Although I don’t eat turkey, during this time of the year I always make lots of cranberry-apple sauce. This can be done for Sukkot, for Thanksgiving, or just because – the sauce is so good that can be eaten with any meat as a condiment, or as a not-too-sweet dessert, if you are like me. I had posted the full recipe once here, but this time, I, again, decided to improvise a bit more – hence the new version. My life turned around so much recently, thank Gd, that I am trying to experiment even more hoping to sometime change my life in professional realm as well.

So, here goes: remember that all of the amounts are very approximate as this sauce is very forgiving and will take more or less sugar, apples or cranberries depending on your preferences.

4-5 medium apples peeled, cored and chopped roughly

1-2 pounds of cranberries ( keep them frozen all year round and use them as needed in baking and cooking)

2-3 cups of sugar, preferably raw (again, you will have to taste to see what level of sweetness or tartness you prefer)

A 1-2 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced nicely

A pinch each of ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice and a cinnamon stick

About 1/2 cup red wine

NO WATER!

Start by peeling and cutting apples straight to a big non-reactive pot. Once you have the floor of the pot covered, add cranberries and some sugar and start the low fire stirring pretty much every time you add another batch of apples.

Once all the apples and cranberries are in add a bit more sugar – don’t rush, get yourself time to test the taste, so that you don’t pile more sugar than needed.

Cook on medium-low fire for about 30 minutes, stirring once in a while. Taste again, and add sugar as needed, spices and wine. Cook for another 20 minutes or so.

If you like the sauce very smooth, you will have to use the blender or food processor to puree it. I like it chunky, so always use an old plain potato masher while the mixture is on very low fire.

Keep it on fire and rinse a few glass jars  and lids with boiling water. Place the hot sauce into the hot jars (naturally, use gloves) and close tightly.

Put upside down on a wooden bench to see if they are properly closed and nothing is leaking.

Once the jars are cool, you can store them in refrigerator for as long as you wish. If they don’t magically disappear into your loved-ones mouths.