Cranberry Champagne Granita Food

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the water, cranberries and sugar into a small saucepan, set over medium-high heat and simmer until the berries begin to pop, approximately 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Puree with a stick blender, blender or food processor, for 1 minute. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer directly into a metal 13 by 9-inch pan. Do not press on the skins. Simply allow the juice to drip through the strainer. Add the zest and stir to combine. Place in the freezer until set, at least 6 hours and up to overnight. Once frozen, scrape the mixture with a fork to create a shaved ice texture. Serve immediately.

CRANBERRY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

Steps:

• In a chilled Champagne flute add cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. Top off the glass with Champagne. Garnish with 3 or 4 cranberries.

CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
• Using the finest grater you have, lightly scrape the skin of 1 lemon, removing only the top surface of the peel. Squeeze out the juice and remove the seeds from both lemons.
• Open the Champagne or sparkling wine, and pour it into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch pan. Mix in the simple syrup, lemon juice, and grated zest. Place mixture into the freezer. Check after 30 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, break up any ice formed on the sides and stir into the rest of the liquid. Continue to freeze and repeat this procedure every hour for at least 3 hours. Before serving, fluff the granita by "chopping" up any clumps with the spoon or gently whisking the frozen mixture. Spoon into small glasses or cups and serve.

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Add an extra course to your Christmas dinner -- all you need is a bottle of juice! To make this cranberry granita, pour 4 cups cranberry juice into a 9-inch square metal baking dish and freeze, scraping with a fork every 30 minutes, until frozen, about 3 hours. Spoon into small bowls, top with frozen cranberries and serve between dinner and dessert.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place a 2-quart shallow baking dish in the freezer. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and orange juice to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cranberry and lemon juice, zest, and a pinch of salt.
• In a fine-mesh strainer set over cranberry mixture, press ginger with a spoon to release juice (discard solids). Stir to combine.
• Pour mixture into baking dish. Freeze until solid, at least 6 hours or overnight. Mash with a fork to break granita into small crystals. Cover; freeze until ready to serve.

STRAWBERRY, CITRUS, AND CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil 1 minute. Cool. Refrigerate syrup until cold, about 45 minutes.
• Puree enough strawberries (about 6 large) in blender to yield 1/2 cup puree. Transfer strawberry puree to large bowl. Mix grapefruit juice, Champagne, lemon juice and chilled syrup into strawberry puree. Pour mixture into 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan.
• Freeze Champagne mixture until icy at edge of pan, about 55 minutes. Whisk to distribute frozen portions evenly. Freeze again until icy at edge of pan and overall texture is slushy, about 40 minutes. Whisk to distribute frozen portions evenly. Cover and freeze until mixture is solid, about 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, slice remaining strawberries. Place in large bowl and toss with remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup Grand Marnier. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.
• Using fork, scrape granita down length of pan, forming ice flakes. (Granita can be prepared up to 2 days ahead of time. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.) Divide sliced strawberries equally among 6 wineglasses. Top with granita and serve immediately.

RASPBERRY-CHAMPAGNE GRANITA

Steps:

• Place the raspberries and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth.
• Combine water, sugar and champagne in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat; simmer 1 minute or until sugar melts.
• Remove from heat, stir in raspberry puree.
• Pour the mixture into a large, shallow baking dish.
• Cover and freeze 8 hours.
• Remove dish from freezer and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy.

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients to a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves.
• Decrease heat and simmer until the berries have softened, about 10 minutes.
• Cover and cool off the heat for 30 minutes.
• Pour the contents of the pan into a large blender; puree until smooth.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a 13x9 inch baking pan, pushing the solids against the mesh with the back of a wooden spoon.
• Freeze the mixture in the pan on the floor of the freezer for about 3 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes with a fork to break up the ice crystals and distribute them evenly throughout the pan.
• After the mixture has frozen but is not yet fully firm, cover it tightly with plastic wrap; the granita will keep this way for up to 3 weeks.
• Scrape the surface of the granita with a fork to produces lots of shaved ice crystals, scoop these into individual cups or glasses for serving.
• *Spiced Cranberry Granita: add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ t. ground mace, and ¼ t. grated nutmeg to the pan before you set the mixture aside to cool for 20 minutes; proceed as directed.

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Put the cranberries, water, sugar, and orange juice in a medium, nonreactive saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand for 30 minutes.
• Purée the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth, then press through a mesh strainer to remove the bits of cranberry skin. Freeze according to the instructions for freezing granita on page 145.
• Serve with Tangerine Sorbet (page 119) or spicy Cinnamon Ice Cream (page 38).