A Countryboy Eats: Canberry Sauce>Turkeys other best friend

When I think of the Thanksgiving Feast there are all those delicious traditional dishes that can be found on most all holiday tables. Then there is the RED gelatinous cylindrical blob on a plate usually dressed up with a leaf of lettuce for a bed, it is the dreaded Cranberry sauce. I grew up thinking that is what cranberry sauce was supposed to be and gave my mom praise for carving those decorative rings around its exterior, once a year she would develop Ninja Knife skills to impress the crowd. Sound familiar?

My first experience with whole berry cranberry sauce came in my early 20's. I was stationed in San Diego unable to get leave to be home (Some body has to mind the store) I ate my Thanksgiving meal in the Officers Club. Part of the condiments on the table where a whole berry cranberry sauce. Mom got a phone call not long after that and we had a good laugh about her Ninja skills and how I must seek out therapy because I was deprived as a child.

Thanksgiving is such a great time with amazing food and I hate the thought of only having this incredible dinning experience only once a year so I celebrate it twice the traditional and again in July. Although the menu is built around the summer turkey is the protein of choice. Have you ever tried to find cranberries in July in Texas? So I needed to find a solution. Little did I know this would become THEE cranberry sauce for all my turkey dinners. So easy and very good it, it is one of those recipes that give maximum bang for the buck with ingredients that can be picked up in any grocery store any time of the year. Enjoy!

Perp time: 10 min cooking time: 30 min yield: 2 1/2cups

Ingresdients:

1 med granny smith apple
2 cups cranberry juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 6oz pkg dried cranberries
Juice of 1/2 a lime: about 1 1/2 tbl spoons
1 tsp corn starch and 1 tsp cranberry juice, mixed
pinch of salt

Directions:

Core peal and finely dice 1/2 of the apple.
Put a high sided skillet over med heat pour in the cranberry juice, lime juice, apple and the spices. Bring to a simmer and add the berries and sugar.