Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Apples

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Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm already salivating at the thought of turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I know many people could care less about the cranberry sauce and merely open the obligatory can each year. It's the kind of the red headed stepchild of the Thanksgiving table.
For me the cranberries play a very important role on my Thanksgiving plate. They are the tart sweet goodness that brings everything else together for that perfect bite of Thanksgiving tastes.
Okay so most of you probably don't feel as strongly about the cranberry sauce as I do. Maybe you don't feel the need to make a couple of different cranberry sauces. (I'm making this one too!) However if you do plan to serve a cranberry sauce this Thanksgiving, this one is about as easy as it gets to make and it tastes fantastic. You may even want to join me in singing the praises of cranberry sauce... Anyway, this sauce can be made well in advance of Thanksgiving, so there's really no excuse to settle for just opening that can!

I topped mine with these sugared cranberries, fresh cranberries, sugared pecans, and a little fresh rosemary. Way prettier and more festive than the stuff from the can!

Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Apples
source: The Bitten Word, slightly adapted

INGREDIENTS:
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 large apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Line an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap and spray the plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium heavy bottom pot, combine the cranberries, apple, sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the cranberries are completely broken down and the sauce is very thick, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chopped nuts, if using. Scrape the cranberry sauce into the prepared pan and refrigerate at least 3 hours, until completely chilled and set. Invert the jelled cranberry onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. If desired, garnish the jelly with fresh and sugared cranberries, sugared pecans, and rosemary sprigs. Slice with a serrated knife before serving.
Make Ahead: can be made up to 2 weeks in advance. Just cover well with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.

This cranberry sauce may even steal the turkey's spotlight! 

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Happy 4th of July!

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Here's just a quick, fun idea for a dessert for your 4th celebration. I made this one bowl vanilla cake. It's from Culinate, a great food centered website. You can use any white cake you want, but this recipe is easy and tastes great. I let the cake cool completely. I wanted to make individual cakes so I cut the cake into stars with my 3" star cookie cutter. You can also leave the cake whole, if you'd rather not bother with cutting out the stars, but how cute are they??!

I split the stars horizontally and spread on a layer of strawberry preserves, and put the stars back together. If you want you could use fresh strawberries, sliced and sprinkled with a little sugar instead of the preserves. Then I made some sweetened whipped cream, pipped it on top and decorated with a few fresh blueberries.  Easy, festive, and delicious! I hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July!