I love spring. I love the warm weather, I love that I can run outside (9 miles today by the way, 7.3 mph!! – I actually have TAN LINES), I love that I can walk everywhere, I love the clothing, I love ice cream. In short, there really is very little that I DON’T love about this time of year. Except maybe for the fact that it becomes less acceptable for me to eat things like winter squash and sweet potatoes. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize how much I love winter foods…casseroles, chilis, stews, lasagna, etc. So does this mean I plan to stop eating them throughout the summer…of course not. I can’t actually go a week without eating a sweet potato, that would be heresy. But I MAY allow some room in my diet for more summertime vegetables.

As a kind of last hurrah to the cold weather, I thought I would make something that screamed fall/winter. Cranberry sauce!! I have never ever liked canned cranberry sauce. Ever. And then, this Thanksgiving my aunt made some homemade cranberry sauce and I couldn’t stop eating it. I wanted to put it on everything. And I did. But then I ate it all. Over Christmas break, I stocked up on some bags of cranberries and froze them. And promptly forgot about them. Last week, when I took the pork tenderloin out of the freezer, however, I rediscovered them and realized I had better use them before classes end and I have to go back to New York. Luckily, Tyler had just the recipe for me. I modified it slightly since I was feeling lazy and wanted to make it in the crockpot. It turned out delicious. I could eat this all year round, every day, and never get tired of it. In short, I need more cranberries. The thing I loved most about it was that it only called for 1/2 cup of sugar, which meant the tartness of the cranberries really shone through. Since brie was on sale this week, and we all know how much I have been obsessing over brie lately, I thought putting the two together would be the perfect combo for a sandwich. After throwing the sandwich on the George Foreman grill, I ended up with a baked brie-cranberry sandwich which was super good. I will be submitting this to Tyler Florence Fridays this week, so make sure to stop by and check out the round-up!

Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Makes about 2 cups, adapted from Tyler Florence

12 oz frozen cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/2 cup water

Place the cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, orange juice, and water in the crockpot. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours. Stir in the zest and let cool to room temperature. Place in a jar in the fridge.

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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17 Responses to Fall Into Spring

  1. Jeff says:

    Even though I too love spring I refuse to give up on my heavy braise dishes and other remnants of winter. Something great and nostalgic about those dishes and how they make the house smell.

    There is a running joke in my family that neither my mom or I have ever been able to make a successful cranberry sauce and it has turned into a challenge. Doing other stuff like meat glazes with them perfect but that bloody Thanksgiving sauce has caused me to much frustration. I am going to have to give this a shot because it sounds awesome.

  2. Debinhawaii says:

    The sauce sounds delicious and making it into a sandwich with the brie just takes it over the edge–YUM!

  3. Juliette says:

    Oh that sounds like such a good George Foreman sandwhich!

  4. Natashya says:

    Cranberry sauce and brie sounds like a wonderful combo – good thinking!

  5. leanne says:

    Brie and cranberries in a sandwich. YUM. I have some brie I might have to try this.

  6. Reeni? says:

    That sounds so delicious!! What a lovely combo to match up together. I like winter foods, too, but summer has it’s good points, like fresh veggies from the garden and barbecuing, yum!!

  7. Michelle says:

    Tans lines…WOW, I’m impressed!!

    Cinnamon with cranberries, now I’m more impressed!! And such gorgeous pictures too.

  8. burpandslurp says:

    this sauce puts all the others to shame. mm! I’d love this in a wrap with some good fresh greens and goat cheese!

  9. ttfn300 says:

    great idea with that brie! i should go through my freezer… i tend to buy things on sale and then only see what’s on the outside for fear of everything falling out at me!

    ps- i’ve been getting jicama at whole foods, it’s looked good there (no bruising). also seen it at shaws but it’s never pretty!

  10. donna says:

    This sounds delectable Joanne. I can not get ovber your run time for 9 miles, that is fabulous!

  11. Pam says:

    I love homemade cranberry sauce. Using it on a grilled cheese sandwich is a great idea.

  12. Jenny says:

    I like it. I have a burger recipe that would match perfect with this.

  13. burpandslurp says:

    in response to your comment: yay, you like salmon too? you’ll die when you see what I ate today then!

  14. karen says:

    i love this idea for the cranberry sauce. and i’m with you, i don’t let seasons keep me away from certain foods… that’s silliness. 🙂

  15. Joanne says:

    Jeff – You should totally try this. It was so easy and so good! Let me know if you give it a shot.

    Deb – I am ALL about the sandwiches. And the spreads. And the brie.

    Juliette – I know, I am a George Foreman addict.

    Natashya – I was inspired by some baked brie I had not so long ago and have been dreaming about since.

    leanne – Please do! Let me know how it turns out.

    Reeni – I know, and I DO love summer veggies…zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes…but I love them even MORE combined with sweet potatoes and winter squash. Heehee.

    Michelle – Thanks so much! The tan lines have mostly faded already but the sunburn on my cheeks is still there. I love cinnamon…I put it in almost everything.

    burpandslurp – What a great idea! You may just see that appearing with the next round of cranberry sauce I make.

    ttfn – I will have to make a whole foods trip. I don’t have much freezer space so I can’t really forget…I just selectively don’t remember.

    donna – Aww thanks! I’m so excited because now I’m entering uncharted territory. It will be exciting to see how the half goes.

    Pam – Really, anything on a grilled cheese sandwich is a good idea!

    Jenny – This would be great on a burger, I will have to keep an eye on your blog to see what you do with it.

    karen – I’m glad we’re on the same page. You know what they say about great minds…

  16. brie and cranberries…yum!

  17. Joanne says:

    Food Hunter – I am just discovering how MUCH I love this combo!

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