Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Cranberry Sauce

I must admit, I'm one of those people who adores cranberry sauce out of the can.  Gelatinous cranberry sauce without a recognizable piece of fruit in sight.  So wrong, it's gotta be right.


That was, until, I made this.


This is so easy that you could make this blindfolded and drunk.  Depending on how festive things get you just might have to.  Here are our very simple ingredients: 

12 oz of Fresh Cranberries 
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water 


Before throwing the star ingredient into your pan, inspect for any shadeball berries or twigs that snuck in there.   Add your water.

Throw in your sugar.


And then give it a stir.  Cover and let it mellow over medium heat for 10 minutes.



This is what it should look like.  The berries are starting to burst, releasing pectin, and thickening up.  See how the berries are still pretty whole though?  It's not totally ready.  I ate a spoonful, gave it a stir, and then let it cook for another five minutes.  Eating a spoonful is optional, I suppose.


Ok, it's starting to get there.  The little berries are BURSTING with excitement.  Add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.

This is how it looked after 15 minutes of bubbling away.  Turn off the heat and give it a stir...


...and it should do this.  See how after I stirred it, it stayed in its place and you can see the bottom of the pan?  That's how you know it's done.

Put your cranberry sauce in a pretty bowl and serve.  Easy, right?

This seems like such a minor Thanksgiving dish but it's so critical to me.  When I make my Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches, one piece of bread gets slathered with this and the other gets slathered with mayonnaise.  It's so good.  If you wanted, you could even blend this with some mayo and a splash of lemon juice to make a cranberry mayo.  That would be incredible on turkey sandwiches ANY time of year.  

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving treats and as always, stay hungry! 

Cranberry Sauce Recipe
12 oz of Fresh Cranberries
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Water
Pinch of Salt (optional)

Inspect fresh cranberries and discard any unfavorable ones.  Add cranberries, sugar, and water and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Once more berries have burst and sauce thickens up, remove from heat and chill.  

2 comments:

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  2. I'm a dedicated canned cranberry girl myself, but this might convince me to convert. Thanks for sharing!

    Megan@Talesofanhbswife.com

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