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| With Thanksgiving coming next week, it is time to be thankful for a side that gets forgotten, or cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce is an underrated side that is easily forgotten during the all-out festivity of feasting with loved ones. Maybe it is a dish that needs a boost that can interact with both desserts and the main course with turkey. In my opinion, you need that tartness and flavor to cleanse the pallet. It provides a certain balance from the many rich dishes like yams, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and other sides at the table. In spirit of the upcoming holiday and the fall season, I present to you my take on cranberry sauce. It is light, tart, and is not just cranberries. |
Prep: ~10 minutes Cooking 40-50 minutesIngredients:
- 2-3 good baking apples (I recommend having a variety as the tart and sweetness can change the dish)
- 3-4 cups of cranberries (3/4 to 1 12ounce pack of cranberries)
- ½ lemon (juice and zest)
- ½ lime (juice and zest)
- ½ to 1 cup of orange juice
- ½ cup of water
- 3 tsp. of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of salt, pepper, nutmeg, sumac as a spice blend
- 2-3 ounces of cooking whiskey (optional)
- Optional zest of 1 orange
Method:
- Preparing the Baked Apples for the Apple-Cranberry Sauce:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large tray, cube 2-3 apples into small pieces.
- Add 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and mix to combine until all the pieces look thoroughly dusted.
- Place the tray in the oven and let the apples cook for about 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven and prepare cooking the cranberries and apples on the stovetop.
Preparing the Cranberry Sauce
- In a large pot: add a 1/2 cup of orange juice and a 1/2 cup of water at medium heat and wait for it to simmer.
- Place about 3 cups of cranberries and the baked apples into the pot. At this point you can add sugar (preferably brown) but since we are using apples with our cranberry sauce, there is no need for the extra sugar.
- Once the pot is hot, place the cranberries and 3/4 of the apples in the pot and mix around.
- Add the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime as well as a bit of cinnamon, a dash of allspice, a 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper if necessary.
- Stir and mix these to cook down as these simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or when the cranberries are about to burst.
- Remove your apple-cranberry sauce into a try and have it cool to room temperature.
- Add about 1/2 of an apple of small cubed apple slices into the mixture and stir to combine so you get that extra crunch.
- Taste for salt and pepper.
- Place in the fridge and the sauce will continue to thicken until it’s time for your Thanksgiving feast!
It is a great recipe that I have been toying with and so happy to add apples to it as well. It brings a better texture and taste that elevates the dish. Most importantly. can help with preparations if you are featuring desserts like apple crisp or apple pie and cooking those apples in advance take very little time and can keep you on task as you are managing with multiple dishes and desserts throughout the day.