Sunday, December 2, 2012

Ketchup With Us #7 Drunken Cranberry Sauce


'KETCHUP WITH US' - PROMPT #7

SHARE A FAVORITE HOLIDAY RECIPE. THERE IS NO WORD LIMIT. 

(WELL, LET’S NOT GET CRAZY. HOW ABOUT NOTHING OVER 1000 WORDS?)



If you have seen Dad's Ketchup With Us Link, then you know about the peas that he and I  love at the holidays.  But he also reminded me of our new favorite holiday recipe: Drunken Cranberry Sauce.  The idea for this recipe is the one good thing that came out of Marriage Number Two.  There should always be something, right?  This recipe just keeps getting better every time we make it.  It is very free-form, so add or subtract anything you wish.  I change it every time.  

Drunken Cranberry Sauce - kids should eat something else
(Make two days before serving so the flavors have time to mingle)

Two bags of fresh cranberries
Two to three cups of sugar
Half the amount of water that you use of sugar *This is important because you are going to add a lot of liquid with the booze later and you don't want it to be runny.  Add more sugar, if you need to in order to thicken it while it is still on the stove.*
One or two large cans of mandarin oranges - pour off the juice (you can use fresh, if you can find them)
Apricots or peaches diced - fresh or canned without juice (if you are so inclined)

Grand Marnier or Orange Liqueur (at least one mini-bottle)

Chambord or Raspberry Liqueur (around the same amount as the Grand Marnier)
Peach Schnapps or Peach Vodka (splash to taste)
Mandarin Vodka (splash to taste)
Add whichever other flavors strike your fancy! 

Rinse the cranberries.
Mix the sugar and water in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat.  
When the sugar is dissolved, add both bags of cranberries and stir them around into the syrup.  Keep stirring and heating them into the syrup until they pop and incorporate themselves fully into the syrup.  It takes a little while. **Every year I think I will speed the process by covering the pan.  Every year I forget, and the pan boils over spilling burnt sugar onto my stove!  Much like the peas recipe this prompts the steps of : Curse and Drink... Leave your pan uncovered, even though it takes longer.  Trust me.  Or have a string of curse words and a cocktail handy.  You've been warned.**

Once all of the cranberries have busted open and you have smashed them up into the sugar syrup, move them into a storage container and add your booze to the warm cranberry syrup.  Taste it.  If it needs more booze, add it.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Taste the next day.  Need more of one flavor?  Add it.  Put it back in the fridge.  Taste it later.  Need something else?  Add it.  You get the idea.

Enjoy!




Ketchup With Us



12 comments:

  1. This reminds me of a sauce my grandmother used to make - Grand Marnier and cranberries - excellent!

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  2. I should serve this to my in-laws! Maybe it would make the holiday a bit more relaxed. ;)

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  3. How yummy does THIS sound? I agree with Janel. It could certainly make for a fun holiday. Great contribution, Amy.

    Thanks for linking up!

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  4. Oh, wow - sounds like a great mix of fruits but don't think we could serve this to the kids! lol I like to ad raspberries when I make cranberry sauce - not nearly so exciting but tasty.

    Sue

    Book By Book

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  5. Oh my goodness, I think I would need extra alcohol for this one. I'd have to taste test all ingredients before adding them. Second opinion would be required. Thanks for sharing .

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  6. I'm excited to buy the ingredients needed for this recipe. :) I do love a good cranberry sauce. Thanks so much for the recipe and for linking up!

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  7. I love cranberry sauce but I think I'd love this version even more. I must buy more cranberries while I can still get them.

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  8. I thought this would read
    "Open beer. Get can opener. Open Cranberry sauce. Relax."

    This recipe is much better than that!

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  9. I think Im taking this to my familys christmas dinner.

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