Cranberry {Orange, Pineapple, Walnut} Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving!! How were your holidays? We had a nice relaxing day with my family at my aunt & uncle's house, where the only thing I was asked to bring was 'my' cranberry sauce.

This has become 'my' cranberry sauce because I've made it for the past several holiday meals, but (shh, don't tell!) I just use this recipe. And I follow it exactly. Check the link for the full recipe, but here are some thoughts from my experience...

• If you've never had homemade cranberry sauce and always use the cans (which was me until a few years ago) - there's seriously no comparison. I don't have any desire to eat the canned stuff again!
• I have even less desire to eat the canned kind since this is so easy - chopping the orange is by far the worst & slowest part (although I am admittedly a terrible chopper). It's very quick and very simple (and also fun - I love when the cranberries start popping!)
• The combination of flavors in this recipe is really nice - the orange and pineapple give it a different spin, and I love the crunch of the walnuts.
• I'm not a big fan of it plain, as it's a little on the bitter side, but I think it's absolutely perfect paired with turkey so I haven't adjusted the recipe. If you'd prefer to cut down the bitterness, you could reduce the orange.
• The recipe yields a massive amount. We usually have a gang of 12 or so, and there is always some leftover. If you have a smaller bunch, you may want to reduce the recipe.  Orrrr... you can use the leftovers in other tasty ways. I had some mixed in with my oatmeal for breakfast this morning, and I want to try these cranberry sauce muffins.

If you don't already make homemade cranberry sauce, or if you'd like to try something a little different, I highly recommend this one!

After dinner, we spent a little time in the backyard. Yes, this is my aunt & uncle's backyard - isn't it amazing?!