This weekend, Cookie and I hitched a ride down to Tulsa for Friendsgiving. Four hours later, we stretched our limbs outside the car as our dear old friends came outside to greet us. Hugs all around. The rest of the day was one long, happy blur full of good food and good company. As always, Michael cooked the turkey. Emily made a giant green salad. Jordan’s pecan pie survived a trunk mishap. I brought the cranberry cornbread and eagerly stole little bits of crispy onions off the green bean casserole as I stood in line (sorry, Jes).
Nate brought homemade cranberry sauce, which was leaps and bounds better than the gelatinous, ridged glob of canned cranberry sauce that I remembered from college Friendsgivings. Those were the days when Pabst Blue Ribbon tall boys littered the table. This year, I still didn’t eat the turkey, but I went back for seconds of the cranberry sauce. Bright and bursting with sweet-tart cranberry flavor, it made a great jelly for my roll and livened up the mashed sweet potatoes.
As I polished off my plate, I wondered why Americans ever resort to canned cranberry sauce. It’s a travesty, especially considering that fresh cranberry sauce takes about five minutes to make. Five minutes! I decided to highlight cranberry sauce by serving it on crostini. Crusty whole grain bread, topped with tangy goat cheese and bold cranberry-orange sauce, makes for a stunning (and super simple) appetizer. Serve the crostini before Thanksgiving dinner or at any of your other holiday festivities this fall and winter.
This recipe yields more cranberry sauce than you’ll likely need for the crostini. You can swirl leftover sauce into oatmeal or granola and yogurt for a filling breakfast. It would be a stellar addition to a grilled cheese sandwich made with whole grain bread and brie, too. You can use any type of bread that you’d like, of course, but I really love the nutty flavor of hearty, whole grain bread paired with sweet cranberry sauce and cheese. It’s more nutritious, too. For more information about the health benefits of whole grains, visit GrainsforYourBrain.org.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Grains for Your Brain and I received compensation for my participation. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who allow me to serve up more recipes. Opinions are my own, always.
