Cranberry Sauce -- 20 Min -- Serves 8

This is without a doubt the BEST cranberry sauce I have ever had. No, I'm not just tooting my own horn. I have never liked this particular Thanksgiving side-dish tradition. Having grown up with the jellied cranberry slices from a can, and only exposed to whole cranberries as an adult when someone had the unfortunate idea of mixing in orange peel (if you like that kind of thing, enjoy - I thought it was about the worst spin on an already bad idea I'd had at the time), I had all but given up on this particular side dish.

Last year, I decided to try my hand at redeeming the beautiful (but painfully disappointing) cranberry.

I started, like I frequently do, by consulting three or four different cook-books to get an idea of cooking times, amounts of liquids, etc., and then made up my own recipe based on my personal taste experience of these tart, little, red beauties. The result was something quite unexpectedly sweet, tart, savory, spicy, and altogether delicious - I do like cranberry sauce! My fourteen guests loved it as well, so needless to say, I'll be using this recipe for the foreseeable future! Here's hoping you enjoy it too.

24 oz cranberries

2C sugar

2C Orange Juice (fresh squeezed or Odwalla's fresh squeezed for a shortcut)

1/4t Ground Cloves

1/4t Cinnamon

1/8t Cayenne

1/8t Nutmeg

1t vanilla

Bring OJ to a boil in a 4Q stock pot. Add seasonings and sugar, stirring constantly. Add cranberries and stir until all cranberry skins have popped, turn off heat and allow to cool. Serve warm or chilled.