Welcome back to Thanksgiving Week – Day Five
Cranberries in my house came out of a can. If we were lucky, the mass would get sliced into rings or smushed into something that looked a little less processed. I never really cared, as I wasn’t eating it anyway.
As an adult my tastes had changed enough that I began to really like the taste of cranberry. Generally it was in liquid form or dried (sweetened) cranberries, but it was still good.
The last time I made a turkey (two weeks after thanksgiving years ago) I decided to make a cranberry dish. It turned out great.
Sweet and tart!
Fresh cranberries were nowhere to be found. In fact, I had to go to three different stores to find the frozen ones.
By design, I used more zest than the recipe calls for. Much more.
Save some whole cranberries for a different texture.
Heat them up and smash them a bit.
Love them!
Perfect Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 12 ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- Orange or lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons water
- Sugar, salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Empty a 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan and transfer 1/2 cup to a small bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.
Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/perfect-cranberry-sauce-recipe/index.html
Rantings of an Amateur Chef 
Love this series of recipes. I’m thinking it’s time to make a pumpkin pie!!
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Now, THIS is something I can sink my teeth into!!
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Love homemade cranberry sauce – never heard of adding salt and pepper though!
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I get the fresh ones around the holidays and turn them into cranberry sauce. And I even have a jar of pectin to use as thickening agent now.
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Love this power food. Cranberry sauce is tops and best made in a recipe like yours, skipping the corn syrup.
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Homemade cranberry sauce is always the best. I like to add some Grand Marnier or Cointreau to the mix. And a cinnamon stick. Yum.
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I would totally add extra zest, too. Yum!
Related: around the holidays, some friends of ours make a sauce similar to this, then serve it at parties as an add-in for gin and tonic. Delicious!
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This is very similar to a recipe my aunt uses, but she throws in chunks of oranges, too. Nummers!
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I put gravy on potatoes and stuffing, but I use cranberry sauce on the turkey. Couldn’t imagine Thanksgiving without it, even if it’s only the canned stuff, though homemade is way better.
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Delicious and simple. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for forever and a day. Going to make this for husband when we have homemade “hot-face” (open-faced) turkey sandwiches. Thanks!
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Dude. We’re making these this year. This recipe looks wonderful.
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