I have never posted a cranberry sauce recipe before because frankly every time I tried I ended up with a lip-puckering nasty gloopy mess and we’ve just used lingonberry jam from IKEA instead.
A happy surprise for the table
So this year, I did not even tell my family I’d bought cranberries! I told no one that I was going to attempt it again. I just put it together surreptitiously on the day, figuring that if I failed yet again, no one would be the wiser. And wouldn’t you know, it came out deliciously — just the right tartness and sweetness, beautiful color and rich texture. It was great on the turkey and the ham, and even on bread! I have visions of using it on duck or venison one day…(Mad Dog? Are you there?)
I used a recipe from Simply Recipes (one of my go-to spots for solid fundamentals clearly presented) and then played with proportions and seasonings. And it’s a good thing I went for it. Unbeknownst to me, there was no lingonberry jam in the house, so we would have had to do without. Some things are just meant to be, and this was one of those things!
I will absolutely do this again next year for Thanksgiving, and will very likely not wait that long to try it again.
The blueberries were left over from the summer. Had them in my freezer: serendipity!!!
Cranberry Sauce
¾ Cup sugar
¾ Cup water
7 oz package fresh cranberries
1 Cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Orange/Clementine zest (barely 1/4 tsp)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. In the meantime, wash and pick over cranberries. Add cranberries, bring to a boil again and then lower heat and simmer until the cranberries are mostly popped (about 10 minutes).
Stir in blueberries, spices and just a tiny bit of zest (use only the colored part of the peel. The pith –white part – will make things bitter). Cook for a bare minute, then remove from heat and cool enough to pour into your serving container. Then cool to room temperature and refrigerate. The sauce will set as it cools.
Hot, Cheap & Easy 
Reblogged this on Hot, Cheap & Easy and commented:
My reliable cranberry recipe…finally got it after many sorry attempts that my family never even knew about!
If at first you don’t succeed…! Brava! I’m blueberry-averse myself, but then my cranberry relish version is Mom’s old raw version of cranberries and whole oranges and sugar coarsely ground together. Simple and smashing. Yours sounds ideal for one who *does* like blueberries, and the old IKEA staple isn’t bad, either.
You could probably use another type of berry…and really it doesn’t taste like blueberries…it just takes the edge off the tanginess of the cranberries!
I love the idea of adding blueberries! I just baked a batch of vegan muffins using the leftover cranberry sauce – holy yum!! Love the tartness this dish brings to any meal.
oooh, those muffins do sound good….
You know I am! I did go to buy wild duck this morning, but they’d been clever and avoided the hunters. I came back with two pheasants instead. I suspect they would go very well with your cranberry sauce 😉
Indeed…I knew you would exactly get it!!!