Spicy Cran-Rosemary Sauce

If you couldn’t tell, I'm having a love affair with fresh cranberries! I first made fresh cranberry sauce for my friend’s bachelorette party where I made a simple cranberry sauce and layered it over warmed brie. I had never made a cranberry sauce before and was shocked with how easy it was. Since that party I've made 4 different variations. This recipe is my latest concoction that I made as an appetizer when I went to visit a local Maryland winery for an event. Everyone in my group really seemed to enjoy it! I also plan on making the sauce for Thanksgiving this year. I think it will be a great compliment to the leftover turkey sandwiches.

Spicy Cran-Rosemary Sauce
1 bag of cranberries
1 cup Water
½ Cup Sugar- maybe more is the sauce is too tart.
2 large Sprigs of fresh rosemary finely chopped
Juice of 1 Orange
Zest of 1 Orange
1-2 Jalapeno’s minced
Cayenne Pepper to taste

Sort through your cranberries and remove any stems or berries that have turned. Combine water, cranberries, orange juice and zest, rosemary, jalapeno and sugar in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Allow to cook until all of the cranberries begin to burst, about 10 minutes. Mixture will naturally thicken so make sure you keep an eye on the mixture so it doesn’t burn. If you feel the mixture is cooking too quickly, lower the heat. After all the berries have cooked down and thickened, remove from the heat. Taste the sauce to see how spicy it is. This is vary depending on how hot the jalapenos are. If you feel you need to add more heat, start by adding 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of cayenne paper. Serve the sauce over cream cheese. The cheese will help mellow the heat so you may want to make the sauce spicier than you normally would. Once you’ve reached your desired heat, let the sauce cool before storing in a heat proof dish.

 

When you want to assemble the appetizer- warm the sauce until it’s heated through. Spoon sauce over the cream cheese and garnish with orange zest and fresh rosemary. Serve with crackers or toasted crostini.