By Deirdre Parker Smith

deirdre.smith@salisburypost.com

If you want to take a walk on the wild side, make your own cranberry sauce. It has amazing flavor and improves with age.

You can use the leftovers for your turkey sandwich, next to a hamsteak, on top of a turkey burger or hamburger.

It’s great in the morning with sausage and eggs, or spread on toast or drizzled over vanilla ice cream. Plop it on pork chops after you’ve browned them on both sides, for a savory sauce.

Stir some into yogurt for a tart afternoon treat.

Spread it over warm brie cheese or serve with crackers and a nutty Gruyere or even a rich bleu cheese.

Make it at home and you can control how sweet or tart you want it by adjusting the amount of sugar added.

Cook your cranberries, or whir them up in a blender, raw for a little crunch with your meal.

A cooked cranberry sauce using fresh, whole cranberries has a number of variations.

The basic recipes is 1 (12-oz.) bag fresh or frozen cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water.

The method is to cook the water, sugar and cranberries in a pot until the cranberries burst and the juice thickens, 10-12 minutes. It can be served warm, but is most often chilled for several hours, giving it a chance to thicken even more.

The variations come in the liquid: Use 1 cup of cranberry juice or 2/3 cup of orange juice and 1/3 cup water; use a cranberry juice blend, cranberry-apple, cranberry-pomegranate, etc. for the juice.

If using a juice in place of water, you may want to decrease the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup or 2/3 cup, being sure to taste as it cooks.

Adding grated orange zest or orange and lemon zest gives it a citrus freshness.

Add a peeled, diced apple to the mixture for added texture and flavor.

Stir in sweetened, dried cranberries for a change in texture or flavor.

Add a 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg, or, for some heat, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper.

The sauce will keep several days, refirgerated.

If you’d like something fresh and fast, cranberry relish has texture and tang that compliment the heavier parts of the meal.

The easiest recipe is using 1 (12 oz.) bag fresh or frozen cranberries. If frozen, rinse the cranberries under cool water and let drain for a few moments. Wash a navel orange and cut in eight slices — do not peel. If using another orange, make sure to remove all seeds. Measure up to 1 cup sugar. Using a meat grinder or food processor, chop the cranberries and orange sections, transfer to a glass or ceramic serving bowl and stir in sugar. If the orange is sweet, less than a cup of sugar is needed. Start with a half cup and stir, then taste and add more if needed.

Can you guess the variations on this are very similar to the cooked version?

Consider adding 2 teaspoons of peeled, chopped gingerroot to the processor. the flavor boost will be surprisingly delicious.

Add 1 tart, green apple, such as granny smith, cored and cut in slices.

Add 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, if you like the crunch of nuts.

Martha Stewart uses kumquats and pomegranate seeds, in addition to the cranberries and just half an orange.

Add a bit of cinnamon or allspice when stirring in sugar.

One recipe adds 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier for a boozy version with deep orange flavor.

And if you must have it hot, add a chopped, raw jalepeno. Remove the seeds and ribs to tame the jalepeno.

The raw relish can be frozen and is a great dish to make ahead.