For delicious cranberry chutney that will satisfy everyone but the most die-hard commercial jelly fan, click here.
For chocolate sauce to enhance any number of delicious holiday desserts, click here.
If you're wondering what to do with all that pumpkin puree you either bought or made, click here.
None of these recipes must be canned. The pumpkin butter does well with a little mellowing but will still be delicious eaten right out of the pan on the day it's made. Even better, none of the recipes is cast-in-stone in terms of amounts or even ratios so don't be afraid to just make enough to last a week or so, being sure to keep covered bowls or jars refrigerated. If you've got the time for canning, though, nothing beats facing the coming winter with a shelf full of delicious and festive condiments.
This is also the time of year when I direct any sane person who will listen to Susie J's Christmas Baking. If you try nothing else, make the gingerbread cookies. Hands down, it's the single best gingerbread recipe I have ever made. Oh, and make the mokka. There really are not words for the mokka, it must be tried to be believed. Christmas Baking is nothing short of a public service and I can't speak highly enough of either it or it's founder (hi Sue!).
I know I've written about her before - Sue is a college friend. I knew her and I knew the man who would become her husband, and she knew me and she knew the man who would become my husband but none of us knew that we all knew each other. I don't remember when or how all the relationships were made clear but there you have it. Sue's baby is almost a year old now (born a year and one day after Entropy Girl) and since she has always been very indulgent with the carryings-on my children (primarily the Boy Wonder) have delivered upon her I hope that he grows into the mellowest of toddlers. She deserves it.