Each year at Mouth HQ we host a Thanksgiving potluck, where members of the team cook classic Thanksgiving dishes upgraded with small-batch, indie-gredients. And then we share the recipes with you! Today, we bring you a dish made by our President, Nancy Kruger Cohen.
I love Thanksgiving. Everything about it. The colors, the smells, the oven logistics.
Baking is done the night before, so Thanksgiving Day at my parents’ house usually starts with a cup of coffee and a sneaked piece of cranberry nut bread (just the end, no one will notice). I watch the Macy’s parade balloons and Broadway showstoppers with my father and daughters and then take a deep breath and go into the kitchen.
The counters are covered. There are cauliflowers and Brussels sprouts and string beans and acorn squash, which I help my mother season and roast. There is the annual sweet potato debate – she likes them baked, I prefer mashed. There is the turkey and stuffing, which I never have anything to do with (vegetarian’s privilege). There are the coffee-table appetizers, which my aunt and uncle have been bringing from Zabar’s forever, which I now supplement with my must-haves from Mouth (Farmhouse Crisps, Sun-Dried Tomato Olive Tapenade and White Truffle Popcorn).
And then there is the cranberry sauce. Mom always made it with orange juice and zest from scratch, of course (“It’s so easy, why would anyone open a can?”). But it slipped her mind altogether last year, and there was no orange juice left in the fridge, so I quickly improvised with apple cider and came up with this recipe.
Apple, maple, cinnamon, ginger, cloves – how could it be possibly anything but awesome? I knew the Maple Sugar I brought home would come in handy for something.
Indeed, it was such a hit I’m going to make it again this year. And maybe forever.
Nancy's Maple Sugar Cranberry Sauce
1 12-ounce package of cranberries (I always use fresh)
1 cup apple cider
1 cup of Vermont Dark Maple Syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon (aka a few good dashes)
¼ teaspoon ginger (aka a dash)
¼ teaspoon cloves (aka a quick dash)
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all of the ingredients in one medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the cranberries burst, about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover, cool and serve at room temperature. Or refrigerate if you’re making this in advance.
Total time: 20 minutes
Yield: Makes about 2 ¼ cups