I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for great new recipes for holiday meals. I don't ever want to abandon some of the traditional holiday favorites, but I do like to stir up my taste buds whenever possible.

I found this recipe for Cranberry Apple Stuffed Pork Loin on the Diabetic Connect.com website, so it has the added benefit of being low fat -- AND it includes nutritional info for those who need it.

In fact, it can be safely served to family members who watch their carbs and sugar due to low cal diets and even diabetes.

Plus it looks so pretty! Here's a link to the recipe -- which includes a photo. Enjoy!

Speaking of holiday recipes, I have a question about brining a turkey. Has anyone successfully done this? My son emailed me a recipe that was featured in the magazine he works for. It is a complex recipe that takes three days to prep -- even before you start cooking the bird. Starts with brining.

He tried to do this himself at home, but he didn't realize that the bird has to be kept refrigerated during the three days of brining, etc. So he left his out on the kitchen counter. and realized after day 2 that it had gone terribly "bad!"

Thankfully he didn't try to cook it. But I got the idea he'd love it if I would give this " "3 day, best bird ever" recipe a try...

I did some online research and all I've learned so far is that if you're going to brine a bird, it is best if one doesn't work with a frozen bird...

So before I go turkey shopping, I thought I'd stop in here and see if anyone has any advice.

Sorry, Anne, if it were tofurkey, maybe I could help! :-)

A woman went to her daughter's lst thxgiving dinner (in her lst home away from mother), where she had brined the turkey:

Woman felt is wasn't good idea that she have much of it. Because it was brined, it makes the turkey quite salty.

For thanksgiving, we had bison. We're not turkey eaters. It's just us. My partner's recipe includes marinating with just some soy sauce, water, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, ginger root and garlic for a few hrs. before pan-searing it. It doesn't long under 15 min. Otherwise meat gets tough. Below a meal served (actually at Christmas) with couscous, sautéed fennel bulb and asparagus.

I agree on the brining, Orchid. I have just done some research on it, (since my son sent me the recipe I mentioned above).

IMHO, the key element of this recipe is that the chef was using a piece of fresh boneless breast. And though the chef didn't say so in the video, I am quite positive it hadn't been previously "brined" by the addition of an injected saline solution.

All of the turkeys I checked at the megasupermarket yesterday -- fresh or frozen -- whole or pieces -- had all been processed by a major turkey provider (such as Butterball, Jennie-O) and all had been so "treated."

I'm beginning to suspect that in the US these days, the only way you can possibly buy a turkey that hasn't been so treated would be to buy a fresh one from a local butcher shop OR direct from the farmer.

But my thinking is that brining a bird that has already been injected with a saline solution is essentially brining it twice. And THAT would be enough salt to choke a horse, so to speak.

Even The Pioneer Woman, one of my "go to" sources for recipes addresses the issue of over-saltiness with a brined bird. (Check the link for details.)

So unless I can discover that my local grocery's butcher has FRESH turkeys, I'll be staying off the "brined bird" wagon.

Well, I have a recipe for a dry brine and intend to try it out this year (2 days in the fridge). It's peppercorns, citrus, basil, and something else you rub on the skin. That I can do and will give it shot.

When I roast a chicken, I pat it dry and rain salt over it and it comes out great. But this is a different beast. So we'll see.