Thanksgiving: the countdown. Start with your cranberry sauce.

For us foodies, Thanksgiving is the best holiday of all. A holiday that's sole and soul purpose is sharing a magnificent meal with people you love or are related to, both if you are lucky.

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is next week !! How did that happens ?? 

Don't panic yet, unless you haven't made your plane reservations or you are still hoping to paint your house before the family arrives, then you have permission to panic.

If you are hosting the Big Dinner there are plenty of things you can do ahead of time to get ready.
It's great to be able to check things off your list.
First you need to make a list...and delegate as much of the work as you can.

Over the next week, I'll post more of my Thanksgiving recipes and tips.

Today I made my cranberry sauce, it took me all of 20 minutes total and 15 of those minutes were cooking time. IT IS SO EASY !!

Here is a previous cranberry post with some other fun variations.

This year I made it with some of the mandarins from my sister's tree. They are seedless Satsuma mandarins, so sweet and flavorful, you can use tangerines instead or one orange in place of the three mandarins.
Bob licked the pan when I was done and pronounced it excellent. I hope it last until next week ;-)

Cranberry Sauce with Mandarins

Ingredients

8 ounces cranberries*
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
3 peeled and chopped mandarins
1 tablespoon chopped mandarin peel

* If your bag of cranberries is 12 ounces, use 3/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar.

1) Peel and chop three mandarins or tangerines, remove any seeds.

 2) Chop some mandarin peel to make one tablespoon.

3) Place a saucepan 1/2 cup water, 2/3 cup sugar, 8 ounces of fresh cranberries and the citrus and peel.

4) Stir to dissolve the sugar, bring to a boil.
5) Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the cranberries have softened.
6) That's it, store until the big day.

Now wasn't that easy ;-)