a simple thanksgiving part 1

i like to keep things simple. and when you are a simple cook, as i am, the ingredients are not far out and the procedure is not too too complicated, but all the elements must come together with care and attention. the details and quality are that much more important when the food itself, is rather simple. i buy the highest quality organic ingredients i can. as long as they are not outrageously priced or terribly inconvenient to get to as i think it also matters how far you have to travel to pick up this or that element of your meal, and perhaps also how far it has to travel to get to you. for the next few days i am going to post my simple thanksgiving recipes, which we've been making for about a decade now. though it took us another decade to get everything just where we wanted it. cooking takes time and experimentation, but there is not much more to it than that.

cranberry orange sauce

serves 6*

1 bag fresh organic cranberries

1 large tangelo, or orange, membranes removed and chopped into large pieces

1/2 cup freshly squeezed tangelo or orange juice

1/2 cup sugar

a tiny pinch of salt

*this recipe is dead simple and can easily be doubled or tripled depending on your needs.

peel and chop the orange or tangelo, do try and save all the juice from this process and add it all to a medium saucepan with the orange pieces. add in the bag of fresh cranberries. and now the sugar. allow to come to a boil over high heat, then turn down to medium. cook for 5 minutes or so, the cranberries will begin to make a pleasing popping sound. this is fun. cook another 3 minutes or so as the cranberries collapse a bit. taste for sweetness. most recipes call for 1 - 2 cups of sugar, i try to get away with as little as i can, some cranberries are sweeter than others, so i find it is a bit different every year. when you get it just right, turn off the heat and allow to cool for 3 minutes. then pour into a serving dish and allow to cool the rest of the way. at this point the cranberry sauce can be chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. but i like it best still warm. yum. not to sweet. so simple. and so delicious.