Success! Cranberry Mousse

When I was a growing up, one of the jobs assigned to the kids at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners was making the cranberry relish. We had a hand-cranked grinder and the recipe called for ground cranberries and oranges mixed with sugar and perhaps a few other things (apparently I don't have the recipe). At any rate, it was a good kid's job ? safe and easy.

I think everyone liked the relish well enough, although no one seemed to be a huge fan of it. I certainly haven't made it since I grew up, but I've tried a few other recipes and rather like Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish. This is a recipe, named for Susan Stamberg's mother-in-law and featured on NPR every year. Its three claims to fame are that it's semi-fredo (partially frozen), contains horseradish, and is the color of Pepto-Bismol.

Last Thanksgiving I prepared a distinctly non-traditional feast, but I wanted to make some sort of nod to tradition. An acknowledgement of the many Thanksgiving meals I've eaten over the years. I considered pumpkin soup, but I had my heart set on Shrimp Bisque. I also considered pumpkin cheesecake (this one looked particularly good). but I didn't think I'd have time to make it. And then I thought, "Why not cranberry mousse?"

I came up with a recipe for Rhubarb Mousse one spring ad its tart sweetness has been a huge hit every time I've made it. I thought cranberries would also have that same affect ? and I was right. The recipe is an adaptation of the rhubarb mousse recipe. This would be a grand and elegant ending to a heavy Christmas meal.

Cranberry Mousse

1 lb fresh cranberries ? washed and picked over
1/2 c fresh orange juice (about 1 1/2 oranges)
zest of 1 orange (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 c Triple Sec (or other orange liqueur)
1 c granulated sugar ? separated
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin (1 envelope)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 ea egg yolks
2 c whipping cream, chilled
1/2 c whipping cream, chilled

Reserve a few cranberries for garnish.

Place cranberries in a large sauce pan with orange juice, Triple Sec, ginger, orange zest, and 1/4 cup sugar over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cranberries break down ? about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, sprinkle with gelatin, and allow gelatin to bloom. Transfer to a food processor or blender, add gelatin, and process until smooth. Cool.

Force cranberry mixture through a sieve, discarding solids.

In a double boiler, beat the egg yolks with sugar until they are a pale yellow. Cook over just bubbling water, stirring constantly, until yolks have thickened. Cool to room temperature.

Combine cranberry mixture with egg mixture. In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff and stir 1/4 into cranberry mixture to lighten it. Then pour cranberry mixture into bowl with whipped cream and gently fold together.

Soon into individual dessert cups or wine goblets and chill for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, whip remaining cream. Garnish with whipped cream and a few cranberries. Serves 6.

Kevin Weeks is a Gather food correspondent (Paisano), personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" is a column focused on peasant dishes from around the world. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog,Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month and in addition he writes a weekly column forSpot-On.