This Oct. 28, 2013 photo shows variations of cranberry sauce in Concord, N.H. From left to right, chipotle, ginger-miso, lemon tarragon, truffled, sweet and smokey.

Unless you really crave those accordion-like ridges or consider Thanksgiving a failure without hearing that classic shplopping noise, you have no excuse for resorting to canned cranberry sauce.

Homemade cranberry sauce is wildly better than anything you can buy and it takes little time or effort to make. Plus, it's easy to take a basic cranberry sauce and doctor it up in so many delicious ways.

To help you along on your journey from can to greatness, we offer a base recipe for a delicious brown sugar and orange cranberry sauce, plus five ways of taking the flavor in crazy delicious directions.

Don't want to use our base recipe? Don't. Use what's written on the bag of fresh cranberries, then use our flavorings.

Start to finish: 15 minutesServings: 812-ounce bag fresh cranberries¾ cup packed brown sugar¾ cup orange juicePinch of saltIn a medium saucepan over medium-high, combine the cranberries, brown sugar, orange juice and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the cranberries have popped and softened, 8 to 10 minutes.Remove the saucepan from the heat and select one of the flavor combinations below:ChipolteAdd 1 minced chipotle pepper and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo). Allow to cool, then stir in 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro.TruffledAllow to fully cool, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon truffle oil and 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives.Sweet and smokyStir in 1/2 cup crumbled well-cooked bacon, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika and an extra 1/2 cup brown sugar.Lemon tarragonStir in 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon and the zest and juice of 1 lemon.Ginger misoStir in 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger and 2 tablespoons sweet white miso.