Perfect Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients: 

- 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries                     - 1 cup sugar

-  1 strip orange or lemon zest                                                -  2 tablespoons water

- salt and pepper

Directions: 

1) Empty a 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan and transfer 1/2 cup to a small bowl. 2) Add 1 cup sugar, 1 strip orange or lemon zest and 2 tablespoons water to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes. 3) Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. 4)Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. 5)  Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste and cool to room temperature before serving.

The Best Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the baking dish

- 3 to 4 large sweet potatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled and cubed

- 1/2 cup milk

- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

- 2 large eggs 

Directions: 

1) For the sweet potatoes: Add 1 3/4 pounds peeled and cubed sweet potatoes to a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Mash the sweet potatoes. 2) For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish 3) Whisk together the butter, mashed sweet potatoes, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and eggs in a large bowl. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. 4) For the topping: Combine the flour, brown sugar, butter and salt in a medium bowl until moist and the mixture clumps together. Stir in the pecans. Spread the mixture over the top of the sweet potatoes in an even layer. Bake until mostly set in the center and golden on top, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.