Saturday, November 18, 2017

Best Cranberry Sauce Ever by Jannine Gallant

Thanksgiving is almost here, so of course we're all thinking about food. The smell of the turkey roasting in the oven. The gorgeousness of the pumpkin pie waiting on the counter. I love to cook, and I frequently make up my own recipes, so I thought I'd share my family's traditional holiday fare with you. One problem, though...I never measure anything. I make a killer scratch stuffing for that roasting turkey, but it's hard to write down, "Sprinkle (or dump) in a little of this and a little of that, taste, and add more." Not very helpful. There is one dish I have actually put into recipe form. Cranberry sauce. If you are currently eating this with your holiday meal...


...I'm here to save you from yourself. Even if you're dressing it up so it looks like this...


...it still tastes like that can. Trust me on this. For years, I tried different cranberry sauce recipes, looking for one that was perfect. They all failed my taste test, so I gave up and created my own. It's simple to make and extremely tasty. Give it a shot, so your family can have this...


...with your holiday meal, instead!

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz. bag of cranberries, washed
1 1/2 cups peeled, chopped apple
1 Tbsp. orange zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider

Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally. Simmer 30 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and mash. Cool then chill until serving.


If you're looking for an exciting read during the holidays to while away your time while the turkey is roasting, visit my WEBSITE to find out more about my books. Happy Thanksgiving! Please eat responsibly... LOL

14 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Now this might be a recipe I could actually do right. Just curious. What’s the stuffing secret? Something I might be able to do as well? Maybe?

Jannine Gallant said...

You could definitely make the cranberry sauce. The stuffing is fairly complex. Toast your own bread cubes in the oven. I use wheat. Saute chopped onion, celery, and apple in butter. I boil the turkey neck in chicken broth to make it richer then use that for the liquid in the stuffing. Then there are a bunch of seasonings...salt, pepper, parsley, sage, marjoram, and thyme. Taste. Add more of whatever it needs. Sometimes I sprinkle in a little poultry seasoning at this point, depending on how it tastes... As I said, I don't measure anything. When you get it the way you want it, stuff it in the turkey before roasting. Tada!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Great idea to put chopped apple in the cranberry sauce! Thanks for the recipe. Your stuffing is made exactly the way I do it. Cooking that turkey neck for stuffing broth is a family tradition. (Some cut up the giblets and put them in the stuffing, but I'm not a lover of liver, etc.) Thanksgiving is just around the corner...thanks for getting the saliva flowing :-)

Jannine Gallant said...

Rolynn, my grandma used to put some of the giblets in the stuffing. I'm personally not a fan, so I leave them out. Yeah, the apple is key both in the cranberry and in the stuffing.

Leah St. James said...

Looks delicious, Jannine! I make a cranberry chutney that's really similar but has nuts in it (walnuts,I think). I make it for parties where I have to bring something and serve it with cream cheese and crackers. (I could eat the whole thing.) I have to confess though that I gave up on "scratch" stuffing a long time ago. I doctor up the bagged stuff with sauteed celery and onion, egg, broth and seasonings. My husband and sons could fight over the bowl of the "raw" stuff! And yes, now my mouth is watering... :-)

Alison Henderson said...

Can I admit out load that I buy my cranberry sauce at Williams Sonoma? Since we have such a small family and I'm the only one who will eat it, it isn't worth making it just for myself. One jar lasts me through Thanksgiving and Christmas. LOL My best personal Thanksgiving recipe is my pear and cranberry pie, which I've shared here in the past. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

remullins said...

I'm afraid I've never been a fan of cranberry sauce. I do like cranberries dipped in dark chocolate. :)

Jannine Gallant said...

Yum, sounds good, Leah. Also, it would be a "pretty" dish to bring to parties. Gotta like that!

Alison, I can see where you wouldn't want a giant bowl just for you! Hey, as long as you're not eating it out of the can, you're good!

Sacrilege, Robin!

Brenda whiteside said...

Thanks for the recipe. I love home made cranberry sauce but have never attempted my own.

Jannine Gallant said...

Give it a shot, Brenda!

Diane Burton said...

I grew up with cranberry sauce from a can. No wonder I never liked it. LOL My MIL made a cranberry gelatin salad, which my daughter makes now. That I'll eat. My stuffing recipe includes sage and a little thyme as well as poultry seasoning. I'm making a small dish for Thanksgiving since my daughter is making stuffing & so is my son. We'll have a lot of stuffing (out of the bird). I'm hungry!

Jannine Gallant said...

I grew up with the canned kind, too, Diane. Enjoy all that stuffing. And, yes, I'm hungry, too!

Alicia Dean said...

I'm not a cranberry sauce fan, so I am not sure I'll try this, and my family thinks the canned is the bees knees, but I bet they'd love this if they tried it. Maybe I'll make it for them, even if I don't eat it. :) Thanks for sharing!

Jannine Gallant said...

How can anyone not like cranberry sauce, Ally? Maybe you just don’t like it because you’ only had the canned kind!