Creamy Fresh Cranberry and Fruit Salad

Sweet and tart fruits with marshmallows and whipped cream. Good side for poultry, pork or ham. I made this for a big family Thanksgiving dinner and it went over well. As discussed in the forums at http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?p=3434704#3434704 I wanted a salad similar to several mentioned in that thread, but none was exactly what I wanted, so I took a bit from each and made my own adaptation. "Cooking" time is really "chilling" time.

• Ready In: 24 hrs 15 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) bag fresh cranberries
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, well drained (I use the ones in juice, not heavy syrup)
• 1  cup green grape, halved
• 2  cups apples, diced and not peeled (I used one small green pippin and one small honeycrips)
• 1⁄2 lb miniature marshmallow (1/2 of a package)
• 1⁄2 cup  macadamia nuts, chopped (optional or could use other nuts)
• 1 1⁄2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Mince the cranberries in a food processor. Do this in two batches.
2. Stir together the cranberries and sugar. Let sit and chill for about 8 hours. (I do this the morning before I want to serve this salad.).
3. After about 8 hours, drain the cranberries well and stir in the well-drained crushed pineapple. Add the grapes and apples and stir. Then fold in the marshmallows and nuts.
4. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
5. A few hours before serving, whip the cream until it is becoming stiff. Fold into the fruit mixture.
6. Chill until serving.