Well, hello December, also known as birthday month here at Kosher Camembert. This year I’m skipping the house party shindig and the restaurant brunch and just hanging out with my friends and family in more intimate settings.
It’s been a been a busy time – I’m in Orlando right now at a conference on health care quality and it feels really good to be back in the industry while focusing on what I believe might be my true calling, the result of a long meandering career path better explained by serendipity than by design. Then another conference next week, and hopefully a trip to DC as the year draws to a close.
But before we rush ahead, I have a quick little catch up from November. Because of all the Rosh Hashanah hosting I did, I held back on the cooking for Thanksgiving, and only made cranberry sauce.
Of course, me being me, I had to make two different types.
First up, the boozy one. A traditional cranberry sauce, highly jellied and spiked with sweet sticky port. The alcohol cooks off during a very long simmer, leaving the sauce thick with pectin and tinged with a plummy after note from the fortified wine.
Next, the fruity. Reminiscent of my mother’s favorite method of mixing a can of cranberry sauce with one of mandarins and another of chunked pineapple, this one starts off with a persimmon puree base into which the cranberries melt and then cubed fresh persimmon is mixed in. Don’t let the poor grammar of the previous sentence fool you – it’s a winner.
If you want to learn more about cranberries, harvesting, and operations management, take a look at the HBS case study that we used in business school. Otherwise, just scroll right down for the recipes.
Boozy cranberry port sauce
Adapted from Food & Wine but will less sugar, a bit of honey, and a pinch of salt for balance.
Makes a generous 2 cups
– 3 satsumas (or 4-5 mandarins, or 1 1/2 oranges)
– 12 oz fresh cranberries
– 1/2 C ruby port
– 1/2 C sugar
– 2 T honey
– 1/2 t kosher salt
Prepare. Zest and juice citrus. You want 1/2 cup of juice. Pick out any squished or blemished cranberries and remove any stems and then rinse the berries.
Boil, then simmer. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat until the the mixture bubbles gently. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until the berries burst and the sauce thickens and gels. The longer you cook the mixture, the thicker and more jelly-like the sauce will be.
Serve. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Cranberry persimmon sauce
Inspired by Gourmet. Most recipes I found online involved making a simple cranberry sauce and then adding chunks of persimmon to the warm mixture. I wanted more persimmon flavor to infuse the entire sauce, so I first made a persimmon compote, mixed in cranberries to make a sauce, and then added in chopped persimmon for some fresh fruit chunks.
Makes 3 cups
6 Fuyu persimmons, divided
12 oz cranberries
1 1/4 C water, divided
1/2 C sugar, divided
Prepare. Separate the four ripest persimmons from the two firmer ones. Peel all the persimmons, pull or cut off the green leaves and step, and cut in half. Remove any hard core, and cut into cubes, about 1/4-1/2 inch around – you can be less precise with the softer ones because they’re going to be cooked down. Pick out any squished or blemished cranberries and remove any stems and then rinse the berries.
Boil, then simmer. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil the 4 softer chopped persimmons, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 cup sugar. Lower the heat until the mixture bubbles gently. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until the fruit softens.
Puree. Using an immersion blender, puree the persimmon mix. You’ll have about 1 cup.
Boil, then simmer. Mix the cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup water into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down until the mixture bubbles gently. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until the berries burst and the sauce thickens. It won’t gel like traditional cranberry sauce because the persimmon puree reduces the impact of the cranberries’ pectin. If you want your sauce to thicken a bit more, you can cook it a little longer uncovered.
Stir. Once the sauce cools, stir in the two remaining chopped persimmons.
Serve. Serve at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Kosher Camembert 