I remember so vividly being in my Grandmother’s kitchen, seeing raisins soaking in a saucepan on the back burner; she was making her usual accompaniment to ham: raisin sauce. This unique sweet sauce countered the saltiness of our annual Easter ham; I could never seem to get enough of it. Inasmuch as I love to cook—and for as much as I love this sauce—you would think I would make this stuff all the time, but for some reason I never did. I always left it up to my Grandma and later, my mom.
As I was preparing a batch for our COVID Easter meal for three, I questioned why this was only the second time ever that I had made it myself? One reason is that my mother typically hosts Easter: the sauce is always simmering away on the stove by the time we arrive. The other reason is that for many years I was a vegetarian and the only thing I/we ever paired this sauce with was ham: no ham = no raisin sauce. I was determined to find out what else goes well with the sauce that I could—and do—eat by the spoonful.
What pairs well with raisins? And—for that matter—grapes? (By the time you soak and cook these dried wrinkly morsels, they’re about as plump and juicy as their former selves). Meat aside, there are plenty of vegetarian partnerships that I wish I had discovered years ago: sweet potatoes, roasted/sautéed carrots, Brussels sprouts, plantains…and CHEESE all go well with raisins.
This made me think back to the cheese boards we used to serve at our dinner parties during our pre-kid days, and more recently, the charcuterie boards that I love creating—and devouring—at a few local restaurants here in St. Pete. A charcuterie board is merely a combination—usually create your own—of cured meats, cheeses, jams/jellies/compotes, nuts, honey, pickles, veggies, dried fruits, mustards, crackers, olives and the like, presented on, well, a board. It is finger food in is finest, but more excitedly, it is an experiment in flavor-paring and a fun way to spend time with friends and family. But that is a post for another time…
My digression prompted an aha moment: Grandma’s raisin sauce can ingeniously top a soft, runny cheese like Brie to complement a cheese board—or simply devour as a midday snack! I added diced, dried apricots and chopped pecans to the simmering batch of sauce; the success of these flavors with Brie was indicative of its versatility with any cheese that you prefer. Sliced and smeared on a cracker or combined with a slice of prosciutto or a few salty almonds make for a pretty amazing bite.
I wish I had known years ago how versatile my grandmother’s famous Easter sauce is: raisins aren’t just for GORP and Ants on a Log anymore! Moving forward, I foresee myself making this on more occasions than Easter and pairing it with many other things she may have never even thought of. Sometimes it takes an old tradition to help create new ones; I can’t wait to see what inspiration I get from the next recipe in Grandma’s recipe box…
GRANDMA SCHUSTER’S RAISIN SAUCE – (RAISIN COMPOTE)
This sauce pairs well with meats such as ham, pork or chicken and gives a sweet burst of flavor to sweet potatoes, sauteed carrots or Brussels sprouts.
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP cornstarch mixed with 1 TBSP cold water until dissolved to make a slurry
In a small saucepan, soak raisins in 2 cups of water. Turn on heat and simmer for for approximately 30 minutes, or until raisins are soft. When soft, add sugar to the pot and stir to dissolve. Allow to boil for 10-15 minutes. Add lemon juice and butter. When mixture returns to boiling, add cornstarch slurry and stir to combine. Allow to cook for a few minutes until thickened. (If mixture becomes too thick, add 1 TBSP of water and stir to achieve desired consistency—should be like a thin gravy).
Makes 2 cups.
BRIE WITH RAISIN COMPOTE
Use this compote to pair with any cheese, it doesn’t have to be a soft cheese like Brie. Don’t like Brie? My favorite substitution is Delice de Bourgogne—a French triple cream that doesn’t have that Brie bite.
1 batch raisin sauce (see recipe above)
1/4 cup dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 wheel of soft-ripened cheese, such as Brie; or other hard cheese, sliced
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake Brie or other soft cheese for 10-15 minutes until oozing (soft when touched in the center). While cheese is baking, prepare sauce. If not using soft-ripened cheese, do not heat, slice cheese and prepare sauce to serve alongside chosen cheese/s.
If sauce is still warm from initial preparation, add apricots and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in pecans just before serving.
If sauce was refrigerated from previous use, reheat over low heat until warmed and smooth; add apricots and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in pecans just before serving.
Top on baked cheese or serve alongside sliced cheese. Serve with crackers or toast points on charcuterie board or on its own.
Serves up to 6, depending on size of cheese wheel.
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