“Mango Cranbango” – Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Dried Mango and Ghost Pepper

Don’t let the ridiculous name fool you; this delicious cranberry sauce recipe would make a wonderful condiment for your Thanksgiving turkey. My wife Michele, a cranberry sauce aficionado, says it’s the best she’s ever tasted.

Conservative estimates have the number of different cranberry sauces she’s tasted over the years at somewhere around 37, so that’s very high praise indeed. While the taste of this sauce is an unmitigated success, the name is another story.

You’ll have to forgive me, but when you post as many recipes as I do, once in a while you just have to give “half the peace sign” to those search engine algorithms, and simply amuse yourself. The “mango” and the “cran” in the name are obvious, but the “bango” comes from a few drops of hot sauce featuring the infamous ghost pepper.

I’m not sure if it’s the hottest pepper in the world, but the Bhut Jolokia is right up there. You can get the actual pepper if you look hard enough, but I had a bottle of Daves Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce in the fridge, which worked perfectly.

It’s amazing how hot this stuff really is, and a few drops were all I needed. Believe it or not, more than just providing a searing heat, the pepper is actually celebrated for its fruity sweetness as well. By the way, while it may look like blatant product placement in the video, I can assure you I was not paid to use this specific brand (not that I’d be above such a thing…Dave, call me).

Anyway, if you’re looking for a creative, unusual, yet still relatively familiar fresh cranberry sauce for your holiday table, I hope you give this a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 oz fresh whole cranberries

4 oz dried candied mango

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange

1 cup fresh orange juice, plus the juice of 1 lemon

1/3 cup water

1 cup sugar

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

1 tsp garam masala (or other Indian-style curry spice blend)
dash of hot sauce, to taste

pinch of salt

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Fresh Tomato Pasta Toss with Grilled Garlic Shrimp

One of my favorite ways to incorporate the fabulous Sammie tomato into my summer meals, which just appeared for the first time this season at Sweet Corn Charlies Produce, is bruschetta.  A chopped relish of sorts which includes tomato, garlic, onion, basil and olive oil served over grilled bread.  It dawned on me, that if the tomato concoction is so delicious on bread, that it must be even better over pasta.  It was and the best part, besides the pasta, there was no cooking involved.  Perfect for those hot upcoming summer nights. 

Prepare the tomato mixture about 1-2 hours before dinner to allow the flavors to come together.  In addition to the tomato, onion, garlic, basil, salt, and olive oil, I also added just a touch of balsamic vinegar.  Cook the pasta according the directions and, meanwhile grill the shrimp which was coated in a little chopped garlic, lemon juice, hot pepper flakes and olive oil.  Make sure to grill some lemons halves to drizzle over the shrimp while still hot. 

When the pasta has been cooked to al dente, drain and turn immediately in a large bowl.  Top with the tomato mixture and toss well to combine.  Serve with grilled shrimp and french bread.   

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SANDRAS FRESH RASPBERRY SAUCE or PUREE For Desserts or Savory Dishes

A wonderful sauce
or puree
to incorporate into
sweet desserts
or savory dishes...

Prep. 3 Mins.
Cook: 5 to 10 Mins.
Puree/Strain: 5 Mins.



INGREDIENTS

1 pint fresh raspberries, or frozen
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
pinch of kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water


METHOD

Combine raspberries, brown sugar, orange juice, 

and kosher salt in a cold saucepan. 

Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with the cold water until smooth, and add the slurry to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until reduced and your desired consistency is reached, noting that the sauce will thicken further as it cools. 

Puree sauce in

blender 

or with a 

handheld immersion 

blender.

Strain puree through a fine sieve, 

using a spoon to push all it through, while retaining seeds. 

Serve warm or cold.

Any leftover puree will keep in the 

refrigerator for up to two weeks. – Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tip: This puree is excellent to incorporate into many dessert recipes, such as parfaits, trifles, smoothies, drizzle over ice cream, bars, cookies, between cake layers, as a syrup for pancakes and waffles, under/over crepes, and so much more, including as a condiment with pork, ham, and so on.

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