Iron Chef- Side Dishes

Heidi over at Sacred and Profane is hosting Iron Chef-Blog Style! This month's theme is holiday side dishes. I was going to enter my bacony, cheesy twice baked mashed potato recipe, but I'll save the hoopla of writing it all out with measurements (since I don't measure) and just tell you to add some cooked chopped up bacon, sauteed mushrooms, and sour cream to your mashed potatoes and then top with cheddar and slap those puppies under the broiler. Your family will thank you, however, your waistline and cholesterol probably will not!

Oh, so now that you've drooled all over the place, I'm guessing you want to know what I am actually going to enter as my recipe...

For those of you who are perfectly content to open a can of gelatinous cranberry sauce and watch the ridged blob shimmy out of the can, this recipe is not for you. For anyone else who would like a fresh, delicious cranberry sauce recipe, listen up!

Kam's Kran with a Kick

1 1/2 cups Apple cider

1 can of frozen cranberry juice cocktail concentrate(or cran-apple or cran-cherry if you can find it)

1/2 cup Sugar

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
½ cup craisins (dried cranberries) (about 2 ounces)

½ cup dried cherries (about 2 ounces)
2 tablespoons orange juice
¼ teaspoon ground allspice (optional)

4 Cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon Orange zest

6 cloves

Directions:

In a pan, bring apple cider, frozen cranberry juice concentrate, orange zest, orange juice, sugar, cloves and cinnamon sticks to a boil. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes until sugar dissolves. Remove cloves if they are still in tact. Add dried cherries, craisins and fresh cranberries. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Cook on high heat, stirring until cranberries begin to pop, about five to ten minutes. Reduce heat, cook on low until relish begins to thicken, stirring occasionally. Remove from stove and discard cinnamon sticks. Pour into a bowl to cool.

I always make this the night before Thanksgiving so it is nice and chilled for the festivities!