Recipe: Cranberry Sauce

Well, what can I say? I was very happy with that pulled pork. 18lbs of meat sure feeds a lot of people. My family for three meals, my wife's Aunt & Uncle, their home aide and her family and two of my daughter's teachers and their families. Not to mention my breakfast and picking throughout the day. So what's that make 8 meals? Not bad. And very economical too-- The pork was only $1.09 a pound.

But tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and we're heading out to my mother's house for dinner. It's been at least 10 years since she's made a holiday meal. My mother used to be a very good cook, but as she's gotten older, her tastes have changed and she's almost eliminated the use of herbs and spices in her cooking. This should be interesting.

But as per request, I am bringing home made cranberry sauce. Here's my recipe...

RECIPE: CRANBERRY SAUCE
1 12oz bag of cranberries, washed. Stems and bad berries removed.
1 cup of water.
1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar.
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice.
Pinch of salt.

Put water and cranberries in a thick non-reactive pot and over medium heat, heat until boiling. Add cinnamon, cloves and allspice and mix in thoroughly. Return mixture to boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir frequently and do not allow mixture to burn. The berries will pop and break down forming a thick paste. Stir very frequently towards the end. Remove berry mixture from heat and mash with an old fashioned potato masher. Return berry mixture to heat and mix in sugar and pinch of salt. Return mixture to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes. The berry mixture will be very shiny and look and feel like melted jelly. Carefully pour mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until firm - about 6 hours. I know that this isn't a barbecue recipe, but this does go extremely well with barbequed chicken, duck, turkey or pork. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!