Spiced Cranberry Sauce

In our last year of college, myself and some friends decided we should have a Thanksgiving dinner the weekend before we all went home to celebrate with our families. This event was dubbed Pre-T. We have continued to have Pre-T in subsequent years because everyone tends to like Thanksgiving food, so why not enjoy it twice?

This year I tried to incorporate familiar foods (green beans, cranberries, sweet potatoes) without using the typical recipes you see (cream of mushroom soup/green bean casserole, canned cranberry sauce, and that sweet-potato-marshmallow-thingy).

So without further ado, the recipe for the spiced cranberry sauce I made. This is an adapted recipe from the version found over at Culinate.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 12 ounce package whole cranberries

1. Wash the cranberries, making sure to discard any rotten ones.
2. Combine the sugar, OJ, and spices in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.
3. Add about 2/3s of the cranberries and bring to a boil. Once the sauce is bubbling, reduce the heat and cook until the sauce darkens and thickens. As you stir you’ll notice that the cranberries seem to have deflated.
4. Add the remaining cranberries and cook until they soften. (My goal was to have some lighter berries in a darker sauce.)
5. The sauce can be served immediately, or you can allow it to cool. (I even had some the next day and it was tasty right out of the fridge as well.)

(Serves 4-5 as a Thanksgiving side dish, more as garnish)

The sauce had a strong “spiced” smell, very much like a mulled wine. Mike said it was delicious, but he’d probably say that about any stewed fruit. Perhaps we’ll convince the rest of the family to skip the canned sauce this year.