Party Prep

We've got a dinner party to attend Saturday night and I'm responsible for the apéritif & hors d'oeuvres.

One of the canapés I'm planning is a baked Brie basket with a dab of spiced cranberry sauce. So tonight I'm cooking the cranberries. The kitchen smells heavenly with hints of cardamom, clove & anise - and I've eaten as many orange segments as I've added to the pot :)

I'm still mulling over apéritif ideas. Many of the recipes that I've come across have specialty liquors or bitters that I probably can't source locally. I might stick with an Aperol & cranberry ginger cocktail that echoes the flavors in the Brie baskets. But open to suggestions?

Another canapé will probably be pumpernickel and pâté. And the third.... also not quite sure yet. Again- please send your ideas!

Here's the recipe to accompany the picture. Guten Appetit!


Spiced Cranberry Sauce

500g. fresh cranberries (about 3 cups?)
1 cup of light brown/raw sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup gelatin sugar (optional)
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup water
fresh orange zest
a cinnamon stick
2 anise stars
about 6 cloves
Dash of cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla or a package of vanilla sugar

Put all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium-low heat for about an hour. Berries will soften and "pop." Stir regularly. Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove the whole spices and berry skins. Store the sauce in the fridge until ready to serve. The anise adds a mysterious and exotic hint to the flavor!

If you want a whole berry sauce with more fruit pulp, you just need to be able to fish out the cloves, anise and cinnamon before chilling it, or spoon some of the fresh pulp back in after straining and ensuring that there are no spices.