Sometimes I pretend to be a legit food or humor blogger

As my American readers know, tomorrow is Thanksgiving - a holiday revered by gluttons and intriguing to Swedish houseguests (see last year's post). Being raised by a mother who, by her own admission, is more of a sustenance cook than a chef, I'm not terribly useful in the kitchen. Whatever, I'm too smart and talented to be anybody's housewife. Usually when faced with the task of feeding myself, I throw a veggie burger in the toaster oven and then become distracted by the internet until my dinner catches fire. Once that happens, I either dump a bunch of Secret Aardvark Sauce on it or call in an order to the Thai restaurant.

This brings us back to the impending holiday. I've been spending Thanksgiving either on my own via orphan Thanksgiving extravaganza (my college years) or with Bobby's family (2006-present) for the last decade. My parents live too far away to drive, and I'll be danged if I'm going anywhere near an airport on the busiest travel weekend of the year. Christmas is much more fluid, so that's when they get to see me.

The first time I was due to spend Thanksgiving with my then-future, now-current in-laws, I asked what I could bring. Cranberry sauce is one of my preferred contributions, so I offered to make that. Bobby told me they usually just eat the canned stuff, and I was like:



Since then, I have been officially in charge of cranberry sauce at the Lilly Family Thanksgiving Extravaganza. Here is a photo tutorial for making easy-peasy cranberry sauce.

Step One: assemble your ingredients*



One package fresh cranberries (I always forget and buy two. If you're like me, double the rest of the ingredients too)
One-and-a-half (1 1/2) cups of sugar
3/4 cup of orange juice
Two-and-a-half (2 1/2) tablespoons of lemon juice
*One two glasses of wine. You've had a rough day.

(Note that my lemon juice expires on 11.26.2011. Under the wire!)

Step Two
Rinse your cranberries (they do come from a bog, and the word bog is gross) and combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. You know, the one you typically use when the regular popcorn bowl is in the dishwasher. It should look approximately like a diabetic coma waiting to happen:



Step Three
Bring your pile of sugar and cranberries to a boil, stirring occasionally so it cooks evenly.



Step Four
It's done when the cranberries start poppin' and the contents of your saucepan look approximately like this:



Step Five
Let it cool, and bring it to the Thanksgiving table like a pro.

A little sidenote about cranberry sauce - anyone who has spent Thanksgiving or Christmas with me knows that though I love the stuff, I must have it in a separate bowl. I am a major food separatist when it comes to sweet and savory things, and if the cranberry sauce touches my mashed potatoes, dinner is over. Separate. Bowl.

In the spirit of the holiday, I remain indescribably thankful for my friends, family, and friends who have become family. Thanks for keeping me sane, y'all; it's a tough job for sure.