Cranberry Sauce, Wooden Spoons, and Thanksgiving Thoughts

Remember a few months back when we were celebrating Thanksgiving? I do. We celebrated with the Mayer family, who are great friends of ours :) In fact, we have standing arrangements to spend major holidays with them if neither family is visiting extended family on the east coast. (ps- Jackie, I promise I still like you - I'll call you and compare calendars to get our families together soon!) But I digress. Last year the Mayers invited another family... a family of vegetarians.

Vegetarians for Thanksgiving? But what about the turkey?

I know, I know. And then as we sat down to eat I realized something. Vegetarians are the best people to invite to Thanksgiving. Yes, I love a good turkey (or lamb loin or ham or whatever you're serving), but when someone asks you "what do we need to have for Thanksgiving Dinner for it to count as Thanksgiving Dinner?" who ever says "turkey"?!? It's always some sort of side dish that is proudly proclaimed and lovingly described, family recipes dug out and internet varieties consulted. Green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, cornbread dressing, stuffing, gravy.... the list is infinite. And who better than to perfect a delicious vegetable "side dish" (I may start a crusade to make the veggies the meal with a "side" of turkey) than our sweet vegetarian friends!

But the icing on the proverbial cake is the cranberry sauce to garnish that delightful slice of turkey that managed to squeeze in between the stuffing and the mashed potatoes.

Bring on the can.

I've loved the can since I was little... those little ridges showing you where to slice, the jello-like consistency that's so easy to portion onto pieces of turkey... but I may have to forgo the can from now on. I've met someone else. A cousin, in fact. Meet the homemade, whole berry, cranberry sauce. Maybe I've just been missing out for my whole life or maybe it was my determination that the chunky texture would not deter me this year, but I've found a new love.

As we feigned graciousness by offering the larger portions of the leftovers to the other families, hoping that this particular delicacy wouldn't be the "apple of their eye," I asked for some of the cranberry sauce. The main sauce is smooth with a hint of sweetness, flecked with tiny seeds and strewn with delightfully tart berries. The tartness got me. Don't get me wrong, it's still a sweet sauce, but the berries retained their bite, too.

Considering that my husband doesn't eat cranberry sauce, I was awfully brave in taking an entire tupperware container full of the stuff home. About a week later, with at least a cup and a half left in that bowl in the fridge, we were entering the "eat it or throw it out" stage. I can't throw this out.... I have to figure out some other way to eat this... other than just with a spoon...

And then it happened.

Ice cream.

I now have a new favorite ice cream topping. I'm sure it would also be good on vanilla yogurt. At first I was a purist and only put it on vanilla, wanting to be able to focus on the flavor of the berry itself. Then I tried it with a swirl of chocolate sauce, which was pretty good. And then when I mistakenly got some chocolate in my bowl (thank you, Blue Bell, for putting Homemade Vanilla and Dutch Chocolate in the same container so my vanilla was infiltrated by the chocolate... otherwise this may never have happened...) I found a new creation worthy of its own existence. If I had the ability to make my own ice cream and have it turn out as well as Blue Bell does, I'd make chocolate cranberry ripple with this cranberry sauce. Sigh. I can dream...

So why am I writing this on February first? Well, today I canned my own cranberry sauce. I've been stockpiling cranberries as the various grocery stores in the area put them on sale. I convinced Niki to give me her recipe, compared it to some recipes I found online specifically designed for canning (learning that cranberries are some of the most acidic fruit and are perfect for canning!). Voila. I'm tempted to walk to Kroger and buy some chocolate ice cream and a turkey so I can use a can tonight (I'm car-less today or this might actually be happening!) Maybe James can stop on his way home...



So here's the recipe, with notes on modifying it for canning.

1 bag fresh cranberries
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup pomegranate juice (THIS is what emphasizes the tartness I loved!)
1/2 cup red wine or port

Bring all ingredients to a low boil and simmer for 10-15 min. Niki simmers hers longer to break up more of the berries. And she really was very gracious in sharing her leftovers last Thanksgiving... I'll have to thank her again...



Per Niki's recommendation for canning and according to the online versions I found, I left out the alcohol. I tripled the recipe and only had 2 cups pomegranate juice, so the third cup was orange. I also simmered the berries for over 20 minutes while I waited for my cans to boil, etc. The color is amazing! If you've been to my house... it matches the red wall in my kitchen :) I processed them for 12 minutes in boiling water and then enjoyed listening to them pop as they sealed on the counter. There was about 2 Tbsp left in the saucepan that I put on two spoon-fulls of chocolate ice cream from the dwindling reserve in the freezer (earmarked for James for tonight... definitely have to ask him to stop on his way home...). A. maz. ing. I added too much sugar, adding 3/4 cup instead of just 1/2 cup per third of the recipe... next time I'll know better :) And I might try adding some other spices to smaller batches in the future.

Here are some of the recipes I consulted:
Ocean Spray's official recipe.
Canning USA's recipe using different spices.

Just look at that beautiful color!

In all of my cooking joy this morning, I realized that I also love wooden spoons. I have a whole bunch of them, and they're definitely my favorite stirring option. The one I used this morning has been dyed a delightful dark cherry color. Or dark cranberry, if you will. Some of my favorite spoons have one straight edge on them, which is helpful for scraping the bottom of the pan, especially near the corners. Another of my favorites has a deeper curve so it can be used for scooping, not just stirring. I love the variety in the handle lengths. I love the different stains that certain foods leave behind. I love the texture of the wood in my hand instead of plastic.

I'm weird. It's ok... I'm ok with it :)

Anyway, I hope you make this sauce and try it with something other than just turkey. And when you do, let me know and I'll try that combination too :)