Zesty Cranberry Sauce

It's the holiday season again and you're ready for some exciting Christmas food. You just love the homemade candies, the hot chocolate, the cookies, and of course you can't forget the cranberry sauce! Finding a good cranberry sauce recipe can be difficult sometimes and you may have had to go through a bout of sauce experiments and not all of those experiments may have succeeded. Hopefully these recipes will put your search at an end. Cranberry sauce actually isn't that difficult to make and once you know how, you'll be set for any party during the holiday season!

Zesty Cranberry Sauce with Ginger

• 2 large oranges
• 12 ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries (thawed if frozen)
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup red wine (or grape or cranberry juice)
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

Grate the zest of both oranges into a medium saucepan. Slice the oranges in half and squeeze the juice into the pan as well. Add the cranberries, honey, wine (or juice) and ginger. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for about twenty-five minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half of the cranberries to a blender. Puree until smooth, then return to the saucepan and mix well. Taste the sauce and add more honey if you'd like it sweeter. Let cool before transferring to an airtight container; freeze for up to a month.

A few hours before serving, remove from the freezer and let the sauce thaw in the fridge.

More Zesty Cranberry Sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate
• 2 ripe pears, finely chopped
• 1 medium apple, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup raw sugar or other sweetener, or to taste

Combine cranberries, juice concentrate, pears, apple, cinnamon, and orange peel in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Continue cooking, uncovered, until cranberry skins pop and mixture is thickened slightly, about ten minutes. Add sugar or other sweetener to taste. Serve hot or cold.