Blogmas Day 14 | Make Ahead Cranberry Orange Sauce

Cooking Christmas dinner for 11 people seemed like a good idea at first.  Then, slowly the realisation that I will actually be cooking Christmas dinner for 11 people!  I'm in full-blown planning mode and I'm drawing up shopping lists, cooking timelines and wracking my brain to think of what I can make ahead.  Preparing elements of the meal in advance is essential - if only to reduce your stress levels and increase your level of enjoyment on the day.

Cranberry Orange Sauce is my first make-ahead and it's a good 'un.  I was never particularly fond of the jarred cranberry sauce, which always seemed like eating jam with your Christmas dinner.  This sauce has more of a pourable texture and I think tastes a million times better than shop bought.

This recipe makes roughly a pint of sauce.  Depending on how many you are feeding, this might be too much.  But luckily this sauce also tastes brilliant poured over ice cream and certainly livens up a plain bowl of porridge too.

You'll need:
350g cranberries (fresh or frozen)
200ml water
2 oranges (juice from both and zest from one)
50g soft brown sugar
50g granulated sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
Half tsp cinnamon
Splash of alcohol (I used Jack Daniels but the options are endless)

The method literally could not be any easier:  Chuck it all in the pot and let it bubble away until it leaves a thick coating on a spatula.

Let it cool completely and then you have 2 options depending on when you make this.  If you make it a couple of weeks before, pop it in a freezer bag and stash it in the freezer until the day before, then thaw in the fridge.  If you are only a couple of days ahead, pour into an airtight jar and it'll keep in the fridge until you want to serve.