I may pick up some for the emergency food shelf - and try one ‘natch.
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Yes! I grew up with canned brown bread too, in Western New York State (also canned cranberry sauce with the ridges). I loved that brown bread as a kid—we sliced it and put butter on it 
What I can’t countenance is that type of cranberry sauce that’s served raw, just berries put through a food grinder (probably a food processor these days) with an orange and some sugar. How that uncooked stuff caught on I’ll never understand.
I leave the cranberry-sauce-making to others, and bake my cranberries in a pie. (It’s my most-requested pie, requested by both family and friends.)
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Recipe please.
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Same here: 100% homemade, chunky style, and the can.
I take some of both!
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I will! (I’ll have to type it up—maybe later today…)
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My daughter wanted to make the cranberry sauce this time, so I dug out my old recipe to give to her, and noticed that I had a very important note to myself at the bottom:
Will not jell if left on heat after it comes to a boil
Heck, here’s the whole recipe:
1 qt. cranberries
1 lb. sugar
1/2 pt. water
Boil cranberries and water 10 min. with lid on. Put through sieve, add sugar and stir. Let it come to a boil and remove right away.
(Will not jell if left on heat after it comes to a boil)
edited to add: you don’t HAVE to strain the skins out if you don’t want to.
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Oh heck no. We cook it until the berries break down into a jelly, then cool it. The raw, fruit-salad-like uncooked stuff is not my idea of a good time.
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I found this an interesting piece on holiday cooking, and the practice of welcoming nonfamily members to one’s table:
My mother couldn’t stand her mother-in-law and therefore tried to hide her in a massive throng, which also enabled her to gather up any waifs and strays.
Chosen family is a (if not the) real blessing. I hear you.
For better or worse, the countless awkward and stressful hours I have spent in years past with blood relatives has given way to death in the family and other fateful interventions. Such a relief to be done with the ridiculous dressing-up and posturing and small talk.
OTOH one year I did get the insight that a roomful of people who share my own genetic material can be useful for data-gathering when one is trying to fill in gaps in one’s own medical history. I actually did get interested in finding out about who got the gall bladder operation, and who was getting treated for which cancer.
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We live in the next town over and just ignore them 
My sister got so pissed when my spouse and I stopped coming over and finally after 10 years she sort of gave up caring. Now we have our time with our kids or friends and then if we feel like swing over for an hour or so for coffee and dessert and jet out as soon as we feel “tired”.
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Looks like mine, except I use OJ in place of the water and add some orange zest. If the spirit moves me, I might add some pecans, but my daughter hates nuts, so not for family gatherings.
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For the thankgiving last month we got a prepared frozen turkey breast with stuffing. Just bake for an hour and yumm. It was the perfect size for the family.
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Cranberry Pie
Makes one 9-inch round pie.
Filling ingredients:
3 cups whole raw cranberries (or one 12-ounce bag)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried currants
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
To prepare the filling:
Chop the cranberries coarsely.
In a separate bowl mix together the sugar and flour.
In a large saucepan (or large microwavable bowl), melt the butter. Remove from heat, add all other filling ingredients, and mix well.
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For the crust, use your favorite standard pastry for a two-crust 9-inch pie.
Here’s what I use:
1 and ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter
Approximately 3 tablespoons cold water
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Prepare the crust, fill it, and bake as you would for any standard two-crust fruit pie.
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My notes:
The original recipe was from Food & Wine magazine, November 1990 print issue. I haven’t been able to find it on their website.
Original recipe called for raisins or currants. I’ve only ever used currants.
If chopping the cranberries by hand using a two-bladed hand-held chopper and wooden bowl, allow at least 20 minutes for that step. Cut each berry in half with kitchen shears first, before chopping, to keep them from rolling around and flying out of the bowl as you attempt to chop them.
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Oh, I hear that. Sometimes things that we are most thankful for are the things that we worked our asses off in attaining… and luck be damned! 
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That looks great, thank you for taking the time to type it out and post it! I will most certainly try it this year.
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Re holiday family meals, I’m informed (actually… brain-washed) by my early and very particular back east upbringing… which did NOT necessarily require turkey or honey-baked ham or pumpkin pie, etc. (which – if present – only acted as third-string offerings). Our family always had what we liked best and ALL served at the same table: Roast-suckling pig; lasagna; stuffed green peppers; sweet-sour side dishes; Spanish chicken and rice; BIG spare-ribs; avocado/seafood salads; paella (which I’ve perfected… thank you!); and more. Desserts were typically lightly sugar-glazed THICK egg custard; thick not-too-sweet rice pudding loaded with rum-soaked raisins; and cubed pineapple chunks with red cherries.
My Bottom Line Suggestion: Eat what you like most (and don’t feel you have to lock yourself into the whole pilgrim thing.) 
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Well, I see that @smulder started this topic in the “wrath” category…and once again we’ve proven “zfirphdn’s law” (to wit: All BB bbs threads, if left to go on long enough, will inevitably turn to discussion of food.) It didn’t take us long at all this time, did it (not too surprising, though, given that it involves Thanksgiving). Sorry, @smulder!
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Oh, I’d do that even they lived anywhere near me.
*lolz
Right?
Now there’s a silver lining that’s pragmatic A/F…
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I’m wondering if a food processor would be sufficiently functional to chop raw cranberries.
I’m getting old enough that finding shortcuts is my new normal!
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That depends entirely on the gumption of your processor. My old 12 cup Cuisinart does a bangup job making Larabars, which requires handling 400 grams of dates at a pop, so I suspect some cranberries would be no challenge at all!
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You know, it occurs to me that my chopper is pretty dull, and that may be why it takes me so long to chop the cranberries. Looking them up on amazon [I see they’re called mezzalunas—I didn’t know that, or had forgotten] it appears that new ones are sharp—at least so sharp that they come with blade protectors.
Mine, and the wooden bowl that I use it with, came from an antique store, years ago. And, never having used one before I got mine, it never occurred to me that it should probably be sharpened [facepalm]. I think I’ll try to sharpen it before I make the cranberry pie for Thanksgiving. Thanks for your question, which got me thinking about it 
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