I love Thanksgiving. I love the meaning behind the holiday. I love the grateful attitudes. And I love the food. I’ve said this many times–it is my favorite meal of the year! We do a pretty traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing (stuffing), broccoli, plus a couple of must-have special sides–Miss Pat’s Horseradish Carrots and her Creamed Onions. And then of course, you absolutely must have pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce...or in this case, cranberry relish! A little bit of turkey and a lot of cranberry relish equals the perfect bite, in my humble opinion. And go ahead and spread cranberry relish on the bread with the mayo for the obligatory turkey sandwich on Black Friday. Will not have turkey without cranberry relish.
In years past, my friend Clara brought her cranberry relish recipe to the dinner and it’s so good- then again, everything she makes is good. One year, I decided to give it a shot. I reached for my food processor and started throwing in the obvious ingredients, along with a few favorites. It turned out great! I love the flavor and the texture.. and so does Charlie! It’s so simple and easy to make–no cooking required.
I hope your Thanksgiving holiday is everything you want. Time around the table with the people you love, giving thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Enjoy the holiday and the food, but mainly enjoy each other.
God bless you- Nan
Ingredients:
1 average-sized orange (not a navel), cut into eights
12 ounces fresh, raw cranberries
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions:
1. Place two of the orange sections (with peel on) into the bowl of a food processor attached with
a chopping blade. Cover bowl with lid and pulse a few times, then turn on high for a few seconds
to chop the sections.
2. Remove peel from remaining orange sections, discard peels, and toss sections into the bowl.
Add in the cranberries and pecans.
3. Pulse 4 or 5 times to chop and mix, then process on high. Check consistency after a few
seconds, making sure not to over process.
4. Once desired consistency is reached (I liked bigger pieces), pour relish into a bowl and add sugar and ginger. Stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate. Can make a day or two ahead of serving.
Notes:
My food processor has an 8 cup work bowl which is plenty big for this amount of ingredients. If
your processor is smaller, you'll need to make this in batches. Make sure not to over
process- you don't want it to become mushy. Also, use the pulse feature first to mix and break up before turning on high.