November 24, 2008 | Condiments

When I was a child, we always had the same menu for Thanksgiving – roast turkey with giblet gravy, whipped potatoes, stuffing, peas and carrots, and cranberry sauce. I had no idea, however, what a real cranberry looked like as my mom preferred the jelled type from a can. She’d slice it neatly along the ring mark lines from the can and lay it into one of her best serving pieces.
Somewhere along the way I discovered fresh cranberries. I was initially intimidated, but now know that from scratch cranberry sauce is one of the easiest and most rewarding side dishes for Thanksgiving. I led a cooking class today to make sides for the holiday, and we made this recipe, adapted from the November issue of Saveur magazine. It’s a keeper and was simple to prepare.

Roasted Cranberry Sauce
Serves 12-16

2 oranges, zested into strips
2 pounds fresh cranberries
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
8 whole cloves
4 whole cinnamon sticks
2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons port wine

Preheat oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Juice oranges and reserve 3 tablespoons of the juice. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, then spread in a single layer on the two baking sheets. Roast until cranberries begin to burst, then transfer to a bowl and add the reserved orange juice and port. Let sit for at least one hour. Remove cloves and cinnamon before serving.