Cranberry Butter Glaze for the Holidays!
I'm really not sure how cranberries got their Thanksgiving notoriety, but I read that they were possibly a part of the first Thanksgiving feast with the pilgrims and the American Indians. Cranberries are native to the United States (I didn't know that), and they were not only a food source, but were also used for dyes and for medicine in the 1500's. It wasn't until much later that cranberry sauce as we know it today became a Thanksgiving staple. Martha Stewart actually has an interesting article about cranberries here . The first acknowledgment of a cranberry sauce cookbook recipe was in 1796, and Ocean Spray began canning cranberries in the early 1900's. Another tidbit I did not know is that Americans consume 400 million pounds of cranberries per year - 20% at Thanksgiving!
OK, so there's your little cranberry history lesson, and here's where Adams Apple Cranberry Butter steps in. When developing Adams Apple recipes, I always include an apple ingredient. And since apples and cranberries love each other, I thought an apple cranberry butter would be a great idea! Our Adams Apple Cranberry Butter was the third product introduced in our product line, and it has been a hit - especially at the holidays. It's a little more tart than our original Adams Apple Butter because we add fresh cranberries, and it also has a little more cloves than the original too. Its beautiful rich taste, color, and texture makes it a perfect addition to your Thanksgiving spread as an appetizer with baked brie and pecans, for spreading on hot dinner rolls, or even adding a little on top of your turkey before diving in. And it definitely makes for a delicious leftover turkey sandwich the next day when mixed with mayo (or by itself). YUM.
OK, so in my Thanksgiving rush, I didn't have time for a photo shoot of the beloved cranberry glazed turkey, but it's still pretty. Gosh. Do we have to wait for Thanksgiving to make another turkey?
The recipe is very simple, and should leave you enough for your holiday ham:
- 1 cup of Adams Apple Cranberry Butter
- 1/2 cup of orange juice or apple cider
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 3 tbsp honey
Stir and heat, and pour half into a bowl to use for basting, and save the rest (so as not to contaminate the glaze). We bake the turkey or ham covered (as directed), then when it's time to remove the foil or lid and increase the oven temperature, baste with a basting brush and wait for the magic to happen. We even got a little daring and turned the broiler on for a minute (we watched it VERY CLOSELY) so it has a little "crust". Here is a picture of our ham with the same glaze:
The moral of this story is, buy two jars. You'll need them for the glaze, the buffet, AND for leftovers. Enjoy!