LUCY BURDETTE: I’m delighted to introduce my friend and wonderful writer, Deborah Crombie, author of the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. (If you haven’t read these, you’re in for a treat!) I persuaded her to share her favorite recipe for holiday cranberry relish. She’ll be giving away a copy of NO MARK UPON HER to one lucky commenter!
DEBORAH CROMBIE: For years I subscribed to Gourmet Magazine, but this cranberry relish recipe is the only one that survived from all the things I tried in those years. It is our Christmas MUST HAVE, at least for my daughter and me! I keep the original messy recipe card because my mom typed it, but here it is properly typed out.
SPICY CRANBERRY RELISH
Ingredients
1 12 oz. package fresh cranberries, picked over and rinsed
1 small fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped very fine (wear rubber gloves!)
Rind of one orange, julienned
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ cup honey
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp salt
In a stainless saucepan, combine ingredients and bring to a boil, simmer covered for 10 to 12 minutes, until cranberries begin to pop. Let cool and chill for two hours or overnight. Will keep in refrigerator for at least a week.
DEBS’ NOTES: This is the original recipe. I double it, using one jalapeno for two batches. You can adjust according to your heat tolerance. I’m also very generous with the mustard seeds, using heaping teaspoons. This relish will keep SEVERAL weeks and is great on sandwiches, on cheese boards, etc. etc. I cooked a turkey breast after Thanksgiving, just so I could have turkey/relish/mayo sandwiches. So good!
What are your must-haves for a holiday dinner?
ABOUT DEBORAH: New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie is a native Texan who writes crime novels set in the United Kingdom. Her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series has received numerous awards, including Edgar, Macavity, and Agatha nominations, and is published in more than a dozen countries to international acclaim.
Crombie lives in North Texas with her husband, German shepherds, and cats, and divides her time between Texas and Great Britain. Her latest novel, A Killing of Innocents, is available from William Morrow, February, 2023. She is currently working on her twentieth Kincaid/James novel.
Sounds good. cheetahthecat1982ATgmailDOTcom
ReplyDeleteIt is!
DeleteYummy! Welcome to the blog, Debs.
ReplyDeleteThis year my son made a cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving - also yummy!
DeleteFun to be be on the front end! And I pretty much love anything with cranberries, so I would be happy sample your son's cranberry chutney!
DeleteThat sounds delicious! I always make 5-6 lbs of plain cranberry sauce and freeze it in 1 cup containers. So much better than buying a can! I always make the stuffing for Thanksgiving: seeded rye, pumpernickel, french baguette and corn bread all cut up and dried 2 weeks before. I add sauteed mushrooms, celery, onion, butter, homemade chicken stock, sage, marjoram, parsley, salt and pepper.
ReplyDeleteSounds great!
ReplyDeleteIt is a little different. I think it's the mustard seeds that really make it special.
DeleteI made cranberry raspberry sauce this year. It was also good. I’m more into the sides for meals. suefoster109 at gmail dot com.
ReplyDeleteOh, me, too. I don't care that much about the turkey. I just want an excuse to eat the cranberry relish!
DeleteYour relish sounds delicious! I do love cranberry sauce with turkey on sliders. I looked up the book you are giving away and I am intrigued! Thank you! madamhawk at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteOh, good! This is #14 in the series, but it's one of my very favorites, and I think it's a good place to start for readers who are a bit daunted by the prospect of going all the way back to book #1.
Deleteoh but this looks and sounds wonderful. thanks for sharing. I personally love cranberry sauce. the rest of my family does not. LOL oh well their loss, my gain. Our family has a jello/fruit salad that mom found when I (the oldest of five) was just a bitty baby. It has become a staple for Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter dinners. Since mom died, my sister loves to make it. It is always different, but to me that is the fun of it all. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
ReplyDeleteWe eat so many of these holiday things because they are traditional. My family ner ate jello salads, but I was thinking about something my mom made every year that has now dropped out of rotation. It was a layered salad with iceberg lettuce, spinach, bacon, sour cream, and red onion (I think.) I wish I had the recipe now because I loved it, and it was so nice to have something green and crisp with all the beige food. Does anyone remember a similar thing?
DeleteThe Pioneer Woman has a salad that sounds similar. I think I will make it at Christmas!
DeleteYes I remember that salad or something like it, though spinach sounds a little too healthy:)
DeleteGarlic mashed potatoes are my favorite! khpinelake (at) gmail (dot) com Happy holidays to all!
ReplyDeleteYou can't beat garlic mashed potatoes any time!
DeleteThe food doesn't matter as long as family is there.
ReplyDeleteI had to blink twice at the recipe card because it looks like many I have from my younger days. My mom’s were always hand written on paper. Later my dad with a single finger would type them on index cards, but he didn’t get far before he enlisted my help. Mom wanted it done to preserve the recipes. I still have both the originals and the typed ones purely for the memories. After the death of our only child at the age of 17, needing something to occupy my time and mind. I actually made a tried and true cookbook. It totaled enough typed pages in protective sleeves to fill a large 3 ring notebook. I ended up printing off 3 copies and making 3 cookbooks – my mom’s and hubby’s mom’s as Christmas presents dedicated in honor of Jenet, and mine. The following recipe is most definitely one of the recipes in it.
ReplyDeleteA holiday must for me is green bean casserole. However, not the typical one most make. Several years ago, my mom found this different version and it’s been a household favorite ever since. All that eat it, want the recipe and say it’s a keeper for sure.
Green Bean & Shoepeg Corn Casserole
Ingredients
1 can French style green beans - drained
1 can White shoepeg whole kernel corn - drained
1 can Cream of celery soup
1 ½ cup Grated cheddar cheese
½ cup Sour cream
½ cup Onion - chopped
1 can Water chestnuts, chopped finely
For Topping:
1 roll Ritz crackers, crumbled
1 stick Butter – melted
Directions
Place the green beans into casserole dish.
Top with the shoepeg corn.
Mix all other ingredients except for the toppings. Pour on top of the corn layer.
Mix the cracker crumbs and melted butter together and the top the casserole with the mixture,
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Thank you so much for the fabulous chance to win a copy of NO MARK UPON HER! Would love the opportunity to read and review it.
2clowns at arkansas dotnet
And thanks for the recipe! I'd never heard of "shoepeg" corn. How is it different from regular yellow or white corn?
Deletethat looks good Kay! I think shoepeg is lighter and longer than regular corn
DeleteOur favorite is a beet salad and balsamic roasted broccoli and cauliflower. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteYou have a healthy family! My daughter and I would LOVE both of those. No one else would eat them...
ReplyDeleteWe have Chinese sticky rice as a side. And roasted veggies
ReplyDeleteWskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com
Would love both of those!
DeleteOur family favorite is green beans with bacon and eggs. And I must have cranberry sauce or salad. My sister always wants biscuits.
ReplyDeletekozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com
I love cranberry relish, but the uncooked version that was publishes here a few hears ago.
ReplyDeletelibbydodd at comcast dot net
I've had an uncooked relish and liked it, but don't have a recipe, sadly.
DeleteHere's Libby's uncooked cranberry relish from 2021: https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2021/11/libby-dodds-fresh-cranberry-relish.html
DeleteThanks for the link, Lucy/Roberta.
DeleteThanksgiving is the only holiday with "must haves". The ones that make the list are dressing and cranberry relish. That said, I think I have to try your recipe for another meal as I love mustard seeds for their great flavor and the pop when you bite into them. I'll bet this would be mighty tasty with pork or chicken as well as turkey. Thanks! makennedyinaz at hotmail dot com
ReplyDeleteIt is good with pork or chicken. I made chicken cutlets last week and served them with the relish. Yum!
DeleteAnd that picture of all the pre-cooked ingredients in the pot is worthy of a Gourmet Magazine photo spread! Thanks so much for the recipe, and for visiting the Kitchen today, Debs!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing Leslie!
DeleteIsn't that pretty, Leslie? Almost too pretty to cook, lol!
DeleteExactly. I had some yesterday on a charcuterie board. Delish!
DeleteThank you for visiting today and sharing your cranberry recipe. I love cranberry relish on Thanksgiving, but even more with the leftovers. ~Maya
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Maya!
DeleteMust haves for me are mashed potatoes and stuffing! lindaherold999@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe classics!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for having me today!
ReplyDeleteDebs, I am supposed to be cleaning my house in anticipation of holiday guests, but instead I was finishing To Dwell in Darkness! I adore your books. I have your cranberry recipe from the “other” blog and I will try to make it when our company is here. (And no need to enter me in the contest. 😊)
DeleteSorry, Debs, I was thinking this was regular Facebook, not a blog! — Pat S
DeleteOh Debs, this looks delicious! Decor Tha ks giving, and maybe winter roast chicken or beef dinners as well! For T-Day it’s turkey, usually mashed potatoes (although his year I made scalloped potatoes that were so good there were no leftovers -we only had 9 people. , roasted delicata squash, cranberry relish, homemade bread, a green vegetable, and of course, pumpkin pie from scratch and a pear-giner pie at least. I am really looking forward to the new Kincaid/James book!
ReplyDeleteThese recipes sound delicious. deborahdumm(@)yahoo(DOT)com
ReplyDeleteFinally! The recipe for the infamous cranberry relish!
ReplyDeletepatdupuy@yahoo.com
Homemade cranberry relish is one of the must haves for Christmas dinner. Ours is just a little different than yours. Our other must haves are pork schnitzel, spaetzel and fruit salad. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeletediannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m the only one that would eat spicy cranberry sauce. sgiden at verizon(.)net
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious. I love cranberries. My must have for Holiday dinner is the noodles for the mashed potatoes.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of cranberry sauces of any nature. I do like cranberry juice but that’s the only cranberry I like
ReplyDeleteMashed potatoes and rolls. The main meat dish might change but those two items have become standard. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThe recipe sounds wonderful! Legallyblonde1961 at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI love to look at recipes that have been well-loved aka messy cards. Most of the time they have yellowed edges with a fingerprint or two from loved ones who have passed.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and lots of gravy on top. Rolls too and pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream.
ReplyDeleteSweetpeafluffy(at)gmail(dot)com
Side dishes such as Scalloped Potatoes and dessert like Strawberry Waldorf Jello.Thank you Deb
ReplyDeleteStrawberry jello with fruit. Deb
ReplyDelete