Ditch that can
Thanksgiving is coming up and that means cranberry sauce! At our house, cranberry sauce is not in the same category as gravy or butter, but holds its own as a main dish. I recently did a taste test between canned cranberry sauce and homemade cranberry sauce, and let me tell you–there is just no comparison. The cranberries in homemade cranberry sauce are a whole different fruit. Homemade sauce is so easy to make, you should really give it a go this Thanksgiving.
Homemade Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 package (12oz) Fresh (or frozen) cranberries
Directions
Mix the sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stirring dissolves the sugar. Bring the sugar water to a boil and then add the cranberries. Bring the entire mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat but continue boiling gently for 10 minutes–stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating (to avoid bacteria build up).
Makes about 2 1/4 cups
Cranberry Nut Bread
This is a wholesome bread recipe that has lots of body and a terrific orange flavor. I used walnuts, but I bet it would be great with pecans too. Chopping the cranberries was quite a challenge since I don’t have a food processor. I ended up just basically cutting them in half and the bread turned out great.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice
1 large egg
1-2 cups coarsely chopped cranberries
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
Directions
Move the oven rack into the center and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter or grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Chop the cranberries and nuts so they’ll be ready to go when the time comes. In a food processor or in a large bowl with a pastry blender (or two knives) blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and butter until the mixture resembles meal. In a separate bowl whisk together the zest, juice and egg and add to the flour mixture. Stir the batter until just combined. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts and transfer batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until a tester comes out clean. Let bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a rack. Best served warm.
