon sticks, 18 whole cloves, and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg. Bring to boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Can be made a day ahead and chilled.
To serve, heat again to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. If so desired, add 1/2 cup rum and serve in mugs with additional cinnamon sticks and halves of orange slices.
Cranberries are also popular in the British Isles at Christmas time, most likely served with roast goose. Now for a bit of trivia: there actually was a very popular Irish rock band from Limerick called The Cranberries.
(I. Winicov Harrington, of Waldoboro, is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less Than $5.00 a Day: The Smart-Frugal Food Plan.” For more information, go to winicov-harrington.com.)
