Don't Forget the Cranberry Sauce
Every family has holiday traditions. Some are thoughtful and planned, like my husband's tradition of getting up at 3 a.m. each Christmas morning to make his homemade giant cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Others are merely the unconscious repetition of the same behavior until the act becomes an accepted part of the holiday celebration. Unfortunately, when I was growing up, my family’s one Thanksgiving tradition fell into the latter category and I was responsible for it.
Thanksgiving was the only time of the year my mother ever bought cranberry sauce. Early on Thanksgiving Day, she would place a small can of it in the refrigerator to chill. It was my job to remember to take the cranberry sauce out of its can, put it on a plate, and get it on the table right before we sat down to dinner. In all the holiday excitement, I would promptly forget to do that. We would eat the entire meal and as my mother was putting away the leftovers, she would find the unopened can of cranberry sauce still sitting in the refrigerator. We would just giggle and I would promise that the next time I would remember to do my job. Which, year after year, I never did.
When I began to hostess my own Thanksgiving dinners, I decided to make cranberry sauce using fresh cranberries. With very little effort and just a few ingredients, I made a flavorful, ruby red relish that everyone loved. It is now a staple at our holiday table.
Fresh cranberries are available in the grocery store from October through December. This fall, in addition to the more familiar red cranberries, you may also see fresh white cranberries being sold. The white cranberry is harvested about a month before the red color develops and has a lower acidity level and a more delicate flavor than the red fruit. I usually buy several bags of cranberries when they’re in season and freeze a couple of the bags for use later in the year. While cranberry sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, it is also a fun and sometimes unexpected side dish when served in the middle of summer to accompany a pork tenderloin, barbecued chicken, or grilled turkey breast.
Now on Thanksgiving Day when I place the bowl of cranberry sauce on the buffet I always think about the lonely can of cranberry sauce that used to sit in my Mom’s refrigerator and I just have to laugh. I think she’d be proud that after all these years I finally do remember to put the cranberry sauce on the table! But this year, I might keep a small can of jellied cranberry sauce in the refrigerator just for old time’s sake!
Serves/Makes: 2 cups
- 1 package (12 ounce size) fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Place the cranberries in a large strainer and rinse them well. Discard any bruised or soft berries.
Put the sugar and water into a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cranberries. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries have burst open.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir the pepper, if using, into the cranberry mixture. Cool completely at room temperature.
Place the cranberries in a covered glass casserole dish or glass jar with a non-reactive lid and chill overnight in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
You can make this up to three days before serving.
Cook's Notes: The Basic Cranberry Sauce can be enhanced in a number of ways. Here are a few suggestions:
* Omit the black pepper and add a few tablespoons of toasted and cooled pecans or walnuts and/or a peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple to the cooled sauce just prior to serving it.
* For a hint of orange in the sauce, add a tablespoon of very finely grated orange zest to the sugar and water before you boil it. If you like your cranberry sauce with a stronger orange flavor, you can replace 1/2 to 1 cup of the water in the recipe with a non-pulp orange juice.
* You can also replace 1/2 cup of the water in the recipe with bourbon or Cointreau.
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