Happy Thanksgiving!

The Annual Posting of the Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe Ever

Hey everyone!

As this post is rather non-political, I thought I would continue the annual tradition of posting my recipe for the best cranberry sauce in the history of planet.

Here you go:

First, pour and enjoy a glass of white wine - sweet but not too sweet (maybe a reisling?)

Then put two unopened cans of Ocean Spray Whole Berry cranberry sauce in the fridge to chill it a bit (yes, I know you shouldn’t put cans in the fridge but this will be fine.) Make sure it’s Ocean Spray Whole Berry and not some knock-off brand and if you make your own cranberry sauce and think you can use that you would be wrong – I have tried that and it doesn’t work; the resulting sauce tends to get waaay liquidy (same with the cheap stuff.) It seems the pectins in Ocean Spray are perfect for heating … go figure (and if you know someone who works for Ocean Spray forward them this recipe and have them send me a check.)

While the cans are in the fridge, dice - nearly mince but not too too small (half an Advil-ish size)– jalapenos. If you are spice tolerant do three large, if less so do three medium sized peppers. In the end, they should be basically small enough to blend nicely in the finished sauce but big enough to still catch the heat and not simply melt.

(Note – wash your hands after dicing the jalapenos, especially if you have to go pee – trust me on that.)

Then dice (about the same size but they can be a bit bigger) a thumb and two fingers of fresh ginger (peeled, of course.)

In the end you want about the same amount of ginger and jalapeno.

Pour some of the wine in a glass and drink it.

Then roughly chop a half bunch of dill – if you buy it in a plastic container, say about two-thirds of that. Either way, strip the stalks before chopping but don’t worry if some of those bits end up in the sauce.

Take a sauté pan, put a bit of butter in it, heat it up high, wait a few seconds, put some wine in the pan, then add the ginger and jalapeno.

Once the aromatics have become noticeable and the bits have turned just a bit dark, add a little more butter and a little more wine and if you have some turkey drippings you aren’t using for the gravy, add a small ladle of that as well. If you don’t, don’t bother - it’s nice to have but not crucial.

Then add the cranberry sauce.

Pour some of the wine you have left (maybe) in a glass and drink it.

Then smoosh the goop around the pan – mixing it in with the ginger and jalapeno - until evenish. Bubble, bubble heat for a bit, then add the dill, maybe some wine if there is any left, and then cut the heat to keep the concoction at a high simmer. You will see the sauce reduce and get darker – that is good and this whole process should take about six minutes.

It’s done when it looks maybe maroonish and pretty molten.

Put it in a dish and bring it to the table and people can use it as they wish!

If you have a bunch of people, simply double the ingredients.

And if you have any leftover, it’s great on turkey sandwiches!

It really is King Nummy!

Have a great Thanksgiving!