Cranberry Salsa with Cream Cheese Dip

This dip is festive looking and delicious. I got this one from my cousin Monica's food blog thequeensofthekitchen.blogspot.com . Monica is a fellow lover of food and I love trying the recipes she and her friends post. This one seemed unique and delicious so I decided to give it a try and I'm so glad I did!

Cranberry Salsa Dip with Cream Cheese 
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained (6 oz.)
1/8 cup minced green onions
1 small jalapeno chile pepper, cored, seeded and minced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/8 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 tablespoons finely-grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
Cranberries and/or cilantro sprigs for garnish

1. Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised). Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped but not mushy.

2. Place crushed cranberries in a bowl; mix together with minced green onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger, and lemon juice.

 (In case you've never seen it, this is fresh ginger. You can find it in the produce section by the herbs. Most pieces were more gnarly than this one, but I got the most "normal" looking one because I figured it would be easier to peel. Peel it then grate it with a fine grater. I found that the most inner part was too fibrous to grate. I ended up using about half of this to get my 1 Tbs. this recipe called for.)

3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors develop (salsa will be too sharp and tart to begin with).

4. On a serving plate, place cream cheese; cover with the dip. Garnish, if desired, and served with crackers.

 This one got rave reviews. It was both beautiful and delicious!