Cranberries – Not Just For The Rich And Famous

Halloween has passed and Yes I got a lot of treats.
It is now time to be thinking about your Thanksgiving table. Turkey, ham a fat baked chicken. Maybe if you live in cattle country as I do, you will have a few 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick tender BBQ grilled T-bone, porter house, club or rib eye steaks. Yes I do know how much a nice thick T-bone cost at the supermarket meat counter. Smiling .. that’s one reason I raise my own longhorns.
Deviled eggs, potato salad, pecan, candied sweet potato’s, apple, peach and pumpkin pie.
Homemade rolls and bread served with a pat of ‘real’ butter. Not that fake stuff packaged in a plastic tub.
What ever you do don’t forget to make a large pan of cornbread, sage dressing.
For those not in on our secret. Cornbread, sage dressing is a southwest specialty dish.
Q If your not a meat eater, I have a question. Big grin … How the heck do you make a tofu turkey?

Cranberry sauce (jelly / jam) is not just for thanksgiving. Cranberry sauce is a treat and special side dish suitable for any bird dish as well as being served with lamb and pork.
If your like me, you may enjoy Cranberry jam on a fresh homemade buttered biscuit, pancakes and waffles.

Cranberry harvest season coincides mostly with our Thanksgiving holiday season. Starting in the southern growing areas in September and ending in the northern areas by mid to late November.

When I can find fresh Cranberries in my market I buy enough to make 8 or 10 pints of Cranberry jelly and jam to last me until next years fresh berries can be found in my local supermarket.

Basic Cranberry Recipe
1(one) 12 ounce bag of Cranberries will make about 1 pint of jelly or as I call it Cranberry Jam.
I’m not a chef or even a good cook. So being frugal I short cut when I can get by with a short cut 🙂

Fine chop your berries by hand or use a food processor.
Using about 1/2 cup of liquid(you may need more), cover berries with water or orange juice or apple cider.
Add 1 to 1 1/4 cup sugar for each 12 ounces of berries and simmer for 15 minutes.
Caution Your Cranberry sauce is very hot. Carefully taste and adjust as necessary your jelly/jams tartness / sweetness by adding a small amount of lemon juice or sugar.
Continue simmering until Cranberry sauce reaches a temperature of 220 degrees.
Hint Do not cook your Cranberries in aluminum pans. The acid in your berries will react with your aluminum pan.

Spoon sauce into hot canning jar(s). Affix lid and lid ring.
Caution handle with care. Your canning jars will be very hot.
Process in boiling water bath for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove jars from boiling water and allow to cool. This may take 6 hours or more.

Optional Ingredients
* Add up to 1/2 cup:
+ Orange juice
+ apple juice or apple cider
* Add to your taste:
+ Lemon juice
+ Orange zest
+ Almond extract
+ Cinnamon
+ Vanilla extract
+ liquid pectin (Sure Jell) will insure your Jelly/Jam properly jells and does not resemble Cranberry syrup. Syrup is not a bad thing. Cranberry syrup go’s well with pancakes and waffles with whip cream.
* Some people even add a small amount of apple cider vinegar when making Cranberry sauce.

Recipe from French Gardener Dishes blog Panore’s Cranberry Sauce

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