Finish the sentence “As American as… ”
What came to mind? Baseball? The sport is said to have evolved from an English children’s game. Besides, this is a food story.
Apple pie is not a bad guess, although Richard II might have words with you. The treat dates back at least to his reign in England, which was before Europeans discovered the New World. Hot dogs or hamburgers? You know better.
Fortunately, there is a response that is both accurate and suits the season: “Turkey and cranberries are both North American,” observes David Hardie, chef at Elroy’s Fine Foods in Monterey.
Hardie is a fan of cranberries. For the specialty grocery’s take home “Heatable Eatable” Thanksgiving menu, he created a raw cranberry relish with orange – zest and all. But he argues that the tart berries can be more than just a holiday dressing.
“I would say they are more versatile than people think,” the chef observes. “I’ve done so many things with them.”
Naomi Coquillon of the Library of Congress suggests that the cranberry is part of the American story. It was an important plant for the Indigenous people, both as food, medicine and for making dyes. English settlers were quick to adapt to the cranberry, as did immigrants from other areas. It became part of holiday tradition, but was also harvested by migrant laborers (including child labor) packed into unsanitary housing. As Americans became more health-conscious, the importance of cranberries grew even more.
Despite its culinary versatility, using the cranberry as a dressing was a common practice early on. John Josselyn traveled the New World and wrote of what he found in the 1672 travelogue New England’s Rarities Discovered in Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, and Plants of That Country. He noted that “The Indians and English use [cranberries] much, boyling them with sugar for sauce to eat with their meat; and it is a delicate sauce, especially for roasted mutton; Some make tarts with them as with goose berries.” By 1796, Amelia Simmons associated cranberry sauce with turkey in her book American Cookery.
“When most people think of cranberries, they immediately picture traditional cranberry sauce or a sweet dessert,” says Alvin Quinol, chef de cuisine at Alvarado Street Brewery & Bistro in Carmel. He admits that the temperamental flavors – tart and bitter – can be difficult to work with. The challenge is to find balance. “Certain oily fish, like salmon, can compete with their sharpness, while some red meats may clash with their distinctive profile,” he adds.
Hardie agrees, noting that the trick is to respect those tones. Ginger can deflect some of the bite with a tingle of spice. Orange zest brings a calmer depth to the bitter streak. Floral notes work well. And there’s always the taming influence of sugar.
We asked some local chefs and a bartender for some thoughts on to to put cranberries to good use after Thanksgiving – beyond as a turkey sandwich topping. The recipes featured here represent a salad, a bread, an entree, a dessert and a cocktail – a complete cranberry-themed meal.
Quinol’s chopped harvest salad with Howzit cranberry vinaigrette brings Alvarado Street’s medal-winning sour ale together with the equally fruity and brash berries.
“Pairing beer with cranberries is not a combination that often comes to mind, yet the two complement each other remarkably well,” he explains. The vinaigrette, he adds, “can be tossed with roasted carrots for a bright, seasonal side, or drizzled over a grilled pork chop and then finished with toasted almonds for added texture and depth.”
There are leftover cranberries in many households in the days following Thanksgiving. While some people may be wary of them, the chefs in the following pages embrace their versatility. After all, Chef Hardie says, “They don’t get as much credit as they should.”
Here are their suggestions.
CHOPPED HARVEST SALAD WITH HOWZIT CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Alvin Quinol, Alvarado Street Brewery & Bistro
Salad Ingredients
Chopped kale, roasted butternut squash, roasted beets, apples, grapes, toasted pepitas, goat cheese, brown butter yogurt, Howzit cranberry vinaigrette (see below)
Howzit Cranberry Vinaigrette
Yield: 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups Howzit beer (reduced to 1 cup)
1 cup cranberry sauce or rehydrated dried cranberries or fresh cranberries
1/2 cup Champagne vinegar
1/4 cup honey
3 cups blended oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
Pour Howzit beer into a small sauce pot. On medium heat, reduce beer to 1 cup. Stir often, it can overflow.
Once the beer is reduced, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
Once cooled, put all ingredients, except the oil, into a blender.
Turn on the blender to medium speed. Let the ingredients blend for 30 seconds.
In a steady stream, slowly pour the oil into the blender while it’s on, to emulsify. Once all the oil has been poured, the consistency should be a creamy vinaigrette.
Taste. Adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour into an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator. Shelf life is one week. Use to dress other salads, as well.
CRANBERRY SCONES
Angela Tamura, Peppoli
Chef Angela Tamura of the Michelin-recommended restaurant Peppoli in Pebble Beach offers cranberry scones. It is baking without some of the demands of that craft.
“The recipe comes together quickly,” Tamura says. “They are light and fluffy on the inside and nice and crusty on the outside. They are fantastic with clotted cream and raspberry jam with a spot of tea.”
Ingredients
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, very cold
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon orange zest, grated
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Soak the dried cranberries in orange juice and let steep for 30 minutes.
Cut the butter into small pieces and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Drain the juice from the cranberries.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the sugar and salt.
Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and cut in using two butter knives or a pastry cutter. The butter pieces should be coated with the flour and be slightly smaller than peas.
Mix in the drained cranberries and orange zest. Add the buttermilk all at once and mix with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. Finish mixing by hand until a rough dough forms being careful not to overmix.
Dust your work surface with a bit of flour and lay out the scone mix, forming into a rectangle roughly 16 inches long by 4 inches wide. Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cut into 12 triangles and place on a half sheet tray with parchment or a silicon baking mat.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating half way through, until golden brown.
CRANBERRY CRISP SUNDAE
Michelle Lee, C Restaurant + Bar
Michelle Lee, sous chef at C Restaurant + Bar on Cannery Row in Monterey, finds the versatility of cranberries in their ability to bring a zing to both savory and sweet. Her dessert is a colorful cranberry crisp sundae.
“I always look for contrast in a dish, with temperature and texture,” she says. “This is creamy and crunchy and chewy, cold and warm.”
Cranberry Compote
Ingredients
4 cups (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1- to 3-inch strip of orange peel, removed with a peeler
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
Directions
Rinse and drain the cranberries. Combine everything in a pot and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped. Remove the cinnamon stick and orange peel.
Oatmeal Streusel
Ingredients
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup oats
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cinnamon
1/3 cup (1 1/4 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
Directions
Combine ingredients in a mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix until bits of butter are the size of peas. (Can be done by hand if a mixer is not available.) Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, mixing and breaking up streusel with a whisk during the baking process to ensure even cooking. Cool and set aside.
Assembly
Spoon cranberry compote into the bottom of a sundae bowl and top with a layer of streusel. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Repeat. Optional: garnish with a few bits of sliced candied ginger.
ROAST QUAIL WITH OYSTER STUFFING AND CRANBERRY-WHISKEY SAUCE
Philip Wojtowicz, Oystertown
Chef Philip Wojtowicz of Oystertown in Monterey – voted by Weekly readers as Best New Restaurant of 2025 – provides the entree in our cranberry-inspired recipe list. Its steps will generously reward the home cook. However, the team at Oystertown has also promised to add it to the menu as a short-term special for those readers who don’t want to try this at home.
Quail Marinade
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
1 cup orange juice
1 white onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
3-4 large garlic cloves, smashed
Salt and pepper to taste
8 quail (semi-boneless)
Directions
Combine cranberry juice, orange juice, onion, carrot, garlic, salt and pepper. Add quail and marinate overnight.
Oystertown Oyster Stuffing
Ingredients
2 cups milk bread cubes (the Oystertown team suggests Ad Astra milk bread)
16 large Pacific oysters, blanched, then chopped
1 cup white button mushrooms, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/2 white onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 tablespoons rosemary
4 tablespoons sage
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken stock
8 ounces unsalted butter
2 eggs
Directions
Warm chicken stock.
In a separate pan, sweat carrot, onion, celery, rosemary and sage in the butter. Add mushrooms and oysters; cook briefly. Pour hot stock over bread cubes. Mix in the sautéed vegetables and oysters. Allow to cool enough to mix in eggs. Cool.
Stuff each marinated quail with the cooled stuffing. Cross legs and tie the legs.
Roasting the Quail
Sear stuffed quail in a hot pan until golden brown. Roast at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until medium-rare.
Cranberry-Whiskey Sauce
Ingredients
1 pound fresh cranberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup whiskey (Wojtowicz prefers Uncle Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey)
1/2 white onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons minced garlic
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup brown sugar
10 ounces unsalted butter
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Sweat onion and garlic in butter. Add cranberries and brown sugar; caramelize. Deglaze with whiskey; reduce. Add orange juice; reduce. Add stock; simmer and reduce to a thick sauce. Add toasted walnuts, orange zest and parsley. Adjust seasoning.
Plate
Generously spoon cranberry-whiskey sauce onto the plate. Place roasted quail on top and garnish with herbs. The Weekly’s addition: Feel very accomplished, then eat.
FOREST FRUIT
Elise Cricchio, Pearl Hour
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Mint geranium leaf
Ice: Big cube
Ingredients:
1 ounce St. George Terroir gin
½ ounce Mommenpop Meyer Lemonpop apertif
1/4 ounce Bruto Americano
1/4 ounce Sirene Rosso
Big bar spoon of cranberry compote
Directions:
Quick stir (20-30 times) with ice in a mixing glass. Double strain. Squeeze orange peel over drink then toss. Garnish.