Cranberry Sauce

I know most people like to post Thanksgiving recipes, you know...before Thanksgiving. But I like to live life on the edge, which means waiting until the (in my opinion) most important holiday of the year to test out new recipes.

Yeah, you can imagine how fun it is to be in my kitchen on the big day. This year I totally winged it on the salad dressing, tried a completely new technique for baked sweet potato fries, mashed together three recipes for roasted brussels sprouts, made the always risky decision to bake yeasted rolls, used a brand new recipe for brownies, made my own additions to an apple tart, and found this last minute recipe for cranberry sauce. Thank goodness I wasn't in charge of the turkey or who knows what would have ended up on our plates.

The bad news is I was absolutely no help with planning your Thanksgiving meals. But come on, I knew you had it handled. The good news? Now I can share all the winners, leave out the sweet potatoes losers, and maybe give you some good ideas for the fabulous holiday parties I know you'll be hosting before the end of the year. Or just for dinner tonight!

To be fair, cranberry sauce is usually toted out once a year just for one night. But it's sassy. It deserves more than one night out a year. And to date other birds. Cranberry sauce with orange roasted chicken? I think yes. Or, if nothing else, you'll have a fail-safe cranberry sauce all lined up for next year.

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 orange
1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp water
Sugar, salt, pepper

Directions:
1. Trim the peel from the orange in long, large pieces, trying to avoid as much of the white pith as possible. Reserve the orange for another use.
2. Place all but 1/2 cup cranberries in a small saucepot. Add sugar, orange peel, and water to the pot. Place over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook until the cranberries burst, another 10-12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and add the reserved 1/2 cup cranberries. Taste and add sugar, salt, and pepper as necessary. Remove the pieces of orange peel and discard. Cool to room temperature and serve.

Recipe Notes:

• I doubled this recipe for our meal of 12 and had plenty of sauce for dinner and some leftovers. However, if doubling, still reserve just 1/2 cup fresh cranberries to stir in at the end; 1 cup will overwhelm the sauce.

Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network

Tzatziki

What's a good way to use up a big container of Greek yogurt that's been hiding out in the back of your fridge for oh, say, a month?

Load it up with garlic, cucumbers, and dill.

Serve it with toasted pita and some of this.

And no, even though it was expired when we opened it, we did not die. Or spend the night on the bathroom floor. I haven't done that since second year of college. For the record, I blame the ill-fated choice to take dramamine, not the buckets of rum I consumed.

Tzatziki 

Ingredients:

17.6 oz greek yogurt (preferably not expired)
1 large clove garlic, grated
2 Tbls plus 2 tsp chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cucumber, peeled and diced

Directions:

1. Transfer yogurt to a medium bowl. Grate garlic into yogurt and stir to combine.
2. Add chopped dill and salt.
3. Fold in diced cucumber.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve alongside toasted pita chips, or with seasoned chicken or lamb to create your own gyros. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.