As a child, I regarded the canned cranberry log most people eagerly anticipated every Thanksgiving meal with much suspicion. How did it take on the shape of the can? And why was that the goal?
It looked ridiculous! It looked like the shame of the table.
This was the impression of someone with ZERO talent for plating food, which wasn’t even a thing back in the day anyway.
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It was surprising to eventually learn that it didn’t taste that bad. Still, the fondness most people expressed for it was lost on me.
I now regard this brand of nostalgia akin to the longing people develop for war time rations years, even generations, after the war has passed. This is, after all, the story of why Britain has been associated with dreary, tasteless food since World War II. Thankfully, they’ve been reversing that trend in the past few decades.
For my full turkey meal experience, please check out these recipes:
In any case, when I began hosting my own Thanksgiving dinners, I felt obliged to cater to my cranberry-loving crowd without compromising my culinary prowess. The following recipe is the result.
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It is the easiest make-ahead Thanksgiving dish, marrying several quintessential flavors of autumn in the northeast (even though many of the ingredients come from the tropics). I didn’t use ginger this time, but a 1/2 inch piece to be fished out prior to serving, is a lovely addition to consider.
I recommend preparing this dish at least a day ahead so that the flavors can meld. This will also allow the pectin in the apples develop a more jelly-like texture associated with the canned variety. But no, it ain’t no slicing kind of cranberries. This also takes one more task off your to-do list on the big day, when you already have too many things on the stove.
Served hot or cold, it is a crowd-pleaser on every holiday table. If you’re lucky enough to have some leftover, it makes a lovely spread on the following day’s smoked turkey sandwich.
Ingredients For Homemade Cranberry Sauce
12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
4 peeled, cored and chopped apples — anything but “delicious” variety
2 cloves
1.5 tsp whole allspice berries
a few strips of the outer rind of a tangerine or orange
2-4 T maple syrup
2 T cognac
pinch of salt
How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Put cloves, allspice and tangerine or orange peel in a tea infuser, if available, to make removing them later easy. In a medium saucepan, put the tea infuser along with the remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for half an hour or longer until cranberries have burst and mixture has thickened to the desired consistency. Taste to adjust flavors to your liking.
Remove spices and serve. If making ahead to serve cold, I will leave the infuser in with the cooling relish and remove just before serving.
What’s your favorite addition to cranberry relish? Let me know down in the comments below!
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
- 4 peeled, cored and chopped apples — anything but “delicious” variety
- 2 cloves
- 1.5 tsp whole allspice berries
- few strips outer rind of a tangerine or orange
- 2-4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp cognac
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Put cloves, allspice and tangerine or orange peel in a tea infuser, if available, to make removing them later easy.
- In a medium saucepan, put the tea infuser along with the remaining ingredients.
- Cover and simmer for half an hour or longer until cranberries have burst and mixture has thickened to the desired consistency. Taste to adjust flavors to your liking.
- Remove spices and serve. If making ahead to serve cold, I will leave theinfuser in with the cooling relish and remove just before serving.
