Category Archives: Holidays

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Posted on by
1

So I was wearing orange today to show support for my friend Vicky, who’s helping raise awareness for MS. And the color orange always reminds me of my time as a witness in Federal Court. (I was not wearing orange then.) I was a junior brand manager working on the “M&M’s”® Brand’s lesser-loved stepchildren – Baking Bits, Almond and Peanut Butter. Peanut Butter “M&M’s”® were – and still are – a fantastic product, but it’s hard living in the shadows of successful older siblings. Our ad agency account team used to call me Sue “What about Peanut Butter” because I was constantly advocating for more media support.  The next thing I knew I was in Federal Court, taking the stand to defend the brand’s recently redesigned packaging color. It seems our confectionery archrival (no need to name names) felt they owned the color orange. The case was settled, but the two companies still get ornery over orange to this day.

With St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, I should be talking about green – not orange. So that got me thinking about the Irish flag, which sparked the idea for this recipe symbolizing peace and Pantone harmony.  (I owe my friend Jennifer D. for the idea of using Peanut Butter M&M’s® as a topper for these Hershey’s Kisses treats; truly inspired thinking!)

St. Patrick’s Day Treats

  • Mini pretzels (Snyder’s Snaps are ideal)
  • Hershey’s Kisses
  • M&M’s® Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies

Arrange pretzels on a microwaveable plate.  Unwrap Kisses and place on top of pretzels.

Microwave for about 90 seconds, in 30-second intervals, until Kisses are glossy and the tips collapse when pressed.

Use the Peanut Butter “M&M’s”® to smash down the melted Kisses. (Wait – let’s try that again: Gently press Peanut Butter “M&M’s”® onto the melted Kisses tips until a peaceful union is achieved.) Refrigerate until firm, or eat warm and melty.

 

 

Green Eggs & Ham (Auntie Jo’s Spinach Frittata)

Posted on by
4

Setting:  Our kitchen, this morning

Sophie:   I do not like Green Eggs and Ham.

Mom:  Try them, try them – I’ve got the cam.

Sophie:  Say – I do like these Green Eggs and Ham! (especially the ham)

Dr. Seuss’s birthday is getting a lot of play this year (thanks to “The Lorax” release today), so I expect there will be quite a few green eggs and ham on breakfast menus this weekend. Food coloring’s one way to go, but this morning I thought I’d capitalize on all the marketing to help sneak some spinach into my kids’ diet. Auntie Jo’s famous spinach frittata was the perfect, all-natural Green Eggs vehicle. It also happens to be a great lunch, brunch or open house dish, because it can be served hot, cold or at room temperature. This recipe is sort of a hybrid between a frittata (open-faced omelette) and a strata (casserole made with bread & eggs); I think it’s easier to make than both. Auntie Jo’s frittatas always seem to taste a little better than mine – most likely because recipes that are passed along from person to person sometimes suffer from the “telephone game” fate. (That, or she has accidentally omitted a secret ingredient . . . ) Nonetheless, this is an easy and tasty recipe worth trying.

Auntie Jo’s Spinach Frittata

  • 1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
  • 3-4 slices bread, torn or processed into crumbs (about 1 ½ cups)
  • 3 large (or extra large) eggs
  • ¼ cup grated kasseri or romano cheese (I used romano; can never find kasseri)
  • ¼ cup grated Monterrey jack cheese or cheddar/jack mix
  • 2 Tablespoons cottage or ricotta cheese (I used a single-serve container of cottage cheese)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Few grinds black pepper
  • Additional grated cheddar, parmesan, romano or jack for topping

[For a spanakopita-flavored variant, sauté 1/2 cup chopped onion in a little olive oil; add spinach and 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill. Substitute feta for the cottage cheese.]

Heat oven to 350ºF. Squeeze most of the water out of the thawed spinach. Pulse bread slices in a food processor, or tear into small pieces.

In a mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs.

Stir in breadcrumbs, cheeses, salt and pepper.

Then stir in spinach.

Pour mixture into a 9”x9” baking dish or small casserole. (Auntie Jo says to heat casserole with oil first; I don’t do this and don’t have any problems getting the fritatta out of my Pyrex baking dish.)

Sprinkle a small amount (less than ¼ cup) of grated cheese on top; this gives the frittata a nice golden brown color. (I used the cheddar/jack mix with a little bit of additional romano.)

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before cutting into squares or shapes.

This morning I used a biscuit cutter to cut a few pieces into circles; you could also get crazy and scoop some into cleaned out egg shells. [The ham is Canadian bacon, quickly warmed/browned in a nonstick skillet.]

Serves 4 for a main course or 8-10 as an appetizer or side dish. Can be refrigerated for several days.

 

Molten Chocolate Love

Posted on by
4

If I had to pick the easiest, most universally crowd-pleasing dessert in my repertoire, it would hands-down be these molten chocolate cakes.  They take only minutes to make, can be made well ahead of time, and never fail to elicit “oohs” and “ahhs” from diners of all ages when the magic molten chocolate centers are discovered.

If you happen to have a supply of chocolate or chocolate chips on hand (does anyone not??), you most likely have all the ingredients necessary to make these for Valentine’s dinner tonight. In a pinch, any type of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate will do – chips, baking bars, secret-stash candy bars. I typically use either Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped Valrhona bittersweet chocolate. If you’re chopping chocolate, a serrated knife makes it a little easier. I love the ease of the bittersweet chocolate chips; semisweet chips will work as well, but the cakes won’t have the same intense chocolate hit as with the bittersweet chocolate.

Makes 4 cakes; recipe can be doubled. Batter can be made up to 2 days ahead and baked just before serving.

  • 4 oz. good-quality bittersweet chocolate (chips, or chopped; approx. 1 cup)
  • 6 Tablespoons (3 oz. or ¾ stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing ramekins
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 400ºF. In the top of a double boiler or bowl set over (not in) hot water, combine chocolate, butter and sugar until just melted; whisk smooth.

Remove chocolate mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.(Alternatively, you can temper the eggs by whisking some of the warm chocolate mixture to the beaten eggs; this will prevent the hot chocolate mixture from prematurely cooking the eggs.)

In a separate bowl (especially if a 7-yr-old is helping you), crack eggs and whisk. Add beaten eggs to cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Add flour and whisk to incorporate.

Generously grease four 4-oz. ramekins or custard cups (Pyrex custard cups are available in the bakeware section of many supermarkets.) Distribute chocolate batter evenly among the four dishes. (A spring-release ice cream scooper can help with this.)  Set filled dishes onto a baking sheet. [Cakes can be made up to this point and kept in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap) until ready to bake. Set out for at least 30 minutes prior to baking.]

Bake cakes for exactly 12 minutes. (Thick-sided ramekins may require an additional 1-2 minutes.) The sides of the cakes should be set but the centers should still be soft. Do not overbake! The molten center will disappear if you do. (Though you’ll still be left with the richest, most delicious brownie you’ve ever had.)

With a paring knife, cut around edges of cakes to help them release from the ramekins. Now for the tricky part: inverting the cakes onto serving plates. (Tricky because the ramekins are very hot.) I’ve found that wearing rubber gloves is a good way to protect your hands but still provide a good grip on the ramekins.

Serve immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Fresh raspberries or strawberries also make a nice garnish, but good vanilla ice cream is all you really need. Shown here is Vanilla Swiss Almond, which was all we had; plain vanilla or vanilla bean would’ve been better.)

Myrtle’s Chicken Pot Pie

Posted on by
4

Myrtle, my maternal grandmother, made a killer chicken pot pie. Essentially a chicken stew with a pastry crust, pot pie is at once the ultimate expression of love and the ultimate way to use up leftovers.  (Two things near and dear to Myrtle’s heart.) Myrtle’s pie crusts were always perfectly light and flakey, and most of the time she’d make just the tops for everyone’s individual pies; why bother with bottom crusts which would just get soggy from the filling? Indeed!  Myrtle also loaded her pot pies with vegetables from her Hood Canal garden, which was about three times the size of her kitchen. She was doing “organic,” “local” and “seasonal” way before it was trendy.

Myrtle Seeley Langlow

A true romantic, Myrtle would be thrilled to know that my husband credits our engagement to her chicken pot pies. As a thoughtful (and some might say calculated) gesture, I used to make 3 or 4 pot pies at a time for him while we were dating; he’d keep them in his NYC freezer for a midweek respite from General Tso’s take-out.

Many blissful years later, Myrtle’s symbols of love wrapped in pastry still elicit warm emotions. In fact, I’m thinking of making them for this year’s Valentine’s Day dinner. (Maybe I’ll save the Nordstrom bill discussion for afterwards . . .)

Chicken Pot Pie

Over the years I’ve made some tweaks to Myrtle’s recipe – adding some additional flavorings to the sauce, swapping out some of the vegetables, making the pastry with butter instead of Crisco, and sometimes baking the pastry tops separately. Feel free to make your own modifications, including the use of ready-made pastry dough or puff pastry if dough-making is a deal-breaker.

Homemade pastry crust might sound intimidating, but it’s truly simple! (Especially if you use a food processor.) Depending on your ambition or your mood, you can either cook the pastry tops on top of the filling in ovenproof bowls or ramekins, or bake the tops separately on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Ovenproof bowls are not required for this method and assembly is somewhat easier; the pastry crusts also get crisper. Examples of both methods are shown below.

Make the crust:

(Makes enough for about 8 individual pie tops or two 9” pies; freeze unused dough if you’re making a single batch of filling.)

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp table/Morton’s salt (not kosher)
  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 6 Tablespoons ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour and salt; pulse to mix. Add cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water and pulse until dough sticks together when pinched. (You can do this without a food processor; follow the same steps, but instead of pulsing use a pastry cutter or 2 butter knives to cut in the butter.)

Form dough into 2 discs (I use plastic wrap to help the dough come together and contain the mess.) With a sheet of parchment paper below and a piece of plastic wrap on top, roll out a dough disc to about 1/8” thickness. Using intended serving bowls as a guide, trim dough to fit. (Flush to edge for pre-baked method or with a ½”+ overhang for the bake-together method.) Gather excess dough and repeat until you have enough tops made. Cut out a small shape or initial if desired. (Freeze any leftover dough.) Place dough tops in refrigerator until ready to bake tops or assemble pies.

For pre-baked (cut to shape of serving bowl):

For baked-together (cut to shape of ramekin with 1/2″+ overhang:

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Prepare the filling:

(Makes 4-6 individual pies, depending on size of bowls; recipe can be doubled if you have a large enough pot!)

  • 3 to 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 3-4 cups cooked & cubed leftover chicken)
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 tsp dried or 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 fresh bay leaf (optional)
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion or shallot
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped celery (optional)
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
  • 1 tsp kosher salt (or 1 chicken bouillon cube)
  • Freshly grated black pepper
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 cups cooked/leftover or frozen vegetables of choice: diced carrots or chopped green beans (frozen OK; cook 1 minute in a microwave); diced cooked potato or sweet potato; frozen peas or corn (no need to cook; add to sauce right from freezer).

Poach the chicken: (Skip these steps if using precooked/leftover chicken.)

In Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium heat, add raw chicken breasts, chicken stock, thyme & bay leaf (if using) and bring to a simmer. Add any uncooked vegetables that you’d like to add to the pot pies. (Carrots & cut green beans were added here.) Simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove from heat. Remove chicken with tongs and set aside to cool. When pan is cool enough to handle, pour stock through a colander or strainer into a large (4-cup minimum) measuring cup or bowl. Discard bay leaf. Wipe pan dry with paper towel.

Make the sauce:

In same Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine butter and onion (or shallot), and celery if using, and cook until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). [Add thyme if using leftover chicken.]

Add flour and cook for another minute or two. Stir in sherry or white wine (will form a thick paste).

Stir in reserved chicken broth 1 cup at a time; whisk until smooth. (As smooth as can be with the bits of onion and celery.) Whisk in salt or bouillon cube, pepper and milk; add chicken and simmer over medium-low heat until sauce is slightly thickened. [Sauce should have a gravy-like consistency.]

Unless you are creating individual custom pies (i.e., carrots in some but not others), add the cooked and/or frozen vegetables to the sauce and simmer until heated through.  Taste sauce for seasoning, adding an additional pinch of salt if necessary. At this point, the filling (or stew) is ready to serve if you are using the pre-baked tops method.

For custom-vegetable pies, distribute the vegetables among pies as desired.

Example of custom vegetable option

For pre-baked tops method:

Remove dough tops from refrigerator. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet (at 425ºF) for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet. When ready to serve, ladle hot filling into bowls and carefully top with cooled pastry crusts.

For baked together method:
Remove dough tops from refrigerator. Ladle filling into ovenproof bowls/ramekins. (You can fill six 4-oz  or four 6-oz ramekins with a single batch.) Place on top of filled ramekins, turning under extra dough and crimping edges. (Cut steam vent slits in top of pastry if not doing cut-outs.)

Place pies on a baking sheet and bake at 425ºF for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and sauce is bubbling. Allow pies to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

For homemade frozen pot pies:

Add filling to mini aluminum loaf pans and top with unbaked pastry dough. Seal/crimp edges and cut steam vents. Freeze in a plastic freezer bag.  Whenever ready to bake, heat oven to 425ºF and bake frozen pie for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until golden brown and bubbly.

No-Bake Pretzel Treats

Posted on by
3

No time? No problem! In just a few minutes you can whip up a batch of these white chocolate covered pretzels sprinkled with chopped M&M’s® Chocolate Candies. No rolling. No measuring. No baking. No nuts. No sweat. No kidding!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • M&M’s® Milk Chocolate Candies (find red & green by holiday displays)
  • 1 bag white chocolate chips
  • Vegetable oil, such as canola
  • Mini pretzels (I found a big tub of Utz mini holiday shaped pretzels at Wal-Mart)

Place M&M’s® Candies in a large plastic storage bag. Take a moment to appreciate the beautiful glossy shell (which took hours and hours to produce); then, smash them gently, respectfully, with a rolling pin or jar.  You want to break the candies into big, colorful pieces – not pulverize them into a gray dust.  Set out at least 2 baking sheets; line with parchment or wax paper if you’d like to make cleanup a little easier. (Who wouldn’t?)

In medium-large bowl, mix chocolate chips with a splash of vegetable oil and melt in a microwave. Do this in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval until smooth.  (Microwaves heat differently, and you don’t want to overcook the chocolate.) Throw a few handfuls of mini pretzels into the melted chocolate and stir gently to coat. Using a fork, transfer the coated pretzels to baking sheets, arranging in a single layer. Quickly sprinkle with M&M’s® pieces before chocolate sets.  The thicker the coating of white chocolate, the better the M&M’s® pieces will adhere to the pretzels. Repeat as necessary to use up all the white chocolate.

When chocolate has set, transfer coated pretzels to airtight containers. (You can put the baking sheets in the refrigerator to speed up the set time.)

Tantalizing Toffee

Posted on by
38

Washington, my home state, is famous for many things: apples, Starbucks, Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon, and Almond Roca. If you’re not from Washington, you probably just said, “Almond Whaaat?” But anyone from the Evergreen State, or the West Coast for that matter, would recognize the ubiquitous buttercrunch toffee shaped like little nut-studded logs, wrapped in gold foil and packed in Barbie-pink tins. We often used the terms Almond Roca and Almond Toffee interchangeably (a marketer’s nightmare!), and my high school friend Jen used to make Almond Roca/Toffee every Christmas. I always thought hers was much better than Brown & Haley’s pink-canned version.

Continue reading →

Tomato Fennel Soup with Gruyère Dippers

Posted on by
8

With the holidays right around the corner, my daughter’s birthday on Wednesday and my mother-in-law coming to stay for the weekend, a four-letter word comes to mind. Soup.

Quick, nutritious and versatile, soup is a one-pot solution for holiday entertaining and family-feeding stress. With a big pot of soup in the fridge, and/or some containers in the freezer, you’re set for just about anything.  Like the perfect LBD, soup can be dressed up or down to suit any occasion; serve it in big mugs with grilled cheese sandwiches for a casual lunch, or serve it in fine china teacups as an elegant and not-too-filling appetizer for a holiday meal.  My mother-in-law will be very impressed to be served a soup course, as if we were on the Queen Mary (or Titanic); she doesn’t need to know I just pulled it out of the freezer.

Fresh fennel may not be a regular staple in your produce bin, but this soup is a good reason to go out and buy a couple of bulbs. (Look for ones that are firm, with fresh leafy tops.) By pureeing the fennel, onions and tomatoes, you end up with a beautiful, “sippable” soup with good body and a delicate flavor – but looks like regular tomato soup. The fennel can be your little secret.

Tomato Fennel Soup

Adapted from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

  • 2 fennel (aka fresh anise) bulbs
  • 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ c butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (35 oz. each) Italian plum tomatoes
  • ½ cup Pernod* (or other anise liqueur, like sambuca or absenthe)
  • 2 cups (16 oz or ½ a box) chicken stock
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • Freshly grated black pepper
  • ¼ cup (+/- to taste) heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2-3 teaspoons kosher salt

Cut the tops from the fennel bulbs and reserve some of the leafy tops for garnish.

In large pot or Dutch oven over med-low heat, add the chopped fennel, onions and butter and cook until the vegetables are limp. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.  Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. 

Add the tomatoes with their liquid and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. (Now would be a good time to prep the gruyère dippers/croutons.)

Add the Pernod, chicken stock, bouillon cube and a few grinds of black pepper. Using an immersion (stick) blender, pulse/puree the soup right in the pot until smooth. (Alternatively, do this in batches in a blender once it’s cooled a little.) Stir in cream and sugar.  (This helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes.) *Note: The anise liqueur really helps highlight the flavor of the fennel, and it also adds sweetness. If you choose to omit it, you should add another teaspoon of sugar.)

Now is time for the most important step: Tasting and adding salt. Add kosher salt – tasting and adding ½ tsp at a time, up to 2+ teaspoons until it tastes good to you. [Salt is the SECRET to great-tasting soup.  If you’ve ever made a soup that just didn’t taste like much, it needed more salt.]

Serve with chopped fennel fronds for garnish, if desired. Keeps for several days in the refrigerator, or for months in the freezer.

8-12 servings, depending on portion size.

Gruyère Dippers

  • 1 baguette, sliced on the angle and then cut in halves
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • Approx. 8 oz. freshly grated Gruyère cheese

If you can plan a day ahead, slice the baguette and leave out overnight to dry out. This will save a step.

Otherwise, arrange in one layer on a baking sheet and toast in a 350ºF oven until dry/crisp.  Drizzle olive oil over toasted slices, tossing w/hands to coat. (Will not be evenly covered; it’s OK.)

Sprinkle grated cheese over slices and bake at 350ºF for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet.

Break apart when cooled. (Eat the crispy cheese bits that stick to the baking sheet.) Store in an airtight container, in pantry or freezer.

Home Sweet Home

Posted on by
1

It’s brittle with age. It has endured hurricanes, nor’easters, an earthquake, cosmetic and structural repairs, toddlers and cats. The walls are solid but not quite plumb. The roofline sags. It would never win “Best in Show”. But we aren’t parting with it any time soon.

This little house’s imperfections have become part of its character and charm, and a reminder to all (especially me) that things don’t have to be magazine-perfect to be special.  We’re filling the house with memories, which over the years become fused to its foundation like gumdrops to 10-year-old royal icing.  (Fortunately, chocolate bells are protected by foil and therefore can be pried off and eaten in a moment of desperation.) This is our home – cracks, sags, missing bells and all.

MMMagic Bars

Posted on by
2

Busy month! Time to start cranking out some holiday treats for the freezer (keeps things fresh and safely out of sight). This is one of my favorite recipes because it’s fast, festive and irresistible. (We squeezed in a batch between school concert prep and math homework.)

I’ve adapted this from the classic Magic Cookie Bars recipe – usually found on the back of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk; instead of using semisweet chocolate chips, I use red and green “M&M’s”® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies. (Nine years post-Mars, I still feel compelled to use the correct trademark protection for the brand. We took those ®s , ™ s and descriptors very seriously; the colorful little candies are a billion dollar business!)

MMMagic Bars

Makes about 3 dozen squares

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (available in the baking section)
  • 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
  • 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • Approx. 2 cups red & green “M&M’s”® Milk Chocolate Candies (not quite a full 12.6-oz. bag; you’ll have to figure out something to do with the leftover candies . . .)

Preheat oven to 350ºF (325º for a glass dish).  Put stick of butter to 13×9-inch baking pan and melt in oven while oven preheats. When butter is melted, remove pan from oven and add graham cracker crumbs; mix and press evenly into bottom of pan to form cookie base.  (I do it this way to reduce the number of dirty dishes; by all means you could melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave, mix in the graham cracker crumbs, then add to the baking pan.)

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. (Spread carefully so as not to disturb the crumbs too much.)

Layer the remaining ingredients, ending with the candies. With the bottom of a clean jar or large spoon, lightly press down on candies (so they stick to but don’t get submerged in the condensed milk mixture).

Bake 23-25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbling.

If you can resist, let cool before cutting into squares.  Cookies will firm up once cooled. (I always have to “test” the edges when still hot, though, and it’s a gooey albeit delicious mess.) Store in the freezer if you want them to last more than a day (because they will disappear).

A Saucy Welcome

Posted on by
12

Welcome to my kitchen! By most accounts, I spend way too much time in here – experimenting with new recipes and planning the next meal or party when I should be exercising or starting those baby books. (The kids are now 9 and 7.)  But the heart wants what the heart wants, and in my case the stomach goes along for the ride. Pull up a barstool and join me!

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, you might be expecting some exotic new stuffing or cranberry chutney recipes here. Sorry to disappoint. For me, there are 364 days a year to experiment with new recipes, and then there’s Thanksgiving. I might get a little crazy and add cognac to the gravy one year, but that’s about the extent of it. I’m happy with the same roast turkey, same herb stuffing, same candied sweet potatoes, same mashed potatoes (no add-ins other than butter, milk & salt), same tart cranberry sauce*, same apple and pumpkin pies. Call me boring if you want, but I find ultimate comfort (and deliciousness!) in our family’s traditional meal; why mess with a good thing?

*In full disclosure, the tart cranberry sauce I make now was not what we had growing up. We had the jellied kind from the can, sliced into circles and fanned out in a cut glass dish. Tradition mandates that we serve it this Thursday as well. But in addition, we’ll have the Tart Cranberry Sauce I started making a few years ago – a super-simple recipe of fresh cranberries and a little sugar. Cutting back on the sugar allows the cranberries to shine, and I love how the tartness of the cranberries wakes up your taste buds and helps cuts through the richness of the rest of the meal. (Thus making it easier to go back for seconds.) This sauce could be made several days ahead, and brought to room temperature before serving. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tart Cranberry Sauce

  •  1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup water

Add all ingredients to a saucepan.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until berries start to pop (approx. 5 minutes). Continue to stir and mash berries against the sides of the pan until thickened.

Remove from heat; serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 2 cups. (Because it’s tart, a little goes a long way.)