Cranberry Orange Sauce

I wrote this post Sunday afternoon…

Another week to enjoy the anticipation of Christmas Day. I wish time would slow down. It has taken me years to allow myself to exhale and enjoy the beauty of the season.

I loved today.

The sun was streaming in through my kitchen windows, as I puttered. The counters were piled with butter, sugar, flour and eggs waiting to be turned into Christmas treats. Some of the most beautiful choirs in the world were singing stunning arrangements of carols on my stereo. And Christie popped in for a cup of tea.

For several hours, I rolled out my daughters favorite holiday cookies and Christie ate raw cookie dough – a weird little habit of hers!

It does not sound that amazing but, to me, it was perfect.

I love the verbal shorthand that Christie and I share. She is probably the only person in the world that can follow my erratic thought patterns. We segue all over the map and never lose our step.

We have been sharing Christmas since we were 14 years old. We were not always able to be together. Geography, family commitments and misunderstandings have all played a part in whether we would see each other. Yet, here we are – so many years later – on a perfect winter’s day, one week before Christmas still loving each other’s company.

Yes – today was a perfect…

I am hosting Christmas dinner this year for my family. Mom and I have switched. She will prepare our Christmas Eve dinner and I will prepare our family meal on Christmas day. It’s a bit of pressure. Mom has spoiled each of us by serving every plateful laden with the most delicious turkey dinner imaginable.

This morning I created my own cranberry and orange sauce to serve with the turkey – fingers crossed! When I made the candied orange peel, I saved the orange segments in a simple syrup so that I could use them in this recipe. I have rolled it around in my head for a couple of weeks.

Typically, most cranberry sauce recipes call for one pound of fresh cranberries, sugar, water and embellishments like orange and spices.

This is my version.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

makes 5 cups

1 lb fresh cranberries, cleaned

2 cups fresh orange segments

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

Pour into bottles and refrigerate up to three weeks.

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I would love to hear from you!