Thanksgiving - Cranberry Sauce

When it first dawned on me that cranberry sauce is one of the sides on the Thanksgiving table and that I would need to see to it, I wasn't very enthusiastic. Especially after visualizing that store bought can of cranberry sauce. Finally we picked up a good looking fresh sauce at Trader Joe's and that was that.

When I invited one of our relatives - a distant cousin - staying nearby for the Thanksgiving dinner, she generously offered to make the cranberry sauce. Didn't give it much thought as it was sort of taken care of by then and didn't want her to dwell more on this unfamiliar sauce. As luck would have it, my eyes fell on a fresh bag of cranberries while shopping and I picked it up just in case.

Well, the turkey was done and while the mashed potatoes were heating up and the gravy was cooking I decided to bring out the sauce. At the mention of cranberry our cousin's eyes lit up and she again offered to make the dish. When I said that I have some fresh cranberries, her enthusiasm knew no bounds. Gave her complete freedom and she was busy looking for things. I heard pan, sugar, water etc and the next thing I know there she is, standing next to a shimmering mix of dark pink on the stove. One of the kids had tagged on as a temporary associate. My daughter is a constant companion in all cooking activities but this time it was my son. The color was irresistible and in the white dish it literally sparkled! Only when I tasted it along with the turkey and all the sides that I understood its purpose. The tangy taste is a perfect accompaniment with all the food. And very easy to make.

I asked for the recipe which she generously recited. It is reproduced here.

In The Mix

Fresh cranberries - 1 bag ( 12 oz.)
water - 1 cup
sugar - 1 cup (do not heap)
orange rind - 1 tbsp or less. (peeled thin)
cardamom - 1 or 2 pods crushed (optional )

How To Do

Wash the cranberries and remove remaining stems etc. Dissolve sugar with water in a sauce pan and start heating. Add the cranberries and boil. Also add the orange rinds and cardamom if you are adding those at this time. After a while the cranberries will start popping. This is a contained activity so no worries there. Stir once in a while and add more sugar if preferred. Can cover and cook or leave it uncovered which is what she did.

Remove from heat, cool to room temp and refrigerate if time permits. Remember to remove the orange rinds and the cardamoms too if you can find them. We were a little rushed and so I cooled it down by holding afloat in a larger bowl full of water and stirring. The first spoonful made all of us say aha!. A permanent addition to our Thanksgiving table has been born. She apparently makes it all the time for her mom who loves to snack on it, Thanksgiving or not!

We tasted the Trader Joe version afterward and as the cousin had stated, it is a good substitute if you are pressed for time.

Missing Dessert

Didn't make any dessert this time and we had ice cream and an Indian sweet. Made this pound cake from a Box next day to compensate:-).


When we were having leftovers the next day - 'leftover feast' according to my girl - I realized I didn't make fresh dinner rolls like I had wanted to. The guests didn't seem to mind. It was great fun planning the dinner together with my husband and pulling it off -thanks mainly to word wide web resources - with fairly minor mishaps. Our thanks to all resources. I hope to repeat this in the coming years and add new sides that we discover....

It gives a good feeling to have finished off the TG dinner chronicling while it is still fresh in our memories. I can hear my girl waking up. Time to press the post button. Holiday season is always one of joy and I wish all my readers a wonderful time ahead.

Updated Nov28, 2014:
The kids tried to make the cranberry sauce today and thought some of the steps could be more detailed. Isn't this cute that they tried it? So I have updated the recipe based on their questions.