A Good Excuse For A Moistmaker - Spicy Cranberry Relish

This year I tried a new cranberry relish for Thanksgiving and decided to add a single jalapeño for a little brightness. I even deseeded it, thinking I was being cautious.

I was not.

The minute I chopped it, I started coughing… then instinctively wiped my eyes which of course  turned out to be a very big mistake. Suddenly I was half-blind, sniffling, and wondering how one tiny pepper could be so dramatic.

But the relish itself? Fantastic and fiery.

Later in the weekend, I poured what relish was left over creamy goat cheese and served it with crackers. The heat mellowed just enough, and it became this beautiful, festive dip that tasted like I had meant for things to go exactly that way.

My favorite use, though, was adding it to the Moistmaker sandwich the famous Friends leftover masterpiece. I stay faithful to Monica’s secret: a slice of bread soaked in gravy in the middle. (Laid out in the photo below - bread, cranberry relish, turkey, gravy soaked bread, stuffing, bread)

With turkey, stuffing, and my unexpectedly volcanic cranberry relish, it was messy, delicious, and easily the best bite of the whole holiday weekend.

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces cranberries

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2-1 jalapeño pepper seeded and chopped fine - I’d go with 1/2 to start

1 Orange

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/8 teaspoon salt optional or to taste

METHOD

Wash and pick over the cranberries, discarding any bad ones. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan.

Clean the orange and cut off the peel. Remove any seeds and put them into the pot - discard the peel or save it for your Old Fashioned or Manhattan.

 Add everything else into the pot.

Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until the berries pop and burst.

Continue to cook for a couple of minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Transfer to a serving dish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The spicy relish wasn’t a big hit at the Thanksgiving table, but very popular in the days that followed.

Proof that sometimes the dishes born out of kitchen chaos end up becoming new traditions.

Or that my kids watched too much TV in their youth.