Valentine's Day Dessert Soup

If you had foresight enough back in November to stash away a bag or two of cranberries in your freezer, you have most of what you need to make this light Valentine's Day dessert.  Called kissel, this tart and tasty Russian fruit soup is the loveliest shade of red.

See?
 
Along with the cranberries, it also helps if you have one of these:

Not sure what the official name of this is.  A food mill?  It's the same perforated cone-like thing I use when making tomato juice from fresh tomatoes, or grape juice from grapes.  Very low-tech, it whooshes out the unwanted skins as you circle the wooden mallet round and round.  Great fun.  Kahuna's grandma gave me this one years ago, after teaching me to make tomato juice.

If you've got your cranberries and your perforated upside down dunce cap, proceed.  And if you don't?  Type "kissel dessert" into your handy dandy search engine and I'm pretty sure you'll find instructions for making this from other kinds of fruit. 

The recipe, by the way, comes from A Christmas Companion by Maria Robbins and Jim Charlton, who suggest its red color makes it "particularly appealing at Christmastime."  And also for Valentine's Day, I might add.

CRANBERRY KISSEL
1 lb. cranberries
2 c. water
1 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. orange juice
Heavy cream for swirling, if desired

In large saucepan, heat the cranberries, water, and sugar.  Bring to a gentle boil and, stirring occasionally, cook for about 15 minutes, until cranberries pop.  Puree through a food mill.  Return puree to the pan.  In small bowl, mix together cornstarch and orange juice; add to puree and cook over low heat, stirring, for about five minutes, until it gets thick.  Serve chilled with heavy cream swirled throughout.  Serves 6 - 8.

What are you serving for Valentine's Day?