What about the leftovers???

You’ve done it again, haven’t you? It’s Thanksgiving and you’ve made way too much food. Again. That beautiful bird getting its final basting today will be tomorrow’s turkey mole or turkey pot pie. The bones will become a hearty soup, and by next week your family will be singing in chorus, “Oh, no, not stuffing and sweet potatoes again!”

Every leftover will find a home, but where will the cranberry sauce end up, in the disposal?

If you’re like me and can’t stand waste, here are some fresh ideas for recycling today’s gleaming red relish into tomorrow’s tasty treats.

Whether you are using canned whole berry cranberry sauce or making your own, use it instead of sweetened applesauce in your favorite cake or bread recipe. Try adding some instead of ketchup next time you make meat loaf (1/2 cup to 2 pounds meat). Use the whole berry or the melted jellied mixed with chili sauce for a zippy topping for chicken or meat balls or mix either with some honey or maple syrup (2/3 to 1/3) as a glaze for a roast.

After today’s cooking extravaganza the thought of preparing any of these may leave you breathless. Freeze the leftover cranberry sauce in ice cube trays so you can use what you need later.

To most of us the name Ocean Spray is synonymous with cranberries, and indeed 70% of the world’s cranberry consumption comes from Ocean Spray. Once we had our own Ocean Spray bottling plant right here in my home town, Fullerton. Full story with recipe

According to Henry Tobkin, operations manager for World Citrus West on Sante Fe Avenue, for about 14 years Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice was bottled here for distribution to the west coast, until about 10 years ago when they built themselves a new facility in Las Vegas.

Poached Pears with Chocolate Cranberry Sauce
Makes 6 servings.

6 cups Ocean Spray® Cranberry Juice Cocktail
1 cup sugar
6 Bartlett pears, peeled and cored with stems intact
1 16-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Combine cranberry juice cocktail and sugar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Place pears in pan. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes or until pears are tender when pierced with a fork. Turn pears several times during cooking. Remove from heat. Let cool in liquid at room temperature.
Combine cranberry sauce and chocolate chips in a medium saucepan. Melt over medium heat, whisking occasionally until smooth.

Remove pears from liquid; drain. To serve, spoon 1/4 cup chocolate cranberry sauce on each serving plate. Place pears on plates. Spoon remaining sauce over tops of pears.