Best Cranberry Sauce Ever!

Best Cranberry Sauce Ever

It is this gastronome's favorite time of year!  The weather is cool, November is here and Turkey Day is rapidly approaching!  What could be better than a holiday that centers around sitting down with family and friends to enjoy a labor of love together?  I can't think of anything I would rather do. 

In fact, I love this beautiful holiday so much that I begin looking for recipes and ideas as soon as September begins.  I love to incorporate one or two new dishes into each Thanksgiving, while keeping the favorite stand-bys. This is one of my favorite dishes and I have made it year after year.  I started using this Paula Deen recipe years ago and have changed it a little each year.  I tweaked it even more this year in preparation for my favorite day and was so happy with the results.  

I actually used to hate cranberry sauce.  Or should I say "cranberry sauce."  You know what I am talking about.  The stuff that comes out of a can still looking like a can - ridges and all. Seriously.  You can see the ridges.  The first time I made this dish, I remember wondering why I ever thought cranberry sauce could only come in that hideous form.  I went from a cranberry sauce hater to a cranberry sauce lover.  Give this a try this year.  When you taste the tart berries, mixed with the sweet apple and sugar, the tang and brightness of citrus and the crunch of the walnuts, I know you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water
1 12 Ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 Apple, peeled and chopped
1 Cup chopped walnuts
1/4 Cup Grand Marnier
2 Tablespoons apple brandy
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1/2 an orange
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon nutmeg

Step 1
Begin by prepping (of course, you know me! Prep then cook!:-)) your ingredients.  Peel and chop the apple, chop your walnuts if you bought them whole or halved, zest the orange and juice the half orange and lemon.

Step 2
The prep for this dish was easy, wasn't it?  The cranberry sauce only gets easier too...unbelievable, right?! 

Combine the water and sugar over medium-high heat and stir them until it begins to boil. 
 

Then add the cranberries and return it to a boil.

Step 3

 

When the cranberries begin to boil, add the rest of the ingredients and reduce the heat to a simmer. 

 

 

Stir the mixture occassionally and allow to to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.  The cranberries will burst and combine with the apple pectin to create a ruby red, thick sauce. 

Let it cool completely and the store it in the refrigerator. 

Another beautiful thing about this sauce is you can keep it in the fridge for a few days, so it is definitely not one of those last minute, stressful dishes!