Cranberry sauce!
One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving is the cranberry sauce. I add cranberry sauce to just about everything on my plate, and then the next day I add it to all leftovers. Cranberries can really hold a sandwich together. I’m not picky about my cranberry sauce either; canned is fine with me. I prefer “whole berry” over “jellied” or whatever they call the one that comes out of the can in the shape of the can. But really, I’ll take what you got.
However! Making your own cranberry sauce is incredibly easy, and most likely cuts down on the sugar a bit as well. This is my favorite recipe that I got from an old Martha Stewart Everyday Food issue a few years ago. Here’s the link to the original recipe. I haven’t varied it, so this is pretty much just a copy of what you’ll find on the link.
- 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries, washed and picked over
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups water
Combine everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. The mixture should get thick, syrupy, and sauce-like. Make sure most, if not all, of the berries have burst. Transfer to a bowl and seal with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap onto the top of the sauce. Refrigerate or keep at room temperature or whatever you want. Eat on everything in sight!
I have made this a few times and recently made it with dried bing cherries. I would recommend going for cherries other than bing. They were fine, and certainly didn’t detract from the sauce, but they rehydrated while cooking and got pretty big. I would recommend starting with some dried cherries that are a little smaller. It was just slightly odd to have these really big cherries in the mixture. But again, if bing is all you can find, go for it.
Here are some lovely before and after photos:
