Granini's Cranberry Orange Relish

Granini's Cranberry Orange Relish

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Again, I apologize for not using my own pic. I promise I will do my best to take pictures this year! I say that every year though. So perhaps you'd best not hold your breath. I do know the number for the paramedics, should you hold your breath, and turn blue, and start to pass out. Or actually pass out. But if you're all the way over there, and I'm all the way over here, however am I going to tell when it's time to call them?! So maybe, just this once, don't hold your breath.

Anywhoooo...

My recipe for cranberry orange relish, which I prefer to call: 

Mmmmm. Thanksgiving Jelly. Mmmmmm.

is a recipe I made up a gajillion years ago. I've seen many people make variations of the recipe, but their's never seemed to come out sweet, and not bitter.

So I looked up "how not to make cranberries bitter" and found out that if you cook them too long, THAT'S why they turn out bitter!!! Good to know!

And now YOU know too!

So yay me for sharing!

I don't like bitter.

So the trick to this recipe is to only cook the cranberries until the very first few cranberries start to pop.

So here we go:

Ingredients:

1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries

1 cup water

2 peeled and roughly chopped satsuma oranges. You know, the sweet little oranges that you can eat five of at lunch time before you realize that you should probably stop.

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 cup water

Directions:

Wash the cranberries. Don't bother draining them, just plunk them into a saucepan. I prefer a nonstick saucepan because they can get a bit 'stainy,' and that's just what I prefer. Easy clean up.

Peel and roughly chop up two satsuma oranges. Plunk those into the saucepan.

Add in one cup of water. Ish. A little more or a little less won't kill you.

At this point, bring those items to a boil on medium high, stirring away every now and again. But keep your eye on them, because you only want to cook them JUST until the first few cranberries pop. And by pop, I mean kinda burst open in a rather traumatic way.

Once two or three cranberries have popped, add in your sugar and your lemon zest and turn down the heat to a simmer.  Stir merrily away as necessary, and allow the rest of the cranberries to soften up, about 7 or 8 minutes or so.

Remove from heat and allow to rest.

Do NOT be tempted to overcook.

They WILL soften up on their own when you let them rest.

And if you overcook them, they will be nasty bitter.

And who likes bitter cranberries?!?!?!

Blech.

So just cook them like I suggested, then take them off the heat and let them sit on the counter until they're cool enough to chill in the fridge.

Once the mixture has cooled, place it in an airtight container (so that it doesn't spill over in the fridge and then STAIN EVERYTHING IN SIGHT, which it will, because it's a sneaky little toad), and then let it chill completely.

I usually make my thanksgiving jelly, er, um, I mean cranberry orange relish, about two or three days before thanksgiving. Because frankly, I'm usually too darned busy making pies to make jelly on the day of thanksgiving. I mean really, this year I'm making sixteen pies. Blissful sigh. It's no where near my magical week of twenty three thanksgiving pies. Alas. I'll just have to make do with only sixteen. Sixteen should keep me on my toes. Or at least give my arms a wee bit of a work out before the BIG DAY, my most FAVORITE DAY, the DAY OF GLUTTONY!

mmmmmm.  Gluttony.  mmmmm

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Find other tasty Thanksgiving Dinner dishes here:

And tasty pie recipes here:

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I not only bake and cook, I write murder mysteries too!

Both books are available in paperback and kindle versions

Diamonds for Diamond 
(Book 1 in the Jack Diamond Mystery series)
and
No One Noticed

(Book 2 in the Jack Diamond Mystery Series)