I'm 73. I started doing Thanksgiving when I was 11. My mom had pneumonia and told me what to do, step by step. I've been doing this for a very long time. This year we are going to my nephew's. I think this is his fiancé's first try. I'll do ours on Friday. I brine the free range turkey in cider, my mom'sstuffing, make a calvados gravy, mashed potatoes from scratch, riced twice, real cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, no marshmallows,fresh green beans with browned butter and toasted hazelnuts, maple glazed carrots, and as many pies as I am up for. Those got to he nephew's. I haven't totally passed the torch.
Take heart that some of us make our own cranberry sauce… and don’t make green bean casserole, have marshmallows with sweet potatoes, or serve ambrosia salad!😉
True! I don’t eat sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top either. No ambrosia salads or canned green beans. Despite what some people may think. I feel insulted by those comments. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who felt that.
When I was growing up, my mother cooked everything from scratch every year. The canned cranberries came later, as a time saver for her, as she worked so many hours, she would be frenzied finishing dinner. To this day, I have canned cranberry, to honor her memory. I love the home made version, but really don’t mind the jelly. How amazing it would be to have such a chef prepare a meal! Thank you for sharing your recipe, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Cranberry sauce in the can is primarily jelly, there is whole berry but few buy that. I do buy canned jellied cranberry sauce because it is delightful on turkey sandwiches. It’s tart and accentuates the turkey’s flavor. There’s nothing wrong with it.
Just made my homemade cranberry sauce and home canned it. I put lemon and orange zest and juice, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, fresh ginger, then add vanilla bean paste at the end. Water bath can for 10 minutes. Delicious.
Imagine hiring the Royal Chef to cook your Thanksgiving meal and asking him to bring his can opener! 😂 As an American living in England, I remember many times scrambling to find all the American canned ingredients for sale in London to make our Thanksgiving meal complete!
Born and raised in the US and never had canned cranberry sauce. Both my mom and her mom were excellent cooks and everything for Thanksgiving was made from scratch. As I’ve reached my “golden” years, I’ve sometimes purchased the pies from a local bakery, but everything else I make from scratch. No sickly sweet marshmallow sweet potatoes either. A dollop of my cranberry sauce is a lovely garnish on my butternut squash soup starter. Chef, your versions that you had started explaining to your then employer sound wonderful! They would great video subjects
Mr McGrady, my family’s Thanksgiving is roast turkey, delicious, tart homemade cranberry relish (cranberries and an orange and 1/2 cup of sugar pulverized in a food processor, sat overnight covered in the fridge til it’s perfect) stewed berries, or a compote wouldn’t suit the roast Turkey as well as the relish does. Mashed potatoes, gravy, herb stuffing, brown sugar glazed sweet potatoes, baby carrots, sautéed green beans, maple roasted Brussel sprouts, Parker house rolls, most years for dessert we have pumpkin pie or Indian pudding (a steamed, spiced pudding made with molasses, corn meal, spices, eggs, cream) either topped with whipped cream, a raisin pie, and a fruit pie maybe pear or apple. There is always a large bowl of nuts in the shells with a few nutcrackers which are enjoyed while watching the game, or whatever. My family have never had Thanksgiving out of a can, we don’t do green bean casserole, or sweet potatoes with marshmallows, or ambrosia (but while that was a thing across the US when I was a child in the 1960s, it didn’t include jello or cherries, rather it was made of mandarin orange segments not canned, coconut and if memory serves bits of pineapple which might have come out of a can). I know a handful of ancestors were at the first Thanksgiving, as they arrived on the Mayflower. I live in the small Massachusetts town a few descendants of theirs helped found. Paul Revere’s in-laws lived here, and ran a coaching inn that is still standing and is used as a historical society site on what was then the Post Rd. Southern Thanksgiving is markedly different than here in New England, but it’s also different depending on where you are in the south.
Now, that's a Thanksgiving meal! I love that you make Indian pudding. Add a little bourbon, cranberries, orange, cinnamon, pecans, and butter into those glazed yams, toss in a mincemeat pie and eggnog, and I'm all in! I remember a similar ambrosia to the one you describe. My aunt made it for summer family parties (early-mid 1970s). It was made in a ring mold, with base of orange Jell-O, mandarin orange segments (crushed pineapple may also have been embedded there), topping of sour cream mixed with--whipped cream or mayo, I don't recall which--and coconut. (Thanks for reminding me about the coconut. I've been trying to remember this recipe for many years now.) There may have been some other forgotten things in it as well. Maybe maraschino cherries? I don't recall how she got the dairy portion to stay on top; the texture was soft/creamy, so it probably wasn't gelled into the mold. Maybe it just stuffed the center (empty) space of the ring.
My family's Thanksgiving dinner was similar to yours, but mine in addition to the homemade cranberry sauce and relish, did serve the jellied canned kind, mashed buttered rutabega, peas, and candied sweet potatoes (no marshmallows.) Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Chef, listening to you share your experience had me rolling on the floor and laughing so hard the happy tears rolled down my face ! I guess we sometimes forget how our cultures differ. And im reminded of a "proper English Breakfast" to make my point !
Yummy!! Thank you Darren. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. We are grateful for you and all the wonderful recipes and stories of the Royals you bring us. xo
I love making homemade cranberry dressing! I have come to accept that if we are having a large party for Thanksgiving I just have to put out both- the homemade and the canned- to make everyone happy! I may try adding the curacao this year, sounds delicious!
I enjoy fresh cranberry sauce. But, I have to admit that nothing will turn me against the canned cranberry sauce. I don't know if it's the neat lines from the can that form around the sauce or what. But, it glistens on a serving platter, looks nice when neatly sliced and even has a good flavor with turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing. Nice recipe you have there, Darren. Very nice.
But we love our canned cranberry sauce Darren! Lol. However, I'm going to try your recipe and put it next to the canned sauce. Right next to the canned green bean/mushroom salad. We Texans live by Thanksgiving tradition. It rarely changes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. 🦃🦚
Congratulations on your successful channel. I just came upon it. I was raised on cranberry sauce from a can as a child in Brooklyn and was thrilled when I first encountered homemade sauce of whole berries. Many Americans have both on the table on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love your recipe and will make it for sure. Thank you for sharing it with us.
My mom always made two cranberry dishes for thanksgiving. One was similar to the dish in the video, but with cranberries, orange juice & zest, sugar. The second was a fresh cranberries ground in an old fashioned cast iron grinder with fresh oranges, quartered with the white center pith cut out. These were also ground in the grinder, rind of oranges also. To the mix add sugar and mix well. This was made a few days b4 Thanksgiving to allow the natural pectin and sugar to work its magic. It’s still my favorite and one I still make every year. I never had canned cranberry sauce growing up. The first time I tried it I was in my early thirties. Definitely a weird texture.
Your former employer’s menu sounds like a gastronomic nightmare! Thankfully, my family never ate like that at Thanksgiving… or any other time. I’ve always made cranberry sauce from scratch because it couldn’t be simpler, or better. We thoroughly enjoy your videos, Darren.
Gastronomic nightmare, I agree. Canned cranberry jelly is ok, but the "canned" green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and the Ambrosia are crimes against humanity.
My sister-in-law who does not cook told me the easiest way and it’s basically the recipe on the bag of cranberries. One bag of cranberries, one cup of water, one cup of sugar, and you cook them till a few of them start to pop.
Oh, my grandmother made the very best cranberry relish! She had a clamp on the table food grinder that she'd grind the cranberries with. I'll try your recipe this year. (I hate ambrosia, disgusting, we never had it when I was growing up.)
Happy Thanksgiving Darren. Brit expat here. My siblings and I still text each other for Guy Fawkes on November 5, though this year we got a bit stuck on the rhyme. I’m still a bit stuck on my menu for Thursday, though there will be fresh cranberry sauce because we like it. Looking forwforward to trying your recipe since you have orange in it - I’m more than likely cooking duck. Cheers!
Oh Darren, you cracked me up with the story of the Dallas Lady and her USA Thanksgiving. Funny, it is true, some folks still do it that way, believe it or not! I'm copping the cranberry recipe for next year's Thanksgiving. My daughter is making Barfoot Contessa's recipe this year. I do think it maybe very much like yours. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family.😊
Sorry chef but I love to spread canned cranberry jelly on one piece of bread and cream cheese or Brie on the other then Turkey and stuffing. The best sandwich on the day after Thanksgiving! But thanks for the recipe I love the addition of star anise. Hope you and yours enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday!
Dear Chef McGrady, this is a fabulous recipe of one of my favourite dishes. I Always make my cranberry sauce from scratch and sometimes add English walnuts / fresh pineapple bits as well as orange zest, maple syrup / farmers market honey / molasses or dark brown sugar. I will try the type you suggested. Sure to find at a gourmet shoppe. Thanks againfor this gorgeous recipe. By the way as someone who has worked in fine dining here in the US I truly hope you have recuperated from that dreadful position in Dallas. You are a gem of an artiste in the kitchen as well as congenial and so friendly. You deserve much better treatment. Not everyone in the US has such mundane, boring dining habits. Some of us welcome fresh, intriguing cuisines that let the herbs,spices, and flavours of quality ingredients shine. Happy holidays to you and yours.
I'm 1st generation Canadian. Mum and Dad were Brits. We had our Thanksgiving in October. I make a big batch of cranberry chutney. I jar it for friends and family. Cranberries sugar water but also minced onion, Worcester sauce, vinegar and chili powder, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger and a few hot pepper flakes. I keep extra in the fridge. It's great with roast pork.
All of the things you said about the Dallas family's Thanksgiving recipes are true for lots of people. Our family didn't do it like that. We have everything fresh and no marshmallows! Fresh cranberry sauce is so much better and so easy to do. Mine is very simple - just cranberries, apple cider, and sugar. I make my dressing with fresh bread I dry myself and it's so much better than the packaged stuff. My favorite for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving is baked eggs in nests of dressing.
As an American I always make my cranberry sauce fresh, the caned stuff sucks. But I do use beans and soup in a can with french onions and also sweet potatoes loaded with brown sugar and marshmallows on top. Lol.
My family always uses fresh ingredients for cranberry sauce (much like yours), for green bean casserole we use fresh green beans a homemade mushroom sauce, then add cheese, caramelized onions and bread crumbs on top. For corn casserole we grill corn, cut the corn off the ears and add cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, cheeses, spices and vegetables. Not all Americans like canned stuff like the family you were a Chef for. However, I have never had ambrosia salad, but I have to admit that sounds kind of good, but I think I would use fresh fruit, but then I guess it would be a fruit salad. 🤣
@ so yummy! I add zest etc. but the diced apples and dill, really makes it special. I also do my stuffing, more as a light bread pudding- With coarsely sliced garlic, apples, red bell pepper,mushrooms, tiny ham cubes- onions, obviously- I cool it low and slow- then really roast it at the end. All of the veggies just kind of pop out of the crust. Super good!
You have inspired me to donate my can of cranberry sauce to the local food pantry and make your recipe! I would not have dared to try it before I saw how easy you made the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello Chef Darren, I am Barbara from the States and I wanted to say that I think you are a remarkable Chef, and a Wonderful Person. I absolutely loved Princess Diana, I know how much she was wronged, The world lost a Beautiful, Loving, Caring, Warm and all around one of the greatest Princess ever. I cried like a baby when she passed. As did the whole world. My heart still goes out to her 2 remarkable sons. I watch all your videos. You are a remarkable Chef. I wish I would meet you and just talk about how amazing Princess Diana was God Bless, Thank You for sharing your Amazing Videos.
A few years ago I subbed brown sugar for the white in the standard cranberry sauce recipe (22 oz cranberries, 1-2 c water, 1 c sugar), added a little cinnamon, a tiny bit of orange peel...🤷 Delicious. "...nobody likes it,but we have it anyway..."??? 🤣😂 Only here in the US! Happy Holidays!
I understand your thoughts on the subject, truly I do. So some of us do things differently. For turkeys I smoke them. Been doing that over 30 years now. I make hotel fans filled with different kinds of bread dressing and cook under the turkeys for all that wonderful drippings. And we'll I do a lot of other dishes that I won't go into. Bottom line I LI E Thanksgiving. Ill mention here that I have never eaten figgy pudding. So yuppers I understand. Have a great day 🌤.
My mother always bought the cranberry jelly in the can that you'd slice, but I never touched it --- I didn't like it. She never made the green bean casserole either, not sure why. She DID however, make candied yams: a can of Princella yams, mashed it up and added diced pineapple bits to it, covered the top with mini-marshmallows and heated it up. She also always made (as a side dish) an Apple Kugel. I think she got that recipe from my Nana (her mother-in-law). Chef Darren's Cranberry Relish looks so much more delish than the canned garbage.
I made delicious fresh cranberry sauce one year, similar to this recipe, and got so dragged by family. My dad and my twin boys were so upset with me! Can only in my family!
I make fresh cranberry sauce, but mine is actually more of a sauce consistency--no chunks, a bit jellied but not enough to hold the shape of a tin can, say. 😊
Darren! that was amusing! I hear you with your food culture shock when moved to US. am bit of food snob as tho I grew up in Toronto and Halifax Canada our recipes are very similar to yours and and we were by no means posh ...Innfact I don't recall having turkey for Thanksgiving until 80s or so here in Canada...it was ham, boiled dinner or beef. 😅
Born and bred in USA. Paella for thanksgiving for some time now. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Whether it’s a turkey or a can of beans. All taste best served up with a thankful heart!!
Sorry, Darren, but I love Ocean Spray's jellied cranberry sauce (and NOT the one with whole cranberries!) despite having tried homemade a couple of times, but even though I like our "traditional" green bean casserole, I would've opted for yours.
The Girl Scouts in my town in Massachusetts used to grind fresh oranges and cranberries together, sugar to taste and put in jars to give to the neighbors who were in need. Delightful!
When I was a little girl Ambrosia was sometimes served at picnics, neighborhood barbecues or family gatherings (wedding or baby showers), but it was a lovely mixture of whipped cream, sour cream, pineapple, oranges, cherries, sometimes coconut, mini marshmallows.
I love ALL kinds of cranberry sauce! My favorite Thanksgiving dish!
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Just found this...I was raised on a Thanksgiving dinner that was almost exactly like you described, except we had canned cranberry sauce as well as the jellied version, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, fresh ambrosia salad, and always deviled eggs, stuffed celery with pimento cheese, and of course, pecan and pumpkin pie, along with buttermilk pound cake! I did like your description. I still love my canned cranberry sauce (even converted my husband away from the jellied version). I have switched up my menu a lot, although I occasionally make a green bean casserole from scratch! The best part for me is the leftover turkey sandwich with Duke's mayo, and all the other various leftover turkey dishes. Glad your daughter got the experience!
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Forgot, my Mom's Congealed Salad, was a must at every holiday or picnic. Here is a copy. Congealed Lime Salad 2 packages gelatin powder -- lime 3 cups water -- hot 8 ounces cottage cheese 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup pecans -- chopped 5 ounces evaporated milk 12 ounces crushed pineapple in juice -- drained Mix Jello with water until dissolved. Chill until almost firm. Add cottage cheese, mayonnaise, pecans, evaporated milk, and pineapple. Pour into mold. Chill overnight. Serves: 12 Style: Southern , My Favorites
My family's ambrosia salad was way different. It's fruit cocktail, canned mandarin orange slices, coconut, maraschino cherries, marshmallows and walnuts, tossed together with cool whip. And everybody loves it. I do turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, sage stuffing, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter and marshmallows, mashed potatoes and gravy, yeast rolls, green beans with bacon, and pies (apple and pumpkin). Very basic.
Oh I know that story from the beginning of the video, it is in the cookbook my sister bought for me as a birthday gift. I was actually just looking at the book this morning.
Darren, since I like cranberry quite a bit, I already today tried making your cranberry sauce and I have to tell you it is in fact super good! I kind of want to stand there and eat the whole thing, but I'm resisting. Thanks a lot for putting this up here, and you are correct that this is now going to be one of my favorite things to make, and not only at this time of the year either. I like cranberry any time.
I love your videos and recipes. Your cranberry sauce sounds lovely, I can't wait to try it. Sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, I think I'll pass. I've had Ambrosia many times and love it. Making it with Cola and Jello? nah I'll pass. Take care! 🇨🇦
I used to make mine this way, but we settled on: - 2 packages of cranberries (picked over to remove soft or wrinkled) - 6-8 ounces of dried cherries - 2 cups sugar or non-sugar sweetener - 2 cups orange juice The cherries add just the right something extra.
Great story about your first Thanksgiving here in the States. Yes, it's a different culture with different tastes. BTW for a Christmas party last year, I used your trifle recipe to make a trifle. Even bought the standard trifle bowl from Amazon. The people here in Oklahoma didn't know it was; they enjoyed it. So I plan to make it again this year. Thanks for the recipe and the good humor. Happy Thanksgiving!
My Mom used to always make whole berry cranberry sauce on the stove for her and Dad, and also the plate of sliced canned cranberry sauce for my sister and I. I enjoy both, but my preference will always be for the canned. 🌹
Happy Thanksgiving! My Cousin makes a 5 minute cranberry sauce in the microwave and it's really good and easy. Rinse 2 cups cranberries and put in microwave safe bowl. Put in 1 cup sugar and stir so the berries are coated. Cover lightly and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, stir and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes more and you're done. You can even make a sugar free version using splenda instead of sugar. It's very good and good for a diabetic, like me.
Although our family ditched the canned stuff decades ago, (similar recipe as yours) we also have never had marshmallows in or on anything for Thanksgiving dinner. Sweet potatoes only ever had brown sugar and butter, and corn or peas. Last several years it's been roasted Brussel sprouts and corn. Blessed Thanksgiving folks
😂😂😂😂 You made me laugh so hard. My family is English living in the States and we love our homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving except for my father who totally embraced the canned cranberry jelly 🥴 Love your videos. Cheers sir!
Hi Chef. I’ve always adored cranberry sauce. My mom always made it fresh. It’s the best on a turkey sandwich! I’m making this now without the curaçao. Thanks for the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving & see you in Scotland! XO
I always make my cranberry sauce and i jar it and use it on crepes with sour cream. If you can't find Lingonberries, a dollop is great with Swedish meatballs. 😊
My parents came from the Netherlands. We had turkey with chestnut dressing (never the "soggy" bread stuff), green beans almondine, sweet potatoes with a mix of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger, & allspice sprinkled on top before baking, mashed potatoes, and then pumpmin pie for dessert. My parents came here before that green bean casserole from Campbell's was invented and really disliked it as much as the bread stuffing, and they also predated Kraft pushing nini marshmallows on sweet potatoes, which concept kind of disgusted them. It was all very good & we'd have it again for Christmas dinner.
Every time one of my family members makes a cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, it's always thin and runny. I think they aren't cooking it until the cranberries burst! Learned this from your video!
You must have been in shock, lol. Your way of cooking is similar to the way my family does it. They used to do the sweet potatos with marshmallows, but stopped a long time ago because it was too sweet. I never liked it.
I make my own cranberry sauce too. However, I like to use the canned version for leftover sandwiches. Thin slices of the canned stuff, turkey, and a little dressing on bread with mayo.
I absolutely must defend legitimate American food and let you know that many of us would never open a can of anything for a nice meal. My family has never put canned cranberries on the table, and I can assure you, I had never even heard of green bean casserole until I was an adult and someone served it at a party-I took one bite and I never had it again. But more importantly, I have to defend true Ambrosia, a dish from the 19th century that has been treasured in the American South for over a century. True Ambrosia is made of slices of orange, tossed in a little sugar, and layered with coconut. That's it. It's refreshing and delicious alongside the rich turkey and dressing. We always served it at Christmas, not Thanksgiving. Oranges are the smell of Christmas for a lot of older Southerners, who remember when the best treat of Christmas Day was the tangerine in the toe of their Christmas stocking!!
I'm 73. I started doing Thanksgiving when I was 11. My mom had pneumonia and told me what to do, step by step. I've been doing this for a very long time. This year we are going to my nephew's. I think this is his fiancé's first try. I'll do ours on Friday. I brine the free range turkey in cider, my mom'sstuffing, make a calvados gravy, mashed potatoes from scratch, riced twice, real cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, no marshmallows,fresh green beans with browned butter and toasted hazelnuts, maple glazed carrots, and as many pies as I am up for. Those got to he nephew's. I haven't totally passed the torch.
Take heart that some of us make our own cranberry sauce… and don’t make green bean casserole, have marshmallows with sweet potatoes, or serve ambrosia salad!😉
True! I don’t eat sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top either. No ambrosia salads or canned green beans. Despite what some people may think. I feel insulted by those comments. I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who felt that.
When I was growing up, my mother cooked everything from scratch every year. The canned cranberries came later, as a time saver for her, as she worked so many hours, she would be frenzied finishing dinner. To this day, I have canned cranberry, to honor her memory. I love the home made version, but really don’t mind the jelly. How amazing it would be to have such a chef prepare a meal! Thank you for sharing your recipe, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Total culture shock in the USA. My dad was from York and hated Cranberries in a can. Mom and Grandma always made it the way you do.
I am from the U.S. and didn't like cranberries from a can. I'd take a nibble to be polite.
Cranberry sauce in the can is primarily jelly, there is whole berry but few buy that. I do buy canned jellied cranberry sauce because it is delightful on turkey sandwiches. It’s tart and accentuates the turkey’s flavor. There’s nothing wrong with it.
Just made my homemade cranberry sauce and home canned it. I put lemon and orange zest and juice, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, fresh ginger, then add vanilla bean paste at the end. Water bath can for 10 minutes. Delicious.
Mine was done on Monday😂. Exactly the same recipe as the chef.
Imagine hiring the Royal Chef to cook your Thanksgiving meal and asking him to bring his can opener! 😂
As an American living in England, I remember many times scrambling to find all the American canned ingredients for sale in London to make our Thanksgiving meal complete!
Wrong thanks giving
Born and raised in the US and never had canned cranberry sauce. Both my mom and her mom were excellent cooks and everything for Thanksgiving was made from scratch. As I’ve reached my “golden” years, I’ve sometimes purchased the pies from a local bakery, but everything else I make from scratch. No sickly sweet marshmallow sweet potatoes either. A dollop of my cranberry sauce is a lovely garnish on my butternut squash soup starter.
Chef, your versions that you had started explaining to your then employer sound wonderful! They would great video subjects
I still love the canned cranberry jelly, but for fancy dinners I try different recipes
Mr McGrady, my family’s Thanksgiving is roast turkey, delicious, tart homemade cranberry relish (cranberries and an orange and 1/2 cup of sugar pulverized in a food processor, sat overnight covered in the fridge til it’s perfect) stewed berries, or a compote wouldn’t suit the roast Turkey as well as the relish does. Mashed potatoes, gravy, herb stuffing, brown sugar glazed sweet potatoes, baby carrots, sautéed green beans, maple roasted Brussel sprouts, Parker house rolls, most years for dessert we have pumpkin pie or Indian pudding (a steamed, spiced pudding made with molasses, corn meal, spices, eggs, cream) either topped with whipped cream, a raisin pie, and a fruit pie maybe pear or apple. There is always a large bowl of nuts in the shells with a few nutcrackers which are enjoyed while watching the game, or whatever. My family have never had Thanksgiving out of a can, we don’t do green bean casserole, or sweet potatoes with marshmallows, or ambrosia (but while that was a thing across the US when I was a child in the 1960s, it didn’t include jello or cherries, rather it was made of mandarin orange segments not canned, coconut and if memory serves bits of pineapple which might have come out of a can). I know a handful of ancestors were at the first Thanksgiving, as they arrived on the Mayflower. I live in the small Massachusetts town a few descendants of theirs helped found. Paul Revere’s in-laws lived here, and ran a coaching inn that is still standing and is used as a historical society site on what was then the Post Rd. Southern Thanksgiving is markedly different than here in New England, but it’s also different depending on where you are in the south.
This sounds amazing! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
With you on the cranberry relish. We could eat it all winter
Now, that's a Thanksgiving meal! I love that you make Indian pudding. Add a little bourbon, cranberries, orange, cinnamon, pecans, and butter into those glazed yams, toss in a mincemeat pie and eggnog, and I'm all in!
I remember a similar ambrosia to the one you describe. My aunt made it for summer family parties (early-mid 1970s). It was made in a ring mold, with base of orange Jell-O, mandarin orange segments (crushed pineapple may also have been embedded there), topping of sour cream mixed with--whipped cream or mayo, I don't recall which--and coconut. (Thanks for reminding me about the coconut. I've been trying to remember this recipe for many years now.) There may have been some other forgotten things in it as well. Maybe maraschino cherries? I don't recall how she got the dairy portion to stay on top; the texture was soft/creamy, so it probably wasn't gelled into the mold. Maybe it just stuffed the center (empty) space of the ring.
My family's Thanksgiving dinner was similar to yours, but mine in addition to the homemade cranberry sauce and relish, did serve the jellied canned kind, mashed buttered rutabega, peas, and candied sweet potatoes (no marshmallows.) Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Chef, listening to you share your experience had me rolling on the floor and laughing so hard the happy tears rolled down my face ! I guess we sometimes forget how our cultures differ. And im reminded of a "proper English Breakfast" to make my point !
Yummy!! Thank you Darren. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. We are grateful for you and all the wonderful recipes and stories of the Royals you bring us. xo
I love making homemade cranberry dressing! I have come to accept that if we are having a large party for Thanksgiving I just have to put out both- the homemade and the canned- to make everyone happy! I may try adding the curacao this year, sounds delicious!
I enjoy fresh cranberry sauce. But, I have to admit that nothing will turn me against the canned cranberry sauce. I don't know if it's the neat lines from the can that form around the sauce or what. But, it glistens on a serving platter, looks nice when neatly sliced and even has a good flavor with turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing. Nice recipe you have there, Darren. Very nice.
I've never liked cranberry sauce on turkey but I like it on the side. Darren, your sauce I want to put on icecream as a dessert! That looks lush!!
Try cranberry sauce with chunk of cheddar cheese.
Yes. Definitely put it on vanilla ice cream! Sooo good!!!
I just ate some canned cranberry sauce at church today. It's good stuff, but we make a whole berry version too.
But we love our canned cranberry sauce Darren! Lol. However, I'm going to try your recipe and put it next to the canned sauce. Right next to the canned green bean/mushroom salad. We Texans live by Thanksgiving tradition. It rarely changes. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. 🦃🦚
Thank you, Chef.
Our ambrosia is apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, mini marshmallows, and just a small amount of mayonnaise because the juices will develop.
Sounds gross
It's da bomb! Delicious!
Apples grapes walnuts and celery is the famous Waldorf salad.
Waldorf Salad is soooo delicious!! I add Turkey the following day to make Turkey salad.
I haven't bought cranberry sauce for decades. I have made own for family dinners since the 80's.
Congratulations on your successful channel. I just came upon it. I was raised on cranberry sauce from a can as a child in Brooklyn and was thrilled when I first encountered homemade sauce of whole berries. Many Americans have both on the table on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love your recipe and will make it for sure. Thank you for sharing it with us.
My mom always made two cranberry dishes for thanksgiving. One was similar to the dish in the video, but with cranberries, orange juice & zest, sugar. The second was a fresh cranberries ground in an old fashioned cast iron grinder with fresh oranges, quartered with the white center pith cut out. These were also ground in the grinder, rind of oranges also. To the mix add sugar and mix well. This was made a few days b4 Thanksgiving to allow the natural pectin and sugar to work its magic. It’s still my favorite and one I still make every year.
I never had canned cranberry sauce growing up. The first time I tried it I was in my early thirties. Definitely a weird texture.
I add chopped pecans and diced Granny Smith apple into mine, also.
Your former employer’s menu sounds like a gastronomic nightmare! Thankfully, my family never ate like that at Thanksgiving… or any other time. I’ve always made cranberry sauce from scratch because it couldn’t be simpler, or better. We thoroughly enjoy your videos, Darren.
Gastronomic nightmare, I agree. Canned cranberry jelly is ok, but the "canned" green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and the Ambrosia are crimes against humanity.
Yeah my mother in law doesn’t use the canned stuff it’s amazing made from scratch
I have always wanted to try and make homemade cranberry sauce but, I’m not that great a cook. I think I’ll try this one though, thanks Darren!
My sister-in-law who does not cook told me the easiest way and it’s basically the recipe on the bag of cranberries. One bag of cranberries, one cup of water, one cup of sugar, and you cook them till a few of them start to pop.
Darren we have to have those cans! Don't deny us lol
Oh, my grandmother made the very best cranberry relish! She had a clamp on the table food grinder that she'd grind the cranberries with. I'll try your recipe this year. (I hate ambrosia, disgusting, we never had it when I was growing up.)
My secret ingredient for this year's cranberry sauce is Golden Syrup. That stuff is AMAZING!! (:
Happy Thanksgiving Darren. Brit expat here. My siblings and I still text each other for Guy Fawkes on November 5, though this year we got a bit stuck on the rhyme. I’m still a bit stuck on my menu for Thursday, though there will be fresh cranberry sauce because we like it. Looking forwforward to trying your recipe since you have orange in it - I’m more than likely cooking duck. Cheers!
Oh Darren, you cracked me up with the story of the Dallas Lady and her USA Thanksgiving. Funny, it is true, some folks still do it that way, believe it or not!
I'm copping the cranberry recipe for next year's Thanksgiving. My daughter is making Barfoot Contessa's recipe this year. I do think it maybe very much like yours.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family.😊
Wow, my mother used to do that homemade Cranberry Sauce, with a stick of cinnamon instead of star annise, so much better than canned!
Sorry chef but I love to spread canned cranberry jelly on one piece of bread and cream cheese or Brie on the other then Turkey and stuffing. The best sandwich on the day after Thanksgiving! But thanks for the recipe I love the addition of star anise. Hope you and yours enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday!
That sandwich sounds delicious!!
Darren, Watching you cook and listening to your voice is absolutely therapeutic! You are a treasure and a joy! Thank you! thank you!
Dear Chef McGrady, this is a fabulous recipe of one of my favourite dishes. I Always make my cranberry sauce from scratch and sometimes add English walnuts / fresh pineapple bits as well as orange zest, maple syrup / farmers market honey / molasses or dark brown sugar. I will try the type you suggested. Sure to find at a gourmet shoppe. Thanks againfor this gorgeous recipe.
By the way as someone who has worked in fine dining here in the US I truly hope you have recuperated from that dreadful position in Dallas.
You are a gem of an artiste in the kitchen as well as congenial and so friendly.
You deserve much better treatment. Not everyone in the US has such mundane, boring dining habits. Some of us welcome fresh, intriguing cuisines that let the herbs,spices, and flavours of quality ingredients shine.
Happy holidays to you and yours.
I'm 1st generation Canadian. Mum and Dad were Brits. We had our Thanksgiving in October. I make a big batch of cranberry chutney. I jar it for friends and family. Cranberries sugar water but also minced onion, Worcester sauce, vinegar and chili powder, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger and a few hot pepper flakes. I keep extra in the fridge. It's great with roast pork.
That sounds amazing!
All of the things you said about the Dallas family's Thanksgiving recipes are true for lots of people. Our family didn't do it like that. We have everything fresh and no marshmallows! Fresh cranberry sauce is so much better and so easy to do. Mine is very simple - just cranberries, apple cider, and sugar. I make my dressing with fresh bread I dry myself and it's so much better than the packaged stuff. My favorite for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving is baked eggs in nests of dressing.
Exactly. Some Americans make dressing or stuffing from bread made from day old bread that was made at home the day before. Like my mom did.
For a big Thanksgiving I do that, for small I use the can. Those berries look great. Happy Thanksgiving!!!! John T.
As an American I always make my cranberry sauce fresh, the caned stuff sucks. But I do use beans and soup in a can with french onions and also sweet potatoes loaded with brown sugar and marshmallows on top. Lol.
My family always uses fresh ingredients for cranberry sauce (much like yours), for green bean casserole we use fresh green beans a homemade mushroom sauce, then add cheese, caramelized onions and bread crumbs on top. For corn casserole we grill corn, cut the corn off the ears and add cream cheese, heavy cream, sour cream, cheeses, spices and vegetables. Not all Americans like canned stuff like the family you were a Chef for. However, I have never had ambrosia salad, but I have to admit that sounds kind of good, but I think I would use fresh fruit, but then I guess it would be a fruit salad. 🤣
I add to your basic cranberry recipe here finely chopped apples or pears, cinnamon, allspice, & spiced rum !
That's so funny. Honestly, I do the Thanksgiving cooking and nothing comes from a can. Fresh is always better.
Darren, your recipe is almost exactly what I make but I use maple sugar and no liquor or vanilla. Just fresh orange flavor. It's great.
You are so funny and yet so pleasant to listen to. I want to try the cranberry recipe. Thank you!
I like to add finely diced, lightly sautéed crisp apples and dill - as well, to my cranberry sauce
Oh wow that's actually quite clever - some texture and slight herbiness to cut through the tartness of the cranberries.
@ so yummy! I add zest etc. but the diced apples and dill, really makes it special.
I also do my stuffing, more as a light bread pudding-
With coarsely sliced garlic, apples, red bell pepper,mushrooms, tiny ham cubes- onions, obviously- I cool it low and slow- then really roast it at the end.
All of the veggies just kind of pop out of the crust.
Super good!
You have inspired me to donate my can of cranberry sauce to the local food pantry and make your recipe! I would not have dared to try it before I saw how easy you made the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving!
How blessed! Royal Chef McGrady has blessed thy with another video
I used to make cranberry chutney. I love dried cranberries in salad.
Hello Chef Darren, I am Barbara from the States and I wanted to say that I think you are a remarkable Chef, and a Wonderful Person. I absolutely loved Princess Diana, I know how much she was wronged, The world lost a Beautiful, Loving, Caring, Warm and all around one of the greatest Princess ever. I cried like a baby when she passed. As did the whole world. My heart still goes out to her 2 remarkable sons. I watch all your videos. You are a remarkable Chef. I wish I would meet you and just talk about how amazing Princess Diana was God Bless, Thank You for sharing your Amazing Videos.
Love the posts Darren 🎉
A few years ago I subbed brown sugar for the white in the standard cranberry sauce recipe (22 oz cranberries, 1-2 c water, 1 c sugar), added a little cinnamon, a tiny bit of orange peel...🤷 Delicious. "...nobody likes it,but we have it anyway..."??? 🤣😂 Only here in the US!
Happy Holidays!
12 oz, not 22. (I hate autocorrect.)
@@CatsPajamas23More appropriately termed "autodistort". 😄
Ikr? Happy Thanksgiving!
@@CatsPajamas23 Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!🦃
I understand your thoughts on the subject, truly I do. So some of us do things differently. For turkeys I smoke them. Been doing that over 30 years now. I make hotel fans filled with different kinds of bread dressing and cook under the turkeys for all that wonderful drippings. And we'll I do a lot of other dishes that I won't go into. Bottom line I LI E Thanksgiving. Ill mention here that I have never eaten figgy pudding. So yuppers I understand. Have a great day 🌤.
My mother always bought the cranberry jelly in the can that you'd slice, but I never touched it --- I didn't like it. She never made the green bean casserole either, not sure why. She DID however, make candied yams: a can of Princella yams, mashed it up and added diced pineapple bits to it, covered the top with mini-marshmallows and heated it up. She also always made (as a side dish) an Apple Kugel. I think she got that recipe from my Nana (her mother-in-law). Chef Darren's Cranberry Relish looks so much more delish than the canned garbage.
I made delicious fresh cranberry sauce one year, similar to this recipe, and got so dragged by family. My dad and my twin boys were so upset with me! Can only in my family!
I want to see your roast turkey video next Darren!
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce. Jellied for the rest of the year. Whole Berry for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I make fresh cranberry sauce, but mine is actually more of a sauce consistency--no chunks, a bit jellied but not enough to hold the shape of a tin can, say. 😊
Darren! that was amusing! I hear you with your food culture shock when moved to US. am bit of food snob as tho I grew up in Toronto and Halifax Canada our recipes are very similar to yours and and we were by no means posh ...Innfact I don't recall having turkey for Thanksgiving until 80s or so here in Canada...it was ham, boiled dinner or beef. 😅
Born and bred in USA. Paella for thanksgiving for some time now. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Whether it’s a turkey or a can of beans. All taste best served up with a thankful heart!!
Sorry, Darren, but I love Ocean Spray's jellied cranberry sauce (and NOT the one with whole cranberries!) despite having tried homemade a couple of times, but even though I like our "traditional" green bean casserole, I would've opted for yours.
The Girl Scouts in my town in Massachusetts used to grind fresh oranges and cranberries together, sugar to taste and put in jars to give to the neighbors who were in need. Delightful!
When I was a little girl Ambrosia was sometimes served at picnics, neighborhood barbecues or family gatherings (wedding or baby showers), but it was a lovely mixture of whipped cream, sour cream, pineapple, oranges, cherries, sometimes coconut, mini marshmallows.
Omg! I remember drawing a turkey in art class when I was a wee lad. Hilarious. And making a drum and feather headband.
I love ALL kinds of cranberry sauce! My favorite Thanksgiving dish!
Just found this...I was raised on a Thanksgiving dinner that was almost exactly like you described, except we had canned cranberry sauce as well as the jellied version, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, fresh ambrosia salad, and always deviled eggs, stuffed celery with pimento cheese, and of course, pecan and pumpkin pie, along with buttermilk pound cake! I did like your description. I still love my canned cranberry sauce (even converted my husband away from the jellied version). I have switched up my menu a lot, although I occasionally make a green bean casserole from scratch! The best part for me is the leftover turkey sandwich with Duke's mayo, and all the other various leftover turkey dishes. Glad your daughter got the experience!
Forgot, my Mom's Congealed Salad, was a must at every holiday or picnic. Here is a copy.
Congealed Lime Salad
2 packages gelatin powder --
lime
3 cups water -- hot
8 ounces cottage cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup pecans -- chopped
5 ounces evaporated milk
12 ounces crushed pineapple
in juice -- drained
Mix Jello with water until dissolved. Chill until almost firm.
Add cottage cheese, mayonnaise, pecans, evaporated milk,
and pineapple. Pour into mold.
Chill overnight.
Serves: 12
Style: Southern
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Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 to you and yours. I'm a fairly new subscriber from the state of Georgia.
From the Palace to Dallas!! Great statement! We all made those hands into turkeys some better than others. Back to the video!
Chef, please bring us some more Thanksgiving recipes. Would love to make. Your culinary skills are outstanding. 😊
My family's ambrosia salad was way different. It's fruit cocktail, canned mandarin orange slices, coconut, maraschino cherries, marshmallows and walnuts, tossed together with cool whip. And everybody loves it. I do turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, sage stuffing, sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter and marshmallows, mashed potatoes and gravy, yeast rolls, green beans with bacon, and pies (apple and pumpkin). Very basic.
Chef, your Cranberry Sauce is wonderful. You're hired!!!😊
Oh I know that story from the beginning of the video, it is in the cookbook my sister bought for me as a birthday gift. I was actually just looking at the book this morning.
Darren, since I like cranberry quite a bit, I already today tried making your cranberry sauce and I have to tell you it is in fact super good! I kind of want to stand there and eat the whole thing, but I'm resisting. Thanks a lot for putting this up here, and you are correct that this is now going to be one of my favorite things to make, and not only at this time of the year either. I like cranberry any time.
😂😂😂bleach from under the sink had me lol🎉🎉🎉 Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours
Guilty pleasure. I love the cranberry sauce jelly.
I love your videos and recipes. Your cranberry sauce sounds lovely, I can't wait to try it. Sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, I think I'll pass. I've had Ambrosia many times and love it. Making it with Cola and Jello? nah I'll pass. Take care! 🇨🇦
I used to make mine this way, but we settled on:
- 2 packages of cranberries (picked over to remove soft or wrinkled)
- 6-8 ounces of dried cherries
- 2 cups sugar or non-sugar sweetener
- 2 cups orange juice
The cherries add just the right something extra.
Oh my word, this is hilarious! Darren you are wonderful!
Great story about your first Thanksgiving here in the States. Yes, it's a different culture with different tastes. BTW for a Christmas party last year, I used your trifle recipe to make a trifle. Even bought the standard trifle bowl from Amazon. The people here in Oklahoma didn't know it was; they enjoyed it. So I plan to make it again this year. Thanks for the recipe and the good humor. Happy Thanksgiving!
My Mom used to always make whole berry cranberry sauce on the stove for her and Dad, and also the plate of sliced canned cranberry sauce for my sister and I. I enjoy both, but my preference will always be for the canned. 🌹
Yummy😋 Thanksgiving Blessings Darren🦃❤️
Happy Thanksgiving! My Cousin makes a 5 minute cranberry sauce in the microwave and it's really good and easy. Rinse 2 cups cranberries and put in microwave safe bowl. Put in 1 cup sugar and stir so the berries are coated. Cover lightly and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, stir and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes more and you're done. You can even make a sugar free version using splenda instead of sugar. It's very good and good for a diabetic, like me.
thank you, chef! i will try this recipe tomorrow! looks delicious!
Looks yummy. I wish there was someone to have this and thanksgiving with.
Great video! Thank you. 🦃 🥧
Although our family ditched the canned stuff decades ago, (similar recipe as yours) we also have never had marshmallows in or on anything for Thanksgiving dinner. Sweet potatoes only ever had brown sugar and butter, and corn or peas. Last several years it's been roasted Brussel sprouts and corn. Blessed Thanksgiving folks
😂😂😂😂
You made me laugh so hard. My family is English living in the States and we love our homemade cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving except for my father who totally embraced the canned cranberry jelly 🥴 Love your videos. Cheers sir!
My mom has never used the canned cranberry sauce. She always makes a fresh cranberry sauce with orange rind.
Hi Chef. I’ve always adored cranberry sauce. My mom always made it fresh. It’s the best on a turkey sandwich! I’m making this now without the curaçao. Thanks for the recipe. Happy Thanksgiving & see you in Scotland! XO
OMG! Ur cranberry sauce looks so delicious and beautifully done ❤😊😊❤😊❤
I always make my cranberry sauce and i jar it and use it on crepes with sour cream. If you can't find Lingonberries, a dollop is great with Swedish meatballs. 😊
Thank you chef for another great recipe ❤Happy Thanksgiving everyone
😢wow!
Delicious ❤❤
Roasted brussels sprouts with hazelnuts is a staple on our holiday table. I will make a version of your cranberries.
My parents came from the Netherlands. We had turkey with chestnut dressing (never the "soggy" bread stuff), green beans almondine, sweet potatoes with a mix of brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, ginger, & allspice sprinkled on top before baking, mashed potatoes, and then pumpmin pie for dessert. My parents came here before that green bean casserole from Campbell's was invented and really disliked it as much as the bread stuffing, and they also predated Kraft pushing nini marshmallows on sweet potatoes, which concept kind of disgusted them.
It was all very good & we'd have it again for Christmas dinner.
I would also add a bit of ginger.
Every time one of my family members makes a cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, it's always thin and runny. I think they aren't cooking it until the cranberries burst! Learned this from your video!
I totally agree with you Chef. That canned jelly is gross!!! I bet your Thanksgiving giving menu rocks. No cans!!!😊 Happy Thanksgiving Chef. 😊
You must have been in shock, lol. Your way of cooking is similar to the way my family does it. They used to do the sweet potatos with marshmallows, but stopped a long time ago because it was too sweet. I never liked it.
Bravo on this recipe ❤
I make my own cranberry sauce too. However, I like to use the canned version for leftover sandwiches. Thin slices of the canned stuff, turkey, and a little dressing on bread with mayo.
I absolutely must defend legitimate American food and let you know that many of us would never open a can of anything for a nice meal. My family has never put canned cranberries on the table, and I can assure you, I had never even heard of green bean casserole until I was an adult and someone served it at a party-I took one bite and I never had it again. But more importantly, I have to defend true Ambrosia, a dish from the 19th century that has been treasured in the American South for over a century. True Ambrosia is made of slices of orange, tossed in a little sugar, and layered with coconut. That's it. It's refreshing and delicious alongside the rich turkey and dressing. We always served it at Christmas, not Thanksgiving. Oranges are the smell of Christmas for a lot of older Southerners, who remember when the best treat of Christmas Day was the tangerine in the toe of their Christmas stocking!!
Happy thanksgiving Darren and ur family 😊😊😊❤❤❤😊❤😊