Cranberry Salad

******Please note that I have no picture of this dish yet!  After we have enjoyed it on Thanksgiving day, I will update this post with a photo.*********

     If I could only have one favorite Thanksgiving dish, I would give up the turkey and gravy.  I would give up the mashed potatoes.  I would give up the sweet potato casserole.  I would even give up the homemade rolls.  I would keep this salad.  I dream of this salad all year long and love making it.  I have happy, happy memories of sitting in my grandmother's kitchen watching her grind up all the fruits and smelling this incredibly fresh concoction.  Rumor has it, when I was little I would even eat the cranberries raw as I "helped" in the kitchen.  I have always thought of this as my grandmother's recipe, but my cousin Mary Alice recently told me that both she and my grandmother had gotten it from a cousin years ago.  Mary Alice now lives far away from my family in Virginia but it makes me so happy to think of her making this recipe in her own kitchen.  I love hearing the origins of our family recipes from her and feel so connected by these mutual treasures.

   While this recipe does have Jello in it, please don't think of it just as a congealed salad.  It is so much more than that!  The base of the salad is fresh cranberries, oranges, and apples.  Be sure to use very firm apples and a nice, big orange.  My grandmother always used an old fashioned food grinder that fit on her Oster standing mixer, but I simplify it a bit and just use my food processor to grind everything up.  Be sure to drain the oranges very well after you have ground them up by placing them in a mesh strainer over a bowl and mashing down hard with a wooden spoon.  Do the same with the crushed pineapple.  If you don't drain the fruit, your salad won't set up very well.  Save the juice from both and use it as part of the cold water in the recipe.  Doing so will add more flavor to the salad.

    I usually make this the day before Thanksgiving to give it time to set up nicely.  I learned a couple of years ago to just go ahead and make two so that my mother-in-law has her own to take home since she loves it so much.  If you make this once and share it with guests, you might find yourself doubling it as well the next year!

Cranberry Salad

1 qt. fresh, raw cranberries
1 unpeeled orange
2 peeled, cored apples (I use Galas)

1 small can (6-8 oz.) crushed pineapple
2 C. sugar
1 C. finely ground pecans

2 small packages orange or lemon Jello (if you can find one called Tropical Fusion use it!)
1 pkg. Knox gelatin (found in the Jello section at the store)
2 C. hot water
1 C. cold water

Grind each fruit separately in food processor or food grinder.  Mix together in a VERY large bowl.

Add well-drained pineapple, sugar, and nuts.

In a separate bowl mix together Jello, gelatin, hot water, and cold water (or fruit juice).

Add Jello mixture to fruit, sugar, and nuts mixture.

Pour into a 9X13 dish and refrigerate until set.