Traditions with a twist: Family favorites change with the times

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - The best holiday meal planning begins with a time-tested formula: Make the same recipes as last year but add new touches to suit changing tastes.

Take cranberry relish. The table looks boring without Grandma's crystal bowl filled with crimson berries. For many years, we filled it with a variation of a chopped raw cranberry and orange relish _ sometimes adding apples, sometimes ripe pears.

A few years ago, our daughter, Claire, decided to really change things up. She began with a cooked cranberry sauce recipe from "Joy of Cooking" and added her own touches _ vanilla extract one year, chopped pecans another. Her proudest moment: Her version with fresh clementine sections and crystallized ginger. Now she makes double batches so the leftovers can be divided for the holiday doggie bags we send home with the relatives.

Dessert offers another area for renovations on family traditions. Simple pumpkin pie might sport a praline edge and apple pie a handful of dried cherries. Lemon meringue pie _ our favorite _ rarely sees a change. When our friend Sally introduced us to lemon souffle pie, hearts soared. This recipe is easy to make and its light, tangy filling is truly welcome after a big holiday meal.

This year the lemon filling will sport a splash of fresh lime juice. Whipped egg whites folded into the tart citrus mixture make this pie rise (and fall) like a souffle with a very soft, airy center. Bake the pie on the day you plan to serve it for the lightest texture. Or, serve it cold (as my son prefers) when the center firms a bit like pudding. Gild the lily with a dollop of whipped cream and a quick fruit sauce made from frozen mixed berries.

As for next year _ perhaps a bit of aromatic Meyer lemon juice in the pie and some pomegranate in the cranberry sauce. Cooking, tweaking, tasting, perfecting _ they're holiday traditions at our house.

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CRANBERRY CLEMENTINE SAUCE

Prep: 25 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Cool: Overnight

Makes: About 6 cups

Use the cutup fresh pineapple found at supermarket salad bars to help minimize the kitchen prep.

8 seedless clementines, peeled

1 tablespoon clementine zest

2 bags (12 ounces each) fresh cranberries, rinsed

4 cups diced fresh pineapple

4 cups sugar

˝ cup unfiltered apple cider

Ľ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Ľ teaspoon each, ground: cloves, allspice

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Separate the sections of the clementines. Cut the sections in half; set aside.

2. Mix the zest with the remaining ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium-high heat; cover. Cook without stirring until sugar crystals on the side of the pan dissolve, about 5 minutes.

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3. Uncover pan; boil gently, stirring often, until thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the reserved clementine sections. Pour into a bowl. Refrigerate, covered, overnight or up to 1 week. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition information

Per Ľ cup serving: 173 calories, 1 percent of calories from fat, 0.1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 43 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 14 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

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VERY LEMON-LIME SOUFFLE PIE

Prep: 45 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Makes: 10 servings

If you choose to use refrigerated pie dough for the crust you will need to roll it a bit to make it large enough to fit a 10-inch pie pan. Fit the crust into the pan, flute the edge and then line the bottom with heavy foil. Bake at 425 degrees until barely golden, 10-15 minutes. Cool before filling.

8 eggs, separated

1 cup granulated sugar

˝ cup fresh lemon juice

Ľ cup fresh lime juice or fresh Meyer lemon juice

Zest from 1 lemon

1/8 teaspoon lemon extract

1 baked pie crust for 10-inch pie, cooled completely

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for berries, optional

1 bag (10-12 ounces) frozen mixed berries (no added sugar), thawed, optional

1 carton (8 ounces) whipping cream, whipped, optional

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put the egg yolks, ˝ cup of the granulated sugar and the lemon and lime juices in a medium-size metal bowl; set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (use a double boiler if you have it). Cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon (180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), about 10 minutes. (Do not let mixture boil or the yolks will curdle.) Remove the bowl from the hot water; pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Stir in the lemon rind and extract; cool.

2. Beat the egg whites with the remaining ˝ cup of the granulated sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Stir a spoonful of the beaten whites into the lemon-yolk mixture to lighten it. Then, spoon the lemon-yolk mixture back into the remaining whites; fold gently just to mix.

3. Spoon the mixture into the baked pie crust; sprinkle generously with confectioners' sugar. Bake the pie, rotating if necessary for even browning, until the top rises and browns nicely, 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire rack. The top will crack like a souffle and deflate somewhat.

4. Serve the pie at room temperature with an extra dusting of confectioners' sugar. Mix the berries with confectioners' sugar to taste (usually 1 to 2 tablespoons). Serve the pie with a spoonful of the berries and a dollop of the whipped cream.

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Nutrition information

Per serving: 259 calories, 41 percent of calories from fat, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 169 mg cholesterol, 34 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 168 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

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