Basic Cranberry Sauce

Place the cranberries in a large strainer and rinse them well. Discard any bruised or soft berries.

Put the sugar and water into a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cranberries. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries have burst open.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir the pepper, if using, into the cranberry mixture. Cool completely at room temperature.

Place the cranberries in a covered glass casserole dish or glass jar with a non-reactive lid and chill overnight in the refrigerator. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

You can make this up to three days before serving.

Cook's Notes: The Basic Cranberry Sauce can be enhanced in a number of ways. Here are a few suggestions:

* Omit the black pepper and add a few tablespoons of toasted and cooled pecans or walnuts and/or a peeled and finely chopped Granny Smith apple to the cooled sauce just prior to serving it.

* For a hint of orange in the sauce, add a tablespoon of very finely grated orange zest to the sugar and water before you boil it. If you like your cranberry sauce with a stronger orange flavor, you can replace 1/2 to 1 cup of the water in the recipe with a non-pulp orange juice.

* You can also replace 1/2 cup of the water in the recipe with bourbon or Cointreau.