Yes folks it's that time of the year again, the time when all the culinary minds in each family begin to truly freak out. It's almost thanksgiving.
Last year my grandmother, she who makes The Turkey, was ill and didn't have the strength to make The turkey. Now as my mother is the oldest of four sisters one might think that this would be no problem. Surely one of the Figueroa sisters knows how to make a turkey... Um, no. In fact, the only person in the family who would be attending thanksgiving that actually knew how to cook a turkey was me. I had to make a turkey at my house and drive it twenty miles to my family. It was a harrowing but largely successful experience.
This year my Nanny is feeling better and the burden of preparing The Turkey has been reserved for the matriarch. So what am I making this year? Cranberry sauce. I actually like cranberry sauce quite a bit. I like it thick and sour-sweet and made from freakin' berries. None of this cylinder of jello whumped out of a can. That is NOT my idea of food.
I decided to make my cranberry sauce nice and early so I could can it and let the flavors meld for the next week. Hopefully this will maximize the deliciousness.
I got 4c. of fresh cranberries, 1 seedless orange (I contemplated using two satsumas but ate them before I could cook with them), 3c. of sugar, and a handful of crushed pecans.
First you need to zest the orange with a microplane - if you don't have a microplane and have a very steady hand you can attempt to shave off just the orange, but not pith, of the peel with a paring knife, best of luck with that. Then remove the pith (the white part of the peel) and discard it - it's bitter and kinda useless. Cut up the flesh of the orange as finely as you can. Then put the zest and the fruit into a large saucepan with about 3c. of water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for five minutes.
Now add all the cranberries and the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring the whole thing to a roiling boil for 10-15 minutes - basically until it's reached the right consistency. If you like cranberry sauce the consistency of jam you'll cook it a little longer than if you like it a bit more liquidy. Then stir in the pecans (you could use any nut you like as long as it was crushed into very small bits). At this point your house should smell like the holidays.
This will make 4 half-pints of cranberry sauce. You can either use it immediately, put it into the fridge for a few days, or can it (boil for 15minutes) and keep it for whenever you feel like adding something special to a roast bird (it's really good on chicken).
Last year my grandmother, she who makes The Turkey, was ill and didn't have the strength to make The turkey. Now as my mother is the oldest of four sisters one might think that this would be no problem. Surely one of the Figueroa sisters knows how to make a turkey... Um, no. In fact, the only person in the family who would be attending thanksgiving that actually knew how to cook a turkey was me. I had to make a turkey at my house and drive it twenty miles to my family. It was a harrowing but largely successful experience.
This year my Nanny is feeling better and the burden of preparing The Turkey has been reserved for the matriarch. So what am I making this year? Cranberry sauce. I actually like cranberry sauce quite a bit. I like it thick and sour-sweet and made from freakin' berries. None of this cylinder of jello whumped out of a can. That is NOT my idea of food.
I decided to make my cranberry sauce nice and early so I could can it and let the flavors meld for the next week. Hopefully this will maximize the deliciousness.
I got 4c. of fresh cranberries, 1 seedless orange (I contemplated using two satsumas but ate them before I could cook with them), 3c. of sugar, and a handful of crushed pecans.
First you need to zest the orange with a microplane - if you don't have a microplane and have a very steady hand you can attempt to shave off just the orange, but not pith, of the peel with a paring knife, best of luck with that. Then remove the pith (the white part of the peel) and discard it - it's bitter and kinda useless. Cut up the flesh of the orange as finely as you can. Then put the zest and the fruit into a large saucepan with about 3c. of water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for five minutes.
Now add all the cranberries and the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring the whole thing to a roiling boil for 10-15 minutes - basically until it's reached the right consistency. If you like cranberry sauce the consistency of jam you'll cook it a little longer than if you like it a bit more liquidy. Then stir in the pecans (you could use any nut you like as long as it was crushed into very small bits). At this point your house should smell like the holidays.
This will make 4 half-pints of cranberry sauce. You can either use it immediately, put it into the fridge for a few days, or can it (boil for 15minutes) and keep it for whenever you feel like adding something special to a roast bird (it's really good on chicken).
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