The three:

1) Cranberry Grape Compote

1 lb cranberries, 1 lb grape, salt, about 1/4 cup honey

I made this (and made up the recipe) and therefore am able to talk shit about it. The other two versions we had were both a little more out there, so I intended this to be the basic version, and it was. But it could have used a bit more oomph, to be sure. Citrus perhaps? While good, and pleasingly simple, I think it would have been a crowd pleaser for less adventurous palates (or kids) which we thankfully had none of at dinner.

2) Vanilla Cardamom Cranberry Sauce

Cooked, with a vanilla bean, a healthy pinch of cardamom, 1lb of cranberries and considerably less than 1/2 cup of sugar.

Fuck, that was good. If my cranberry grape was the awkward adolescent, this one was the refined, slightly eccentric but always elegant member of the family. I cannot overexaggerate the importance of the actual vanilla bean in the mix. It all worked perfectly and was subtle, unexpected, and the perfect blend of sweet and tangy.

3) Raw Cranberry Ginger Relish

I can’t find the recipe, but it went something like this: Chopped, raw cranberries, a tangerine and its zest, lots of crystallized ginger and sugar

Raw! I had very little to do with the making of this one (Eli and Brittany, tips?), but I think it was everyone’s favorite. Tangy, sweet, crunchy, spicy, I can’t really think of a personification, it was just awesome.