“Don’t burn yourself, Natalie!” These were the words I heard way too frequently on Thanksgiving Day every year growing up. I remember creeping up to the stove and insisting to help stir the cranberries in the boiling water at the age of 5. On Thanksgiving, my family cooks all day. And when I say all day, I mean 6 in the morning until 6 at night when we eat the infamous Clark family thanksgiving meal. Sometimes the prep work even starts the night before to ensure extra time for any mistakes. The jobs are divided up between the usual 20 some crowd that comes to our house every year. The kids have the boring task of setting the table. However, we make it fun with the creation of individual name cards made at the “decorating station” that includes glitter, stickers, paint, hot glue, jewels, and anything we can find to spice up each table setting. The cooking is left to the adults. My grandfather makes the stuffing with sausage, bread pieces and other “mystery” ingredients that are mashed into perfect deliciousness. My grandmother works diligently on the vegetables, from the green beans drizzled with lemon almond butter sauce to the sweet potatoes with a gooey top-layer of marshmallows. My mom, the best cook I know, takes on the desserts. Every year is different with the one exception of the annual pumpkin pie. One year she made a white-chocolate cheesecake drizzled with a freshly made raspberry sauce over the top. Another year she made a dark-chocolate pecan pie that was so delicious that my family still talks about it to this day.
Despite all this wonderful food, the year 1998 was when I discovered my one favorite holiday dish. After endlessly begging to help finish the cranberry sauce, my mom gave me a stool so I could finish stirring the sauce on the stove. When it was finished, I watched her turn the huge pot over as the red berries poured out into the shiny bowl. I added three cups of sugar and followed instructions to continuously stir, doing so until my hand hurt. I climbed up on the stool and put the big yellow bowl into the fridge to let the sauce harden. When we sat down for dinner a few hours later, I instantly reached for the massive dish of delicious looking sauce. As I tasted it, the tangy yet sweet cranberry left an imprint on my mind. To this day I remember how that first bite tasted, and it remains my favorite dish for any time of the year.
If you’re interested in making a homemade cranberry sauce, try the recipe below.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) water
4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries
Optional Pecans, orange zest, raisins, currants, blueberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.
Method
1 Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
2 At this point you can add all number of optional ingredients. We typically mix in a half a cup of roughly chopped pecans with or without a few strips of orange zest. You can add a cup of raisins or currants. You can add up to a pint of fresh or frozen blueberries for added sweetness. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice can be added too.
3 Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
Cranberry sauce base makes 2 1/4 cups.
Recipe found at http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cranberry_sauce/
photo credit: savorysweetlife.com
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