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Crantini sauce (cranberry and vodka with a twist)


The older I get the more I enjoy cranberry sauce with a turkey dinner. When I was a kid it never made sense to me. Eating a sweet jam-like sauce with a savoury meal just seemed wrong. The only people around the table who liked that combo were the same strange people who thought applesauce went with pork chops and cheddar went well with apple pie. Happily I'm older now, and as time passes tastes change too.

The addition of vodka and a twist of lemon takes this cranberry sauce from simple to sophisticated. It's as tasty with hot roasted turkey as it is on cold, creamy vanilla ice cream. We're celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend (Canada) and this sauce will be a colourful gem on our holiday table. Like a fun and fruity cocktail, it's cranberry sauce all grown up.


Here's who I made it:
makes 1 3/4 cups of sauce

1/2 cup water
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 shot of vodka (44 ml/1.5 oz)
zest and juice of one lemon

In a medium saucepan, I brought the water and sugar to a boil. I added the cranberries, vodka, zest and lemon juice and brought the mixture back up to a boil. I lowered the heat to medium and allowed the sauce to continue at a gentle boil for 8-10 minutes. The sauce was transferred to a glass dish to cool in the fridge until ready to serve.

Do you enjoy cranberry sauce with your turkey dinner? Or is that just crazy talk?