Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Is there anything more North American than Cranberry Sauce? It's as integral to the Thanksgiving table as turkey is.

Like many of you, I used to buy the can of jellied or whole cranberry sauce and no one at the table ever complained but we all knew it had a slight tinny after-taste.

Fast forward to a few years ago and I'm grocery shopping and I see a pile of fresh cranberries in plastic bags.

After all these years I finally pick one up, take a look up at the price (yeah I'll buy it) then I flip the back of the package and what do I see? A recipe for homemade cranberry sauce!

This recipe comes courtesy of Ocean Spray and I've added my own twist...some orange zest!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 package of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tsp. of orange zest

1. Mix sugar and water in a medium saucepan; stir to dissolve. Bring to a boil. Add cranberries, return to boil.
2. Reduce heat, add your orange zest and boil gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Rounding Out Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving standard at my table is the stuffing and cranberry sauce. Both are made from scratch. No need to buy the boxed variety of stuffing or the tinned cranberry sauce...here are the easy, home made versions.

A little about the stuffing, if you're the type that wants it in the turkey, go ahead but please allow the stuffing to cool before actually placing it in the turkey and do not overstuff the turkey. Both cooking errors can lead to a false reading in the stuffing which leads to bacteria which leads to a post-Thanksgiving tummy-ache!

Play it safe, bake your stuffing in a casserole dish...it'll taste just as good and you could always place the turkey on a bed of stuffing if you're looking for a nice presentation. Also, this stuffing can be made ahead of time, refrigerated and then placed in the oven and timed to be ready for dinner.

Finally, don't worry about the giblets & other organ meat in the stuffing. They are finely chopped and no one will know they were even in the stuffing. I hate organ meat but this stuffing is actually complemented by it and others won't even know it's in there...SHHHHH!

Turkey Stuffing

1 baguette or equivalent dry bread, cubed into Croutons(or cube some other bread then dry out in the oven for 30 minutes at 200f).
1 packet of turkey giblets, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
3 mild to medium Italian sausages, casings removed and broken up to the consistency of mince
3 Tbsp. of chopped fresh sage
5 Tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups of turkey, chicken or vegetable
1/2 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place your Croutons in your casserole/baking vessel and toss with the parsley, sage some salt and lots of black pepper and reserve.
2. Using a skillet, melt your butter and saute your onions, celery, bay leaf until softened (10 minutes) under medium-low heat.
3. Add your giblets & sausage and saute until browned for another 10 minutes under medium heat. Pour in and stir the cream and reserve to cool to warm.
   
4. Add your stock to the Croutons and toss to coat and wet the entire mixture. Allow to cool for a few minutes then add the egg and mix well.
5. Add your sausage/giblets saute to the casserole and fold until the entire mixture has blended.
6. Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 30-40 minutes or until the top has turned a golden brown.
   

Turkey Gravy

As time allows, I'm posting the remainder of my Thanksgiving fixins'. One of the most comforting parts of the meal is eating the velvety gravy....on the turkey, on the stuffing, on the vegetables!

Making gravy is not rocket science, just have a good eye when making your roux and keep on stirring and you'll have lump-free turkey gravy!

Turkey Gravy

• Drippings from a roast turkey
• 5 cups turkey stock or deglazed stock & drippings
  
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• dash of garlic powder

1. Transfer your turkey to a platter to rest. Place the pan back on the heat and deglaze the brown bits with white wine or some water and scrape to loosen the brown bits. Now pour all the drippings into a meauring cup. Leave the brown bits in the bottom of the cup...that's tasty stuff!
2. Let the drippings stand until the fat rises to the top of the measuring cup. Spoon off the fat and reserve.
3. Place a sauce pan on medium-high heat and add your butter. As soon as it bubbles, add your flour and constantly stir until the flour has cooked and has turned a light brown colour. Add your stock/drippings to the pot and bring to a soft boil. If you encounter lumps, use a potato masher to break up the lumps and then continue stirring.
4. Simmer your gravy until you achieve your desired thickness. Check for seasoning with salt and pepper and if you like, some garlic powder can add a nice dimension too!
   

The Rest Of the Thanksgiving Table

As tasty as the turkey was and as much as I'd love to be solely eating turkey, we also had "fixins" at the table. I made garlic-mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce and roasted brussel sprouts.

I'm not trying to be fancy here and show you something new flavour combo...it was Thanksgiving and you want good, tasty dishes that will take your memories of all your previous Thanksgiving dinners.

Garlic-Mashed Potatoes

6 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into chunks
6 cloves of garlic
milk
unsalted butter
1/2 bunch of chives, chopped
salt & pepper

1. Place your potatoes and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil. Add a couple of Tbsp. of salt, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
2. Strain your potatoes and place them back in the pot and put the them back on the heat to quickly cook off any residual water. Turn the heat off and add your butter and thoroughly mash (or use a ricer) your potatoes (and garlic) to achieve your mashed potatoes.
   
3. Add some milk and stir in. Add some more milk depending on how think or thin you like your mashed potatoes. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper
4. Add your chives, mix well into the mash and keep warm.