Happy Thanksgiving Day! Today is my day to cook - my sons go to their wife's/GF's for Thanksgiving. Here's a recipe for a delicious cranberry sauce that I've been making for years. It will be wonderful for Christmas as well.
Cranberry-Pear Chutney
This ruby-colored chutney can be made up to 3 weeks ahead and stored in airtight jars in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. It also makes a great hostess gift when packed in small, decorative glass jars. Serve with turkey, pork, ham.
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
2 cups peeled, chopped Bosc pear (about 3 medium)
1 cup peeled, chopped Granny Smith apple (about 1 medium)
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Combine first six ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries begin to pop. Stir in pear, apple, raisins, onion and ginger; cook 20 minutes or until fruit is tender. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Cool to room temperature, and discard cinnamon. Cover and chill.
Yield: 4 ¾ cups (serving size: ¼ cup)
Using a 2-foot length of wire (approximate), bend a small, tight loop in one end - this is to wrap around the tie tack, which you'll do later. Referring to the pictures above, make a right-angle turn and slip one seed bead, one E-bead, and another seed beed on the wire. Make another right-angle turn in the opposite direction. Repeat the beads. Continue making turns, but make each "branch" longer than the preceding one, and add a couple more beads (starting and stopping with seed beads). Don't add too many beads to a row - you want them to slide back and forth to give the Christmas Tree Pin some motion. Add some narrowing turns without beads at the bottom for a "trunk." Slip a tie tack into the top loop and crimp with the pliers. If it's still loose, use some craft glue to anchor it. Glue a star onto the tie tack. I made envelopes out of scrapbooking paper (use a small pre-made envelope as a template), and cut cardstock to fit the envelope. Attach the pin to the cardstock and insert into the envelope for a cute presentation! My coworker, Janell, and I made tons of these last year. They are fun to make and to give!
