Cranberry Relish

There is only one dish that I have to have at Thanksgiving and Christmas: cranberry sauce.  But not just any cranberry sauce. Aunt Selma's Cranberry Relish.  Yes, the very same Aunt Selma who gave us the wonderful Apple Cake recipe; I've come to the conclusion that she must have been a very good cook.  This is definitely not your average cranberry sauce; it's not the shape of an aluminum can, it doesn't have orange rind in it, and it's not plain cranberries and sugar.  It has the zip of a fresh orange and gets sweetness from dried plums.  In a word, it's delectable.  And it's been a staple on our family table for as long as I can remember for every Thanksgiving and Christmas meal.  I also like that it's quick, simple to make, and can be made a week in advance - which is great when you're trying to make what feels like a million different dishes for a big holiday meal. 

Cranberry Relish
1 pound dried plums, roughly chopped
1 orange, peel and membrane removed, chopped
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
3 cups cranberries

1.  Chop dried plums and set aside. Slice peel and membrane off one orange and slice the meat of the orange into small bite-size pieces (the pieces will remain intact in the sauce, so keep that in mind when you decide how large you want them). Set aside.

2.  Put water and sugar in a medium sauce pan on the stove and boil for 5 minutes.

3.  Add cranberries and bring to a boil.  Boil cranberries until all berries are popped.  It's important that all berries are popped; any un-popped berries in the sauce will be very tart when eaten!  You can smoosh berries with a rubber spatula after a few minutes to see if any still need to pop.

4.  When all berries are popped, add fruit mixture and lemon juice to the cranberries and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.  Sauce will thicken as it sits. If you find your orange pieces are larger than you like, simply take some clean kitchen shears and snip them into smaller pieces in the sauce (it's much easier and quicker than taking them out to cut them!).

Serve warm or store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. May serve cold or at room temperature. After removing from heat, you may can the sauce if desired.

Enjoy!