Ocean Spray Announces Two $25,000 Grand Prize Winners of its Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contests

LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Ocean Spray has announced the two winners of the 2007 Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contests who will each receive a $25,000 grand prize. Both consumers and foodservice professionals throughout the country were challenged with developing innovative cranberry creations highlighting the versatility of the little, red wonderberry. Karen Harris of Castle Rock, CO, is the winner of the consumer contest with her "Pan Seared Chicken Breasts with CranCherry(R) Sauce and Bleu Cheese Crumbles" recipe and Jeff Leidy from Centerplate in San Diego, CA, is the foodservice winner with his "Cranberry Mojito" recipe. Leidy will receive his grand prize in the form of a charitable donation. He has chosen Becky's House, a residential program for survivors of domestic violence.

Both of these cranberry enthusiasts will have a little something extra to be thankful for at the Thanksgiving table this year! Harris and Leidy were awarded their grand prize checks yesterday evening by the comical character growers from the Ocean Spray television ads during at a private cocktail reception at Brasserie Ruhlmann in New York's Rockefeller Center. Ocean Spray's "Bogs Across America" Tour, which brings more than 2,000 pounds of cranberries to a free-standing bog in Rockefeller Center, was also debuted yesterday and will be on display through November 3rd.

The consumer contest was open to all home cooks with original cranberry recipes, while the foodservice portion of the contest was open to everyone from notable chefs to recent culinary graduates and bartenders willing to indulge their passion for cooking with cranberries. The contest attracted recipes displaying the fruit's true versatility, including festive cocktails, decadent desserts, chutneys, salads and hearty stews.

"From a savory chicken dish to a fresh cocktail recipe, Karen Harris and Jeff Leidy truly demonstrated the cranberry's year round versatility. With more than 2,000 entries, the team at Ocean Spray was overwhelmed with the talented home cooks and foodservice professionals who submitted recipes to our Ultimate Cranberry Recipe Contests," said Ken Romanzi, Chief Operating Office of Ocean Spray, Domestic.

Based on creativity, use of product, taste, overall appearance and ease of preparation, the recipes submitted were narrowed down to the top four finalists in each category who competed in head-to-head cook offs at De Gustibus Cooking School in New York City. Judges for the consumer portion of the contest included Chef Laurent Tourondel of Brasserie Ruhlmann, TJ Delle Donne from Johnson & Wales and Cindy Taccini, Ocean Spray's Test Kitchen Manager. Judges for the foodservice portion included celebrity chef Ming Tsai, editor of Food & Wine Nick Fauchald and editor of Nation's Restaurant News Bret Thorn.

The winning recipes along with the top four finalist recipes from each category are also featured on http://www.oceanspray.com and http://www.oceansprayfoodservice.com.

    Pan Seared Chicken Breasts with CranCherry(R) Sauce and Bleu Cheese
     Crumbles
    Recipe by: Karen Harris

    Servings: 6
    4 slices hickory smoked bacon, sliced across in 1/2" pieces
    1 small yellow onion, cut into thin rings and sliced into quarters
    6 ounces sliced button mushrooms
    1 large clove garlic, minced
    1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
    1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
    12 ounces red wine, divided
    1 cup cherry flavor Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    6 medium sized organic boneless and skinless chicken breasts
    2 tablespoons steak seasoning (or your own mixture of salt, black pepper,
     red pepper, garlic, paprika)
    1 teaspoon garlic powder
    3 tablespoons oil
    1/2 cup cherry preserves
    2 tablespoons bleu cheese crumbles
    1 tablespoon fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

In a medium size frying pan over medium high heat, sauté the bacon until it starts to brown and the fat starts to render. Add the onion and mushrooms. Cook until the onions are brown around the edges and the mushrooms are slightly wilted, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute before adding 1/2 cup of the wine and the salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently until ready to use. Place the remaining cup of wine into a small bowl with the Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries. Cover and allow to soak until ready to use. Lay chicken breasts in a single layer on a clean surface. In a small cup combine the steak seasoning and garlic. Sprinkle half of the mixture over the breasts, gently pressing spices into the meat, before turning over and sprinkling the remainder on the other side. Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Add oil and heat. When oil is hot add chicken breasts. Cook for approximately 5 7 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn (chicken breasts and spices should be a rich brown and juices should run clear when done). Remove pan from the heat and transfer breasts to a plate. Cover tightly with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes. While breasts are resting, return frying pan to the heat. Stir pan with a spoon to loosen any bits that are still in the pan. Pour in the wine and the soaked Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries. Allow the mixture to heat up to a boil, stirring frequently; allow it to reduce by about 1/3 its original volume. Whisk in the cherry preserves, reduce heat to low. Place equal amounts of the mushroom mixture on 6 warm plates. Top with a chicken breast and then a generous amount of the CranCherry(R) sauce poured over the top. Sprinkle with the bleu cheese crumbles and parsley. Serve immediately.

    Cranberry Mojito
    Recipe by: Jeff Leidy
    Company: Centerplate

    Servings: 1
    4 cubes (about 3/4 ounce) brown sugar cubes
    10 mint leaves (about 1/4 ounce)
    1/2 ounce Ocean Spray(R) Craisins(R) Sweetened Dried Cranberries
    1 lime (juice only)
    6 ounces Ocean Spray(R) Cranberry Juice Cocktail
    2 cups cubed ice
    1 sugar cane swizzle stick (to garnish)
    1 lime wedge (to garnish)
    1 mint sprig (to garnish)

    1 20 ounce tall glass
    1 bar tumbler
    1 muddling stick

Place sugar cubes, mint leaves, lime juice and sweetened dried cranberries in bar tumbler and begin to crush and blend ingredients. Blend until sweetened dried cranberries and mint are minced; sugar will be dissolved. Add ice and cranberry juice. Mix well and pour into a 20 ounce tall glass. Garnish with lime wedge, swizzle stick and mint sprig, and you are ready to enjoy.

Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 650 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and other parts of Canada as well as more than 50 Florida grapefruit growers. Ocean Spray was formed 75 years ago by three cranberry growers from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Florida grapefruit growers joined the Cooperative in 1976. Ocean Spray is North America's leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the best-selling brand name in the canned and bottled juice category since 1981. Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2006 sales of roughly $1.5 billion.