Fresh cranberries and wine vinegar give this
a distinctively tangy taste

Sweet and Sour Cranberries

Thanksgiving is over, and many refrigerators across the US are filled with leftover turkey, duck, venison or ham. Yes, that means there will be sandwiches and casseroles galore for the next few weeks - until the Christmas feast takes place.

Turkey sandwiches can be dry and a little lackluster, but this cranberry condiment will liven up even the tamest turkey. It also tastes terrific with ham, duck, chicken, venison or pork tenderloin. And it's versatile enough to use as a glaze for the next poultry roast.

This starts with fresh cranberries, which are readily available at this time of year in the produce aisle of most grocery stores. The final product is a very thick jel, which stays nicely put on a sandwich.

The original recipe called for pureeing and then straining the cooked cranberry mixture. The texture was to resemble that of tomato catsup. I personally like the texture of the whole berries, and choose not to go through the additional steps of pureeing and straining.

Sweet and Sour Cranberries
1 lb (2 cups) fresh cranberries
3/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
4 cinnamon sticks
2 whole nutmegs
1 tbsp. allspice berries

In a large saucepan, gently warm the wine vinegar to a simmer. Place cinnamon sticks, nutmegs and allspice into a small cheesecloth bag tied off at the top. Steep the spice bag in the warm vinegar for at least an hour.

Remove spice bag from vinegar, add brown sugar and cranberries, and return mixture to medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and cranberries begin to pop. Continue cooking until mixture begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes.

Pour into a heat-safe container and allow to cool at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate.