Homemade Orange Cranberry Sauce

Some things are just easier to get from a can, like beans or olives or hearts of palm... but cranberry sauce is so easy to make it home, and sooooo lacking the jelly movement and the the cylinder shape with little ridges on the outside and the squish gross sound it makes when you plop it out of the can. If thats your thang, then go for it. But c'mon! Doesn't this look and sound so much better? 

My main tip when cooking a big feast like Thanksgiving dinner is to make as much as possible in advance. This will save you the stress of pulling all your hair out when everything needs to be tended to at the same time. Cranberry sauce can be made the night before and stored away in the fridge! So lets get these holiday scents started in the kitchen yum! 

Ingredients

• 1 12oz package of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar  
• 1/2 cup white sugar (add/remove sugar to taste depending on how tart you like your sauce)
• 2 oranges (you will use this for the zest and the juice below)
• Zest of 2 oranges (leave some for the garnish when serving)
• 1/2 cup orange juice 
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or a cinnamon stick 
• 1 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil at medium/high heat. Reduce the heat once it starts to boil to a low/medium, stir occasionally and let slowly simmer until the cranberries have burst (about 25-30 minutes). 

Now you can pour it all in a storage container and save it in the fridge until ready to plate, garnish and serve. I like to save a little zest for the garnish as well as some of the orange peel in thin slices to make the plate pretty. You can twist the orange peel like so!

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving recipes!
xoxo