Cranberry Sauce & Cranberry Applesauce

Slowly but surely, I'm building a list of what I want to eat/cook for Thanksgiving. I'm testing some new ideas now, and then I'll have my tried and true recipes around to add on at the last minute. Here is one tried and true recipe, and one new one I just tried a few nights ago that was an instant success.

My goal is to document at least half of the recipes I rely on for Thanksgiving so I can pull them up on my laptop while I'm cooking in the kitchen. Let's see how far I get.

Cranberry sauce

I can eat this straight, but I find it goes really well accompanying buttery, salty foods, like roasted chicken, turkey, and roasted, salted vegetables.

• 2 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup of honey
• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon of orange zest (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

1. Place all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a low boil.
2. The cranberries will begin to pop open after about 5 minutes of a stead boil. When the liquid becomes thicker and all the cranberries are popped open, stop cooking the sauce.
3. Cool and serve, or store in the refrigerator. I can usually store this for up to two weeks.
   

Cranberry Applesauce

This is one of those recipes that I lucked out with. It worked well on the first try - but then again, it's hard to really mess up applesauce. A bit sweet and a bit tart, I can eat this hot or cold, alone or with something. The other night I ate it with stir-fried kale and bacon. Yum!

• 1 cup of cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup of honey
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 3 large apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into cubes (any kind will work, but right now I have Delicious, Fuji, and Cameo)
• 1 cup of water

1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a medium boil, and cover the pan.
2. Cook for 20 minutes, and stir occasionally. Add a bit more water if it gets too thick or dry.
3. Cool, mash with a potato masher, and serve.

Comments

[Hänni]

The cranberries look so yummy. I've never thought about having sauce with a regular dinner (not thanksgiving), but this *would* be good with roast chicken

[Christine]

I have been looking for a cranberry sauce recipe for Thanksgiving....I think I found it, thanks so much!!!!

[Gina]

Erica, your recipes have become my "go to" whenever I want to make something similar to what I used to eat. I'm so excited that with your help I'll be able to have both cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving! Thanks so much!