I want to share with you the deliciously sweet and tangy cranberry sauce I made for Thanksgiving dinner! It has a beautiful combination of fresh cranberries, orange zest, dried cherries and toasted pecans. The one apple in this recipe adds a little texture, but also adds natural pectin to slightly thicken the ruby sauce. This dish is actually really easy to make and can even be made the day before, only it might not make it to the dinner table that way! ;)
I like a cranberry dish on the Thanksgiving and Christmas table, not just because I think you should always have cranberries in a holiday meal, but it seems to accompany whatever you serve. Whether it be roast turkey or pork, glazed ham or rack of lamb, the cranberry's bright flavor will add that zing you want on your plate. Cranberries are like the pretty little jewels that dress up your dinner with their deep red hue!
My family loved this cranberry sauce so much that I put the leftovers in little jam jars and sent one with everybody on their way. (In this house you never leave empty handed!) If you're a cranberry lover like I am, I hope you'll find room for this recipe at your next festive dinner!
Cranberry Sauce
12-14 oz. Fresh Cranberries
1 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 c. Maple Sugar
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and chopped
Zest of 2 Oranges
Juice of 1 Orange
1/3 c. Dried Cherries
3/4 c. Pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
Cook cranberries, sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes or until skins pop. Add apple, zest and juice and cook for 15-20 more minutes until berries burst and mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add dried cherries and pecans. Let cool and serve chilled.
This recipe is slightly adapted from an Ina Garten recipe--love her!--that I changed enough I actually just shared with you exactly what I did instead. I used maple sugar because Papa just gave me some as a gift, but if you don't have that don't worry, just use white sugar!! :) Omit the pecans if you're not a nut lover.
I'm linking up with Friends at:
I love that there are dried cherries in your cranberry sauce, I will definitely have to try this version! I'd love it if you shared this at my Show & Share Wednesday party:
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Leslie, this looks like a yummy and beautiful addition to a holiday table. It sure is a ramped up version of cranberry sauce with the cherries and pecans. I love pecans, and think they would add a nice crunch. Joni
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie! Oh, I've never heard of cherries in cranberry sauce but it does sound good and looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks for much for popping in to see me.
be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Just found your blog. So glad I did. I can't wait to read more post.
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