What is sassamanash? I’ll give you some hints…it’s commonly seen around Thanksgiving…it usually comes out of a can…tends to maintain that can shape…and it’s red.

Yep, Sassamanash is one of the Native American terms for cranberry…the can-shaped food that seems to get slumped into the Thanksgiving spread almost as an afterthought. And that’s such a shame because there are so many different ways to use cranberries in your Thanksgiving feast aside from the simple cranberry sauce.

For example, we’ll be serving cranberry salsa with our Thanskgiving feast. It’s amazing some of the things you can do with cranberries to give your turkey day meal a little extra zing:

Cranberry Gorgonzola Appetizer Tarts
Cranberry Cocktail Meatballs
Wild Rice and Cranberry Stuffing
Cranberry, Sausage, and Sourdough Stuffing
Cranberry Glazed Beets
Crunchy Cranberry Slaw
Baked Cranberry Squash
Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
Cranberry Bread Pudding
Apricot Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

And that’s just a quick sample of some of the interesting cranberry recipes out there, so if you feel like adding a little extra something to your feast this holiday season, forgo the chilled can of cranberry sauce plopped into a serving dish and try something new with cranberries.