crantastic!

well now that we all have thanksgiving on the brain, i thought i'd share a recipe i made last year from food network magazine that i was really happy with, and has been requested again! it's a cranberry pomegranate terrine (click here for recipe on a card), and is a really nice alternative to your average cranberry sauce.

as you can see above, it's very pretty and festive looking, and as you can see below, mine was slightly less than perfect (was my refrigerator slanted??). my goal for making it this year is to look more like above than below.

here is the recipe as written. i added some pomegranate seeds as garnish because i think they're pretty:

ingredients
1 8-ounce bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups pure pomegranate juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole black peppercorns
2 large strips orange peel, white pith removed, plus strips of zest for garnish
salt
3 packets (6 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

directions
pulse the cranberries and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until chunky and juicy, about 8 times. set aside for 20 minutes to macerate.

meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice, the cinnamon stick, peppercorns, orange peel and a pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium heat; simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

remove from the heat; let steep for 20 minutes. discard the cinnamon, peppercorns and orange peel.

place the remaining 1/2 cup pomegranate juice and 1/4 cup cold water in a bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. set aside without stirring until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes.

add the steeped pomegranate juice to the gelatin mixture and stir until the gelatin dissolves.

spread a thin layer of the cranberry mixture in a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; pour in enough of the pomegranate-gelatin mixture to cover (about 3/4 cup). refrigerate until just beginning to set, about 30 minutes.

meanwhile, stir the remaining cranberries into the remaining gelatin mixture and set aside, unrefrigerated. once the bottom layer is set, pour in the remaining gelatin mixture and refrigerate until completely set, at least 2 hours or overnight.

to serve, run a knife around the edges of the pan and invert the terrine onto a platter. (set the pan in warm water to soften the gelatin if necessary.) garnish with the orange zest.

this is cranberry sauce you won't forget in the refrigerator.

top photo from www.foodnetwork.com