Cranberry-Lime Cookies

As a child my favorite holiday book was Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin. I loved to imagine myself in this quaint New England town, ice skating and making sea shell ornaments with Mr. Whiskers, the crotchety old sea captain with a heart of gold.

At the library this holiday season I spotted Cranberry Christmas and immediately swapped it for the horrendous Scooby Doo book my 'lil one wanted to check out. She was a bit bummed when we got home to find out we somehow forgot to bring Scooby Doo and the Wacky Waterpark home, but quickly brightened when I told her we could make cookies instead.

In the book, Maggie (Mr. Whisker's neighbor across the bog) makes her favorite cranberry cookies and they give the recipe at the end of the book so you can make them at home. Well, truth be told, that recipe is pretty bad—don't make it. But the idea of fresh cranberry cookies is splendid, and worthy of a decent recipe.

I love the combination of cranberry and lime so I decided to add some lime zest and juice to the mix, making what turned out to be the Cosmopolitan of cookies. They are soft, chewy and have a pleasant sweet-tart balance. The green and red also makes them fantastically seasonal...... I'm so clever.

Cranberry-Lime Cookies
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Makes 4 dozen cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
zest and juice of 2 limes
2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Combine shortening and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, letting the first incorporate fully before adding the next. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add lime zest and juice and beat until smooth.

3. Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl. Start mixer on low, then gradually increase speed until completely incorporated. Add cranberries and continue mixing until incorporated.

4. Scoop into tablespoon-sized mounds and place on an ungreased baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake until golden brown on the bottom, about 12-15 minutes.

Orange-Ricotta Rolls

While The Professor was in graduate school we lived in the snowy, ski-obsessed enclave of Bozeman, Montana. There was a surprisingly amazing Korean restaurant, a fantastic bakery, and a little shop in a rundown strip mall near the college that was only open on Saturday and Sunday morning and only sold two things: sticky buns and orange rolls.

We lived there over a year before I discovered it and I still beat myself up for that year devoid of warm, gooey sweet rolls. The decor was Country Kitchen meets a 12-year-old boys bedroom—there were equal amounts of red checkered linen and Homer Simpson figurines. The owner and sole employee was a husky middle-aged man donned in a puffy chef's hat and an apron you would not be surprised to find your grandmother wearing.

He was kind, always covered in flour and one hell of a baker. The gossip around town was that he moved to Bozeman from some warmer, sunnier locale—Las Vegas, Las Angeles—I don't remember and supported his baking habit by selling gay adult sex toys online.

Well, all I have to say to that is Bravo! Because those rolls were outstanding. I loved the ooey-gooey sticky buns, but the orange rolls were my favorite. They were stuffed to the gills with ricotta cheese and slathered with buttery frosting.

Dreaming of these rolls just wouldn't suffice so I've come up with my own version and, well—wow! Try them, I'm not going to tell you again.

These are pretty messy to assemble, but you can always spoon the filling that escapes back into the rolls after you cut them. They are fancy brunch perfect because they can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated, just pull them out of the refrigerator an hour before you plan on baking them. You can also assemble them and freeze them for up to a month. Defrost them overnight in the refrigerator, then let them sit in a warm spot for an hour before you bake them.

Orange-Ricotta Rolls
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Makes 12 rolls

For the dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
3 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into small pieces

For the filling:
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta
2 tablespoons orange zest (from 2 oranges)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

For the dough:
1. Coat a large bowl with butter and set aside. Combine milk and water in a small saucepan and heat to 100°F to 115°F over low heat. Once mixture is warm transfer to a bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle yeast over the top. Set aside until mixture bubbles, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add eggs, sugar, and salt and whisk until evenly combined.

2. Add 3 cups of flour and mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment. Once flour is completely incorporated, turn mixer off and test to see if you need more flour. Dough should be soft, slightly sticky, and not at all dry. If it is so sticky that it is hard to get it off your fingers, add more flour 1/4 cup at a time, until you reach the right consistency.

3. Increase speed to medium and begin adding butter, piece by piece, letting the first piece disappear into the dough before adding the next, mixing about 10 minutes total.

4. Transfer dough to prepared bowl and turn to coat in butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until dough doubles in size, anywhere from 2 to 4 hours depending of the warmth of your kitchen.

5. Punch dough down, cover, and let rise again until doubled, another hour or so.

For the filling:
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble:
1. Grease to 8-inch cake pans and set aside. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle with more flour. Roll dough into a 14-x-14-inch square. Spread filling evenly over dough, leaving an inch border around the exterior.

2. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll dough into a cylindrical shape. You will want to lift the dough up over the filling as you roll to prevent all the filling from gushing out the top. Fold the last 3 inches of dough up over the top to keep the filling from spilling out. Stretch out the final roll to create an even cylinder without bulky spots.

3. Starting with the end that seems to have the most filling, cut 12 rolls with a sharp knife. If some of the filling squeezes out that's okay, you can gently pushes it into the crevices of the rolls after you put them in the pan.

4. Place 1 roll in the center of each cake pan. Evenly space 5 rolls around the center roll. Spoon any filling that spilled out back into the rolls. (At this point you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or place in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month.)

5. If baking immediately, heat oven to 350°F and arrange rack in middle. Set rolls, uncovered, in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes. Bake rolls until puffed and golden brown on top, about 25-35 minutes.

6. While rolls bake, place frosting ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Start mixer on low then once all ingredients are incorporated increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

7. Remove rolls from oven and let cool slightly. Spread frosting over the top and serve.

Chard and Black Rice Soup

This recipe is a holdover from my chard binge this summer. It's kind of a funky shade of green, like the shade your romp room carpet would've been in 1975, but nonetheless muy delicioso.

It is not dairy-free, or vegetarian, or vegan. Three things it could be should you wish to eliminate the milk and butter, substitute vegetable stock, or eliminate the milk and butter and substitute vegetable stock. It would still be good in all those instances, but this is how I liked it best.

This is a good weeknight soup to have when your weekends are slammed with calorie-laden Christmas parties and you're feeling more like Santa Claus and less like Hanukkah Harry (I'm guessing he's a bit slimmer). It's not comfort-food, but feel good food, especially when it is cold and snowy outside, which I am pleased to announce that is one thing it is not here in North Dakota.

I love the texture and flavor of black rice, but you could use barley, brown rice, or farro. Just choose a grain that has some bite and doesn't easily get soft and soggy.

Chard and Black Rice Soup
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Makes 8 servings

1 cup uncooked black rice
2 large bunches swiss chard
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly washed and dried
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock, or low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups milk

1. Bring a medium saucepan of heavily salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Rinse rice and add to boiling water. Cook until rice is slightly underdone, drain, rinse under cold water until cool and set aside.

2. Remove chard leaves from the stem. Wash stems and leaves thoroughly. Chop each and set aside, keeping them separated.

3. Heat butter and oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted add leeks, celery, and chard stems. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until the flour smells like cooked pie crust. Slowly add chicken stock, stirring continuously, then add chard leaves.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Puree with a stick blender or in batches in a blender. Stir in milk and cooked rice and return to a simmer. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve.

Cranberry-Walnut Jell-O Salad

Growing up, our holiday dinners consisted of Butterball turkey "roasted" in a bag, green bean casserole held together with bountiful amounts of condensed soup and Jell-O "salads".

I'm not going to lie and say there isn't the occasion that I don't crave some of that nostalgic food. I could make it sound cool and call it retro, but that would be deceitful. I don't make this stuff every once-in-a-while because I'm trying to be hip in an old school, supper club kinda way. I make it because I actually like some of these dishes and they bring back memories of helping my Grandma frost orange cookies and divvy up ice in the fancy, colored crystal water glasses reserved for special occasions.

I spoke to my Grandma last week, the day before Thanksgiving, and told her I made her cranberry recipe with the pineapple and walnuts. She said—Oh, I remember that one, I haven't made it in so long. They just don't make salads like that anymore.

I wanted to clear up with her that it wasn't exactly a salad, but in her mind it most certainly is, and further more, she's tired of all those froufrou salads with big leaves of bitter lettuce and hard to digest raw onions.

So if this holiday you are pining for a bit of the past I highly recommend this Jell-O salad. It has great texture, not too sweet, and all held together by wonderfully supple gelatin. If you are still feeling insecure about serving such a dish, pour it into a pretty mold and call it Gelée, everything sounds better in French.

Cranberry-Walnut Jell-O Salad
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Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 cups cranberries, rinsed
1/2 medium orange, quartered
3 ounce box cherry Jell-O
1 cup boiling water
8 ounce can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine cranberries and orange (rind and all) in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

2. In a medium heat-proof bowl, dissolve Jell-O in the boiling water. Add cranberry mixture and stir to combine. Refrigerate until partially set, about an hour.

3. Stir in pineapple with its juices, celery and walnuts. Pour into a mold or 8-inch square dish and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours more.

4. To unmold the gelatin, run a butter knife around the edge of the mold, then dip in enough hot water to come about three-quarters of the way up the sides for about 10 seconds. Wet the plate or tray you will be serving it on (this will help slide it into place) and place the plate on top of the mold. Invert the mold and shake gently to loosen. Slide gelatin where you want it on the plate and serve.

Mom's Pumpkin Pie

Yes, yes, I know I missed the Thanksgiving deadline with this one, but isn't there some Christmas song that talks about passing around the coffee and the pumpkin pie? And that's coming up, right? So make this for Christmas instead, or your grandma's birthday (you know pumpkin pie is her favorite), or as a reward for making it through the Thanksgiving holiday without killing any of your relatives. Or just make it because it is freakin' awesome.

Last year I went all homesteader and cooked an entire pumpkin and pureed it.

But I've got to say I was a little disappointed. It wasn't very pumpkiny and a little watery to boot. I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but I think this is one instance where I prefer the canned over fresh. 

This is my Mom's recipe and I always make it in my Grandma's pie plate. 

This pie has all the requisite spices, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, plus rich half-and-half that makes it super silky and creamy. Simple, delicious, perfect.

Mom's Pumpkin Pie
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Makes 1 (9-inch) pie


For the crust: 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
4-6 tablespoons ice water
1 large egg, beaten

For the filling:
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground cloves

Whipped Cream for serving

For the crust: 

1. Combine flour, sugar,  and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter pieces and toss to coat in flour. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until the pieces are the size of small peas.

2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of ice water over flour mixture then use your hands to moisten the flour. Let the flour fall through your fingers, but avoid overly squeezing or pressing too hard. Gently squeeze a handful of dough, if it crumbles apart and does not hold together add a couple more tablespoons ice water and gently toss to moisten.

3. Squeeze again, if dough easily holds together, gather all in a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Press down to create a flat disk and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

4. Heat oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the bottom of the oven. Place a baking sheet in the oven while it is heating. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough and trim off excess, leaving a 1-inch border. Decoratively pinch edges together and prick all over with a fork.

5. Line crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the edges. Remove parchment paper and beans and brush with beaten egg. Continue baking until bottom is lightly golden, about 5-10 more minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool slightly and turn oven down to 350°F.

For the filling: 


1. Combine all filling ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Place crust back onto the baking sheet and pour filling into pie crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until just set and slightly puffed on the edges.

2. Cool on a rack for at least 3 hours before serving. Can be made a day in advanced; let cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Can be served cold, or room temperature with whipped cream.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Scallions

I am not one to pass up the candied sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. Especially if they are made with fresh sweet potatoes and the marshmallows on top are all toasted and crisp. But every year I try to make as many things at my spread dairy-free and olive oil only goes so far.

Here's the other reason I make these on Thanksgiving....my husband. I can't tell you the thrill he gets out of seeing loads of thinly sliced garlic and jalapeños. What can I say, he loves condiments. You know when you go to a Vietnamese restaurant and they bring you the big bowl full of bean sprouts and Thai basil and mint? That right there is like a little slice of Shangri-la for my husband.

Last Thanksgiving he passed by the kitchen and noticed the pile of aromatics stacking up, Is that for me? He asked. Yes darling, Happy Thanksgiving.

If you are making these for Thanksgiving and are running out of oven space you can boil the sweet potatoes in heavily-salted water instead of roasting them.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Scallions
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Adapted from Saveur Magazine


Makes 6-8 servings

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thick slices
6 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 jalapeños, seeded and thinly sliced
4 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 (3-inch) piece ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Toss sweet potatoes with 3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover and continue cooking until ginger is soft, about 15-20 minutes more.

3. Remove sweet potatoes from oven, toss with garlic mixture and serve.

Bay-Brined Roasted Turkey

The first turkey I ever roasted was for my brother and his girlfriend in their cookie-cutter apartment in Seattle. I was two or three years into college and had spent the summer before interning in Napa Valley, so I knew everything there is to know about cooking, end of story.

Just kidding, there's more....

I don't specifically remember how we brined the turkey, or for how long, but it came out lookin' good. I was very pleased with myself and proceeded to make gravy from the pan drippings (I'd seen my grandmother do this, so obviously this is what you do). As an aside, I'd also seen my grandmother "roast" many turkeys in a plastic bag so....

That gravy was so salty, but for some reason we ate it anyway. Shortly after the meal, my brother was sprawled out on the couch, moaning in a way that didn't indicate happiness. He was the kind of uncomfortable a pair of stretchy pants couldn't cure.

And this, my friends, is what Thanksgiving is all about—not brining your relatives with salty gravy, but those kitchen gaffes that can be retold in years to come. I'll save the one about cooking a 26-pound turkey in an apartment-sized electric oven with the bottom element burnt out for another time.

Bay-Brined Roasted Turkey
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Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Makes 12-14 servings

2/3 cup kosher salt
14 dried bay leaves, 10 crushed, 4 left whole
1 whole fresh, or thawed frozen turkey (22 to 24 pounds), neck and giblets removed
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
freshly ground black pepper


1. Combine kosher salt and crushed bay leaves in a small bowl. Rinse inside and outside of turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Rub 2 tablespoons salt mixture evenly inside turkey cavity, 2 tablespoons on each leg, 1 1/2 tablespoons on each wing, and 2 tablespoons on each breast. Set turkey on a baking sheet lined with a rack and refrigerate, uncovered, for 48 hours.

2. Remove turkey from refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Combine 1/2 cup olive oil, wine and whole bay leaves in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Heat oven to 425°F and arrange rack in the lowest position. Rinse turkey and pat dry with paper towels. Rub remaining olive oil all over turkey and season with black pepper on all sides and inside the cavity. Place turkey in a rack set over a roasting pan and tie legs together with twine.

4. Place turkey, legs first into the oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then baste with wine mixture. Reduce temperature to 350°F, rotate pan and return to oven. Continue rotating pan and basting every 30 minutes, for 2 1/2 hours or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh without touching any bone reads 165°F.

5. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let sit 30 minutes before carving.