Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I have hosted the big meal for at least the last ten years. Before that, my mother was the cook. My Mom was a big believer in making sure that there was always plenty of food on the table and that everyone’s favorites were always represented. In her mind, Thanksgiving wasn’t just about giving thanks for all of our blessings, but about gathering family around the dining room table for talking, laughing and eating for hours. Mostly, it was about making memories.
Growing up, the only kind of cranberry sauce on our Thanksgiving table was a Jell-O mold with cranberries and crushed pineapple that was always made in a Bundt pan. It was just okay to me, sweet and dessert-like and at least half would always get thrown away over a week later. It always seemed more like something that belonged on a table in the Midwest. I am not sure how it found its way to our Jewish table in Northeast Philly, but there it was year after year. At some point, my Mom took on the task of making fresh cranberry sauce, which I loved.
When I got married, my husband Paul mentioned on his first Thanksgiving with our family that the cranberry sauce on his table growing up always came from a can and was served on a plate in the shape of the can. The next year, my Mom made sure that a can-shaped plate full of cranberry sauce was served for him. He took a slice and ate it, although I’m not sure anyone else did.
When I started hosting at my house, I picked the cranberry sauce that I like (yes, I know, selfish!) to serve: homemade with fresh whole cranberries. Of course, my Mom showed up with a cranberry Jell-O mold anyway. I was promptly reprimanded by Mom that I didn’t have any can-shaped sauce; after all, Thanksgiving is about making and preserving those precious memories.
Several years passed with multiple forms of cranberries served at our table. At some point, Mom stopped making the cranberry mold and I stopped serving can-shaped sauce again and we became a one sauce Thanksgiving table family. Last year, my Mom was in the hospital on Thanksgiving and my sister threw together a last minute holiday meal at her house because it was closest to the hospital. I couldn’t even tell you what kind of sauce was served because at that point, cranberries weren’t important.
This will be my family’s first Thanksgiving without Mom. It’s time to get back to what Thanksgiving is all about: being grateful for all we have in our lives, most importantly, family and friends and building those precious memories for the next generation. This year, my Thanksgiving table will be a lot more crowded with cranberry Jell-O mold, can-shaped sauce, homemade whole cranberry sauce, and,of course, memories.
My Mom’s Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
12 oz. fresh cranberries
Directions:
Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups
My Mom’s Cranberry Jell-O Mold
Ingredients:
2 (3-ounce) packages raspberry gelatin
1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple packet in its own juice
1 (15-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
Directions:
Spray a Bundt pan cooking spray. In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the raspberry gelatin and unflavored gelatin.
Add 1 cup boiling water and stir with a metal spoon continuously for 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup cold water. Add the pineapple and juice, and cranberry sauce.
Stir with a metal spoon until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared mold, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
About 1 hour before serving, invert the mold onto a serving platter and allow to sit at room temperature; the salad will release itself and come clean from the mold.
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