Cranberry Relish

A couple years ago, in the spirit of adventure, I tried a cooked cranberry chutney recipe that is extremely different from the fresh cranberry relish my Mom makes every year for Thanksgiving. Bad move. Thanksgiving is not a time to deviate from traditions. You can incorporate something new, but you can't take away the tried, true, and beloved.

In our family, we don't do canned cranberry sauce, nor do we do a cooked cranberry sauce, but we always make a very simple fresh cranberry relish of nothing more than cranberries, oranges, and sugar. I took the liberty to reduce the sugar and add cinnamon to my Mom's recipe, which I'm certain came from the back of a cranberry bag, but have been unable to spot such a recipe in recent years.

One reason I am so endeared to this recipe is that my Mom let me make it every year from beginning at a very young age. We'd break out the old crank meat grinder, suction it to the counter, and I'd fill the hopper with cranberries and orange hunks, and grind away. Now a days, I use a food processor to get the same results.

Cranberry Relish
makes about 2 1/2 cups

This relish is best made a day ahead, so the cranberries can macerate and the flavors marry. It can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. It also freezes well.

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 Navel orange
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Wash cranberries and drain. Discard any shriveled or bad cranberries.
In a food processor, pulse cranberries 8-10 times until finely chopped. Turn out cranberries into a large bowl.Cut orange into eighths.
In food processor, pulse orange wedges 8-10 times until orange rind is finely chopped. Turn out orange rinds, including juice, into the bowl with the cranberries.
Add sugar and cinnamon, and stir until incorporated. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.