Cranberry Sauce

Martha gave me this recipe in 2009 in preparation for our big after-Thanksgiving dinner that we hosted for the Lindow and Lentini families. I'm personally not a huge fan of cranberry sauce, but this is definitely a must-have for any Thanksgiving meal and turned me into a homemade cranberry sauce convert. Now that Thanksgiving is coming up again, my friends and I decided to have a pre-celebration that we called Mini Thanksgiving. Martha was going to make cranberry sauce to bring, but unfortunately got sick at the last minute, so I volunteered to make it in her place. I'm hoping I did her proud.

To read Martha's original entry, visit her blog at:http://www.throwingspoons.com/2007/11/t-minus-three-weeks-and-counting.html

• 1 bag cranberries, rinsed and picked over
• 1 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 orange, plus grated rind (I used only about half of an orange for the gratings)
• ¼ cup water
• Ground ginger, to taste (optional)
• Ground cloves, to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Grate the rind of the orange and set aside
2. Combine the berries, sugar, orange juice, and water in a saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the berries have all popped open.
3. Stir in the orange zest.
4. Cool and then transfer to refrigerator containers until using.
   
   May be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week