Holiday Mode

Jessica and her husband Joe and Bob and Keri , with Remington are all coming to our house in a few days. I LOVE having them here. LOVE it. But, I admit, I’m the kind of girl who needs things in order. I do not go as crazy as I once did with the hoiuse keeping portion. I have come to terms with the fact living on a farm is messy. However I am making list's and starting the preperation. The fall decorations have been out for some time, but I will freshen them up. The food preperation is under way I have made lots of Turkey stock, for basting, I have canned cranberry sauce but might make some fresh, tonight I plan to make the herb butter:
Shallot & Herb Butter

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2c finely diced shallots
1/4c white wine
herbs of your preference, finely chopped (I used sage, parsley, thyme, and garlic)
cracked black pepper
Place a tablespoon of butter into a saucepan and saute the shallots until opaque. Add the wine and continue to saute until all the wine is absorbed by the shallots. Set aside and cool to room temperature. Mash the softened sticks of butter in a bowl. Add in the shallots, herbs, and pepper and mix well. Scoop into a piece of wax paper and shape into desired shape. Place in refrigerator to harden or freeze to store

Cranberry Sauce

1c sugar
1c orange juice
12oz. cranberries
Mix the sugar and orange juice together in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, dissolving the sugar. Add the cranberries and simmer for ten minutes.  If you like whole cranberry style sauce, only stir the sauce a few times, being gentle to not break the cranberries. If you like it smooth and puree-like, sift the mixture through a strainer to remove the skins. Or keep as is and serve it homestyle with the cranberries smooshed, but still left in their entirety in the sauce. We will be serving homestyle.