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This isn’t a stand-alone dish. Spicy cranberry sauce is is purely one of those condiments/sides which are perfect with turkey or chicken (especially Thanksgiving). I’ve had a number of good comments about it over the years, particularly “I don’t usually like cranberry sauce, but this is good”. The heat, the salt and the sweet is what makes this work.

1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 stick butter
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tsp salt

Over low heat combine ingredients and stir infrequently until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, serve warm.

I’ve added clove, nutmeg and allspice in the past–you might try these sparingly to bring an even more savory flavor to the dish. Careful though, those spices can easily overpower the taste as it simmers and reduces.

If you prefer fresh cranberries (or even reconsituting dried), that is a perfectly good option. That is a boil and add sugar process to taste, it’s really rather simple. I’m not overwhelmed by the results as being vastly superior to what you find in a can though, so it’s up to you.

Here’s a very interesting dish for Thanksgiving, one I made last year and which turned out excellently. It’s a John Madden favorite (among others)–definitely not my idea, but I’ve adapted the recipe to be my own. It truly follows Edison’s idiom of 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Really, aside from the truly formidable preparatory labor, this delicious all-in-wonder is no more difficult than baking and basting. It’s not cheap, and it’s not easy, but it is a crowd-pleasing treat.

Here’s the overview. You’re making a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey. But–no, it doesn’t stop there! You’ll add layers of dressings and meats between each layer of bird, creating rings of succulent flavors and textures, and making an artery-clogging mess of your body all the while. Such is the excess and indulgence of the Holiday season?

Click here for the full recipe!

Yet another pork recipe ala Dan Bauer. I just love working with pork, it cooks up deliciously every time, and, especially with tenderloin, fairly quickly as well. The black beans are what I chose to “make this a meal”, but in reality, I had several sides as this fed me several days of a week.

I do this frequently–cook on a Sunday, then enjoy my spoils for several days the following week since a whole pork loin is way to much to tackle in one sitting (for a solitary single guy!). I am fond of citrus and acid, so I really think the beans were a nice compliment to the dish and I can say very confidently that you could serve this up very elegantly, in a way which belies the utterly simple nature of creating the dish, for yourself and guests. But, either method–cooking and saving or all-at-once–will work for you just fine. Brown rice is a good suggestion if you’re trying to round this meal out a little further.

1 pork tenderloin
Rosemary
Thyme
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 white onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350. Salt and pepper the tenderloin in a shallow pan, then sprinkle with garlic, rosemary and thyme. Cooking time is about 45 minutes to 160 degree meat temperature. Work on your tarragon and black beans (below) in the interim. At about 25 minutes layer your onion slices over the meat, so that they retain a little crunch when fully cooked.

Tarragon Sauce
1 tbsp Tarragon
Cayenne Pepper (pinch)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
14 oz Chicken Broth
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

Combine these ingredients and whisk over low heat frequently for at least 20 minutes. You could really opt to start this cooking before the pork to really achieve your best results due to the further reduction of the sauce. Please realize that butter is only going to make this sauce more delicious, and more cream will, too. You will have to experiment with your doses for best results, but even with the heavy cream this is still relatively healthy as-is, since you just aren’t getting more than a teaspoon or two on a reasonable (3-4 slices) portion. If you’re eating a lot more than that, the sauce really isn’t to blame! You could omit the cream for health, but you’re going to have more of a broth than sauce at that point, so do as you will.

Black Beans
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 green onions, diced
salt
pepper
lemon juice

Nothing difficult here. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and toss to coat. You just need enough lemon juice to coat, not to make a bath.

I’ll try to get a picture of this sometime. I had vowed to get more pics of the things I’m making, but my camera breaking foiled that intention for now…