Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

As Thanksgiving approaches, my favorite holiday, there comes that time where we all begin thinking about what to make for the family gathering. I say this is my favorite holiday for many reasons. For one, I cannot tell you how excited I get days in advance planning out the menu and compiling all of the ingredients, and the day of, waking up early, getting the bird prepped and in the oven, then doing the mise en place for the rest of the dishes. As I often like running the show for Thanksgiving, I understand that others like to contribute to the gathering, including my wife.

My wife surprised me a few years back with a bowl of cranberry sauce. She asked me to go to the store and pick up cans of cranberry sauce (yes, cans), mandarin oranges, and walnuts. She presented the dish at the table, and it was very good. That day, I never understood what she loved about cranberry sauce, especially from a can, but this is the day where you really start to understand what your family members enjoy, right? My father-in-law still loves the classic green bean casserole, my grandma-in-law was extremely aggressive about getting the turkey wing, and my mother-in-law simply loves a great salad.

So understanding that my wife loves the cranberry sauce, I figured I would twist it up a bit, and show her how you can rid of the canned cranberry sauce, and do it yourself. This super simple cranberry sauce is packed with fresh ingredients, making it something wonderful for the Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup of fresh raspberries
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 lime, zest only

Begin by picking over your cranberries, removing any wilted or damaged ones. Rinse them to clean them off, along with the berries, and place in a sauce pan, with one cup of water and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then with a potato masher, lightly mash. You want some texture with the sauce, so don’t even consider mashing them like your creamy mashed potatoes.

Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Add your lemon zest, mix, and place in the refrigerator, allowing for the sauce to thicken.

Packed with a great mixture of tartness and sweetness from the berries, this one will not only surprise your guests, but it will surprise you as well. Great the day of, but even better the following day (my favorite as well) for leftovers.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

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Ingredients

  

• 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup of fresh raspberries
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 lime zest only

Instructions

 

• Begin by picking over your cranberries, removing any wilted or damaged ones. Rinse them to clean them off, along with the berries, and place in a sauce pan, with one cup of water and sugar. Bring to a simmer, then with a potato masher, lightly mash. You want some texture with the sauce, so don't even consider mashing them like your creamy mashed potatoes.
• Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Add your lemon zest, mix, and place in the refrigerator, allowing for the sauce to thicken.
• Packed with a great mixture of tartness and sweetness from the berries, this one will not only surprise your guests, but it will surprise you as well. Great the day of, but even better the following day (my favorite as well) for leftovers.