A Tiny, Tangy Tale...

Once upon a time there was a berry. It was a sour little thing. It looked like this:

And then somebody put a ton of sugar in it and boiled the heck out of it and it turned into this:

And the world rejoiced! It went on to play a supporting role in every single Thanksgiving Day celebration across the United States and eventually branched out into juices, salads, and energy bars. It's quite the American success story, really.

My entire life I ate one type of cranberry sauce. Ocean Spray whole berry from a can. No generic would do. You can't skimp on Thanksgiving, after all. Then one day, my friend Susan shoved this stuff in my face and I never looked back. She got the recipe from her horticulture professor, Zane.  Where he got it, the world may never know.  But it is so easy to make, there really is no excuse not to.  It might take 10 minutes to make it.  15 tops.

Zane's Cranberry Sauce
8 oz cranberries
2/3 C water
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C port wine

Place cranberries in pan with water. Boil cranberries until soft.  (They will pop).  Add sugar to pan and stir till dissolved.  Add port.  Simmer till sauce reaches desired thickness and taste.

Notes:

• I like to leave about a quarter of the berries un-popped so there is still a little sour zing.
• For all intents and purposes, this is jam.  It will thicken after it cools, so don't worry too much if it looks a little thin in the end.
• I like my cranberry sauce cold.  I make it the day before, pop it in the fridge and all I have to do on Thanksgiving is put it in a nice dish and put it on the table. 

Review:
This is better than the canned stuff and it's almost as easy as opening a can.  Plus, you're left with almost an entire bottle of port!  Woot!