Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Katzen's Note:

Found on the Dessert of the Month Club Blog, this just sounds so lovely, I made it for Christmas this year, to go with Moosewood's Comprehensively Stuffed Squash, recipe #444688 - you may find this wonderful blog here: http://dessertofthemonthclub.blogspot.com (Thanks to UmmBinat for pointing me in that direction!) From the blog, "My relatives have come to expect this quick, spicy sauce every year during the holidays. I try to make this 24 hours in advance of serving to let the ginger mingle. Leftover sauce is rare, but goes well with cream cheese on toast! This recipe makes 3 cups."

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-8

Yield: 3.0 cups

• 1 oranges (juice orange) or 3 -4 clementines, chopped & zested
• 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries or 1 (12 ounce) package frozen cranberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled & grated
• 1 lemon, juiced & zested
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice

Optional

• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• splash orange juice

Directions:

1. Rinse cranberries. Grate 2 teaspoons zest from the orange and the lemon. Juice the lemon. Remove orange peel and seeds, chop orange into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel and grate ginger root.
2. In a nonreactive saucepan, combine orange chunks, cranberries, grated ginger, lemon juice, sugar, and cranberry juice. At this point, I like to add orange and lemon zest, a dash of cayenne, and a little orange juice (Alternately, the zest makes a good garnish just before serving).
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, stir occasionally until thickened and most of the berries have popped:.
4. Transfer the sauce to a serving bowl to cool, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly.
5. I never liked cranberry sauce until I made this one.