Harry Potter and my Grandpa’s Cranberry Sauce

On the first day of Christmas the Lit Kitch gave to me…

A yummy cranberry sauce recipe! It has a ring to it, right? Anyways, welcome to the Lit Kitch Twelve Days of Christmas! Starting with this one, the next twelve posts will focus on Christmas themed works. Nothing like reading a book curled up by the fireplace while you smell your holiday pies and cookies baking away in the next room.

I know that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is not technically a Christmas book. The characters celebrate various holidays and events throughout the book. However, this time of year I always get an urge to revisit the Harry Potter books and movies. They just seem perfectly aligned with the magical spirit of the holiday season. And they typically detail the lavish holiday feasts celebrated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

“Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce–and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.”

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

A treasured family recipe

Now, I realize that the cranberry sauce seems nothing more than an afterthought amidst all of the other holiday fare. And to be honest, this wasn’t the post I had planned for the first day of Christmas. However, my Grandpa passed away last week, and I wanted to share his cranberry sauce recipe in his memory. Not only was he a lovely, wonderful man, but he was also the reason why I don’t relegate cranberry sauce to a mere afterthought. Every holiday he would make two batches of his cranberry sauce–one for the family dinner, and a second one, usually passed to me in secret, for me to sneak out of the holiday gathering and take home with me. He knew this was my favorite dish, and I am going to forever miss his contraband cranberry sauce.

Fortunately, we still have his recipe, and that is what I am going to be sharing with you today. I know I will be making it every Thanksgiving and Christmas for the rest of my life.

The Ingredients

1. The Jell-o. Although it is cranberry sauce, we are going to round it out with some other fruit flavors. Use cherry Jell-o to provide some sweetness. My grocery store was sold out of small boxes of cherry Jell-o, so I used both regular cherry and black cherry and didn’t notice a serious difference in the overall flavor. Although the Jell-o directions involve both boiling and cold water, we are only using the boiling water here, as the other ingredients will add enough additional liquid to the recipe.
2. The sugar. Wow, I never realized how much sugar was in this cranberry sauce! No wonder I’ve always liked it so much! But you’re also eating fruit so it’s healthy, right?
3. The cranberries. Be sure to use fresh not frozen cranberries, and boil them until they are soft enough to crush in a food mill.
4. The pineapple. When you add the pineapple, do not drain the juices but add them into the sauce. This will add extra flavor and make up for not adding the cold water with the Jell-o.
5. The walnuts. The walnuts add nice texture and a nutty undertone to the sauce. Buy chopped walnuts so they are small, bite-sized pieces.
6. The apples. You can use any type of apple you prefer, based on how tart or sweet you want the sauce to be. I used gala apples this time, but am planning to try it with granny smith apples next time for a little extra tartness.

The Recipe

Dissolve the Jell-o. Pour the contents of both Jell-o packets into a large bowl (this will eventually hold all of the ingredients, so make sure it’s big enough). Add the sugar. Add 3 cups of boiling water and stir until the Jell-o and sugar have dissolved.

Boil the cranberries. Place the cranberries and 8 cups of water into a large pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer until cranberries have softened (this shouldn’t take very long).

Crush the cranberries. Drain the water and pour the cranberries into a food mill (I did this in smaller batches to make it easier). Holding the food mill over the Jell-o bowl, crush the cranberries until only the shells remain in the mill. Discard the shells.

Add the pineapple. Pour the entire can of crushed pineapple into the Jell-o/cranberry mixture, juice included. Stir to combine.

Add the walnuts. Pour the walnuts into the bowl and stir until evenly dispersed. Cover bowl with lid or foil and place in fridge overnight or until Jello has set.

Add the apples. Once Jello has set, core and peel the apples and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add to the sauce and stir until well mixed. Keep the cranberry sauce refrigerated until you’re ready to serve it.

I hope you all enjoy my Grandpa’s cranberry sauce! Be sure to check back next week for some more Christmas themed recipes!

Grandpa Reever's Cranberry Sauce

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Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Serves: 10-12 Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes 10 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 large (6 oz) and 1 small (3 oz) box cherry Jell-o
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 (12 oz) bags of cranberries
• 1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2-3 medium apples

Instructions

1. Pour both packets of Jell-o and sugar into a large bowl. Add 3 cups boiling water. Do not add cold water. Stir until dissolved.
2. Pour 8 cups water into a large pan. Add cranberries. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally until cranberries are soft.
3. Drain water and dump cranberries into a food mill.
4. Holding the food mill over the Jell-o bowl, crush cranberries until only shells remain. Discard shells.
5. Stir crushed cranberries into Jell-o. Add crushed pineapple with the juice from the can. Stir to combine.
6. Add chopped walnuts. Stir until evenly dispersed.
7. Refrigerate overnight or until Jell-o is firm. 
8. Core and peel apples and chop into small chunks. Stir into Jell-o mixture until evenly dispersed.
9. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Did You Make This Recipe?

How did it turn out? Tag me on Instagram at @thelitkitch