1 12-oz package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 Macintosh (or Granny Smith) apple, peeled, cored, chopped into bite size pieces
pinch or two or orange zest
2/3 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed is the best)
1/3 cup brandy
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 piece of crystallized ginger
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
Dash of Balsamic vinegar

In a large sauce pan combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Continue boiling for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

Cool and refrigerate.  Best if made one day ahead of use.

Enjoy.

We all know how crazy busy it can be this time of the year with our times consumed with so many wonderful things the are delights both to the mind and to our senses.  However, let's just day you want to have a few dear friends over for dinner on a wintry cold evening...however you don't want making dinner to be a major deal because you yourself are tired.  Here are two great ideas.  Tried and True over the years.  Successfully delicious each and every time they have been made:

Years ago when I lived in Minnesota I used to make this during the Christmas week.  It has been years since I've last made this recipe yet for some reason I save it in my collection of "Holiday Recipes."  So, I decided to share here.  I do not know if the Pillsbury Oats and Brown Sugar cake mix is still available...but I am thinking a good quality yellow cake mix will work instead.

The two words that come to my mind with this recipe are "simple" (as in easy to make) and "exquisite" (as in flavor).  It is a recipe that is excellent during the holidays  or any time of the year.  Picture a cold and windy night, snow drifting past the windows, and this delicious salmon dish coming out of the oven:

Marinade


3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce (this sounds like to much heat, but the heat dissipates in the baking process.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

Method


Mix brown sugar, pepper sauce and lemon juice in a small sauce pan; heat until sugar dissolves.  Cool slightly and mix in mustard.

1 salmon fillet, up to a pound in weight, skin removed
1 tablespoon chopped green onion

Line a baking pan with foil; coat lightly with oil.  Place fillet on foil and poke all over with a fork.  Spoon marinade over the fish.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with green onions.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish flakes, in a 350 (F) oven.

This is a tried and true recipe...and when you serve it at your holiday buffet it disappears rather quickly:

A good friend game me this recipe many years ago.  It has become a staple of my holiday entertaining:

Anyone that knows me, knows all about Auntie Vi...one of the dearest friends I have ever had in my life.  Sadly, Auntie Vi is now longer with us.  To this day...and it is almost 26 years later...I can see him making this recipe.  You see, Auntie Vi's real name was Dan...and the "Auntie Vi" was a neck name given to him that also stuck with him (much to his pride and mortification)!  This recipe is for a popcorn cake...but I suspect you can also make popcorn balls with it.  Enjoy.  I know I am smiling at the memory.

Years ago I worked at a really great company with a great bunch of people.  The standard joke was that the first year you worked there, you would gain 10 pounds.  This was because of all the potlucks, all the goodies brought in by the "foodies", and the place had a great cafeteria.

Anyhow. during one of the potlucks a friend brought in this recipe.  It was a runaway success with everyone that tasted it.  It can be made any time of the year...but this time of the year...it would be a perfect side dish to the honey baked ham for your holiday feast.

Many years ago my Aunt Ruth gave me this recipe.  It is a holiday favorite of mine and it is made a number of times every year between Thanksgiving and the New Year (it never seems to last once made.  Here is Aunt Ruth's recipe as she gave it to me...complete with her comments/suggestions: