Cranberry Salsa--put it up or give it away

Sweet and spicy, this gluten free condiment is terrific on a leftover turkey sandwich. The bright color makes a lovely edible gift during the holiday season.

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I have a confession and an apology. Apology first. When I shared the Cranberry Chicken Swiss Chard Leek Enchiladas I was unaware that one of the ingredients I used, cranberry salsa, was not always available. I'm sorry.


Now for the confession--I often work ahead, posting recipes made up to a year in advance. See, I'm slow as the molasses in my cold kitchen in the wintertime. If I were to get recipes written, photographed and typed and published in order I'd be sharing tomato recipes in November, pumpkin recipes in January, and butternut squash recipes in April.


Nobody wants that--not even the folks Down Under?! Instead of missing the seasons by a mile, I opt to save posts until they are seasonally ripe. I've got some flexibility that way, so I can toss in a Beef and Venison Sloppy Joe recipe or a Slow Cooker Apple Chai for a crowd when the spirit moves me [and I'm asked].

Most of the time this method--of working ahead and taking my time, works fine. Sometimes I screw up. Royally. In this case I tried to find the same brand of cranberry salsa in the store and even contacted Ocean Spray only to learn that they don't make cranberry salsa each year. Instead of just saying 'oh well, you're on your own', I grabbed a bag of cranberries from my freezer stash and some hot peppers from my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share and made a batch.

If you've ever made cranberry sauce from the bag of berries, you can make cranberry salsa. It's just boiling and stirring, after all. If your cranberry sauce involves opening a can from both ends, let's talk and explore your options.

I canned this cranberry salsa. In fact I've canned so many things that my shelf support broke! Luckily the shelf fell onto the jars of salsa verde and Cantina Style Strawberry Salsa, so nothing slid to the floor. Although I did get 7 jars to fill up my canner, I did have a wee bit left over and it has been in my fridge for 2 weeks and tastes delicious. I'll bet it's good for at least 2-3 weeks in the fridge, and that's plenty long for Thanksgiving turkey sandwich leftovers. That means you don't have to process this before using.

Salad greens from the farm share and kohlrabi pickles make this sandwich amazing.

Apple and Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

A cornbread stuffing with chunks of apple and turkey sausage along with sautéed celery and onions. If you're using gluten free cornmeal, this is a gluten free side dish for a holiday table.

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Today you can turn on a TV and see chefs making recipes in well-lit studios right in their own homes. It wasn't always this way. In the 1950's, in Minnesota, watching a food show on Minnesota Educational Television meant a county extension agent coming into the studio to demonstrate a seasonal recipe or new product. Hot lights, unscripted--just wild & wooly cooking on the fly where anything goes. The original Reality TV.

I grew up eating "Doc Billings Stuffing" on Christmas day at Mrs. Loomis' home, but it wasn't until I was older that I learned the story behind the name.

Eleanor Loomis was a Consumer Education Specialist in the Extension service of the University of Minnesota in the 1950's. She was on TV weekly, sharing buying tips, recipes, and cooking techniques. One week the theme of her show was Thanksgiving, and she brought in a special guest, Doc Billings. Doc Billings was a Turkey Specialist in the Extension service. For that episode she made her signature stuffing recipe--a moist rosemary-scented stuffing with apples and onions.


Doc Billings was aghast at how wet her stuffing appeared and threw a handful up the the ceiling. The cameraman followed the action all the way up, lingering on the glob of stuffing stuck to the studio ceiling. Mrs Loomis was mortified, her story became legend in my family, and I've always liked apples and onions in my stuffing. I also like cornbread stuffings, and oyster stuffings, and really I'm just a stuffing fan. Or call it dressing, if you prefer--I don't stuff my bird with it either way.

Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole

Mashed potatoes made decadent with cream cheese, roasted garlic, and sour cream. Make them ahead of time and reheat in the oven or the slow cooker. Great for holiday potlucks, kids having dental work, or just because this is such a great recipe. Thanks, MA!

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In my humble opinion, the best American meal--bar none--is Thanksgiving.  One year I made a full-on traditional American Thanksgiving meal three times in 4 months.  The first time was, no surprise, the 3rd Thursday in November.  The second time was on Christmas day, and if I had my Danish sister-in-law as my sous chef, I would do that whole deal again in a heartbeat (she made it so easy for me!).


The third occasion was after my spouse returned from a deployment, when I was stuffing him full of all his favorite dishes night after night. I even shared some of those leftovers with folks who found themselves unexpectedly in a hospital far away from home. Thanksgiving knows no boundaries.


Making a Thanksgiving meal from locally sourced farmer's market or Community Supported Agriculture farm share ingredients?  I got this.