Cranberry Sauce

           It's almost Thanksgiving (for us here in Canada) and what better way to celebrate with copious amounts of food? This year I am hosting (although Momma O and Mum P help out quite a bit), and despite all efforts, my little brother will be working away at the restaurant as we feast on the turkey goodness, so it will be just the 6 of us this time. Our menu doesn't include anything too crazy or strange, but it's all homemade.

          Today's feature will be what, I feel, makes or breaks your turkey dinner. The turkey? Important, yes. Mashed Potatoes? Also important. But these items we typically make fresh on the day of. What is the one item that most people buy in a can that retains the shape the can when it's removed from it? That's right, cranberry sauce. So, today we're going to make this necessary addition to every turkey dinner. After you taste this, I promise you will never ever buy that canned jelly stuff again.

Kristopher's Homemade Cranberry Sauce
1 cup sugar (I use demerara, but you can use white or brown too)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple juice/orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 large peel of lemon/orange
2-3 cloves
1 bag cranberries
    salt to taste

1. Bring water, juice and sugar to a boil in a medium pot. Allow to boil for 5-8 minutes.








2. Add cinnamon stick, press cloves into the peel and add to pot. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes.

3. Add cranberries and stir occasionally cooking until cranberries are "mush".





4. Transfer to a heat-safe bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate.


5. Remove from fridge just before serving with your turkey.





TIP: When making any sauce that you will be refrigerating, cover it completely with plastic wrap. Make sure you let the plastic wrap touch the sauce/gravy all the way to the sides. This will prevent your sauce/gravy from developing a film.





                                                                               Enjoy!
                                                                                                                                                      Mel