Oh Wow Cranberry and Orange Relish

I added the "Oh Wow" to the name of this relish, because that is the first thing that came out of my mouth when I tasted it, still hot and syrupy from the pan.  Somehow, cranberry sauce always seemed daunting to me, what with making sure you had the right amount of sweet and tart, not burning the sugar in the syrup, and generally the idea of working with ripe (i.e., not dried and already sweetened) cranberries.  How wrong I was.  How very wrong...

 

 The recipe that I used, from Real Simple here, called for only butter, brown sugar, orange juice, and ginger (which I keep in my fridge in a handy, already-grated form).  It also called for orange marmalade, which is NOT a standard ingredient in the apartment, so I figured I'd just add in some grated orange zest and call it even.   

 

It was so easy!  All I had to do was melt the butter, add the ginger and cook for a few minutes, then all of the other stuff gets mixed in and simmered until the cranberries start to burst and the liquid gets syrupy and delightful.  I honestly just left it simmering on the stove and went about my business (glitterizing pine cones - more on that later) for 15 minutes while those lovely little cranberries did all the work for me. 

 

 

After a taste test, I added about 2 tablespoons of orange zest, a bit more ginger, and a small spoonful of brown sugar (to make up for the lack of marmalade sweetness).

 

And that was it.  Possibly the easiest thing I've ever made, with the best results.  In fact, I already have visions of me making this relish all season long to top pork chops, dip pretzels, scoop on vanilla ice cream...

That is, if any of it makes it out of the pan.

 

And the happiest of Thanksgivings to you and your's!  I hope that you all get to spend this day with the ones that you love the most!