Cranberry Chutney

It's that time of year now that Halloween is past...time for cranberries, apples, scouting out turkeys at the local farm. Home "sick" today, I had the craving to start making my cranberry sauce for this year's celebration. For me, cranberry sauce is not the tube that slides out of a tin can with the can lines still in it's jiggling form in its dish. (not that it doesn't have its own appeal for nostalgia). For me, cranberry sauce is more than a condiment. It is the main course to which cream cheese, turkey or fresh french toasts are added.

Today, I used 3 bags of cranberries from Trader Joe's - cheaper and fresher than Dole's in my experience.

I started with 2 cups of water, with 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar added. Once mixed, I added the cranberries. I boiled the mixture until the cranberries popped, then added the 4 apples (I used a mix of McIntosh, Cortland and Gala) and 10 prunes roughly chopped.
Then, I added 2 Tbsp. of Five Spice (if you don't have it, try a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, anise, nutmeg and cardamom).

Julia Child would also tell you to add some Cayenne Pepper, and I might try it with a small cup of this to see how it is!
Doesn't it look pretty?