Grandma's Foolproof Cranberry Sauce

Turkey day is drawing nigh, people.  And I'm hosting this year.  9 people.  This is my first time hosting.

Gulp.

I have at least one recipe, however, that is completely foolproof.  My grandmother's cranberry sauce.*  Because if there wasn't cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, there is a strong probability my family would riot.

Grandma has been making Thanksgiving dinner for nearly 50 years.  And it is perfect.  And I can't top that.  So I decided to go a different direction with some of the other favorite dishes.  Instead of Grandma's sausage stuffing, I'm making a wild rice stuffing.  Instead of herb-roasted turkey, I'm doing apple-cider-brined turkey.  Because if I were to make Grandma's stuffing, for example, it would be good, don't get me wrong, but not AS good as it would be if Grandma made it.  Because she's been making it for fifty years, you see.  And I haven't.

But her cranberry sauce.  It is so easy.  No one can say it isn't just as good as Grandma's.  Because it will be.

I test ran the recipe this week, partly because I couldn't believe how easy it was.  It was easy, people.  And there is even a secret ingredient.  An apple.  WHAT?!  An apple in cranberry sauce?  That's what makes it foolproof, you see.  The apple keeps it from being too mouth-puckeringly cranberryish, if you know what I mean.  My grandma invented this recipe.  She's a smart woman.  Trust the apple.

While I am going to make another batch closer to the big day, now I have a perfect topping for my morning oatmeal.  Told you this stuff was good.

Grandma's Foolproof Cranberry Sauce


*I neglected to take a picture of the finished product.  But you know what it should look like.**

**If you don't know what it should look like, go to Google images and type in, "cranberry sauce."  Yep.  That's what it should look like.

1 bag whole fresh cranberries

1 apple (Granny Smith is best)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Heat the sugar and the water until the sugar is dissolved, over medium heat.  Sort and wash the cranberries.  Chop up a whole apple (excluding the core of course).  Add both the cranberries and the apple to pot.  You can tell when the cranberries start to get done because they pop.  Stir occasionally, you’ll see when it starts to look done.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.