cranberries

I went to the grocery store recently with the intent of purchasing cranberries. They were not easy to find, and only located in a very small section of the produce cooler, and nearly buried by the overbearing greens next to them. Come Thanksgiving, I know that there will be a large display of cranberries, which will be there for a couple of weeks. However, I think cranberries are hugely underrated. I would be willing to bet that most people don’t buy fresh cranberries at Thanksgiving, chosing instead to simply grab a can of jelly as an afterthought. I love cranberry sauce in all forms, and it is a part of my mother's relish tray every year. I think cranberries should be a more common component of everyone's grocery cart; they are healthy and delicious in all forms. I have made several versions of cranberry sauce, including those classified as compote, relish and gelee, and none of them were terribly complicated, mostly involving either roasting or stewing the berries on the stovetop in combination with, or adding at the end, all forms of fruits, fresh, frozen and dried. They can be eaten on sandwiches, with yogurt, and as an accompaniment to all sorts of meats. A simple sweet bread or muffin is delicious, as well as pies, tarts and cakes. As a final note, who doesn't like a cosmo? This is my favorite recipe:

Roasted cranberry-orange sauce
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
1T. grated orange zest
2 oranges

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cranberries in a baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar, followed by orange zest and juice. Cover with foil and bake until juices form and cranberries are very soft, ~1 hour. Remove from oven and mix in liqueur. Cover and refrigerate until cold. Segment oranges, and chop into coarse chunks; add before serving. Sauce lasts for several days in fridge.

grilled cheese sandwich

It’s late, you had a meeting at work, your husband is out of town, you keep putting off a trip to the grocery store, and you’re starving. You are relieved to finally get home and put your slippers on, and disinterested in a frozen dinner/lack the energy/time/desire to order take-out. You also want to eat something tasty for dinner. The solution is simple: a grilled cheese sandwich. All that is required is an end of a block from your cheese drawer, and a couple of slices of a good loaf of crusty bread. When I was younger my grilled cheese sandwich consisted of soft white pre-sliced bread from the IGA, buttered on both sides with a couple of slices of kraft cheese, along with Campbell’s tomato soup from the can. These days I mix my grilled cheese with roasted red pepper-tomato soup from the box, use whatever good melting cheese I have on hand and buy my loaf of bread from the bakery down the street. It's delicious - and fast!