Updated November 19, 2021 at 11:13 AM ET
NPR has been celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and most of the past half-century has featured a Thanksgiving recipe from Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg. She persists in the face of grins, groans, and gripes – "oh, no! That again!"
But Stamberg believes in tradition, and always emphasizes that it's the recipe that sounds terrible, but tastes terrific. It comes from her late mother-in-law Marjorie Stamberg, who served it for our correspondent's first Thanksgiving in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she was taken to be inspected by the people who would become her in-laws. She thought it quite delicious (felt the same way about their son), and decided to share it annually with listeners. Here, for your holiday pleasure, it is:
Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish
2 cups raw cranberries – washed
1 small onion
½ cup sugar
¾ cup sour cream
2 T. horseradish.
Grind the cranberries and onion together (I use an old-fashioned meat grinder, but you can use a processor – just keep pieces chunky). Add everything else. Mix. Put in a container and freeze. On Thanksgiving morning, move the relish from the freezer to the refrigerator compartment, to thaw. It will be thick, creamy, chunky, and shocking pink*. Makes 1 and ½ pints.
*It should be pointed out that some listeners, put off by the shade, felt it looked the color of Pepto Bismol. "Ridiculous!" harrumphs Stamberg. It's a beautiful bright pink, thanks to the cranberries.
"Try it. You'll like It." Her final words on the subject, at least for Thanksgiving 2021.
Happy holidays.
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