Cranberry Sauce with Oranges

Love these colors!!

For Thanksgiving 2011, I was assigned the cranberry sauce. I had never, ever before made cranberry sauce, and had no idea how much of it 20 people might eat. One bag of berries? Two? Three?? So, I consulted with my stepmother, then doubled the recipe below. This made plenty for everyone, with a little leftover which disappeared the next day. As this blog post is quite late (Thanksgiving!?), I cannot quite remember everything I did... but I think I may have tossed in an extra apple as well.

I had many positive comments on the lovely orange flavor that comes through in this recipe! Enjoy! You have plenty of time to practice before Thanksgiving!

You will need...

1 small organic orange (you are going to eat the rind, so go organic for this!)
2 cups water
1 tart apple, ex/ Granny Smith, Pippin or McIntosh
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar (I reduced this to a little less than a cup, as I prefer a bit more tartness to come through)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1) Squeeze the juice from the orange/s and set the juice aside. Remove and discard the membrane from inside the orange rind then dice the rind. In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the rind and the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2) Peel, core and quarter the apple. Cut into 1/2-inch dice and place in a saucepan. Sort cranberries, discarding soft ones. Add to the apples along with the orange juice, orange rind, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan partially.

3) Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, the apple is tender and the cranberries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes.

4) Transfer the cranberry sauce to a heatproof bowl and let cool for 1 hour before serving. NOTE: I just left my cranberries in the Dutch Oven, let them cool, and took them in Dutch Oven to Thanksgiving. No extra dishes needed!