‘Tis the time of year, and as you know, The Goddess loves her cranberry sauce.  She loves homemade cranberry sauce.  She loves the stuff in the cans, too.  She’s been pining for cranberry sauce for months, so she began by making a double batch.  Hey, cranberries are only around for a short time, but cranberry sauce can be forever!  Well, almost….  She was going to make the Mango, Pineapple and Orange Cranberry Sauce.  She’s been dreaming about it.  So, she started, but then she took a fork in the flavor road.  As she reached for the pineapple, she noticed the turkey.  Right, let’s get that out of the fridge.  Good thing, too.  It was still pretty icy.  It’s been in there thawing, for about 5 days.  My fridge is cold…it freezes in spots.  It’s not a nice fridge…bad fridge!  Bad fridge!  So a sink-full of cold water to the rescue.  It’s not a large turkey, only about 12 pounds and I’m spatchcocking it anyway, so it will cook very quickly.  In about 1 hour!  Seriously.  It’s better, too, because it cooks much more evenly than the traditional method…but, I digress.  I’ll post the turkey roasting event another time.

Back to our cranberry concoction.  I tend to prefer it a bit on the tart side.  I hate when people try to obscure tartness by over-sweetening things.  But, if you prefer a slightly sweeter version, you may want to add a bit more sugar from the beginning.  Heat the sugar, water, apple cider and the cinnamon sticks in a deep, heavy pot over medium-high heat.  Bring it to the boil; boil for 2 minutes. Dump in the Meyer lemon, orange zest, orange pulp and cranberries.  Bring it back to the boil; simmer for 3 minutes.  Add the diced pineapple and mango.  Simmer, over medium heat, for about 5 minutes or until the cranberries are about half-way “popped”.  Stir now and then to prevent the mixture from sticking.  Stir in the preserves and ground allspice; cool slightly and taste.  If the mixture isn’t sweet enough, add additional preserves and/or the honey and taste again.  I know it’s a burden, all that tasting!  Cool to room temperature.  Chill overnight to allow the flavors to meld and mingle.  Serve chilled or slightly colder than room temperature.  This sauce is best made at least 24 hours ahead and can be kept in the fridge, for up to weeks.  This is, as you might imagine, delicious alongside your Thanksgiving turkey.  But, it’s incredibly delicious with gingerbread or over vanilla ice cream…options!