Thanksgiving is only two short weeks away, which honestly boggles my mind. The stores are already promoting Black Friday. Ack! I’ve actually never shopped on Black Fridays—well, at least not in the stores. I have shopped online, which is far more convenient. Plus, I can nosh on all the Thanksgiving leftovers while I fill my virtual shopping cart. 🙂
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it’s about food. Lots and lots of food. And it’s less focused on sweets the way Christmas is. I don’t mind sweets, but I am more of a savory girl when given an option. When I fill my plate at Thanksgiving, there are three items that make me super excited: mashed potatoes, stuffing and dinner rolls. Sure, I eat some turkey, but the bird is not the big star of the menu for me. It’s the carbs. 🙂 I’d take another scoop of stuffing (especially if it’s my Mom’s famous stuffing) over dessert. Yeah, I’m weird.
After getting my fill (and then some) of carbs, my next favorite items are the snacks. The things you set out after the meal when you’re watching TV with glazed eyes and patting your overstuffed belly. Granted, snacking should be the furthest thing from your mind, but like a moth to a flame, you find yourself filling a plate full of yummy goodies. Or is it just me?
This is a gorgeous snack to set out. The cranberries pop so brightly against the snow-white cream cheese. This appetizer is a weird yet delicious combination of tart and sweet with a hint of spice. I replaced cilantro with parsley as I am not fan of cilantro – bleech! However, all you cilantro lovers (weirdos!) go right ahead and use it. I admit that I wasn’t sure about this recipe at first but I love it so much. So, so good!
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley (or cilantro), chopped
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- dash salt
- 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
Instructions
- Place cranberries in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. You can also chop cranberries by hand too. Place chopped cranberries in medium bowl.
- Add green onions, parsley, jalapeno pepper, sugar, lemon juice, cumin and salt to bowl. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Spread softened cream cheese on serving platter. If your cranberry mix is juicy, drain before spooning over cream cheese layer.
- Serve immediately with crackers or tortilla chips.
Notes
Best if served immediately. If you need to make it in advance, allow time for the dip to come back up to room temperature, so the cream cheese is spreadable.
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up
Enjoy!
Tanya
That looks so good! I think it’d be great for Christmas too with those colors! I think I’d make the cranberry stuff ahead of time & keep refrigerated. Then I’d put the cream cheese out to warm to room temperature. Just add the cranberry topping at the last minute! Yum! Thanks for sharing this one!!!
It would be perfect for Christmas too, Maggie! I’d make it the same way. The cream cheese needs to be soft so you can spread it on crackers or chips. But it only takes a minute to spread it out on the serving platter and top it with the cranberry mix. I hope you enjoy it!
This is a great way to use cranberries if you don’t normally use it during thanksgiving dinner… Like in my house. lol
My best friend’s mom makes the BEST Mash Potatoes.
Great now my mouth is watering LOL
Mashed potatoes. Drool. I love them. Seriously, I would take a bowl of mashed potatoes over a bowl of ice cream every day!
“but like a moth to a flame” << Love that!!!
I do enjoy cranberries and cream cheese, but I would definitely skip the jalapeno peppers. Just like you are drawn to savory I am drawn to sweets, so I would probably turn this into a cheesecake with Cranberries on top 🙂
It’s so true. I’ll complain about being stuffed (ha!) but then I’ll hover over all the snacks, picking at them. 🙂 I’m generally have a fairly low tolerance for spice, but the jalapeño didn’t bother me. I think because it mascerates in sugar too long to be spicy! But definitely leave it if you’re worried. And yes, this would be good as a real cheesecake too. I might be a savory girl but I enjoy a nice cheesecake! Probably because I never make them. 🙂
There you got again, tormenting me with another fine eat! I’ve done a similar dish but with sun dried tomatoes instead of cranberries. Though I think I’d skip the jalapeno peppers. Love it with Ritz crackers. Hmmm, getting hungry now.
Oh, I bet it would be good with sundered tomatoes. Like I mentioned to Sicorra, the jalapeño peppers didn’t add quite the kick I expected. But they sat in a lot of sugar so they probably lost all their heat. LOL! It was so good on crackers. I still have some left in my fridge and I can’t wait to dig in!
I like Sicorra’s idea…I’ve got sort of a sweet tooth :).
But I also like the Jalapenos so it would be interesting to taste the pepper and cranberries :).
Another yummy recipe Tanya! Hope you’re having a great Sunday!
I know a lot of people have been concerned the jalapeño would make it too spicy, but I didn’t feel it did and I have a low spice tolerance. Because it mascerates in sugar for so long, it really dulls it’s heat. I hope you had a great weekend too, Corina!
I love cranberries, and although I like a little spicy, I might have to omit the jalapenos, too. I wonder if mild banana peppers would work?
Banana peppers might work, Donna. The jalapeños didn’t impart much heat after soaking in sugar but if you’re concerned it would be too spicy, you can leave it out or try substituting a more pepper. If you use the jalapeño just be sure to remove the seeds and membrane – that’s where all the heat is.