Peppercorn Press

A number of years ago, my wife and I were dining in an upscale restaurant in the Seattle area near the Christmas Holiday where we enjoyed a succulent Christmas turkey dinner with all of the trimmings.

One of the trimmings was fabulous cranberry chutney that evoked all of the flavors that should be associated with holiday dinners.

This cranberry chutney recipe is my interpretation that I prepare for my family around the holidays, and honestly sometimes even in the summer to be served with grilled chicken or pork, or gourmet cheeses.  It is also a tasty topping to left over turkey sandwiches.

Besides the layers of flavor, the great part is that it is super-simple and it starts with store bought cranberry sauce.

INGREDIENTS

One can WHOLE BERRY cranberry sauce

Zest of one Orange

¼ teaspoon orange oil or juice from ½ orange

One Granny Smith Apple with peel on, diced into ¼ inch chunks

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon crushed thyme

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat until the cranberry sauce has melted.  (if you use orange juice instead of Orange oil, the finished chutney will be thinner, but still delicious)  Once the sauce has melted, reduce heat to low and simmer until the apple is tender.  Remove from heat and pour into a shallow dish allowing it to cool to room temperature before serving.  If you need to speed up the cooling process, it can be placed into the refrigerator.