Friday, December 5, 2008

homemade thanksgiving - evidence

it was 100% worth all the effort! the surprising big hits were the cranberry sauce, which i had never made before, and the couscous stuffing, a long time favorite. both recipes are included below!













cranberry sauce

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (i used a bit less)
1 cup cranberries (fresh are better, frozen are fine)
optional, but tasty: sprinkle nutmeg, cinnamon, orange peel, handful of sultanas (white-grape raisins)

clean cranberries. boil water. add sugar. mix to dissolve sugar. add cranberries. boil again. simmer 10 minutes, or until cranberries burst. add any combination of optional items... or dont.

the sauce will still be thin at this point, so cool thoroughly, then place in refrigerator to cool and increase viscosity. i left mine to chill overnight, then stirred it a couple times throughout the day before serving it cold.


couscous stuffing

2 cups veggie stock (or bird stock)
2 Tbl butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 cup couscous
1 cup any combination of dried apricots, cranberries, raisins, sultanas

boil stock. mix spices and couscous then add to stock. remove from heat, stir, cover, let sit for 5 minutes. stir in fruit. its yummy to eat alone, or use as a chicken or turkey stuffing! enjoy!

4 comments:

Julian said...

Sounds very nice! But while you're in the UK, we use weight measurements (g or oz) ;-)

I've never managed to find a standard US cup here...

Unknown said...

yeah, the weight measurements have been interesting to get used to.

also, the first time i tried to heat up an oven with the "gas mark" temperature gauge, i was completely at a loss! thanks be to the all-knowing internets!!

Julian said...

I bet you had to convert from K too - in fact probably milli-MK :-)

Cabbage Tree Farm said...

All looks very yummy.
Please see my blog as I've given you an award :-)
cheers Bridget