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Consider the cranberry. Native Americans knew all about cranberries long before they appeared on the first Thanksgiving table. It almost certainly was not in the cylindrical form of the jellied roll Americans have come to know, love and expect. One of only a few native North American fruits, the cranberry grew wild in Massachusetts where the first Thanksgiving dinner was held, making it a natural choice as part of the celebration meal.

Long before the Pilgrims discovered the joys of cooking with cranberries, the natives understood how to utilize cranberries in many different ways. Lean deer meat that had been dried over a low fire was mixed with fat and crushed dried cranberries, almost like a powder. The mixture, called pemmican, kept for long periods of time and could handily be carried around as a quick snack. Native Americans also learned that cranberries had medicinal value, and that their juice could be used as a natural dye for rugs, blankets and clothing.

Modern chefs have quickly discovered how versatile cranberries can be in the kitchen. Thaddeus DuBois, executive pastry chef at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, loves baking with cranberries because they are "quite tart and thus work very well as an ingredient in desserts, since the sugar in the recipes adds the needed sweetness to balance the tartness of the berries."

DuBois believes "dried Cranberries are terrific in cookies because they add chewiness and a bite of tartness." That acid bite also brings out the other flavors. DuBois' Borgata Bread Pudding uses a recent addition to the cranberry repertoire - dried cranberries - for a more pronounced flavor.

"They are especially good as substitutions for raisins in cookies such as classic oatmeal raisin or great as addition to chocolate-chip cookies," he says.

The chef likes the bread-pudding recipe because it's easy to prepare and it receives rave reviews from his guests.

Charlie Tomasello of Tomasello Winery in Hammonton prefers to drink his cranberries.

"Cranberry wine is one of my favorites because it's a balance of the sweet and the tart 'puckery' character of the fruit," said Tomasello. He believes those characteristics make cranberry an excellent wine to serve with Thanksgiving turkey.

Cranberry wine is also great for a sweet dessert like cheesecake, where the cream first coats the palette followed by the cranberry cleansing it. Tomasello also likes the fact that cranberries are high in antioxidants.

Cranberries can also be used in savory ways as an adjunct in sauces for chicken or bison, and mildly gamey meats like venison. That's something we learned early on from the people who brought us the Thanksgiving holiday.

Canned cranberry sauce is an important part of a nice first post-Thanksgiving meal: a sandwich made with mayonnaise, turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce layered between two pieces of toasted white bread. The canned berries provide some much-needed moisture to typically dry breast meat and a sweet-tart punch to the dressing.

The health benefits of the cranberry are hard to discount. Cranberries contain antioxidants that may help protect against heart disease and cancer. Cranberries have an antibacterial effect on the body that helps with everything from ulcers to urinary-tract infections. Primarily grown in five states, locavores will be happy to know that cranberries are a product grown in extensively New Jersey. While canned berries are available year round, the fresh fruit is generally available only from September to December. Cranberries should be on every holiday table, in whichever form you prefer.

Tomasello's Cranberry Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 8-ounce boneless chicken breasts

1 1/2 ounces of butter

1/2 cup flour

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

4 ounces Tomasello Red Raspberry wine

4 ounces Tomasello Chardonnay

4 ounces heavy cream

Fresh raspberries

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a saut� pan, melt one ounce of butter. Flour the chicken breasts and saut� on both sides until brown. Set aside in a covered dish. Deglaze the pan by adding equal portions of Red Raspberry Wine and Chardonnay and the chopped shallots. Reduce to 1/3 of the original volume. Add the cream and again reduce to 1/3 over low flame. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Finish with 1/2 ounce of butter and return chicken to pan. Serve with fresh raspberry garnish.

Tomasello Cranberry Orange Relish

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh cranberries

2 cups apple, pared, cored, quartered

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup Tomasello Cranberry wine

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup orange marmalade

Ingredients:

Chop cranberries, apples, and walnuts in food processor in two batches. Add remaining ingredients to combine. Refrigerate overnight.

Borgata Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch salt

1 cup soft white 1-inch bread cubes

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon-sugar mixture

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/8 cup white-chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine milk and cream in saucepan and heat to scalding. Combine eggs and sugar and whisk together. Temper hot milk/cream mixture into egg/sugar mixture. Whisk well and strain. Add vanilla and salt. Place bread cubes in a deep pan, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture, cranberries and chips. Pour custard over the top and push bread cubes into custard until well soaked. Bake in water bath at 325 degrees until custard sets, approximately 45 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or cold with a warm dessert sauce.

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients:

12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

2 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup raisins

Zest 1 orange

6 ounces apple -cider vinegar

1 ounce water

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves

Directions:

Place all ingredients in sauce pan. Simmer for 20 minutes until syrupy.

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