For many of us, our first introduction to cranberries was that crimson cylinder of jellied cranberry sauce on the Thanksgiving table, you remember the stuff. My family didn't even pretend that it wasn't canned, simply plopping it into a bowl, the ridges from the can still on display for all at the table to see.

I used to love that stuff, but I always wanted to know why it was called cranberry sauce. It sure wasn't saucy. It was more Jello-like, right?

Many of us grew up eating a lot of canned foods, including that gelatinous red mass, but have since moved away from such convenience foods and are now focusing on fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Cranberries aren't grown on Long Island but with Thanksgiving just around the corner, every grocery store and supermarket has fresh ones.

Roasted Cranberry Sauce

But what to do with them? There are hundreds of cranberry sauce recipes around, maybe thousands, but with Turkey Day fast approaching my wife and I wanted to do something a bit different. We found these killer recipes from Sauveur that we've tried and will be having again later this month.

Roasted Cranberry Sauce
Makes two cups

The relish featured here employs a novel technique. Cranberries are roasted with orange peel, jalapeño, and spices until their skins burst, to concentrate their flavor and draw out their sweetness and juices then they're tossed with orange juice and port.

1 orange
1 lb. fresh or thawed cranberries
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
4 green cardamom pods, smashed
4 whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
1 small jalapeño, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 1⁄;2 tbsp. port

 • Heat oven to 450°. Using a peeler, remove peel from the orange, taking off as little of the white pith as possible. Cut peel into very thin strips about one and a half inches long. Squeeze juice from the orange; strain and reserve one tbsp. juice.

 • In a bowl, combine peel, cranberries, sugar, olive oil, salt, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon, and jalapeños. Toss and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roast until cranberries begin to burst and release their juices, about 15 minutes.

 • Transfer cranberry mixture to a bowl; stir in reserved orange juice and port. Let sit for at least one hour so that the flavors meld. Remove and discard cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon before serving.

Whole Grain Cranberry-Apple Scones

Cranberries aren't just for sauce and for Thanksgiving however - they are too tart for most dessert preparations, but they are delicious in breakfast breads - like these scones, where the addition of apples brings balancing sweetness.

Whole Grain Cranberry-Apple Scones
Makes 12 Scones

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced dried apples
1/2 cup chilled buttermilk plus more for glaze
1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1 large egg
Coarse sugar crystals

 • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine first eight ingredients in large bowl; whisk to blend. Using back of fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cranberries and apples and toss to distribute evenly. Whisk one-half cup buttermilk, juice concentrate, and egg to blend in small bowl. Gradually add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients, tossing until evenly moistened.

 • Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Gently knead two or three turns to bind. Divide dough in half. Pat out each half to six-inch-diameter, three-quarter inch-thick round. Cut each round into six wedges. Arrange scones on prepared sheet, spacing at least one inch apart. Brush scones with buttermilk to glaze, then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

 • Bake scones until puffed and brown and tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Serve warm.