Roasted Cranberry Sauce - Mister's Favorite

So, I didn't grow up in a cranberry household.  What exactly does that mean? Well, I truly don't remember cranberries playing a very important (if any) role during holiday meals.  Honest.  As a result, when I became a homemaker I didn't incorporate them into the holidays either.  After my oldest daughter married, her husband asked for jellied cranberry sauce from a can for Thanksgiving and I was okay with that.  Seriously -- open can - serve.  Pretty dang easy.  Then Mister came along.  He loves cranberry sauce and searched for a really good recipe once I was around and we were actually preparing holiday meals.  He found success in a Saveur Magazine from October, 2008.

As it is just a couple of days until Thanksgiving, tonight is the night he is making the sauce.  Would you like to peek in and find the same delight he has over the years?  Come along then.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Yep, that's a hot oven.  Using a peeler, remove peel from 1 orange, taking off as little of the white pith as possible.  Cut peel into very thin strips about 1 1/2" long.  Squeeze juice from the orange; strain and reserve 1 tbsp. juice.

In a bowl, combine peel, 1 lb. fresh or thawed cranberries, 1 cup sugar (we use raw), 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 4 green cardamom pods (we used 6 and crushed them with a knife), 4 whole cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks (he breaks them up), and 1 small jalapeno, stemmed and thinly sliced.

Toss and transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Roast until cranberries begin to burst and release their juices, about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Transfer cranberry mixture to a bowl (oops, we left it in the pan); stir in reserved orange juice and 1 1/2 tbsp port.  Let sit for at least 1 hour so that the flavors meld.

Remove and discard cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.  COUNT.  These buggers hurt if you bite into one of them.

Serve and enjoy.  Makes 2 cups.