By Buz Whelan

Not actually this recipe, but it is a nice picture, isn’t it?

     Throughout my childhood and a few years beyond, a turkey dinner, Thanksgiving or otherwise, always called for cranberry sauce. And that sauce was Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce. It was good enough, traditional and a comfort. No one in my family, or my wife’s for that matter, ever suggested we try something different. Then four years ago, I came across this recipe. I’d like to credit it, but I cannot remember the source. I wrote it down on a 3 x 5 card. I made it in 2009. We loved it, our company loved it, so my wife asked me to make it again the next year. Alas, try as we might, we couldn’t find the card with the recipe. So back to Ocean Spray we went. Then during the next year, during one of those clean-ups where you empty boxes you’ve ignored for a long time, the recipe turned up. I made it and it was as good as ever. It’s a very simple recipe, and it keeps for months in the refrigerator, especially if you put it in a mason jar or one of those glass jars with the wire locking lids. So, here it is. I bet if you make it, you’ll make it again.

Cranberry-Apricot Relish

Ingredients:

24 oz whole cranberries (2 12 oz packages)

12 oz jar of apricot preserves

4 oz finely chopped dried apricots

¾ Cup of sugar

1 Cup of orange juice (fresh or a not-from-concentrate type like Tropicana)

½ Teaspoon ground ginger

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan, bring to boil, reduce

Not nearly as pretty, eh?

heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cranberries will pop open and soften as they simmer. Allow to cool, put in container and refrigerate for a few days to a week to

allow flavors to blend.