Cranberry

Last year we published what we thought was a reader's recipe for a tasty cranberry relish made with sour cream and horseradish. A flood of mail set us straight. In fact, that recipe came from National Public Radio correspondent Susan Stamberg, who had been reading it on the air and even sending it out on postcards for several years.

This fresh cranberry fruit ice makes a spectacular dessert with no fat. It's a delicious way to start the new year. The ice may be prepared a few days in advance. If you don't have an ice cream freezer, pour the cranberry mixture into a glass loaf dish and freeze, stirring several times during the process of freezing. Be sure to cover tightly with foil after the final stirring. Allow the ice to stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving for ease in spooning it out.

DEAR SOS: Recently we dined at Shugrue's Hillside Grill in Sedona, Ariz. My husband had a cranberry roasted chicken dish that was tender and flavorful. We would love the recipe. CAROLE KLOSTERMAN San Clemente DEAR CAROLE: And you shall have it. Shugrue's chef, Michael Mullins, uses free-range chicken breasts. You can find them at some natural food stores.

Even after years of putting cranberries in uncooked relishes, chutneys, muffins, quick breads, pies, cobblers, scones, pancakes and sweet and savory sauces, I marvel at how easy it is to find new ways to use them. Every Thanksgiving, there are cranberry dishes on my table that weren't even ideas the year before. A lot of these recipes end up among my favorites. That's the case with these three.

I don't mean to come off as the Scrooge of Thanksgiving season, but there is one traditional dish that doesn't do much for me--cranberry sauce. I've tried it sweeter and tarter, smoother and lumpier, but it always manages to remind me that the Pilgrims, for all their virtues, were not great patrons of the culinary arts.

For the first time in three years, it looks as if there will be enough cranberries to go around--at least through Thanksgiving. Two years ago, a short crop cut supplies so drastically that fresh cranberries were difficult to find for the holidays. Last year, despite a record crop, warm weather after the harvest broke down the berry skins so that most were set aside for processing. This year, the crop, which at this point has been almost completely harvested, is of normal size.

American troops far from family dinners and Thanksgiving football games were treated to a hotel feast and an exotic dance, courtesy of a group of Kuwaitis grateful for U.S. protection. More than 1,800 U.S. troops wolfed down roast turkey and cranberry sauce in a huge hall at a five-star hotel, while sword dancers in white robes and checkered headdresses performed. "This is great, better than sitting in the barracks," said Spec. Jay Nix, 23, from Portland, Ore.

You can follow he basic recipe on the back of the cranberry bag, but with just a little extra effort, you can have something really special. This recipe, from the family of Deputy Food Editor Russ Parsons, has become a Thanksgiving standard in The Times Test Kitchen. It's extremely simple. Just be sure you leave enough time before serving for the flavors to mellow, about three days. And be sure not to overcook the cranberries--that little pop when you bite one is part of the pleasure.

DEAR SOS: I am in search of the recipe for the wonderful appetizer meatballs served at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. I would like to uncover the secret to making these mouthwatering treats. --SHIRLEY DEAR SHIRLEY: Lawry's produced this recipe for the delicious appetizer meatballs. They can be assembled without cooking and frozen to cook as needed.

The usual fate of a microwave-zapped croissant, hard roll or pizza is to collapse into a flabby thing that quickly cools to a wooden consistency. But now you can produce brown, crisp, flaky pastry in your microwave. What has made the difference is a product from Australia called Microcrisp. You wrap a sheet of this gray film around anything that ought to be crisp, elevate it on a heat-proof surface and turn on the oven.