This! I hate this!

Every year someone sneaks it into my holiday dinners. Now I live with someone who loves this red gelatinous monstrosity. He dares to bring it into my house. Ugh! I can’t stand the way it plops out of that can and that loud slurping noise that sends shudders down my spine. There it sits jiggling and sweating, like Jaba the Hut Christmas Edition. He joyfully points at it and says “But look at all the cool lines." It's cranberry sauce. It's not supposed to have ribs. I don’t what is more disturbing, The McRib that should have ribs but doesn’t or the cranberry sauce that has ribs but shouldn’t. It’s jello y’all. Do you know how upsetting is too cook for three days and then watch someone put a huge glob of jello on top of it? All that work, standing over the hot stove, cooking till your exhausted, staying up late to finish that last side dish and it gets covered with something that plops out of a can. It doesn’t even need to be poured just plops right out. Well, this year I thought I would be smart and hide it - push it way back in the fridge, never to be found. It was wonderful to not have to walk by and see it on my table, taunting me with its shiny red glare. 

Unfortunately, I also can’t waste food. I am a re-inventor of leftovers. My freezers (both of them) are packed with labeled ziplock bags of past meals to be enjoyed again. So there I was, opening the fridge day after day and I could see that can peaking the milk and over the butter at me as if to say “You will never be rid of me - we are together forever." So I sucked it up and decided for everything negative there is a positive. I opened that sucker up, averted my eyes and tried to block out the noise as it slid into the bowl. Now, what was I going to do with it?

First, mash it up so it stops moving. I swear the thing looks alive. Then it hit me I love Asian flavors and everybody likes a little sweet fruity flavor on their pork. Why not take all these things and combine them. So here it is - an Asian inspired cranberry glazed pork loin. It is delicious, it conveniently makes its own sauce as it cooks and last but not least it's a great way to impress your friends and family. “You like cranberry sauce? Well how about this cranberry sauce?!”