Pages

Friday 11 October 2013

Chef Philippe Bertineau's Cranberry Sauce

Several years ago my sister, brother in law and myself spent Christmas in a lodge in the Haliburton area. I'd never been fond of cranberries, even though my mother used to pick them herself where they grew wild on an Indian reserve near our house.  She was allowed to do that because my dad was an honourary chief of the tribe.  But, that's another story.

On this particular Christmas, the lodge had a French chef prepare the dinner and my opinion of cranberry sauce was changed forever!  Nothing would do but my sister and I must find the recipe and chef Phillipe Bertineau of the Benoit restaurant in New York had the perfect one.



It's a simple recipe and is best made a day or two before serving so it has time to set up well.

You will need ~


1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup port wine
3 whole cloves
2 star anise (you can substitute 1/2 tsp. of fennel seed or anise seed for each star anise)
1/2 tsp. coriander seed
1 -2 cinnamon sticks (or substitute 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon per stick)
2 tsp. cracked peppercorn
1 cup sugar (you can substitute 1/2 cup agave syrup per cup of sugar)
12 oz package of cranberries. (I use organic cranberries)

Put the wine and port in a pot and bring to a boil.  Mix the spices.  I crush the seeds a bit so the flavour is released easier. ~


Make a little cheesecloth pouch to hold the spices so you don't have to strain them out of the wine later. ~


If you are as lucky as I am you have a lovely kitchen string holder that Fiona from Just Paint It White sent you all the way from England as a surprise gift.

Want to see inside her house?  Of course you do. ~

photo courtesy of Just Paint It White
That's enough gawking at all that British charm.  Back to the cranberry sauce.

Add the spice bag to the wine and port and reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins.  I give the spice bag a little swish around in the wine every so often. ~



Discard the spice bag and add cranberries and sugar to the wine/port.  ~



Bring the cranberries to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, uncovered, for 15 to 20 mins. or until the sauce has thickened.  If you are using a natural, liquid sweetener such as Agave syrup, it takes another 10 mins. of simmering to get it to thicken.  Your sauce will continue to set as the mixture cools.

Yield is 3 cups, which is 10 servings.

You will wow your guests with your culinary arts when you serve this condiment with your Thanksgiving turkey! ~


And, is there really any need to tell them that chef Bertineau created the recipe?

If you want to see a video of him cooking and with his chef wife, click here.  They really are the cutest couple!

I'm sharing this with   Party JunkFrom The Farm Blog Hop


10 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted this recipe...now I can pin it and always have it. This really is a delicious cranberry sauce! xo wendy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am looking forward to the cranberries on Sunday, they look delicious.
    Lynn, www.etsy.com/shop/2becherished

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh yum, that's a pretty great way to spend a Christmas too. I want a post on your Dad the Indian chief, that sound like a great story!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, thank you for the shout out Maureen. So have you booked the flight yet, the room's ready and I know my boss would be impressed with your culinary skills. I've really got to try this recipe and wow him at Christmas.
    Have a lovely weekend xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I was hoping for this post! It looks delicious and the addition of coriander was a surprise to me. I'm pinning this one and making it this Christmas! Your pictures are gorgeous girl. And...who does not love Fiona and her wonderful blog??!! She's a jewel for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, that looks fabulous! I have got to get me some cheesecloth, spices and give this a go! Love it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks fantastic and not too difficult! Thanks for sharing. (I have cheesecloth and twine) YAY!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Maureen ... this sounds really good. I make cranberry chutney sauce every year, but would love to try this. Thanks.
    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

    ReplyDelete
  9. This looks like the perfect accompaniment to my Halloween costume. Yes really. The evil chef would serve this based on it's color and looks alone.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This sounds soo good. I happen to really enjoy cranberry sauce and think this sounds really great!

    ReplyDelete