Cranberry sauce success!

I never used to like cranberries, so apparently my tastebuds have evolved. After the great plum sauce I made earlier this summer, I wanted to try a homemade cranberry sauce (The jellied kind skeeves me-  I loathe jello) for use at Thanksgiving and maybe throughout the year.

Coincidentally, in order to make room for a large turkey in my freezer I had to thaw several pieces of meat (steak, pork chops) and figured pork chops love applesauce- why wouldn’t they love cranberry sauce!? Golden opportunity. As a last minute addition, I used some refrigerated breadsticks and Steamfresh Roast Potatoes and Green Beans in Rosemary Butter Sauce. I can’t say enough nice things about the Steamfresh vegetables. They don’t overcook the veggies, which is a HUGE deal for me. What can I say- I’ve got texture issues.

So. Pork Chops and Cranberry Sauce.

Pork Chops, Cranberry Sauce, breadsticks, roast potatoes and green beans.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, washed/drained

3/4 c sugar (I used white)

1/2 cup plus a dash Tawny Port

1/2 cup orange juice

1tsp (ish) grated ginger (I used the store-bought-in-a-jar kind)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place cranberries, sugar, port, OJ, ginger in a pot on med-high heat. You want the berries to boil for about 10 minutes, so once they got to the boiling stage I turned down the heat and stirred constantly. In fact, I didn’t realize until I was already started that I didn’t have OJ so I actually put the other ingredients in the pot, turned the heat on low, and made a quick grocery run. No harm, no foul. When I got back, I added the OJ and ginger. Basically I used the ‘cook until they pop’ theory – waiting until the berries got so hot they began to burst their skins.

I very nearly forgot the lemon juice- important because WITHOUT it the sauce was almost too sweet. After the sauce is done, transfer to a fridge-safe dish. Add lemon juice on top of sauce DON’T STIR. Refrigerate. Most recipes say to cool at room temp before placing in fridge. I didn’t do that, it worked out fine. Then, stir sauce just before serving. It was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. Two thumbs up.

Baked Pork Chops

Heat oven to 350. I sprayed a pan with nonstick spray and placed the chops in the pan. I dusted with salt, garlic powder, and pepper just by eyeballing it. Then I flipped the chops and dusted the other side with poultry seasoning, paprika, and then added breadcrumbs. I baked them for about an hour (high altitude- for those below 10,000 feet it would probably be closer to 40-50 minutes). They turned out JUST right.

I also took pics of yesterday’s cheesy bread appetizers.

Martha Stewart Savory (non-pumpkin) Puffs

The recipe is here, just in case. The background looks a little weird because I cooked them on parchment paper.

We drove to Red Cliff to have lunch

At Mango’s Mountain Grill (awesome fish tacos and great wings!) and took some pics along the way.

10th Mountain Division training site

My favorite house in Red Cliff- it looks like a tree house.