Joulutorttu

Forget making puff pastry from scratch. Use thawed Pepperidge Farm puff pastry. Cut in three columns, then three squares to a column. Place each square on Pam-sprayed baking pan; cut each one from all four corners to (almost) center. Plop a spoonful of Lekvar or good Kosher plum jam in the middle. Pick a corner of the bottom of each square's 4 triangles and pull to the middle -- right over the plum jam -- cozy like a blanket. If you've done it properly the result should be a pretty little windmill. Brush with beaten egg yolk. Cook at 400 until nicely browned -- about 10 minutes. Remove immediately from pan and sift powedered sugar over cookies. Good with non-alcoholic Glogg. So they say. Forgot to try it this year.

Simple Pulled Pork.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Add to oven chamber one large pork roast sitting happily in a roasting pan. Pour over one bottle of barbecue sauce. Cook for six hours. Midway cover roast with foil and add some water to roasting pan. When done, pull apart roast and put in crock pot with another bottle of barbecue sauce.

Serve with homemade mashed potatoes whipped with real butter and sour cream. Rhodes rolls do nicely as well. Don't forget to have a salad, and if Eric is there, add avocados. And magic jello with layers is a cute addition, too.