thanksgiving recipes (1 of 4): jalapeno & lime cranberry sauce

t-day! it was just 2 of us, so we debated between just going out, or doing the whole thang. we ended up doing the whole thang, which was kind of nice since it was the first year that i had full control over what was made. i've never been a huge fan of any of the thanksgiving sides (sweet potatoes of any kind, yams, stuffing... mushy veggies... all of it). so i tried to just make what i like, and some stuff i don't for K. it actually turned into one of the better t-day meals i've ever had, and wasn't as hard as i thought it would be to do everything from scratch. success! 

i did, however, totally forget to take pics of everything i made (which were almost all new recipes i was trying), so i'm borrowing the "official" pics from the recipes sites i snagged them from... i was too distracted by all the last minute stuff and way too damn hungry to think about it. 

photo from seriouseats.com

recipe 1 - jalapeno & lime cranberry sauce, from seriouseats.com.  my first homemade cranberry sauce. i loved the idea of this (huge fan of spicy & sweet), b think it i might have accidentally added too much lime - it was just so, so bitter, which seemed more like a result of the zest than the lime juice itself. if i made it again, i'd probably just add a dash of lime and just let the cran & jalapenos do their thing.

ingredients list: 
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice + 1/2 tsp zest (Warning: scale this back if you don't want it too limey!)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapenos, seeds removed (i used 1 large jalapeno which was just enough)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp mezcal



to make: 
combine all ingredients EXCEPT mezcal in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes - berries should be popping quite a bit by this point. press berries against the side of the pan until they all have popped, and continue to cook until the sauce thickens enough to a jelly-like consistency, about 2-3 additional minutes. 

remove from heat, stir in mezcal, and allow to cook for 30 minutes. can be served immediately, or refrigerated and reheated when it's time to eat (i reheated it, just adding a little additional water so it didn't try out when cooking).