Cranberry Topping

Once upon a time, when I was quite young, we went to my grandmother's house for a meal and had strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I enjoyed the cheesecake a lot, but on the way home, or shortly thereafter, I was violently ill. Even though logic tells me that the cheesecake had nothing to do with my illness, I don't think I've had strawberry cheesecake again to this day.

Why am I telling this lovely story after a picture of beautiful berries and other yummy things? You guessed it. I'm sure this is a fabulous sauce and that you should make it. But I will not ever be able to look at it again.

As you see, I made it with currants, which are in season and beautiful right now. I have a bag of cranberries languishing in my freezer, but I just couldn't bring myself to use them when there were currants.

I hope to give this another try when I've convinced myself that it's safe--maybe with cranberries then. But in the meantime, I'm posting the recipe in hopes that you'll have better luck with it.

So here's the recipe. Enjoy it in good health.

Cranberry Topping

1/2 c. (4 oz.) butter

1 c. (7 oz.) light brown sugar

3 c. (12 oz.) cranberries, washed

1/2 c. (4 oz.) Grand Marnier (I used half Cointreau and half Cognac)

1/2 c. (4 oz.) cream

Heat the butter and brown sugar in a 2-quart saucepan (that has a cover) over medium heat until the butter and sugar melt. Add the cranberries and booze; cover and cook until the mixture comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to just a simmer and cook until the berries start to pop. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Remove from the heat and let cool. Serve warm over ice cream or something else bland and creamy--I had it with rice pudding.