The enjoyment and delight in something that satisfies one's tastes, inclinations or desires is relishing that specific something. To relish is to appreciate with taste and discernment. At least that's what the dictionary says.
A relish can also be a condiment, an appetizer or an hors d'oeuvre. This time of year with turkey on holiday menus that relish is usually made of cranberries combined with an amazing number of other ingredients.
For many years our favorite has been MaMa Stamberg's Cranberry Relish, which since 1971 has been given on the air by National Public Radio's Susan Stamberg. It is her mother's recipe. Her mother got the recipe from the New York Times in 1959 when it was published by food editor Craig Claiborne.
After Stamberg started airing the recipe, Claiborne told her that he was delighted and that he and Stamberg had gotten more mileage out of the recipe than almost anything he'd ever printed.
There's a good reason for the popularity of the recipe. Despite it's shocking pink color from the combination of sour cream, grated onion and horseradish with the cranberries and sugar, the relish is delicious and offers a savory contrast to sweeter versions.
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Another cranberry relish made with oranges is also good - but a little sweet for my taste.
And Stamberg has given another of her favorites, which illustrates the breadth of ingredients that can be used with the humble cranberry. It is a chutney recipe from "East/West Menus for Family and Friends," by Madhur Jaffrey.
Enjoy and delight in the coming holidays.
MaMa Stamberg's Cranberry Relish
2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed
1 small onion
¾ cup sour cream
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½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar
Grind the raw berries and onion together. (Stamberg uses an old-fashioned meat grinder. I use a food processor. It should be chunky not pureed.)
Add everything else and mix.
Put in a plastic container and freeze.
Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. Makes 3 cups.
Cranberry-Orange Relish
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1 small seedless orange
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
¼ cup sugar
Wash and cut unpeeled orange into eighths. Process orange pieces, cranberries and sugar until finely chopped. Spoon mixture into nonmetal container. To combine flavors, cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. Keeps in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Garlicky Cranberry Chutney
1-inch piece fresh ginger
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
½ cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (16 ounces) whole cranberry sauce
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cut ginger into paper-thin slices, stack them together and cut into very thin slivers. Combine ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar and cayenne in a small pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook on medium for about 15 minutes or until about four tablespoons of liquid remain.
Add cranberry sauce, salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a simmer. Simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Keeps for several days.
Sources: Merriam-Webster; www.npr.org; www.pillsbury.com/Recipes
Readers can reach Forum columnist Andrea Hunter Halgrimson at ahalgrimson@forumcomm.com
