Cranberry Walnut Relish

Do you have favorite, time tested recipes that always appear on your table at Thanksgiving?  One of our favorites is Cranberry Walnut Relish, a recipe given to me by my dear friend, Sharon W., over 35 years ago. We use this in place of that nasty, gelatinous, quivering blob of GAK that comes slithering from a can. Blechhhh!!!

This is the original recipe, written in my own girlish hand, all tattered and stained.  I suppose I could recopy it,... but I kind of love it just the way it is.  

Sharon was my bestie way back when I was a young mom.  She had a teen-age daughter and she warned me about all that I would be experiencing in the future as the mother of two girls. She pretty much nailed all of it.  We used to take power walks almost daily.  My butt has never looked so good since.

Cranberry Walnut Relish is super easy to make.

You will need:

2  packages of fresh cranberries, 12 ounces each

2 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1 cup of orange marmalade.  (The cheaper store brand is fine.)

1 orange

OK, lets get started!

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put the chopped walnuts into a large Pyrex baking dish and toast for 8 - 10 minutes.  Oh, LOOK!  My oven in clean!  Just in time to completely dirty it up for Thanksgiving...

Rinse the cranberries under running water in a colander.  Remove all of the funky, soft and/or shriveled ones.  

Using a zester tool, cut about 1 tablespoon of orange zest.  If you do not have a zester tool, this link will show you how to easily cut the zest without one.

Put the cranberries, the sugar, the marmalade, walnuts and orange zest into a large bowl.  Add the juice of half of the orange and thoroughly mix it all together.  

Eat the other half of the orange.

Spread the mixture into the Pyrex baking dish used to toast the walnuts.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and stir after about 40 minutes.  Replace the foil after stirring.

After removing from the oven, let the mixture cool.  Spoon into a pretty dish and add an orange peel garnish.  

This recipe makes just over 4 cups of sweet and tangy goodness!

It just would not be Thanksgiving at our house without Cranberry Nut Relish.  And fond memories of long time friends. 

Note - My dear friend, Sharon, passed on August 21, 2015.  I miss her terribly, but her Cranberry Walnut Relish will be on our Thanksgiving table, this year and always.