Though I was born and raised in California, my immediate relatives all hail from the fine Red State of Indiana. The Thanksgiving meal in the land of my ancestors looked something like this:
Turkey: Not just done, but WELL DONE
White potatoes: Beaten within an inch of their lives with margarine and possibly Mocha Mix
Canned yams: Dressed with mini-marshmallows
String beans: Adorned with canned, deep-fried onions
"Salad": Green Jello, canned Queen Anne cherries, and the ubiquitous marshmallow in the form of whip. I believe this is described as "salad" because of the electric green color. My understanding is that Jello provides few vitamins and/or fiber. Local rationalization on this subject may vary.
Damn fine apple pie
Last but not least, we cannot forget the joy that is cranberry sauce, the peculiar anchor of our national holiday meal. Oddly, this agro-food creation is slithered to the platter in its original can-like incarnation, unscathed and unadorned. While making my own form of cranberry sauce for this year's meal, and contemplating this culinary conundrum, I realized there was opportunity here. Opportunity to extend my elitist, Northern California hand in solidarity to my Midwest brethren who find the whole concept of cranberry sauce ingestion gag-inducing.
This could be a way to unite this country in ways that the Uniter-In-Chief never imagined. It also provided opportunity to relay a killer cranberry sauce recipe to my fellow Kossacks masquerading as a political crusade. Following is the recipe from the November 2002 issue of Sunset Magazine, an elitist West Coast rag that rarely (if ever) delves into the intricacies of scrap-booking, stamping or decorating motifs that include farm animals or gingham. Sunset does offer great recipes using fresh ingredients and locally grown/organic produce, articles on green building techniques and garden designs devoid of pink flamingoes. How elitist can you get?
Anise-Pear-Cranberry Sauce
Prep and cook time: About 30 minutes. This can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Makes: 4 cups
Ingredients:
2 pears
1 orange
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 t. anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 c. honey
12 oz. Frozen cranberries (or 3 c. fresh)
- Rinse, peel and core pears; cut into about 1/2-inch cubes. Grate enough peel (orange part only) from orange to make 1 1/2 t. Ream juice from orange; measure, and add enough water to make 1/2 cup.
- In a 4-quart pan over high heat, stir orange juice mixture, grated peel, sugar, star anise, and cinnamon stick until sugar is dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in honey and pears and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until edges of pears are barely tender to bite, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in cranberries. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop and pears are tender when pierced, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool. Pour into a bowl. Serve cool or cold.
Reach out your hand. Go forth and conquer with cranberries!