Countdown to Thanksgiving-Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Since I discovered how simple making my own Cranberry Sauce really is, I haven't purchased or opened a can of Cranberry Sauce since. It's probably been, 11-12 years. I was reading my Martha Stewart Menus for Entertaining Cookbook, that I recieved as a Birthday gift in 1996. This book has menus for Spring-Summer-Fall & Winter. Recipes for Spring Luncheons, Easter, Baby Showers, Thanksgiving, & Christmas. This is the only recipe I use in the book. Anyways, like I said. It's super simple to do (my Mom even makes her own Cranberry Sauce, after I told her how easy it was).


Fresh Cranberry Sauce

4 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup of sugar (or a little more)
1/4 cup of water
Juice of 1 orange (about 1/4 cup)

Rinse the cranberries well and discard any that are soft or bruised. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries with the sugar, water, and orange juice. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring often. Reduce to a gentle boil and cook the berries, uncovered, just until they pop, about 10 minutes. Chill.


Hope's Notes:

-I buy 2 bags of fresh cranberries, because when you sort them out (and you do want to do that), you end up with less. If I have more than 4 cups of cranberries, I add more sugar, water, and orange juice.
-I make this 2-3 days before Thanksgiving. I don't know how long it keeps in the fridge, it never lasts longer than a week in our fridge. But I think I've had it in there 2 weeks once, and it was still fine. It's kinda like a "jam".
-See how simple it is?