Cranberry Jello

Here is the recipe my husband uses for his Thanksgiving cranberry dish.

1 lb Cranberries
2 C. Orange juice
1/2 C. honey
2 Tb. plain gelatin
Grated rind of one orange (optional)
1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple
1/2 Pint Whipping cream
1 C chopped walnuts

Boil cranberries in orange juice until berries pop. Add honey and gelatin; let mixture cool. Add orange rind, pineapple, and nuts. Whip cream and fold it into the jello. Pour mixture into a mold and refrigerate to set.

My comments:

Since cranberries now come in 12 ounce packages instead of 16 ounce ones, my husband sometimes takes extra from a second bag and sometimes he does the math to reduce everything by25%.

In all the times we have made this since we've been married about half the time we have had trouble with the gelatin. If we just dump in the gelatin part of it turns into inedible globs and is hard to remove before eating. Dissolving it in water didn't work very well, either, and if you do that you need to reduce the orange juice by the amount of water that is used. What has worked best is me constantly stirring the pot while he sprinkles the gelatin over the sauce. Also, since the gelatin we have comes in packages it is hard to measure in tablespoons. Last time he used 2.5 packages for 12 ounces of berries* and it worked out well.

When I said something to my mother-in-law about this recipe she said that she didn't like it because it was too greasy with the cream and that she only makes it because her children all like it so much. Neither my husband or I have ever noticed any greasiness, but if that sort of fat bothers you, you probably could use Cool Whip. What I have noticed, however, is that it is very acidic. I didn't notice that this year but, unlike most other Christmases, I am not pregnant and when I am pregnant I am very sensitive to acid.

Finally, we have never used a mold for this. A glass bowl works fine, and if you don't have that then I guess use plastic. For some reason I am under the impression that stainless steel wouldn't work very well.

Enjoy!

* He just told me that this time he used 12 ounces of berries but kept all the other ingredients the same just to see if it would work this way. I guess it did.

Thanksgiving Questions

In the combox of my other blog, Mrs. Bear asks some questions about Thanksgiving so I thought I would answer them here instead. (This being a food blog and all.)

Hey, do you bake pies?

Yes! I rarely have made a pie that requires two crusts, but I do make pies. The first year I was married I made my own crusts. Then I read a statement by someone who called herself a chef who said that the taste difference between store bought crusts and homemade is barely perceptible. I started buying the crusts and last year realized that they just do not taste good. So if I make a pie this year I will make it 100% and not just the filling.

And what are your views on cranberry sauce?

My views on cranberry sauce are Will Rogers-esque: I have never met a cranberry sauce I didn't like. To my shame, that even includes the canned stuff. The year I celebrated Thanksgiving with Flannery she made a fantastic cranberry relish where the berries didn't even need to be cooked. I asked her for the recipe but am still waiting. . . My mother always made the cranberry sauce recipe on the back of the bag and my husband's family made a cranberry sauce jello with fresh cranberries, whipped cream, and several other yummy ingredients. He has made that each year since we got married, so I haven't bothered to make anything else.

And what kind of bread do you like for Thanksgiving? I am wondering if I should bake biscuits.

When I was a child I loved rolls with my Thanksgiving dinner. However, since I reached adulthood I have realized rolls with my dinner are one more starch in a heavily-starched meal so I have never had any sort of bread product. I think a lot of people serve it as a filler so that their guests won't eat as much of the other stuff. If I were making dinner for lots of people I would serve it (or have someone else bring it), but as long as we are just having small Thanksgivings I will do without bread or rolls. So I guess you need to think of whether the people you are serving will eat the biscuits, will they like them, will they be disappointed not to have them, or will they not even notice if they aren't there. Just my two cents. ;)

This One's for You, Mrs. Bear!

I recently discovered a wonderful food blog called Organic Kitchen written by an Orthodox homeschooling mother of five. What I find so amazing about her blog is that most of the recipes she posts are things that my family actually eat.

Today's post is on her thoughts regarding the fast before Christmas and is accompanied by her menu for the fast. If you (read "Mrs. Bear") fast during this season it might be a great resource. I am looking forward to referencing it quite a bit when Lent rolls along.