Cranberry Sauce

I first made cranberry sauce last year after a frustrated attempt to find sauce in a supermarket near me that didn't contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. (I've since discovered that Ocean Spray puts out cans around Passover made with regular sugar that you can buy in the Kosher aisle, so I bought a few to have on hand)

My wand mixer is in storage at the moment while we have our house on the market so normally it comes out fully jelled and more even in consistency. This batch turned out more like a whole berry sauce. Still thick, but not quite as jelled as I usually make.

Cranberry Sauce:

1 standard sized back of cranberries washed and picked through to pull out stems

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

Put cranberries, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the water into a saucepan and heat on medium heat. When berries start to "pop" and develop a ring of froth add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low-medium heat using spoon to pop cranberries that havent split yet. When mixture is thick and sounds kind of like oatmeal cooking, remove from heat and let sit another 10 minutes. Using a wand or hand mixer, blend the mix well. Store in a glass container with lid and refrigerate.

Pumpkin Pancakes

I'm not at my best at 6AM. There, I said it. When I start to hear the thumpity-thump stirrings of little legs that will soon be sticking cold feet into my bed with me usually my brain jumps to something like "Oh, crud. Is there something for breakfast that they can get themselves?"

Our family's smallest members eat a lot of trader joes cereal bars, mozzerella cheese sticks, yogurt, and muffins for breakfast. They are quick and easy and they can help themselves while I figure out which side of my end table I left my glasses on.

Pancakes are a great make ahead food. They are inexpensive and easy to make and they can be eaten cold straight out of the fridge. Or if the kids aren't impatient, it takes me 10 seconds to heat them in the microwave (not something my oldest is ready to be using yet).

I have been using a Betty Crocker recipe for pancakes for years. I stick with them because they are super fluffy and taste like the bisquick ones. I was concerned that the addition of pumpkin would make them flat but they turned out nearly as fluffy as the original. I think we'll be making this one regularly.

Pumpkin Pancakes:

1 cup flour (I use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat)

1 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

2 TBS oil or melted butter (I use oil)

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until desired consistency. I like a fluffy, thicker pancake so I make my batter as shown. If using whole wheat flour in part, like I do, the mixture will thicken a little as it sits. I like to let my batter rest about 10 minutes before I begin using it.

Husweh (Syrian Lamb Stuffing)

One of my favorite food memories about my first Thanksgiving with my dad is falling in love with this amazing stuffing. I'd never had anything like it before and I'd probably ever only eaten lamb once or twice in my life. The combination of flavors in this stuffing is hard to describe and if it's something you're not used to, it can be a bit of an adjustment. With an earthy and slightly cinnamon flavor, it's hearty and perfect for any meal where "harvest" is an undertone. It's a beautiful dish that I've made part of my own adopted traditions and it's a dish I make with warmth in my heart.

What is that yellow stuff? It's clarified butter (or ghee). I made this particular block last fall, probably while I was on the phone with my aunt Dolores asking her the best way to get the milk and salts out of the butter without swirling it back in. I probably called her every time I made clarified butter. We lost her in May and I think about her every day. I don't think I'll ever saute pine nuts without picturing her standing at my father's stove tossing them in the Calphalon pan he uses every single year for this purpose. This is my dad's recipe and I only adjust it slightly to my own preferences. Note: If you don't like lamb, you can use beef. I probably do about 50% of the time when I make it if I can't find decent lamb. I'll admit though, it's not as good unless you use the real thing.

Husweh (Hush-weh)

1 lb ground lamb (my father uses up to 1.5 lbs and it's delicious either way)

1/2 tsp black pepper1/2-1tsp syrian pepper (purchased at stores where they sell middle eastern foods, and I've found it online although have not purchased it that way)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

2-2.5 cups poultry broth/stock
1 cup white rice

approx 1 TBS clarified butter

approx 1/2 cup pine nuts (pignoli nuts)

Saute ground lamb in a large saucepan, breaking it up as it cooks. When lamb is mostly browned, add black pepper, syrian pepper, salt, and cinnamon. Saute for a few minutes longer until all lamb is brown. Add broth and simmer on med/low for about 30 minutes. Add rice and turn heat to medium. Cover and boil until rice is cooked or until you can stand a fork in the middle and it stays put. If it starts to dry out before rice is cooked (I find that this rarely happens) you can add a bit more broth.

While rice is cooking, saute pine nuts in clarified butter on low heat until well toasted.

Arrange rice stuffing on platter and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts. This dish is extra tasty with a bit of turkey gravy on it.