Basic Cranberry Sauce

Mmm ... homemade cranberry sauce. So easy—and so much tastier than the canned stuff! Best part: It can be made up to 7 days in advance.

3/4 water
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12-ounce) bag cranberries, picked through

Bring water, sugar, and salt to boil in medium nonreactive saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Stir in cranberries; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until saucy, slightly thickened, and about two-thirds of berries have popped open, about 5 minutes. Transfer to nonreactive bowl, cool to room temperature, and serve. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 7 days; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)

From The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

Janet's Stirred Persimmon Pudding

I was introduced to persimmon pudding by my husband's family. The recipe his mother uses differs from the traditional preparation in that the pudding is periodically stirred during baking. The result is just as tasty, but it resembles spreadable fruit rather than a brownie. For a real treat, top with whipped cream—or skip the whipping and just drown the pudding in half-n-half!

1 quart persimmon pulp
2 cups sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 quart milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a very large bowl, stir together persimmon pulp and sugar. Incorporate beaten eggs, and then stir in flour and baking soda. Add butter, milk, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into 13" x 9" baking dish and bake for 90 minutes (stirring after the first half-hour, and then every 10 minutes thereafter), or until a rich garnet color.

For a half recipe, use a 2-quart baking dish.

Deana's Grape Salad

This pretty fruit salad, whose recipe I got from a friend's mother, is perfect for pitch-ins. Although some people are initially skeptical of the combination of ingredients, everybody is won over at first bite. Dry the grapes well so that the dressing sticks to them.

2 lb. red grapes
2 lb. green grapes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
1 cup brown sugar

Wash the grapes and dry them thoroughly. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, vanilla, sour cream, and cream cheese; beat until smooth and fluffy. Add grapes and stir to coat them in dressing; transfer to a large glass bowl.

In a small bowl, combine pecans and brown sugar. Sprinkle over the grape mixture and cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.