Cranberry Orange Granita Food

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:

• 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:

• 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.

CRANBERRY GRANITA WITH ORANGE WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Bring cranberry juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and cloves to boil in small saucepan, stirring often; set aside. Puree cranberry sauce in processor; add juice mixture and puree. Pour mixture into 8x8-inch baking dish; freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
• Boil orange juice and 2 tablespoons sugar in small saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes. Mix in peel. Cool orange syrup.
• Whisk cream and 3 tablespoons orange syrup in medium bowl to soft peaks. Scrape tines of fork across frozen cranberry mixture, forming flakes. Mound generous 1/2 cup granita to 1 side in each of 6 glasses. Mound 1/4 cup whipped cream on opposite sides. Drizzle remaining orange syrup over cream in each.

ORANGE GRANITA

Steps:

• Squeeze 5 to 6 oranges to yield 3 cups of juice. In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup sugar. Boil over high heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a shallow 2-quart dish, and add remaining orange juice.
• Freeze, scraping around sides and breaking into crystals with a fork every 30 minutes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours total. Cover with plastic wrap; keep in freezer until ready to 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.