Between kid activities, endless school half days and work kicking into high gear, the last thing on my wish list is holiday menu planning. Yet here we are once again. And while I would love nothing more than skipping the bird for one year and serving poached salmon or a simple risotto, the mere suggestion seems to send everyone into a tizzy. Traditionalists, each and every one of them! And so I give in and plan the Thanksgiving meal they all so desire, but the rebel in me can’t go quietly into the night. Not me, not ever. So how do I show my resistance? Prove that I might be swayed but not strong-armed? With cranberry sauce.

I make cranberry sauce each year that gets rave reviews, but this year I’ve decided to tweak that age old recipe up a bit. Kinda a lame act of rebellion I know, but work with me here… I swapped out the granulated sugar for brown, added Five Spice Powder, lime juice and a healthy dose of fresh ginger. The results were delicious, but then quiet conquest always is. Will they notice? Probably not. They’ll say it’s good, they’ll clean their plates, and perhaps they’ll even ask if there are any leftovers the following day, but that’s where it will end. They’ll be none the wiser to the belligerent act of mutiny they just devoured, and that’s fine by me. I will sit back and quietly savor my resistance.

Cranberry Sauce
This recipe is so easy and so delicious you won’t believe you ever considered dinner complete without it.

1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
juice of 1 lime
1/8 tsp. ground Five Spice Powder
zest of 1 lg. orange

1. Add the first 5 ingredients to a small saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the berries begin to soften.
2. Increase the heat, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered 2-3 minutes longer until the sauce begins to thicken and nearly all of the berries have popped.
3. Allow to cool slightly in the pan before adding the orange zest to the sauce. Transfer to a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.