This is one of our favourite recipes for cranberry sauce. Canned cranberry sauce pales in comparison to the lively, tangy flavour of this homemade sauce. A little splash of port adds a smooth finish and just the right touch of sophistication to this sweet but tangy, chunky fruit sauce. This easy recipe is from our The Best Christmas cookbook.

Cranberry Pear Sauce with Port

Makes 3 cups (750 mL)

3/4 cup (175 mL) water

1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons (10 mL) finely grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) salt

1 (3-inch/7 cm) piece cinnamon stick

3 cups (750 mL) frozen cranberries

1 pear, peeled, cored and cut into about 1/2-inch (1 cm) pieces

2 tablespoons (30 mL) port

In large heavy saucepan, combine water, sugar, zest, salt and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in cranberries and pear. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until berries pop, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in port. Return to heat; cook for 1 minute. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Let sauce cool; transfer to bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled. (Make ahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

TIPS

• When grating an orange, make only one or two passes across the same patch of peel, otherwise you risk getting some of the bitter white pith below the surface.

• A 340-gram bag of frozen cranberries yields about 3 cups (750 mL).

Banana Flax Seed Bread

This moist banana bread provides a great way to incorporate a little flax seed into your diet. The flax seeds can be easily ground in a spice or coffee grinder, or in a blender with a narrow bottom (some of the newer blenders are too large across the bottom to successfully grind a small amount of seeds).

Makes 1 loaf, 14 slices

1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup (150 mL) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups (300 mL) mashed ripe banana

1/3 cup (75 mL) buttermilk (1.5 per cent M.F.)

1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) pure vanilla extract

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda

1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt

1/4 cup (50 mL) flax seeds, ground

2 tablespoons (30 mL) flax seeds

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in banana, buttermilk and vanilla (batter will look curdled).

In small bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and ground and whole flax seeds. Add to banana mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (do not overmix).

Spoon batter into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 60 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.

TIPS

• Three medium bananas yield 1 cup (250 mL) mashed (a potato masher works well).

• You can freeze bananas in their jackets. To use frozen bananas, simply thaw and peel. The riper the banana (golden with deep brown freckles, but not bruised) the tastier your loaf will be.

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Creative glazes really ham things up

A classic recipe for any ham glaze is one cup (250 mL) of a syrup base (such as honey, maple syrup or a combination of brown sugar and water) to half a cup (125 mL) of an acid product (such as vinegar or orange juice) and one tablespoon (15 mL) of a flavoured ingredient such as a honey mustard or dijon mustard.

Cooks should feel free to add cinnamon or nutmeg, or herbs if a savoury flavour is preferred, to any glaze. Glaze ingredients can be combined cold, or warmed gently in order to facilitate easy spreading with a brush.

Ideally, the glaze should be applied to the ham every 10 minutes or so, starting roughly 30 to 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Many ham recipes call for the meat to be studded with cloves, however, leave them off the ham when using a glaze, as the cloves tend to overpower other flavours.

Cranberry Burgundy Glazed Ham

1 can whole cranberry sauce

1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar

1/2 cup (125 mL) burgundy wine

2 teaspoons (10 mL) prepared mustard

In a saucepan, stir together cranberry sauce, brown sugar, burgundy and mustard. Simmer, uncovered, for five minutes. Place ham in a shallow roasting pan, fat side up. Bake in a 325 F (150 C) oven, according to the size of the ham (two or three hours for a fresh ham, much less if it's pre-cooked). In the last 30 minutes of baking time, spoon half of the glaze over the ham. Use the remaining glaze as a sauce at the table.