Cranberry Sauce with Strawberries by Nancy Carey Johnson

I’ve been making this recipe for so long I don’t really remember why I came up with it. I’m betting it must’ve been because somebody didn’t absolutely love 100 percent cranberry sauce, and so, as a way to change it up a little while maintaining the integrity of the sauce, I added some strawberries. But in all honesty, that’s just conjecture. What I will say is that I’ve had rave reviews over this sauce. People have told me that they eat it by the bowl full, pour it over vanilla ice cream and use it as a topping for cheesecake!

Ingredients:

Yields approximately 4 cups

• 1⁄2 pound of frozen (unsweetened) strawberries, slightly thawed
• 1 cup water
• 1-1⁄4 cups sugar
• 1/2 of a 12-ounce bag of frozen cranberries
•  

Instructions:

-Take the frozen strawberries out of the freezer. Believe it or not, this really is the first step you should take in this recipe because, if you do it this way, the strawberries will be of the perfect semi-soft consistency to work with by the time you’re ready for them.

-Combine water and sugar in a medium pot, give it a stir, and then bring it to a boil over high heat.

-Add the frozen cranberries, stir again, and return to boiling.

-Reduce the heat and boil gently (just above a simmer) for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the pop, pop, pop of the cranberries as they pop open.

-Meanwhile, take your slightly thawed but still frozen strawberries and using a chef's knife, chop them into small chunks.

-Once the cranberry mixture has finished cooking, remove the pot from the stove and stir in the strawberries. Doing it this way accomplishes two things. 1). It blends the flavors beautifully, 2). It helps to quickly cool the sauce!

Bon Appétit -and from all of us at JK Adams, we wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 Author Note: Nancy Carey Johnson is a singer/songwriter and the award- winning author of Life is Good: Wit & Wisdom From A Vermont Homesteader and The Vermont Homesteader's Christmas Memories: Wit, Wisdom & Holiday Recipes. She lives in Poultney, Vermont with her three dogs, four cats and a flock of clucking Chickens, she is also the mother of four grown sons. In her spare time, she loves to garden and bake.