I am a heretic for not liking cranberries at all - either canned or not. BUH-LECH. PTUI.
Buffy: A Guide, but no water or food. So it leads me to the sacred place and then a week later it leads you to my bleached bones? Giles: Buffy, really. It takes more than a week to bleach bones.
'Dirty Girls'
Spike's Bitches 43: Who am I kidding? I love to brag.
[NAFDA] Spike-centric discussion. Lusty, lewd (only occasionally crude), risqué (and frisqué), bawdy (Oh, lawdy!), flirty ('cuz we're purty), raunchy talk inside. Caveat lector.
Aims - Nov 11, 2008 7:26:50 am PST #902 of 10000
Shit's all sorts of different now.
Amy - Nov 11, 2008 7:27:03 am PST #903 of 10000
Because books.
The ridges are there to guide your cutting. Nice, even slices.
See?!
Clearly Teppy and ChiKat and I are right. ::preens::
ChiKat - Nov 11, 2008 7:28:05 am PST #904 of 10000
That man was going to shank me. Over an omelette. Two eggs and a slice of government cheese. Is that what my life is worth?
I am a heretic for not liking cranberries at all - either canned or not. BUH-LECH. PTUI.
If you are, then I am, too. I don't like them, either.
Tom Scola - Nov 11, 2008 7:29:27 am PST #905 of 10000
Mr. Scola’s wardrobe by Botany 500
That's why I'm stuck eating the stuff out of a can each Thanksgiving. There aren't enough people in my family who like cranberries to make it worth while to make the real thing.
Sparky1 - Nov 11, 2008 7:29:45 am PST #906 of 10000
Librarian Warlord
Clearly Teppy and ChiKat and I are right.
I will graciously let you three have all the can shaped cranberry gel you like this Thanksgiving. No complaints here if I'm left to eat the fresh, homemade cranberry sauce.
WindSparrow - Nov 11, 2008 7:30:28 am PST #907 of 10000
Love is stronger than death and harder than sorrow. Those who practice it are fierce like the light of stars traveling eons to pierce the night.
Just following the directions on the package of fresh cranberries gets me as many compliments as I need - but you do seem to have set the bar higher for yourself.
My mom used to make apple pies by not adding any sugar or cinnamon, but just mushing a can of cranberry sauce into the apples. That gets rave reviews, and recipe requests.
Connie Neil - Nov 11, 2008 7:32:31 am PST #908 of 10000
brillig
Nice, even slices.
It fits tidily on the plate and doesn't migrate into the mashed potatoes. Which shouldn't have lumps.
sj - Nov 11, 2008 7:32:47 am PST #909 of 10000
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
I will graciously let you three have all the can shaped cranberry gel you like this Thanksgiving.
Me too! I freaked out the year my mother tried to make the homemade version.
Glamcookie - Nov 11, 2008 7:34:17 am PST #910 of 10000
I know my own heart and understand my fellow man. But I am made unlike anyone I have ever met. I dare to say I am like no one in the whole world. - Anne Lister
I am a heretic for not liking cranberries at all - either canned or not. BUH-LECH. PTUI.
Me too. Ick.
amych - Nov 11, 2008 7:34:24 am PST #911 of 10000
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
The basic version is just cranberries, water, and sugar. The instructions look good here: [link] That's for a standard-sized bag of cranberries from the grocery store, btw.
I tend to cut the sugar to about 3/4 cup, but that's anti-sweets me talking. I wouldn't cut sugar more than that, because you need sugar in there to make it set up.
If you like whole-berry style sauce, just cook it up and cool it. Dead easy. If you like it jelly-style (like the can), strain it and smoosh it through a strainer to break up the berries and lose the skins before refrigerating.
If you're feeling like flavor variations, you can add almost any imaginable extras to the basics: a dash of cinnamon, or a shot of booze (bourbon and port are both exceptionally good, with obviously different results), replace all or part of the water with orange juice, add nuts or other fruits (dried is probably best). Dried cranberries don't change the flavor as much, but they add bite to the texture, if you're tired of plain sauce.
There's also a whole other family of cranberry relishes -- not sauces -- made of chopped fruit. I tend to go spicy with those (Cranberry and chiles. Who knew?). But a cranberry-loving U.S. family is almost certainly going to love a more traditional sauce, with a second one as an add-on.
(Hi, my name is Amy, and I have a cranberry sauce problem.)