There are a few dishes essential to a classic Thanksgiving feast. The turkey may be the main focus, but the cranberry sauce is the piece de resistance. 
This Thanksgiving is the first I am not spending with my Grandmother, Barbara, who is currently in Florida. She, along with my Grandpa Joe, will be missed at the table this Thanksgiving. However, I will be giving thanks to the fact that I was given Grandma’s recipe for her legendary cranberry sauce. It has always been one of the best parts of the meal for me, and I was surprised to see that it is so easy to make! So here is my Grandma’s secret to the Thanksgiving cranberry sauce:
Grandma’s Cranberry Sauce:
- Two 12 oz. bags of Cranberries
- 3 medium-sized naval oranges
- a tad more than 1/3 cup of sugar
Give the cranberries a rinse, and then give them a grind in the blender.
Peel the oranges and give them a grind in the blender.
Mix the oranges, cranberries, and sugar in a bowl. The sauce will be even better if you let it sit overnight before eating it!
Grandma also included this little message with the recipe:
In the old days before Cuisinarts, it took several hours to make this with a Foley Food Mill, a hand-cranked machine I attached to the kitchen table. Cranberry and orange juice dripped all over the floor, so I covered the floor with newspaper. Hooray for the Cuisinart! Happy Thanksgiving!
In addition to being a cranberry-specialist, my grandma is also a very talented painter and author. You can find her website at barbaramarhoefer.com
We just made it, and it was a hit! We used the directions on the blog. Thanks!
Awesome! How was your Oxford Thanksgiving? Are England’s cranberries better? We had a good Thanksiving, but I liked last year’s British version better!
I loved hearing about your Grandmother’s special recipe. Your great pictures and your good writing make it very clear. Thanks also for your Grandmother’s website. I’m a fan of hers, too.
Thank you! Yeah, my Grandma’s paintings are really spectacular, as is the recipe.
The recipe for your grandma’s cranberry sauce sounds great, AND
easy. The latter is always a nice gift on busy days like Thanksgiving.
We’re lucky to have her and your grandpa Joe as neighbors, so we can see why she will be missed at your holiday table this year. Happy
Thanksgiving to each of you.
Ken and Shonnie Johnson
are
Happy Thanksgiving to the both of you from the Gaiarins! Yeah, the cranberry sauce was a nice break because it was the simplest of all!
Thanks for the recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
I am in Knoxville, Tenn.
Uncle Johnny
Happy Thanksgiving Uncle Johnny!
Happy thanksgiving!!! We miss you guys.
Happy Thanksgiving Laur and Steph! We will have two vacant chairs at the table in honor of the traveling professors!
Only three ingredients!
I remember the Foley Food Mill like it was yesterday. Ben — I bet your Mom does too. I think your Grandmom also ground up meat in it — making mincemeat maybe? Glad it was replaced by the Cuisinart and glad that you are not posting a recipe for mincemeat. Nasty.
I just had to look up the Foley Food Mill because I didn’t even know what it was! This is the 21st century, I sure hope Grandma isn’t still using it. Haha! Mincemeat? Doesn’t sound too appetizing.. Let’s stick with filet mignons.