Holiday Recipes

[Marge_Innavera]

Let's start our own forum holiday "cookbook"!

This is a very rich cherry dessert that I entered in the Missouri State Fair last year.  The recipe calls for fresh tart pie cherries; but if those aren't available you can use canned cherries or canned cherry pie crust filling.  If you use canned pie filling, eliminate the 1-1/4 cup sugar and the tapioca.


Black Forest Pecan Pie

3 eggs
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp pecan pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups pitted sour cherries
1-1/4 cup sugar
5-1/2 tsp. tsp tapioca
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust or 2-crust piecrust recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, melted butter and corn syrup together.  Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell.

Mix the cherries, sugar, tapioca and flavorings; heat to almost boiling, stirring occasionally.  Spoon the cherry filling over the top of the pie and sprinkle a few additional chocolate chips over the top.  Top with lattice crust or shapes cut with cookie cutter.

Bake until set, 40 to 50 minutes

[MaineWriter]

I love the idea of a recipe thread...and the holidays will be here before we know it (don't remind me, folks!).

At the Boston Brokie Get Together, I made this for the cherry cake bake off. For those of us who are not bakers, it couldn't be much easier. Enjoy!

THIRD PRIZE WINNER BOSTON BROKIES GET TOGETHER CHERRY CAKE

1 pkg yellow cake mix (pudding type)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling

Place cake mix, sour cream, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Blend on low speed for one minute. Stop, scrape the sides and then blend on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Batter should look well blended.

Spread batter in a greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan. Spoon cherry pie filling over the top, spreading evenly, then swirl in just enough to make a marbled effect.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.

Cool and serve to a passel of hungry cowgirls and cowboys.

Enjoy!

[MaineWriter]

My family has certain foods that MUST appear on the holiday table, such as creamed onions. My mother's recipe is to take a jar of boiled onions, put them in a double boiler and pour a pint over cream over, then sprinkle with paprika. Yeah, right, mom. I found this recipe a few years ago and it has become the standard on MY table at Christmas (and various other holidays, too).

GOLDEN CREAMED ONIONS
Serves 8-10

3 lbs pearl onions, blanched in boiling water 2 minutes, drained, and peeled (To peel: blanch in boiling water for one minute, rinse under cool water. Cut off the root and then pop out the onion. While many people find this step tedious and dull, I actually think it is relaxing and therapeutic.)

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

In a skillet large enough to hold the onions in a single layer (or two if necessary), combine onions, sugar, salt, and enough water to cover the onions by a 1/2-inch and bring mixture to boil. Boil until the liquid is almost evaporated and continue cooking, swirling pan, until the onions are golden and they begin to brown. Add the cream and continue swirling pan until cream thickens and colors (about 2 minutes). Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper. This dish can be prepared a day or even more in advance and can be reheated in a microwave, a skillet over low heat, or in a slow oven.


Leslie

[Marge_Innavera]

FANCY POTATO LATKES

2 cups raw grated potatoes (about 4 small)
1 large or 2 medium eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, grated
1 small or 1/2 medium apple, grated (OPTIONAL)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
cooking oil

Combine the grated potato and onion; drain the liquid out with a colander or squeeze out with cheesecloth or other thin fabric.  Combine with all the other ingredients and mix well.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased frying pan and saute at medium-high heat until brown and crisp on each side.

These are especially good eaten with applesauce.

[Penthesilea]

This is a great idea for a thread. I like the idea of sharing and trying receips from different countries, continents even.

I will choose one receipt and try it for Advent/Christmas time (Thanksgiving was in September and is not a popular holiday; it goes by almost unnoticed).
I'd prefer a receipt for something sweet, like a cake or cookies. So if any of you would like to share anything in that direction, please do 
But I'll sure have a look for the more hearty receipts, too.

I'm not big on cooking or baking. In fact, my husband is doing the cooking in our family. But sometimes, I like to try something new and/or special (as long as it is easy to prepare, that is  ). Maybe I'll try Barbs chicken receipt from another thread (I didn't forget it, Barb, but haven't tried yet).

Although I'm not big on cooking/baking, I can do some things. I'll share the receipts of my favourite Christmas cookies, the so-called "Ausstecherle". It's nothing special, really simple, but my favourite. My dictionary says they are similar to shortbread, but I've eaten shortbread in GB and it's different.
And I have a receipt for a meal that is traditional for Christmas Eve in my family.

I don't have the receips handy right now. I'll post them sometime next week.

[Marge_Innavera]

This isn't exactly a winter-type dish, but it's very festive anyway and can be either a dessert or a cold salad.


MANDARIN ORANGE SALAD

2 3-ounce packages orange Jello
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 pint orange sherbet
one 11-ounce can mandarin orange sections

Drain the liquid out of the mandarin oranges.

Dissolve the jello in boiling water; add lemon juice and sherbet and stir till dissolved and thoroughly mixed.  Chill till partially thickened, stirring frequently; then stir in oranges.  Chill until set in a bowl or jello mold.

[delalluvia]

I'm a neo-pagan.  I celebrate the holidays, it's just not Christmas.

This is one of my favorite sweets:

Honeyed dates (serves 10, cut down as needed):

1 lb dates (should not be sticky, skins should not come off easily)
walnuts, whole or chopped
salt as needed
honey as needed

Pit the dates by making a cut in one side.  Fill each cavity with walnuts.  Roll each date in the salt.

Put them in a frying pan and cover them with honey generously (enough to coat the dates and cover the bottom of the pan).  Cook them under medium heat until they are carmelized.  Remove to a lightly oiled plate to prevent sticking.

Variation:  instead of walnuts, use blanched almonds rolled in cinnamon.

I made this last year and ate every single one myself.  Rich and unbelievably good.  Yum.

[MaineWriter]

This isn't a holiday recipe, but we got talking about it in chat and I said I would post here. Easy and delicious and elegant enough to serve to company.

LESLIE'S SIGNATURE SCALLOPS AND ZUCCHINI ON CAPELLINI

to serve 4

3 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
2-3 zucchini, cut in matchstick juliene
1 lb scallops, cut into pieces if large
a generous amount of chopped fresh parsely
a few tablespoons of chopped fresh basil (dried is acceptable if fresh is not available)
a generous amount of grated cheese (I like Grana Padano, but Parmesan or Romano are also fine)

1 lb capellini (angel hair) - I like DeCecco. You can also use linguine or spaghetti--whatever you like, but the capellini is my favorite.

Have a large pot of boiling water ready for the pasta. Cook according to the package...DeCecco capellini takes 2 minutes. Spaghetti takes 12 minutes.

You need to time the pasta to the scallops/zucchini. If using spaghetti, put it in when you start to melt the butter. If using capellini, put it in when you add the parsely to the skillet.

In a large flat skillet, heat 2 tbsp. butter with 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for a second, then add the zucchini.  Cook for a minute or two and then add the scallops. Cook until until the scallops turn opaque (another minute or so). Add parsely, basil, and several grinds of fresh pepper. At the very last second, add cheese and stir. The cheese will melt and you need to get if off the heat fast so it doesn't get rubbery.

Drain pasta and place in serving bowl, cover with scallops and zucchini. Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and garnish with lemon wedges.

Serve immediately.

[southendmd]

I can vouch for Leslie's Cherry Cake:  it was fabulous!  Like a rich coffee cake.  There was stiff competition that day...

Here's a simple holiday side dish.  I never like cooked cranberries, and this couldn't be easier.  All you need is a food processor.  It's tart, sweet, bitter and zingy all at once.

CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH

one bag fresh cranberries
one seedless orange, quartered with the peel on(could substitute two clementines)
one piece fresh ginger about 1"x2"
1/4 cup sugar

In a food processor, put the fresh ginger and process to chop finely. 
Add quartered orange (check for stray seeds), cranberries and sugar.
Process briefly until coarsely chopped.

That's it. 
Some may like more sugar.
Sometimes I'll add a finely chopped jalapeno for added kick.

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks for starting this thread, Marge! Great idea. I started preparing for Thanksgiving already by making peach chutney. While preparing it I fondly thought of Jack eating two cans of peaches one evening at supper and two of "Ennis's stone biscuits" by Ennis's fire.   

Peach Chutney

5 cloves garlic
1 white onion
1 tsp. olive oil
a 2-in piece of jalapeno pepper
1 T. fresh galangal, peeled
1 1/2 T. ginger

1/2 cup brown sugar
juice of one lemon
2 T. sake
1 T. black vinegar

5 large peaches
1 T. flour
1 lime

Chop the onion and saute in the olive oil over low/medium heat until soft. Cut the garlic into slivers and add near the end of cooking. With rubber gloves on, shop the jalapeno pepper finely and add. Also chop or grate the galagal and ginger and add. Cook a couple of minutes longer just until everything starts to soften. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil and dunk the peaches one by one in just for 30 seconds each. Slip off the peels and chop the peaches into a large bowl, saving the juice and discarding the pits. Pour off the peach juice into a pot and bring to a boil with the brown sugar. Allow to boil until it is syrupy and thick. Remove from the burner and add lemon juice, sake, and vinegar.

Toss the peaches with the flour and add the onion mixture. Chop the lime (including peel) finely and add. Pour the syrup mixture over and combine well. Spoon the chutney into jars and store in the refrigerator, or process.

[Front-Ranger]

In honor of Sam Arnold, owner of The Fort Restaurant in Morrision, Colorado, who died last week, I offer one of his signature recipes, Bowl of the Wife of Kit Carson:

1 cup cooked chicken or turkey in bite-size pieces
1 cup cooked rice
4 cups rich chicken broth
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 chopped chipotle pepper
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup cubed Monterey Jack (what else?) cheese

Heat broth to boiling and add chicken, garbanzos, pepper, rice, and oregano. Serve in large bowls and add cheese and avocado just before serving. Serves 4.

[Penthesilea]

Here's my receipt for Christmas cookies:

For the dough:

• 500 grams white flour
• 200 grams sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 Eggs
• 1 little Pack vanilla sugar (that's about 8 grams)
• grated paring (peel?) of one citron (you can leave this out or substitude with some drops of citron aroma)
• 250 grams butter (should be not too hard, it's easier to make the dough then)

Additionally:

• cookie cutters
• some more flour to powder your table, the cookie cutters and the rolling pin (otherwise the dough will stick to it)
• 2 egg yolks to brush the cookies with

The flour and baking powder should be mixed and sieved. Then make a swale(?/ hole) in the middle and put all other ingredients into it. Mix/knead all ingredients with your fingers until you get a homogenous dough.

Let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes. The dough should always be cold, so take only a part from it out of the fridge. Roll the dough equally out (should only be some millimeters thick).
Then cut forms out of the dough and put them on a buttered baking tray. Brush the forms carefully and thin with egg yolk. But them into the oven for 8 to 12 minutes (depends on your oven and on how thick you rolled the dough) at 180°C (equivalent to 356° Fahrenheit).

When the dough gets too soft from repeated kneading and rolling, put it back into the fridge and take another (cold) part of it.


Additionally you can decorate the cookies with colored sugar granules or chocolate granules, or put two cookies together with jam between them.

[Phillip Dampier]

This thread will be moved to our new Holiday Forum when it launches Thursday 11/23.

[Lynne]

Lynne's Favorite Pumpkin Pie (Adapted from Molly Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook)

3 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin, squash, or sweet potatoes (...you can sub 29oz can of puree)
3 tbs white sugar
3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs molasses
0.5 tsp cloves or allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
0.5 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1.5 cups evaporated milk (lowfat OK, but I use sweetened condensed - makes it much richer)

1 unbaked 9" pie crust (you can make this from scratch, but I'm too lazy - usually get refrigerated Pillsbury)

1) Preheat oven to 375 deg F
2) Place puree in a medium mixing bowl; add other ingredients and beat until smooth.
3) Spread into pie crust and bake at 375 10 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 and bake 40 additional minutes or until the pie is firm in the center when shaken lightly.
4) Cool to at least room temperature before serving.

Optional topping:
whipped cream w/a little sugar and rum
whipped cream w/a little sugar and vanilla extract
real vanilla bean ice cream

**Note - it's a pain to cook fresh pumpkin.  You have to cut it, clean out the inside pulp, chop it into manageable-sized wedges, bake it until the pumpkin is soft, then scrape the pumpkin off the shell, then puree it all.  It makes a giant mess.  But it is completely worth the trouble compared to the canned stuff.  Of course, if you prefer sweet potatoes, it becomes a much easier and less messy venture. 

[Front-Ranger]

This looks great, Lynn! One question--are you saying that the evaporated and condensed millk are interchangeable??

Today was the day when Susan Stamberg talked about her famous cranberry relish on NPR!! I make it every year. I was disappointed that she didn't give the recipe, but just referred to it on the internet at npr.org. It's a great relish, though very strange and pepto-bismalish looking.

[Lynne]

This looks great, Lynn! One question--are you saying that the evaporated and condensed millk are interchangeable??

Today was the day when Susan Stamberg talked about her famous cranberry relish on NPR!! I make it every year. I was disappointed that she didn't give the recipe, but just referred to it on the internet at npr.org. It's a great relish, though very strange and pepto-bismalish looking.

We should go find it and post it - I love cranberry relish...though I grew up on the sauce from a can sliced.  We were always careful to open the top of the can, then start opening the bottom to release the vacuum and get it out in one piece. 

Yep - I use the condensed instead of evaporated - it makes the filling a little thicker than it would be otherwise, but still seems to work fine.

[Front-Ranger]

First, a cry for help. My Mom, who is visiting, has asked for asparagus as a side dish at Thanksgiving. I serve asparagus at Easter, but I have no idea what to do with it at Thanksgiving. Any ideas out there??

I encourage you to go look up Ma Stamberg's cranberry relish. It is really good. Caution, it has sour cream and horseradish in it. Don't let that stop you!!

It was funny, yesterday, after she gave the customary cranberry relish talk, the announcer said, "This is National Public Relish."

[Front-Ranger]

I brined my turkey last year and I thought it tasted much better. I think I will do it again this year. Anybody else going this route??

[delalluvia]

I brined my turkey last year and I thought it tasted much better. I think I will do it again this year. Anybody else going this route??

I got a hankering for deep fat fried turkey this year, but planned it too late.  Will have to wait for Solstice to get one.

I have heard about brining meats, but never have tasted the end results nor knew anyone who went this route.  What's it taste like?

[coffeecat33]

FrontRanger/Lee listed Galangal as an item in her recipe, something I'd never heard of. In case no one else has heard of it either, here's a definition from Wikipedia:

Galangal (also known as blue ginger), is a rhizome with culinary and medicinal uses, best known in the west today for its appearance in Southeast asia cuisine. It resembles ginger in appearance. However, it tastes little like ginger; in its raw form, it has a soapy, earthy aroma and a pine-like flavor with a faint hint of citrus. It is available whole, cut or powdered. Also known as galingale or laos (its Indonesian name). A mixture of galangal and lime juice is used as a tonic in parts of Southeast Asia. Medicinally, it has the effect of an aphrodisiac, and acts as a stimulant.

  Hmm

[Lynne]

First, a cry for help. My Mom, who is visiting, has asked for asparagus as a side dish at Thanksgiving. I serve asparagus at Easter, but I have no idea what to do with it at Thanksgiving. Any ideas out there??

I encourage you to go look up Ma Stamberg's cranberry relish. It is really good. Caution, it has sour cream and horseradish in it. Don't let that stop you!!

It was funny, yesterday, after she gave the customary cranberry relish talk, the announcer said, "This is National Public Relish."

I love publc radio

I usually like asparagus raw or just lightly steamed.  My ex used to make a bechamel sauce to drizzle over steamed veggies of all varieties (that man was amazing in the kitchen!).  How about something like this Asparagus Rarebit ("an old-fashioned Welsh cream sauce" again credit to Molly Katzen)?  I bet apples and walnuts would make it Thanksgiving-like.

2 tbs butter or margarine
2 tbs flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1.5 cups beer or ale at room temperature (OK if flat)
1 cup packed grated cheddar (0.5 lb)
1 tsp prepared horseradish
1 medium clove garlic, minced
salt, black pepper, & cayenne to taste

1) Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan.  Sprinkle in the flour & dry mustard, whisking constantly.
2) Add the beer or ale and keep whisking as you bring it to a boil.  Lower the heat annd simmer for about 10 minutes, mixing frequently.
3) Add the remaining ingredients, and stir until the cheese melts.
4) Serve hot oveer steamed vegetables and/or cooked potatoes.
5) Garnish with chunks of ripe tomatoes, tart apples, and/or toasted walnuts.

[Front-Ranger]

I love you, Lynn! This recipe looks perfect for what I need! And I can use the beer left over from making fish tacos for it!! Thank U! I'll report back on how it works at Thanksgiving!!

So I'll steam the asparagus. Doubt if we could find asparagus worth serving raw this time of year. In the spring, I've found a perfect asparagus substitute--I break off the tender shoots of hops vines. They are even more flavorful than asparagus. I started growing hops just for decoration. I wanted something to grow over a fence on my property. The hops is prolifiic and decorative, plus it comes back every year. It is grown in the Rocky Mountains for use in making beer, and is one of the few vines that will grow here. It is soporific (Abe Lincoln had a pillow stuffed with hops that he used for combating sleeplessness), a cousin of marijuana, and probably aphrodisiac as well.

Which reminds me, thanks for the info about galangal, Leslie! Maybe I eat too much galangal, that's my problem! (But I think it's that I think about BBM too much!) I love the scent of galangal, a resinous aromatic musky aroma. I buy the fresh rhizomes at the Oriental market, it's no good dried. Sometimes I char it over the stove, which brings out its flavor and aroma even more.

[Phillip Dampier]

We have opened up our new Holiday Forum.  We have sections for individual recipes.  Feel free to repost your recipes in the appropriate subjects in the new forum.  One of our moderators may be moving some of these recipes into the new forum, but splitting and moving messages can be a pain, so if you can do it yourselves, that would always be helpful.  I hope folks enjoy the new BetterMost Holidays forum.