feasting favorites

I hope you are getting excited about your Thanksgiving feast and sharing that special time with family and friends. Here are a few of my favorite recipes if you need something to make that meal “perfect”!

CRANBERRY SALAD
2 Cups ground, raw cranberries
1 orange, ground (peel included)
2 Cups sugar
2 small packages lemon Jell-O
1 C water, 3 Cups water
1 Cup diced celery
1 Cup chopped walnuts
Cut the orange in pieces and grind along with the cranberries in the blender with 1 cup of water. Combine with sugar in a bowl and let sit while making Jell-O according to package directions (using 2 cups of boiling water to dissolve, then one cup of cold water). Refrigerate until Jell-O has thickened, but is not set. Stir in orange/cranberry mixture, the celery and nuts. Refrigerate until completely set. Serve on individual salad plates on a lettuce leaf.



CANDIED SWEET POTATOES WITH PECAN TOPPING
SWEET POTATOES:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1/4 C butter
1/4 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
*Mix all ingredients together and pour into baking dish.
TOPPING:
1 C brown sugar
1 C chopped pecans
1/2 C butter, melted
1/2 C flour
*Mix and spread over sweet potatoes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Cover leftovers when re-heating.

CORNBREAD
1 1/4 Cup flour
1 Cup milk
3/4 Cup cornmeal
1/4 Cup oil
1/3 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
*Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the liquid ingredients together then add to the dry ingredients mixing until just blended. Bake in greased 9x9 pan or 12 muffin tins at 400 degrees until golden. Serve hot.


POTATO ROLLS
Put in a mixing bowl:
1 Cup warm milk
5 tsp. yeast
*Let stand 5 minutes, then add:
½ Cup melted butter
½ Cup sugar
1 Cup warm mashed potatoes
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ Cup flour
2 eggs
*Beat thoroughly, then cover and let rise until light. Add about 4 more cups of flour, mixing well. Knead a minute or two. Put into an oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled. Form into rolls, let rise, then bake at 425 until golden. *NOTE: this dough makes great cinnamon rolls and fabulous donuts. It keeps (covered in plastic) in the refrigerator well, so you can use part of the dough for dinner rolls and have some leftover for yummy donuts in the morning! (hint: it is easier to cut out donuts if the dough has been chilled).

pumpkin patch

pumpkin patch

It is that time of year for harvesting and enjoying that great vegetable, the pumpkin. It is very versatile and for the next few days I will share some recipes with you. It is very convenient to use canned pumpkin in recipes, but it can be a fun family project to start with a real pumpkin and turn it into something delicious. To prepare a pumpkin for recipes I cut it in half horizontally, clean out the seeds and stringy part, then place the cut side down on a greased cookie sheet and bake it in a 350 degree oven for an hour or so until it is tender. Let it cool then scoop out the inside portions and puree. Spoon the pureed pumpkin into sealable containers in 2 cup portions and freeze until needed. (the puree can be very juicy, so you may need to drain off some of the liquid).

Pumpkin pancakes

2 eggs, separated
1 ¼ C buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter
3 Tbsp canned pumpkin
¼ C sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 ¼ C flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp allspice

Mix dry ingredients together, then add the buttermilk, butter, pumpkin, and egg yolks and mix well (add more buttermilk for desired consistency). Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Cook on a hot griddle and serve with butter and syrup.

jammin'

The fall fruit is on and it’s the perfect time to make some jam. My family’s favorite is this peach jam. I make several batches every fall to share as Thanksgiving gifts and make sure we have enough to last until the next season.

PEACH JAM

5 Cups ground peaches (peel, then mash with potato masher)

5 Cups sugar

1 Cup crushed pineapple

12 maraschino cherries, diced

Mix together, boil 15 minutes. Turn off stove and stir in 1 sm. Pkg. orange Jell-O. Stir 5 minutes. Pour into hot jars and cap. Do not process; jars will seal as they cool.

*VARIATION: for PLUM jam: omit cherries, use raspberry Jell-O.

A clerk at Albertsons shared this rhubarb version with me. It’s past the rhubarb season here, but perhaps it’s still growing where you are!

RHUBARB JAM

5 Cups fresh rhubarb, cut in ½” pieces

1 C. crushed pineapple, drained

3 C. sugar

3 oz. pkg. Jell-O (raspberry, strawberry, or cherry)

In large, heavy pot mix rhubarb and sugar, let stand 10 minutes. Add pineapple and stir. Bring to a boil and boil 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, add Jell-O and mix well. Put in hot jars and cap. Do not process; jars will seal as they cool.

*to heat jars and lids, simmer in hot water for a few minutes.

Israeli Salad

Don't let the summer pass by without trying this fabulously easy and delicious salad. Now, with the gardens giving us their fresh produce, is the perfect time.

ISRAELI SALAD

Mix together:

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled & chopped

4 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Serve immediately.

cake update

So last night the cake was very popular, it must have been the perfect choice to go with a nice taco dinner. I watched as everyone dished up their own BIG pieces, then had seconds, some of them thirds! Three small pieces left, I'd be OK...unless... what if someone ate them for breakfast! I would fix a breakfast so wonderful, so filling, no one would ask for the cake. Whew, it worked!
But all this talk of cake has made you crave it, or at least wonder about it (Jamie). So here's the recipe:

CHOCOLATE PRALINE CAKE

In heavy saucepan, melt together: ½ Cup butter ¼ Cup whipping cream 1 Cup brown sugar

Pour into 9x13 pan. Sprinkle 1 C. chopped pecans evenly over caramel mixture. Prepare devil’s food cake mix as directed on package and spoon carefully into pan(s), beginning around edges first. Bake at 325 50-60 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Cool. Serve with whipped cream.

Cinco de Mayo--celebrate with fried ice cream!

As part of our family's Christmas traditions, we have a big, fancy Mexican meal for our Christmas dinner. The grand finale is fried ice cream. Don't wait for Christmas to try it, though; today would also be a perfect day for a Mexican feast including fried ice cream...

Early in the day, make ice cream balls the size of a baseball, one for each person. Freeze hard.
Later in the day, take them out of the freezer, one at a time and, working quickly, coat each one with honey, then roll in rice krispies. Return to freezer until ready to fry. To fry, heat vegetable oil in a heavy pot until hot. Take balls out of the freezer one at a time and immerse in the hot oil for exactly 3 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in serving dish. Serve immediately with chocolate syrup and/or whipped cream.
Note: Fry the coated ice cream balls within 24 hours of coating; if they are made too far ahead of time, they will be tough instead of tender/crispy.