It was Christmas Eve and I was sitting in the home of friends when suddenly I remembered that I had volunteered to bring the fresh cranberry sauce for dinner the following afternoon!! “What are you going to do?” they ask. “Drive 10 miles in the dark and the rain to the store to buy cranberries” I replied and out the door I went. She offered that the store would be open til 10 p.m. It was 5:30 but I thought now was better than later. As I approached the door of QFC at 6.p.m I was surprised when a store manager stood at the door letting people out. He saw the gross disappointment in my face. “What do you need” he ask. “Fresh cranberries to make cranberry sauce” I responded. “Well you won’t need that basket” he replied, taking it from me and ushering me in. He pointed to the fresh cranberries, located just next to the strawberries.
I was so relieved. The person whose home I am going to is very serious , VERY SERIOUS about her dinners and I had been ask to contribute very little as it was.
When I arrived home with my cranberries, I decided I would make the sauce immediately in order that it would have all night to chill. I also decided to use both bags of berries I purchased so all the cranberry lovers like myself would have an extra portion to take home with them. I followed the instructions and when the mix was boiling and the cranberries were starting to pop, I though I would relax for a few minutes – I was tired.
In hindsight, crawling into bed to relax was probably not the wisest thing to have done. I awoke more than an hour later to an “odorous” and smoke filled environment. I don’t know why the alarms did not go off. I hurried the pan outside to minimize odor and smoke damage. I think about the choices I had to wait til the next morning so I would be fresh, to have only made what I needed – I would still have a bag left – it ‘s a useless exercise .
Now I am left to figure out where to find cranberries on Christmas morning. So far, I have not located any stores which will be open on Christmas in order to purchase fresh cranberries. Not good.