Cranberry Granita Food

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.

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine 4 cups cranberries and next 4 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 30 minutes. Working in batches, puree mixture in processor. Strain puree into large bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Pour strained puree into 15x10x2-inch dish. Freeze 45 minutes. Using fork, stir to blend in any frozen portions. Freeze until granita has uniform slushy consistency, stirring every 45 minutes to incorporate frozen portions, about 5 hours. Cover and keep frozen up to 1 day.
• Using fork tines, scrape granita, forming icy flakes. Spoon into goblets. Garnish with cranberries and mint sprigs.

PEAR AND CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Combine pears and honey in processor; puree until smooth.
• Pour reserved pear juices into 2 cup measuring cup.
• Add enough cranberry juice to pear juices to measure 2 cups.
• Add juice mixture to processor and process until well blended.
• Transer to 13x9x2" glass baking dish.
• Freeze until frozen, at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Using fork, scrape surace of granita to form crystals.
• Divide among 6 dessert glasses.
• Garnish with cranberries and mint sprigs, if desired.

FRESH CRANBERRY COSMO

Steps:

• Simmer the water, cranberries, and sugar in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat until the berries begin to pop, approximately 7 minutes.
• Remove from the heat. Puree with an immersion blender, conventional blender, or food processor for 1 minute. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer directly into a metal 9-by-13-inch pan. Do not press on the skins; simply allow the juice to drip through the strainer. Add the zest and stir to combine.
• Freeze until set, at least 6 hours or up to overnight. Once frozen, scrape the mixture with a fork to create a shaved ice texture.
• Place the vodka, 2 1/2 ounces cranberry granita, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker and shake until the granita melts completely. Pour into a wide-rimmed glass and serve immediately.

CRANBERRY GRANITA

Steps:

• Whisk the cranberry juice and sugar in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves. Pour the cranberry mixture into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cool completely. Whisk in the lime juice and vodka. Freeze until the granita becomes slushy, about 2 hours. Using fork, stir to blend. Continue freezing the granita until frozen, stirring every hour to form crystals, at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Divide the granita among 6 dessert glasses. Garnish with fresh cranberries, if desired, and serve.

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:

• 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 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).