On Sunday, Richard and I will venture out for our first true date since the arrival of our little man. Life has been so busy, we haven’t had a chance to go out sooner. Heck, I barely have time to make a good meal at home. Or write postings for this blog.
Anyhoo, this recipe is the perfect solution for whipping up something special when you don’t have time to make a full dinner or the energy to go out. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a cheese tray with some delicious crusty bread and a bottle (or box) of wine. It makes a yummy romantic snack, a delicious homemade gift, or a tart dip for entertaining.
Here’s what you need:
3 cups cranberry juice
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup dried cranberries
about 2 or 3 tablespoons sugar
Combine the cranberry juice and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced to about one cup.
Mix the sugar and dried cranberries together. If you used a natural or lower sugar cranberry juice, you may need to add a little more sugar. Add the sugared cranberries to the reduced juice and vinegar mixture and cook a few more minutes until the cranberries have plumped up.
Let the mixture cool. It should be thick and syrupy. If it’s too thin or too tart, add some more sugar and cook it a little longer. The syrup shouldn’t be overly sweet, but it shouldn’t be sour either. Just add a little sugar at a time until it tastes just right.
Now onto the fun part – time to eat!! Serve the cooled syrup with an array of cheeses and a fresh loaf of bread. Then nosh your heart out. Slather the cranberry syrup on a chunk of cheese and bread and go ahead and shove it in your mouth. Delish! Especially with goat cheese. Have I mentioned lately how much I love goat cheese?? I. Love. Goat Cheese.
If you’re feeling generous, you can pour some of this cranberry balsamic syrup in a cute jar and give it to a friend. Or you can just hoard it all for yourself. I, of course, went with the latter option.
