Cranberry Relish

Confession time: I never enjoyed cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving when I was growing up. I am all for sweet-and-salty, but it always seemed way too sweet, weird color, and basically with no business taking up precious gravy space (Truth: I love gravy almost as much as coffee). I never understood it, but everyone seems to be obsessed, and I'm left out in the cold on this seasonal conspiracy.

So the idea of being tasked to make it for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law's home was not really settling. I couldn't see getting it from a jar or can, especially if it's time for me to grow up and actually enjoy it. Plus, I have a pathological need for approval need to impress my in-laws with my awesome cooking skills. 

And then Megan sent me this. I laughed. I cried (from laughing too hard). It is rude, crude, and dead on. And it described a Bourbon Cranberry Relish that Williams & Sonoma will sell to you for $40. I'm not rich. But I could make that. In between my laughing tears, I actually stopped to ponder this dish. I like bourbon. So I could probably like anything made with bourbon. This highly scientific hypothesis has yet to be dis-proven (because, kids, you can never prove a hypothesis. You can only disprove it's opposite, and the closest yet has been a maple-bourbon martini but I haven't tried it).

Enter: Eat, Live, Run. She made a Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Relish, and I adapted it based on my ingredients. I tried it this evening, and I was surprised by it! It's still a bit sweet for my taste - I'm still not sure if I will eat it with dinner on Thanksgiving. However, I am satisfied with this as an offering for my in-laws. I will consider adapting this as a dessert, too. Maybe I'm just not cut out for cranberry-lovin'. But I gave it a shot, and it's better with bourbon.

Ingredients:
14 oz. Cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Zest and juice from 1/2 orange
1/4 cup whiskey (or bourbon)
1/2 vanilla bean seeds

1. Weigh out the cranberries, picking over for duds. Afterwards, rinse the berries and let them airdry. Place them into a large pot.
2. Halve an orange. Zest and juice directly into the cranberries.
3. Halve a vanilla bean. Split one half and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the cranberries.
4. Add the measured whiskey, sugar, and water.
5. Heat the pot over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, until all of the berries have burst. 
6. The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you prefer most of a sauce, hit it a few times with your immersion blender.