I love cooking cranberries; there’s something immensely gratifying about watching those little suckers pop when you heat ‘em. I think you’ll like this cuz it’s good on turkey, but it’ll also perk up pork and chicken. Take a 12 oz. bag of cranberries, dump ‘em in a medium saucepan, and cook them on low. As they start to get all gooey, add 1/2 cup orange marmalade, 1/4 cup good red wine, 3 to 4 Tb. brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla,  and a large dash of Tabasco. I like to add about 1/2 cup of broken walnuts as I’m a big fan, but you can leave them out if you want. Let it all cook together till most of the berries have popped and the wine has cooked off, then let it cool. It’ll be firm and fabulous, and you’ll never be bored by cranberries again!

Dearest Journal!
Wow-what a crazy week it’s been for yours truley. We got our new boss here at the Wolf, and its taken me all week to get him straightened out. He’s finally starting to recognize who really runs things around here, thats right journal – me! I come up with all the big ideas, I come up with all the promotions, I mean – its all me! Luckily he seems like a cool guy so hopefully he’ll recognize. I’ll continue to carry the whole station on my broad manly and rippling shoulders, cuz thats what I do. I rock journal and don’t anyone forget it! Love you… the boss

This is SO freakin’ good anytime of the year, and everyone loves it. And talk about simple! Heat 1 Tb. oil in a big ol’ skillet, then add a 3 lb. boneless shoulder pork roast , salt and pepper it, and brown it on all sides. Put it in a slow cooker with 1 cup beef broth, 1 chopped onion, 1 cup ketchup, 1/4 c. cider vinegar, 3 Tb. brown sugar, 2 Tb. Worchestershire sauce, and as much chili powder and/or cayenne as you like. Cover it and cook on low for 8 or 10 hours, or till it’s all gooey and shreds easily with two forks.  Serve this on good toasted Kaiser rolls with some coleslaw – easy AND amazing!

After a giant Thanksgiving dinner often the last thing you want is 5 different kinds of pie, yet somehow we feel obligated to go nuts. With this fabulous recipe you can have all the fun and goodness of pie without feeling like you have to barf.  For 6 to 8 people: Blend 1 8 oz. carton Mascarpone cheese (Italian cream cheese – awesome) with 1 cup sugar. Mix in 2 cups high quality pumpkin, 2 Tb. brandy, and 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spices. Whip 1 cup heavy cream and gently fold that into your pumpkin mixture. Now you can get all creative with crushed cookies – I like gingersnaps or Amaretti. Crumble a bunch of those up, then in cool glasses layer cookies, pumpkin, cookies, pumpkin, and end with cookies. Chill for several hours or until you’re ready to serve. You’ll be happy and not too full, plus you’ll have room for that oh-so-important late night turkey sandwich!