This recipe sounds so weird that I knew it had to be good. Or bad. But, honestly, it had to be one or the other. Like fries and a Frostie or salt and caramel, this combination turned out to be an addictive one.
I ran across this recipe for cranberry salsa a few weeks ago on my favorite cooking blog. I grabbed a bag of cranberries the next time I went to the grocery store (or, more accurately, I requested a bag of cranberries the next time I placed a curbside order, because who even shops for groceries these days? I don’t).
Anyway, I requested the cranberries and green onions and a bundle of cilantro with the best intentions of making a platter of this stuff to take to a work event or give to my secret Santa. And then I made creamy chicken taquitos with the cilantro and green onions.
Before I knew it, it was two days before Christmas and I still had a bag of fresh cranberries, which were thankfully still good, in my fridge.
I prepped a batch of this salsa and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge. When I let our eldest, Julia, try a taste, she thought it was much too spicy. Thankfully, once I added the cream cheese layer, she loved it. The cream cheese mellows the spicy layer, giving the result a sweet heat that was appealing to everyone in the house, including children and teenagers.
We are wrapping up the only time of year you’ll be able to find fresh cranberries easily in the grocery store, so if you think you might want to try this recipe, now is your chance. For a party food, it’s fairly low in sugar, and the ruby color would look nice as part of a New Year’s Eve spread.
Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].
SWEET HEAT CRANBERRY DIP
12 ounce bag of washed fresh cranberries
2 jalapenos, stems removed and halved, including seeds
1/2 cup green onions
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 each 8-ounce bricks of cream cheese
Note: If you are serving this just to your family or a small get-together, feel free to use just one block of cream cheese and half the salsa. Save the remaining salsa in the covered bowl in the fridge. The salsa will still taste good if placed over cream cheese, served, and refrigerated for later, but the cranberries will weep red liquid and presentation will not be as neat.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.