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!

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!

I made this for a dinner party last weekend and I need to share it with you all – it’s great and works for parties or family dinner.  Plus it’s easy, but it really depends on the quality of ingredients you use, so use good ones. To serve 4 to 6: in a big pan, simmer 6 Italian sausages in a little water. When the water has simmered away, continue to cook them till they’re a nice brown color and almost cooked thru. Take ‘em out and set aside, then saute 1 whole chopped onion in the same pan with some olive oil. When it’s looking soft, add two whole sweet peppers (1 red and 1 yellow is cool) cut into bite size chunks, salt, pepper, and a dash of red chili flakes. Let the peppers and onion cook slowly for about 10 minutes, then add 2 cups of the best thickest tomato sauce you can find. We had an abundance of amazing tomatoes this year and made a ton of sauce, so that’s what I used. Stir, then add the previously cooked sausages cut into chunks. Let this all cook slowly together for at least another 10 minutes; at this point you can put it on low and serve it whenever. When you’re ready, cook some good fettucine, drain it, and top with the sausages, peppers and sauce, top that with fresh Parmesan, and enjoy the hell out of it with a nice Sangiovese or Merlot. People will love you, and you deserve it!

This is a great dish to whip up when you don’t have a lot of time but need something warm and wonderful. Start with a large onion sliced into rings and sauteed in a little butter. When it gets soft, add 1 large Kielbasa, preferably a good pre-cooked one, sliced into nice bite size chunks. Dump in a jar (NOT the canned stuff cuz that’s just nasty) of good sauerkraut along with the liquid, about a teaspoon of caraway seeds, and about 3 or 4 medium sized scrubbed Idaho potatoes also cut into bite sized chunks. You can drain the juice off the sauerkraut if you want it less salty, but you’ll want to add more liquid later. At this point you’ll need to add about a cup of dry white wine, let it simmer a while, then cover it tightly and turn it down low. If you’re in a hurry, eat it as soon as the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes, or you can let it sit on super low for a while. Serve this with some good German mustard and dark bread and you will be full, warm, and happy.

Ok, ’adult applesauce’ might sound weird, like maybe you might need it at the nursing home. But I came up with a great, no, freakin’ awesome, applesauce recipe the other day and I think you all are gonna love it. It’s one of those things that you can use as a dinner party dessert, or it’s great with roast chicken or pork – it’s good stuff. To serve 6, use 7 or 8 good apples. Not hard green Granny Smiths, but more like Galas, Fujis, or Honey Crisp; something nice and red and sweet. I wash ‘em, then halve ‘em, take out the middle, then cut them up into good sized chunks.  Throw them into a big pot, then have fun: add 1 cup good red wine ( I like Lemberger or Merlot), 1/2 cup pure maple syrup, (don’t even think about using that fake crap – you deserve only the best)  2 cinnamon sticks, a dash of cloves, a dash of salt, and some of what I call JEddie spice. Our pal JEddie grows then smokes his own jalapenos, and that wonderful hot smokey-ness is a great thing. Just a little bit, maybe 1/2 teaspoon, can transform a dish. Since you might not know JEddie, try a shake of hot pepper flakes or some smoked chipotle powder – just something to add a kick to it. Now let those apples simmer/cook/mush down for a long time. Stir the pot once in a while so they don’t stick, and squash the apples down some. I like it really chunky, but cook ‘em till you’re happy with the texture; it can be one hour or 3, just watch the heat. I let it cool down, stir it some more, take out the cinnamon sticks, and serve it in glasses layered with mascarpone and crushed Amaretti cookies. Or maple whipped cream and chopped toasted hazelnuts. Or hell – in a bowl with some maple nut ice cream on it. You get the picture; it’s applesauce for grown ups!

I don’t know if you all have become acquainted with the SunGold tomato yet, but I sure hope so. My boyfriend Tony is a maniac tomato grower, and our driveway this year was filled with EarthBoxes (check ‘em out on EarthBox.com) with all kinds of tomatoes. Normally this kind of out of order messiness makes me nuts, but when the result is amazing tomatoes, I let it go. One of the best that we grow is the SunGold, and they are like little fruity golden globes of sweet tomato goodness. And the coolest thing is they make a sauce that is SO easy and SO quick that you too will have to grow some and fill your freezer. This is how we do it: When the little guys are bright yellow and obviously ripe, pick a big ol’ bowl full; probably about 3-4 pounds worth. Rinse ‘em off and let them dry a bit in the colander while you saute’ one big finely chopped sweet onion in 2 Tb. butter and 2 Tb. olive oil. When the onion bits are all nice and translucent, dump in all the tomatoes. I hope you used a big ass pot.  Now – turn that burner on medium and just let the tomatoes break down. It’ll take a while, but all by themselves they’ll just kind of pop and melt. Stir them when you think of it, and eventually they’ll be all mushy. Salt and pepper is all you need here, as what you want is the amazing tomato flavor to shine through. When they look like sauce, take ‘em off the burner and let them cool a little. Then run a stick blender thru them to break up any skins and you have sauce! Of course the longer you cook ‘em the thicker it’ll be; you can actually go from almost soup (which you could just serve with some creme fraiche and chives on top) to a thick sauce  – all depends on what you like. Main thing is, find some teeny tiny SunGold tomatoes and cook ‘em; you’ll be happy and have summer in your freezer all year long.

I know it sounds weird, but take it from me, fellow travelers, if you’re going somewhere and there’s a possibilty you’ll be feeding yourself,  you can survive with good olive oil, an onion, and of course,  salt. I take a few trips each year with my girlfriends and we usually rent a house. Totally fun, but rentals don’t always have what one needs and sometimes the grocery stores can be sketchy. BUT! If you have the abovementioned essentials, you can make something easy and delicious like Ferry Boat House Fish.  If you’re feeding about 4: run up to the store, or better yet the fish market, and buy 2 or 3 lbs. of thick snapper fillets. Actually any firm white fish will do, but I like snapper cuz it’s affordable and you can’t really screw it up. Saute’ that onion, finely diced, in the olive oil till nice and soft, then slide in the fish. Cook it on medium heat till it starts to look opaque, salt and pepper it, and carefully turn it over and cook the other side till the fish looks ready to flake. A good rule is 10 minutes per inch of fish, but you’ll know when it’s done; it’ll look right. Take out any obvious bones and that’s it – serve it with some fresh lemon if you have it, some vegetables, a little pasta, whatever. This is also great because even after a few glasses of wine it’s still easy to do. And the cool thing is that because you remembered your olive oil and onion you made an easy, delicious, and fabulous dinner, which could also prevent a hangover! You are brilliant.

Is it weird that I seem to be obsessed with eggs right now? I guess it’s just that they’re freakishly versatile and inexpensive; even the good organic ones laid by enlightened happy birds are affordable when you think of the great protein units. And speaking of something EZ and good for parties, you all into frittatas? If not, you’ll love ‘em when you try ‘em, and I’m talking for any meal. For a basic frittata for four: Saute 1 medium onion in olive oil till translucent, then add a meat of your choice, like ham, sausage, bacon, etc., and then some vegetables like sliced zucchini, asparagus, or mushrooms. Do make sure that everything is relatively the same size and drain off any extra fat that comes off your pork products. When everything is nice and soft and happy, add 8 or so gently beaten, salt and peppered eggs and turn that burner down to low. Don’t stir – this isn’t a scramble! When the sides look kind of set, grate lots of fresh parmesan on top, or parm and mozzarella mixed, and slip the whole big pan into your pre-heated 350 oven. Let it hang out for 10 minutes or so, or until the top is brownish and the cheese is all melted. Let it cool slightly, maybe throw some appropriate fresh chopped herbs on top, and your frittata can sit out, cut in nice wedges or squares, and will be lovely hot, warm, or room temp for whenever you need it. Eggs rock!

It just occurred to me the other day that eggs are a wonderful thing. We had some people stopping by and I thought – what do we have that would make a dee-licious app and is EZ? Deviled eggs. Yes, my friends, they’re not just for picnics and summer anymore. You all probably think eggs are a no-brainer, but I have some ideas to make ‘em party worthy.  Once you peel your eggs, split ‘em, &  mix the yolks with the mayo and mustard, think: horseradish, a tiny bit of bleu cheese, and smoked paprika. Or mix in a few tablespoons of pesto and toss some toasted pine nuts on ‘em. And if you like spicy, try some chopped fresh cilantro, cumin, and a sprinkling of cayenne on top. GOOD!!    more soon        xo M