I’m all about taking classic holiday traditions and giving them a refresh. Today I’m sharing my mom’s cranberry salsa recipe. It’s the perfect remake of traditional cranberry sauce—it’s sweet and savory all in one bite and equally perfect as an appetizer as it is on top of turkey.

Everyone loves Thanksgiving and Christmas staples like sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie but every year I like to do a few classic dishes with a twist (hello pumpkin flan!). Several years ago my mom started making this cranberry salsa as a holiday appetizer and now it’s a staple in our family holiday dinners. You can serve it with your favorite crudités, mine being Harvest Snaps! Not only are they perfect for dipping the bright green color makes this snack oh-so-festive.

Watch the video below to see how to make fresh cranberry salsa!

Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

1 – 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries
½ cup sugar
2 limes, juiced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 large jalapeño pepper seeded and finely diced
2 scallions (white & green parts) finely chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
Lightly Salted Harvest Snaps

Directions

1. Wash and dry all the produce. Place the cranberries in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until cranberries begin to float to the surface and pop. Drain the berries in a fine mesh strainer.
2. In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the sugar and lime juice. Add the drained cranberries, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño and scallions. Season with salt & pepper and let cool for 30 minutes. Serve with Harvest Snaps and enjoy! Hand wash the trays when you’re done using them.

Notes

Since oil from your fingers will make the paint pens not stick, I recommend wiping them down each side with a clean cotton rag before drawing on them. And if you mess up when drawing, no need to worry, just wipe away the paint with nail polish remover before it dries. Just be sure the outside surface is completely dry before drawing on it again.

You can get a head start on your holiday cooking by making this salsa a day ahead. In fact, the flavors have time to mesh and get extra tasty when it’s made ahead. Just refrigerate in an air-tight container after the salsa cools. It can be served at room temperature or cold, whichever you prefer (both ways are delicious).

Since a holiday meal is a good reason to use fancy dishes, I’ve created my own fun serving containers that are perfect for this salsa and snap combo. I used paint markers to doodle on clear acrylic trays to create my own holiday-ready serving pieces.

DIY Patterned Acrylic Food Trays

Supplies

Small and large square acrylic trays
permanent paint markers

Directions

1. Hand wash each tray in warm water and dry completely. Use the paint markers to doodle on the outside of each tray. Allow each side to dry before rotating it and drawing on another side.
2. Allow the paint to dry completely before using, this only takes about 5-10 minutes. Then they are ready to be used at your holiday party!

These acrylic serving dishes (and this recipe) are definitely all-occiason goods and can be used well after the holidays. I also think the trays would be fun on a dresser or desk for storing jewelry, paper clips and more.

What traditional holiday foods do you like to refresh? Leave a comment and let me know!

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