Cranberry sauce: You can go the traditional route, or flout tradition by adding cinnamon, candied ginger or rosemary

My dear friend Shoshana isn’t a home cook but she does contribute one special dish to our yearly Thanksgiving meal: cranberry sauce. When the turkey and all the sides are mostly done, she’ll find a spot on the crowded stovetop to begin the process: one bag of fresh, whole cranberries, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, simmered until all the cranberries have popped and the sauce has thickened. I’ll put the sauce in my glass turkey compote dish, where it will glow like rubies in the turkey’s stomach.

Shoshana is very proud of herself for contributing this important condiment to the Thanksgiving table, and we’re pleased, too. The rule of thumb is: No matter how much cranberry sauce you spoon onto your plate, it’s never quite enough to match every bite of turkey. Everyone has seconds of sauce. The next day, we argue good-naturedly for the remnants of sauce to go on turkey sandwiches.

My late mother’s cranberry relish was also memorably delicious and deceptively simple, although I’m hazy on the precise directions. I know she used a big bag of fresh cranberries and one tube of frozen orange juice concentrate. The concentrate was so sweet that I’m not sure she added any additional sugar. The bite of citrus with the zing of cranberries was the most beautiful accompaniment to (let’s face it, sometimes dry) roast turkey.

As a culinary homage to my mother and Shoshana, I thought I’d bring my own cranberry sauce to the metaphorical table. It’s also very simple and contains only a few elements: cranberries, orange juice and zest, sugar and a choose-your-own-adventure fourth ingredient. Depending on your preferences, you can add cinnamon, chopped candied ginger or fresh rosemary. I tried my sauce with all three and I’ll tell you which I liked best.

But first, let’s make the basic sauce.

In a medium-to-large pot, boil 1 cup of orange juice with 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon of fresh orange zest. The brown sugar is admittedly unusual but give it a try. It adds, as the gourmands say, a certain depth of flavor or what I call roasty-toastiness. When the juice and sugar are boiling away, add two 8-ounce bags of fresh cranberries. (If you can find only 12-ounce bags, that will work, too. And yes, you can use frozen cranberries as well.) I also add 1/8 teaspoon salt as a flavor enhancer, though it’s virtually undetectable in the final sauce.

Bring the cranberries back to a boil, reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for at least 10 minutes (or longer if using frozen cranberries). You’ll be able to hear the cranberries popping like popcorn and your kitchen will smell wonderful. The cranberries should simmer uncovered because the sauce has a tendency to foam up under a lid.

If you want, you can leave the sauce exactly as it is, because cranberries, sugar and oranges are mwah — chef’s kiss! If you’re feeling adventurous, add either 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoons of finely chopped candied ginger (available in most stores with the dried fruit and nuts). If you can’t find the candied ginger, grate it fresh but start with only 1 or 2 teaspoons because ginger adds a piquancy that some people find unpleasant. (Not me, I love the stuff.) Powdered ginger is also OK, but it’s best to start with 1 teaspoon and keep tasting until it achieves the proper gingeriness. In fact, the key thing with all three enhancements is that you should adjust the amount up or down according to your preferences.

If you’re the ambitious type, you can make three kinds of sauce for your Thanksgiving table and let guests sample them all, like a flight of wines in a tasting room. If you’ve got extra, the sauce will keep in the fridge for 10 to 14 days and can be frozen for three to four months without affecting the flavor. Homemade cranberry sauce is also a thoughtful gift for the host at holiday gatherings. It makes a zesty addition to charcuterie boards and a tangy topping for vanilla ice cream or cheesecake.

Which sauce was my favorite? The cinnamon was good and the candied ginger provided delicious little bursts of sweet heat, but I found a clear winner with rosemary. The resinous herb lent a festive aromatic note to the traditional cranberry-and-orange flavor duo. I can’t wait to try this trio in other culinary iterations. Cranberry, orange and rosemary gin and tonics, anyone? I’d call that cocktail the Let Someone Else Do the Dishes for Once. Long, but could be catchy.

The only cranberry sauce on the table at our Thanksgiving celebration will, of course, be Shoshana’s. That’s as it should be, because — as my daughter declared last year — Thanksgiving is all about having exactly the same things every year, prepared in exactly the same way, with exactly the same people. My own Thanksgiving table will be encircled by only five people but I can guarantee that we will all be sporting cranberry seeds in our teeth, just as we did last year.

Cranberry Sauce

2 8-ounce bags of fresh, whole cranberries

1 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange zest

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

Enhancements:

1 teaspoon cinnamon or

1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary or

2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

In a medium-to-large pot, bring orange juice, brown sugar, granulated sugar, orange zest and salt to a boil. Add cranberries, bring to a boil again then lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes. The cranberries should pop and the sauce should thicken. Leave the sauce as is or enhance it with cinnamon, candied ginger or rosemary, adding more or less than the directions specify until you’ve attained your desired flavor. Spoon into serving dish, where it will thicken further as it cools. Serve immediately.