Cranberry Cravings

“It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is inedible without it.” -- Allistair Cooke

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that turkey is "inedible" without it, but it sure tastes a lot better with it. Everyone I know seems to have a favorite version of cranberry sauce. For some, it's the no-nonsense gelatinized version that comes right out of a can. For others, it's more of a relish that may have orange or lemon zest in it.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this article on MSN's "Delish" offers several different recipes for cranberry sauce. The version with apples and port looks most appealing to me. The Ginger-Orange version is also enticing.

Carrot-Orange Soup

On a hot summer day, chilled soups sure hit the spot. And here's one that I adapted from a recipe found in The Silver Palate Cookbook.

It's a healthy soup, and it's so easy to make -- even people who aren't crazy about carrots are almost sure to like it because of the orange flavor and the slight sweetness.

By the way, this soup can be made ahead. In fact, it will taste better if you make it ahead because that gives the flavors time to meld.

CARROT-ORANGE SOUP (serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of raw carrots
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of Tropicana or other premium orange juice
• 1/4 cup of low-sodium, non-fat chicken broth
• Zest from a navel orange
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of onion salt
• 1 tablespoon of Cointreau or Triple Sec (optional)
• Fresh mint and/or creme fraiche for garnish
• Pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
  

Directions:

1. Peel the carrots and then cut them into smaller sticks. Drop them in a large saucepan or pot of water -- bring it to a boil on the stove over high heat. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat to a steady simmer. Carrots are ready when the largest stick can be easily pierced with a small kitchen knife.

2. Drain and set carrots aside for a moment. Add the butter to the now-empty saucepan and turn the heat on low until the butter melts. Then turn the burner off.

3. Place cooked carrots in a large electric blender. Add the orange juice, chicken broth, orange zest, ground ginger and sugar. Turn the blender on the high or "puree" setting.

4. Once the soup ingredients are fully integrated in a puree, pour this soup mixture back into the saucepan or pot. Stir thoroughly so that the soup base and butter are well integrated. Then add the onion salt and stir it more. Feel free to add a little more orange juice if you prefer a thinner consistency.

5. Add the Cointreau or another orange-flavored spirit to the soup. Stir thoroughly and then place it in the refrigerator.

6. Serve the soup chilled with fresh mint and a small dollop of creme fraiche that has been sprinkled with fresh nutmeg.

Grilled Orange-Barbecue Chicken

A few days ago, I had written this post about trying to find the recipe ingredients for Grilled Orange Barbecue Chicken. Well, I wasn't able to find the original recipe, but I reconstructed a recipe for the sauce, and it all turned out marvelously. The orange gives the barbecue sauce a nice but subtle citrusy flavor.

Best of all, it's very simple. Here's what we did.

We bought 5 lbs. of chicken with both skin and bone -- a mixture of breasts, thighs and drumsticks. We salted and peppered them a little, and then we fired up the gas grill.

Below is the recipe I used to make the Orange Barbecue sauce:

• An entire 18 oz. bottle of KC Masterpiece Honey Smoke Barbecue Sauce
• 4 oz. of frozen orange juice concentrate (thawed and not diluted)*
• Zest of one navel orange
• 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, squeezed from the navel orange
• 3 tablespoons of molasses

* - Orange juice concentrate usually comes in a 6-oz. can so just use 2/3 of a can.

Directions:

1. Combine all sauce ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir until well integrated. Pour 2 cups of the Orange Barbecue Sauce in a separate, smaller bowl and set aside. (This will be used at the table by those who want to add more sauce to their chicken.)

2. Start the grill and then add the pieces of chicken, starting with the breasts (which will take longer to cook). Brush the surface of all chicken pieces with the Orange Barbecue Sauce.

3. Once you flip the chicken pieces, brush the other sides with sauce. Consult a grilling guide for details on cooking time.

4. Serve chicken with the reserved bowl of Orange Barbecue Sauce.

Orange BBQ Chicken

We're hanging out with family this weekend, and the dinner I've planned will be built around Orange BBQ Chicken.

I guess it would help if I could find that recipe I once used. I think it's from my Southern Living cookbook, but who knows? First, you brine the chicken so that the breasts don't dry out on the grill. As I recall, there weren't many ingredients besides the chicken.

If I had to improvise, I suspect that I could. Let's see -- a container of good barbecue sauce, frozen orange juice concentrate, zest from 1 orange and some dried or fresh ginger. Maybe a tablespoon of bourbon?

That should work. But if anyone out there in cyberspace should happen to have such a recipe, don't be shy. Please share it with me.