This year, I’m not doing my usual planning and precooking for Thanksgiving dinner, which has not been easy. For the first time in years my house isn’t fragrant with turkey broth and roasting pecans and my refrigerator isn’t crammed with more food than will fit into it.
My father turns ninety on Thanksgiving Day, so Tim and I are heading up to my parents’ house to be with them. I’ll be cooking, but it will be my mother’s way and there will be a lot of things that I usually do that won’t be on the table this year.
Never mind. I’m always saying that the people around the table are more important than the food that’s on it, and while the feast won’t necessarily be the way I’d make it, it’ll still be a feast.
With cooking in another kitchen there is inevitably a list of things that one has to leave out. My mother can’t handle orange peel; my father can’t handle apple peels and nutmeg. So the cranberry sauce that I’ve made and will pack to take with us is basic. Mom can handle the juice of the orange, and there are sauce recipes that are made with juice instead of water, but I find that cooking orange juice affects its flavor and makes it dull and heavy.
Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
If no one in your family has issues with citrus zest, include the zest from half an orange, removed with a vegetable peeler in 2-3 pieces. Add it with the sugar in step one, then remove and discard it after you stir in the bourbon in step 2. It really makes a huge (and delicious) difference.
Makes about 2 cups
1 12-ounce package cranberries
1 cup minus 1 tablespoon raw (turbinado) sugar
1 tablespoon The Salt Table Cinnamon Sugar
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) bourbon
1. Wash the berries well in cold water and drain in a colander. Put them into a stainless-steel or enamel-lined heavy-bottomed pot. Add half a cup of water and both sugars. Stir well and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Adjust the heat to a steady simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries “pop” and are tender and transparent, about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the bourbon. Let it cool slightly, then pour it into a clean pint jar or glass bowl. Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, and refrigerate until needed. Let it warm to room temperature before serving or gently reheat over low heat, stirring often, and serve warm.