Cranberry Sauce

This cranberry sauce recipe has been a family tradition for me ever since I can remember.  As a youngster I got to make it for Thanksgiving.  These days my daughter is making it for our Thanksgiving. I will never forget teaching her how to make this recipe a few years ago.   At 12 years old, she is now a cranberry sauce expert and she is going to show you how she does it today.

The Board of Ingredients:

• Fresh Cranberries
• Sugar
• Water
• Grand Marnier (Optional)
• Mandarin Oranges (Optional)
• Orange

Pour the cranberries into a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add a bit of water to the pan. You only need about a third of a cup of water.




Cover the cranberries and let them go.  Pretty soon you will hear them begin to pop.  It will sound very similar to popcorn, only not as loud. 

When the popping slows down, remove the lid and let the water cook out a bit.  

While the cranberries are cooking, you can zest the orange.

Set the food mill up over a bowl if you have one.  Otherwise you could strain the cranberries through a sieve pushing the pulp through with a spatula.

Pour the cranberries into the food mill.

Straining or milling gets rid of the skins and some of the seeds.

Look at that beautiful pulp!

Add the orange zest. 

Add the sugar.  Now would be the time to add a teaspoon or two of the Grand Marnier if you were adding it.  We do not add since the kids will be eating the sauce. 

Stir the sugar in so the heat of the cranberries melts the sugar. 

Juice the orange.

Stir the orange juice in and you have a perfectly awesome cranberry sauce. 

We always use these pretty glass bowls to serve the cranberry sauce.  The bowls are from my grandmother and the cranberry sauce is so beautiful.

The kids like a little extra kick of orange in their cranberry sauce.  So we are mixing in some mandarin oranges so everyone is happy.

Alyssa is garnishing the sauce bowls with a slice of mandarin orange and cranberries. 

Aren't they pretty?  I can't wait to eat it.  Alyssa let me lick the bowl.  ;-)   

Press 'n Seal gets me through the holidays.  Just wrap it up and store it in the fridge until you are ready to put it on your table.   Cranberry Sauce - Done!

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

12 Ounce Bag Fresh Cranberries
1/3 Cup Water
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Orange Zest
2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
Mandarin Oranges - Optional

Directions:

1. Add cranberries and water to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover and cook til cranberries have burst open. Remove lid and cook water away stirring occasionally.

2. Strain to remove skins and some seeds.

3. Stir in the sugar, orange zest, orange juice and mandarin oranges if desired.

4. Pour into the serving bowl and chill in fridge until time to serve. Enjoy!



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