Cranberry Champagne Granita Recipes

Steps:

• Combine 4 cups cranberries and next 4 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 30 minutes. Working in batches, puree mixture in processor. Strain puree into large bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Pour strained puree into 15x10x2-inch dish. Freeze 45 minutes. Using fork, stir to blend in any frozen portions. Freeze until granita has uniform slushy consistency, stirring every 45 minutes to incorporate frozen portions, about 5 hours. Cover and keep frozen up to 1 day.
• Using fork tines, scrape granita, forming icy flakes. Spoon into goblets. Garnish with cranberries and mint sprigs.

Steps:

• In a chilled Champagne flute add cranberry juice and a squeeze of lime. Top off the glass with Champagne. Garnish with 3 or 4 cranberries.

Steps:

• Whisk the cranberry juice and sugar in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves. Pour the cranberry mixture into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cool completely. Whisk in the lime juice and vodka. Freeze until the granita becomes slushy, about 2 hours. Using fork, stir to blend. Continue freezing the granita until frozen, stirring every hour to form crystals, at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Divide the granita among 6 dessert glasses. Garnish with fresh cranberries, if desired, and serve.

Steps:

• Place the water, cranberries and sugar into a small saucepan, set over medium-high heat and simmer until the berries begin to pop, approximately 7 minutes. Remove from the heat. Puree with a stick blender, blender or food processor, for 1 minute. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer directly into a metal 13 by 9-inch pan. Do not press on the skins. Simply allow the juice to drip through the strainer. Add the zest and stir to combine. Place in the freezer until set, at least 6 hours and up to overnight. Once frozen, scrape the mixture with a fork to create a shaved ice texture. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and place in the refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
• Using the finest grater you have, lightly scrape the skin of 1 lemon, removing only the top surface of the peel. Squeeze out the juice and remove the seeds from both lemons.
• Open the Champagne or sparkling wine, and pour it into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch pan. Mix in the simple syrup, lemon juice, and grated zest. Place mixture into the freezer. Check after 30 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, break up any ice formed on the sides and stir into the rest of the liquid. Continue to freeze and repeat this procedure every hour for at least 3 hours. Before serving, fluff the granita by "chopping" up any clumps with the spoon or gently whisking the frozen mixture. Spoon into small glasses or cups and serve.

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Combine sugar and 2 1/2 cups water in medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Transfer to a large bowl set over the ice bath, and cool completely.
• Add champagne to sugar, and stir to combine. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch pan, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Stir with tines of a fork, scraping up icy parts. Return to freezer, and stir every 20 minutes until mixture is frozen and texture is similar to shaved ice. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until sugar dissolves and the foaming just starts to subside (some foaming will help the granita stay light and airy as it freezes).
• Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
• Freeze on the floor of the freezer for about 2 hours, stirring with a fork every 20 minutes.
• When the granita is frozen but soft, smooth out the crystals and cover the pan with plastic wrap.
• Tightly sealed, the granita can stay in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
• Serve by scraping up the ice crystals with a fork and mounding them in cups, bowls, or glasses.

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients to a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves.
• Decrease heat and simmer until the berries have softened, about 10 minutes.
• Cover and cool off the heat for 30 minutes.
• Pour the contents of the pan into a large blender; puree until smooth.
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a 13x9 inch baking pan, pushing the solids against the mesh with the back of a wooden spoon.
• Freeze the mixture in the pan on the floor of the freezer for about 3 hours, stirring about every 20 minutes with a fork to break up the ice crystals and distribute them evenly throughout the pan.
• After the mixture has frozen but is not yet fully firm, cover it tightly with plastic wrap; the granita will keep this way for up to 3 weeks.
• Scrape the surface of the granita with a fork to produces lots of shaved ice crystals, scoop these into individual cups or glasses for serving.
• *Spiced Cranberry Granita: add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ t. ground mace, and ¼ t. grated nutmeg to the pan before you set the mixture aside to cool for 20 minutes; proceed as directed.