Cranberry sauce is a full-on side dish in my house. Don’t expect a dainty, little portion next to the turkey. We require a mound of cranberry sauce on our Thanksgiving plates. But this is not anything like jellied cranberry sauce from a can. This is more of a cranberry relish. It’s is citrusy, slightly sweet, and has warmth from the cinnamon. Requiring no cooking, this sauce blends whole cranberries with sugar, an orange, and cinnamon. The orange flavor is strong at first, but it mellows as the sauce sits in the fridge. Bonus: It can be made several days in advance of Turkey Day, taking this favorite side dish off the day’s busy to-do list!

Cranberry Sauce (Relish)

Ingredients:

• 1 Navel orange
• 1- 12 oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Zest the orange with a microplane zester, grating only the top orange skin and trying not to grate any of the white pith. Cut the orange in half, remove all the pith and any seeds, and cut each half into 4 pieces. There’s no need to cut the orange into perfect segments, as the blender will do most of the work for you!
2. In a Vitamix or high-powered blender, blend orange zest and the orange quarters, along with the cranberries, sugar, and cinnamon and blend until fully mixed but still a little chunky- as in, it will never be perfectly smooth. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours; this recipe can be made up to 2-3 days ahead of Turkey Day!

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