Some time not too long after Thanksgiving, I'll buy a turkey breast and roast it, and we'll have a meal with cranberry sauce, dressing, and a few of the other typical Thanksgiving dishes. It's like we get a taste of it on Thanksgiving and decide it wasn't enough and we want to do it all over again but definitely can't wait a full year!
Doing just a breast means there isn't a ridiculous amount of leftovers, but we still get that carved turkey experience. I used this recipe but this year I tried a dry brine too. The bird was very moist and flavorful, and it went wonderfully with my homemade cranberry sauce. In addition to the usual orange flavors, I also added apple cider this time, and it tasted pretty darn scrumptious and exciting. There was a lot left, but fortunately, it's great on sandwiches and with just about any meat.
Happy Thanksgiving 2.0!
Apple Cranberrysauce
(printable recipe)
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them, picking out the duds as you go.
Put the water, cider, sugars, all but 1/4 cup cranberries, the cinnamon or cinnamon stick, and the orange peel in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes or until the cranberries have burst.
Once the cranberries have burst, add remaining cranberries and season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove the cinnamon stick, if you used it.
Let cool completely at room temperature, taste and season again, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator. Note that the cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
(printable recipe)
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 4 cups (1 12-ounce package) fresh or frozen cranberries
- Cinnamon or pieces of cinnamon stick
- 1 tablespoon dried orange peel
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse them, picking out the duds as you go.
Put the water, cider, sugars, all but 1/4 cup cranberries, the cinnamon or cinnamon stick, and the orange peel in a medium saucepan on high heat and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes or until the cranberries have burst.
Once the cranberries have burst, add remaining cranberries and season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove the cinnamon stick, if you used it.
Let cool completely at room temperature, taste and season again, then transfer to a bowl to chill in the refrigerator. Note that the cranberry sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
The addition of cinnamon and orange peel sounds wonderful! I love cranberry sauce; I try to make enough to last a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving, but, alas, we usually only get another one to 3 meals out of it.
ReplyDeleteNext time I make cranberry sauce, I'm going to try it your way and add in brown sugar and a little apple cider! Yum, sounds terrific, Grace!
ReplyDeleteWe did the same this year, with most of Thanksgiving dinner all over again. This cranberry sauce sounds great and I want to try it soon. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThat's a wonderful tradition, Grace. My husband doesn't eat poultry at all, so I usually share the chicken with my cats and now it's like a tradition too. Whenever I get chicken, my cats are very happy :-)) The sauce looks wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThis sauce sounds perfect! I love the orange in there :).
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun tradition! And, I'm regretting not making cranberry sauce this year. I wish I had some of this to use on sandwiches!
ReplyDeleteOh I love the spices you used Grace, I can see why you bake more turkey, this looks scrumptious!!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful tradition to me. We love Thanksgiving dinner! I like the idea of using apple cider in cranberry sauce - yum!
ReplyDeleteAll those additions sound wonderful, what a great way to spice it up :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using cider! I also love the idea of turkey dinner near Christmas time... what a nice tradition.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, yum! We just started making our cranberry sauce from scratch this year! http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean-once a year isn't enough for seasonal treats! :D This looks stellar Grace!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great Grace. I'll have to try it. You can never have enough leftovers in my book
ReplyDeleteWhat a great sauce, I only made cranberry sauce once (it is not very common in Germany) and I loved it. Your version with apple cider and cinnamon sounds even better.
ReplyDeleteI love that tradition. I mean, why not enjoy the foods you love at the holidays more than once a year? There's no law, right? I say go ahead and partake to your heart's -- and stomach's -- delight. Happy holidays to you and your family! ;)
ReplyDeleteYum! This is an ultimate cranberry sauce recipe and I can assure everyone as a passionate cranberry sauce lover. Excellent recipe, Grace! ;)
ReplyDeleteMost years I do a full turkey sometime around Christmas. It makes a great first meal, then the leftovers are perfect when everyone is home between Christmas and New Years. Since I'm eating local that didn't happen this year, which I miss! I did cranberry sauce with blueberries a couple years ago. Can't go wrong with cranberries!
ReplyDelete