ThanksGiving - Cranberry Sauce

ThanksGiving is my favorite american holiday. It is a celebration of togetherness and appreciation for the little things in life. There's no gift exchange stress involved and no diet guilts. Since summer is far away and no one is going to see anyone in a bathing suit anytime soon, who cares if we eat 5 lbs worth of food in one day? It's all just about being together and eat good food. That's what life should always be about.
This year was my 11th ThanksGiving, which means it has been 11 years since I first met Matt. It was also the first year I cooked the whole ThanksGiving meal. It was very exciting.
At the beginning of the week I made the cranberry sauce. First I tested two different recipes in small quantities for us to choose which one we liked better. One was simply 1 lb of cranberries, 1 cup of sugar and zest of 1 orange in the oven for 45 minutes at 350º.

It comes out a beautiful, dark red colored sauce with a citrus hint that is perfect for those who prefer a sauce that is not so tart.

The second version requires more ingredients and more patient stirring it. It starts by cooking dried cranberries with and alcoholic drink of your choice, then adding fresh cranberries, water, and sugar and stir it for what it seems an eternity.

The result is a vibrant bright red sauce a bit more tart than the previous, yet with enough sugar to make it very tasty. The cognac makes it taste less fruity and much more interesting. And it cooks long enough for the alcohol to evaporate and make it safe for everyone to eat.

Needless to say the last version was the one we chose to make for the actual day - Cranberry Sauce with Cognac. I adapted adapted from a recipe on Bon appétit. Diogo loved it.