Wine Fruit Bars

These are as close as I come to my Grandmother’s brandy fruitcakes. I really do not like fruit cake and we all like these bars. They are easy to make and you could change the fruit being used as long as you keep the same amounts. If using larger pieces of fruit, cut them up smaller. This will, however, give you the fruit cake taste only really a lot better. I changed the recipe in that I bake them in a jelly roll pan and the recipe calls for a 13 x 9 pan. I really feel that they would be way to thick and take forever to bake. 

They are from  Southern Living cookbook Our Best Recipes Volume three and the southern cooks do a lot of cooking with liquor. As you will notice, I used Cream Sherry as my sweet wine as it was what I had on hand. We decided we could just eat the fruit and forget the bars, but the bars are better.

Wine Fruit Bars

1 1/2 cups currants

1 1/2 cups raisins (I used Golden)

1 1/2 cups candied cherries, halved

1 1/2 cups chopped candied pineapple

1 1/2 cups sweet wine (I used Cream Sherry)

1/2 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

3 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze

Combine fruit and wine in a bowl. cover and let mixture stand 24 hour or longer, drain fruit and discard wine.

Cream, butter and sugar; add eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Blend in the soaked fruit.

Spread dough in a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 325° about 35 minutes or until tooth pick in center comes out with just a few crumbs on it.

Cool; drizzle with Lemon Glaze. Cut into about 35 bars.

Lemon Glaze 

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons milk. 

Combine until smooth. If necessary to make a proper consistency add more 

milk a little at a time This a glaze not a frosting so it should be thin.
Just a warning, The longer these set, the stronger the alcohol flavor is. These are not bars to feed to children.

Home Canned Beef Burgundy

We love this recipe – it’s one of our favorite recipes for canning beef.  The Vermont Country Store has it in their catalog for $18.95 plus shipping per can.  The entire recipe cost me $12.30.  
I make a batch when beef is on sale, cut it and freeze it, then can this recipe when mushrooms come on sale.  It’s handy for a quick meal that tastes like you fussed for hours.  You do the work once for 10 meals!  I also have canned it in half pints or 12 ounce jars when that is the size jar I had – the time is the same.  The pressure in the recipe is for 1000’ altitude, adjust for your location.                   

Home Canned Beef Burgundy

 3 ½   pounds  Rump Roast, Trimmed -- or arm roast, boneless

 4       slices  Bacon – cut up

 2       tablespoons  Olive Oil

 3 ½   cups  Onion -- (medium) diced

1 ½    Pounds  Mushrooms – sliced thickly

 1 ½   teaspoons  Garlic -- minced

 2 ½   cups  Carrots – ½” slices

 1 ½   teaspoons  Salt

 1 ½   teaspoons  Beef Base

 500   milliliters  Burgundy or Red Wine – I use pinot noir (about 2 cups + 1 ½ tbsp)

    ½   cup  Cognac

Cut beef in large slices or chunks.  Brown in oven at 450° 10 minutes, turn and brown.  In Dutch oven, brown bacon, remove.  Brown onions in olive oil, and then add garlic and sauté until soft.  Add mushrooms and beef base and sauté 5 minutes.  Add wine, beef juices, cognac and carrots, bring to a boil.

Wash jars, keep warm until filling.  Prepare lids according to manufacturers instructions.

Divide meat and bacon among hot jars.  Pour meat drippings into broth mixture.  With slotted spoon, fill jars with mushroom, carrot and onion mixture, leaving 1" headspace.  Cover with hot broth, leaving 1" headspace.  Remove bubbles with plastic knife and wipe jar rim carefully with hot wipe before sealing.  Cover and seal, place in pressure canner (with 3 quarts simmering water), cover and exhaust steam 10 minutes, process in pints 1 hour and 15 minutes at 10#.  Let pressure drop of own accord (30 minutes), open canner, remove jars to clean towel and let cool and seal, setting apart to allow air to circulate.  Let cool overnight and remove rings and wash jars carefully.
Equipment:   Half sheet pan, stock pot or Dutch oven, chopping board, pressure canner, 13 x 9" pan with paper towel for jar filling, jars, lids and rings, funnel, lid magnet, jar lifter, plastic knife, 4 quart measure for water, clean towels, stock pot to keep jars warm if necessary.

Yield:  "10 Pint Jars"

BEFORE SERVING:  Boil uncovered 10 minutes.  For each jar, add 1/4 cup dairy sour cream mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch; heat through.  Serve over hot, buttered noodles or rice.  Or if desired, mix 1/4 cup water with 1 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch and add to heated contents, cook 2 minutes more and serve with bread and mashed potatoes as hot roast beef sandwich.  This can also be used as the basis for beef soup; add ¼ cup dry rice or barley  or 2 ounces noodles (cooked separately), desired veggies and enough extra water or tomatoes to make 3 cups soup.  Heat together 10 minutes.

Per Serving (assuming 2 servings per pint jar): 177 Calories; 6g Fat (36.0% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 45mg Cholesterol; 297mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

Coffee Fluff

This is a sophisticated dessert for adult coffee lovers.  It’s a festive ending to a New Year’s meal that can be made ahead.                     

                               Coffee Fluff

  2        tablespoons  Ground Coffee

  1         cup  Water -- Brew with ground coffee

  2        Tablespoons  Brown Sugar -- firmly packed

             pinch  Salt

  1         envelope  unflavored Gelatin

  1         cup  Heavy Cream

     ½   Tablespoon  Cognac -- optional

     ½   teaspoon  Vanilla Extract

             pinch  Salt

·         Brew the coffee with the water; I used my regular drip coffee maker.   Put in a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Stir in the sugar and pinch of salt and sprinkle the gelatin over top. Let it soften for a few minutes then whisk vigorously until gelatin is thoroughly dissolved. Refrigerate until it is set - about two hours.

·         Add the liquor, vanilla and a pinch of the salt to the cream. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Remove the cream to a separate bowl, and whip the coffee gelatin, quite firm by this point, until it is frothy and creamy.  Stir this whipped coffee jelly and the cream together. Spoon into a mold or individual cups and refrigerate again until set - at least an hour.

·         Serve with a few chocolate shavings on top.  Try it in china coffee cups for a nice presentation.

Yield:  "2 cups"    4 servings

Per Serving: 248 Calories; 22g Fat (79.8% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 82mg Cholesterol; 40mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Non-Fat Milk; 4 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

Chicken Breast with French Cream Sauce

Quick, no fuss. Good with rice pilaf, noodles, or dressing. Add a green vegetable, cranberry salad and hot rolls and you have a holiday meal.  This is delicious!!

               Chicken Breast With French Cream Sauce

  20      ounces  Chicken Breast -- pounded thin - 4 pieces

    2        tablespoons  Butter

  8        ounces  Fresh Mushrooms -- sliced

                        Sauce

   2        tablespoons  Sherry

  4        teaspoons  Onion -- minced

   ½      teaspoon  Dried Sage or Poultry Seasoning

  1        cup  Heavy Cream -- or half and half

  2        teaspoons  Lemon Juice

·         Pound out chicken breast pieces evenly to about 3/8" -1/2" thickness. Brown in butter on each side, add mushrooms and continue cooking until browned. Place chicken on platter or serving plates. Keep warm.

·         Add sherry, onion, and seasoning to mushrooms in pan; cook 1 minute. Add cream and cook and stir over low heat until heated through and thickened. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Spoon over chicken. Garnish with parsley or a sprig of fresh thyme.
4 servings

*I cut and pound out the chicken breast pieces from a whole package when I bring them home, and freeze 2 each in quart freezer bags. This reduced the prep time when making a recipe and cuts the cleanup to one time.

Per Serving: 491 Calories; 39g Fat (71.4% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 170mg Cholesterol; 155mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 5 1/2 Fat.

Cooking with Wine

I have found that wine, sherry and cognac add a lot of flavor to recipes.  I never cooked with these ingredients until I lived in the South for awhile – probably because of our tee-totaling Grandmother.  But once I discovered the complex flavors you can get with less fat and seasoning I was a convert.  Wine is a good ingredient in sauces, gravies and marinades, ramping up the flavor without adding fat.  I use a tablespoon or two of sherry in almost any cooked chicken, mushroom or seafood dish for a richer flavor, it is perfect for deglazing a pan.  I use sherry or white wine in poultry gravies and cognac or red wine in beef gravies for extra flavor.  
Many of the ladies I met when I lived in Texas and Georgia used plenty of sherry, brandy, bourbon and rum in baking as well as chicken dishes and the like.  I’ve had pecan pie at Southern church dinners with so much rum in it you almost staggered, not to mention rum or bourbon balls and Lane cake filling.
When we lived in Germany, many of our German and French friends drank liqueurs, like cointreau, especially around the holidays; even the children got a little taste of Peppermint Schnapps.  We found that many desserts and chocolates, that looked sweet, weren’t; they were infused with liqueurs instead of sugar, as they would have been in America.  The area around Heidleberg and Mannheim, where we lived, was in German wine country - we learned to really enjoy Riesling.Even where we live now, in the heart of the Midwest, there are good wineries nearby, like those at the Amana Colonies, Summerset Wineries in Indianola, and Tassel Ridge Winery in Leighton, a few miles away. The Stone Cliff Winery is in Dubuque - this bottle was a Christmas gift from our children. Our farmers have found that the climate here is good for more than corn and beans. 
Myrna and I always keep sherry and cognac (brandy) on hand).  Sherry is a fortified wine with added alcohol and keeps much longer than other wines in your pantry, just like brandy.  I usually buy wine in those little bottles for recipes so I don't have leftovers if it isn't one of our favorites to drink. 
Never buy wines or sherry you wouldn’t drink.  Cooking sherry and cooking wine are made of thin, cheap bases with lots of added salt and food coloring.  Both Myrna and I have found that liquor store clerks in this area don’t even know what sherry is – but be persistent,  good sherry costs as little as $5-10 per bottle and lasts a long time.  Cognac like Hennesey costs about $35 a bottle at places like Sam’s or Costco, but a bottle lasts me about a year if I don’t can beef with it too much. 

Christmas Memories

Christmas when I was growing up was always at our Grandmother’s. Thanksgiving was at our house, but Christmas eve was at Grandmother’s. She lived in a very large house and there were sliding doors between the dining room and the living room. They were shut after the tree was put up and we were not allowed to see it till Christmas Eve. 

The year I remember the best was when our Grandfather built us a doll house. As he was a building contracter, this was no ordinary doll house. It had windows and two floors. It was very large and Grandmother and our Aunt had painted and papered all the rooms and put some funiture in them. It was really not a toy, and we kept it for many years. You could go to the Dime Store and buy doll house furniture a piece at a time, and we spent many Saturday afternoons picking out just the right new piece we wanted.

Christmas morning was spent at home. Our best present was always a new book for each of us. It was the first thing we opened and the gift most used. We would read ours and than each others. What fun we had as children. Christmas eve we would all go to church after opening gifts at Grandmothers and would always get a brown paper sack of candy and fruit. Of course we knew what was in them as we had helped sack them, Grandmother always did this at her house. I think my Grandfather most likely paid for the things that went in them.

I hope you have as fond of memories of your Christmas’s as we do and will have a Joyful Holiday Season.

Cognac Mustard Sauce

This is a wonderful, simple sauce for steak that takes it out of the ordinary.  Certainly special enough for Christmas or New Year's Dinner.   Use it on any steak you like, or sliced roast beef, or even minute steaks or beef patties for something special.
             

Cognac Mustard Sauce on Sirloin

  4        teaspoons  Butter

  2        tablespoons  Heavy Cream

  2        tablespoons  Cognac

  2        teaspoons  Grainy Mustard

  4        teaspoons  Worcestershire Sauce

  1 - 1 1/2 pound Sirloin Steak

Melt butter in measuring cup in microwave, combine remaining ingredients.  Pour over cooked meat in skillet and cook 3 minutes, stirring up any drippings.  Pour over meat to serve.
4 servings

Per Serving: 311 Calories; 22g Fat (69.0% calories from fat); 21g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 92mg Cholesterol; 180mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Shrimp in Sherry Sauce

We especially like seafood, and this dish is both simple and great tasting.  The sherry makes this dish.  You can choose rice instead of noodles just as easily.                    

                Shrimp in Sherry Sauce on Noodles

  6       ounces  Canned Mushroom -- drain and reserve

  2       tablespoons  Butter

  1        cup  Onion -- finely chopped

  ½     cup  Celery -- finely sliced

  2       tablespoons  Flour

  1        cup  Sour Cream

  12      ounces  Frozen Cooked Shrimp -- thawed and drained

  1/4    cup  Sherry

  6        ounces  Egg Noodles

  1/4    cup Parmesan Cheese -- grated

Drain mushrooms.  Save 1/2 cup liquid (add water if necessary) and set aside.  Melt butter, sauté vegetables.  Add mushrooms and flour; stir until well blended.  Combine sour cream and mushroom liquid; add to vegetable mixture, stirring well.  Add thawed and drained shrimp and sherry; cook over low heat 5 minutes.  Serve over hot buttered noodles.  Top with sprinkle of parmesan.

Serves 4

Equal amount of crabmeat can be substituted for shrimp.

Per Serving: 422 Calories; 21g Fat (46.8% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 85mg Cholesterol; 409mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat.

Burgundy Meat Balls

Meatballs and mashed potatoes sounded good so made them for supper. Some canned green beans Sue had canned from her brother-in-law's garden were just the thing to round off this meal.

The meat ball recipe calls for Burgundy. I usually have it on hand as we like it cooked with beef roast, really makes good gravy. The recipe I used is from a old cookbook Sue had. Do not use cooking wine. It is very salty. Use a wine you would drink.

Burgundy Meat Balls

1 pound ground chuck

1 cup packaged, dried bread crumbs

1 small onion minced

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch (helps them stay together)

Dash Allspice (could use nutmeg)

1 egg beaten

3/4 cup light cream

3/4 teaspoon salt

small amount salad oil

3 Tablespoons flour

2 cups beef stock or canned borth

1/2 to 3/4 cup Burgundy wine

salt and pepper to taste

Combine chuck, crumbs, onion, cornstarch, allspice, egg, cream and salt; shape into 12 balls. In skillet brown in the salad oil a few at a time. Remove to warm plate and brown rest of the balls. Blend flour with the remaining fat in pan. (I omitted this step and used cornstarch at the end.) Cook stirring, until smooth. Place meatballs back in pan with the sauce. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.

These can be made the day before and reheated or shape balls ahead; refrigerate. About 45 min. before serving, start cooking.

Limoncello Cake

Here is the cake recipe for the Limoncello Liqueur. This is originally from All Recipes web site, with a few changes I made to it. It makes a light tart cake good for coffee time without being overly sweet.

Limoncello Cake

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 35 Minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup plain yogurt

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoons lemon zest

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup limoncello liqueur

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons limoncello liqueur

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease an 8-inch x 2” deep cake pan (a half size bundt pan will work also)*

2. Whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vegetable oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and 4 tablespoons limoncello in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not over mix or the cake will be tough. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven cool 8 minutes, turn out of pan. Put on cake plate or rack with wax paper under the rack to catch the drips.

4. Stir the powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons of limoncello together in a small bowl until smooth. Poke small holes all over the top of the still-warm cake with a fork . Spoon the glaze over the cake and spread with the back of a spoon. The glaze will seep into the cake and add moisture.

* Do not use a 8 inch pan that it is not 2 inches deep or do as I did and use 2 regular 8 inch cake pans.

New Year's babysitting

As we start the New Year both Sue and I want to give thanks to all of you for reading our Blog and hope you continue to enjoy it in the New Year.

As I am sure some of you do, my fondest Memories of New Year’s are New Year’s Eves. 
Babysitting, Money.
 Back in those days, 50 cents a hour was the going wage. Maybe 75¢ after midnight.

However on New Year’s Eve we could make out like bandits.

Everyone we babysat for wanted to go out and were willing to pay for it. I often would make eight to ten dollars for the night. Also, they would leave special treats to eat, and of course anyone with a TV set got priority. We didn't have a TV set at home until I was older so this was a important perk.I had my favorite places to babysit at and did try to give them first chance. We always had a place to babysit if we wanted to somewhere in our small town. Once in awhile, you would have two sets of kids, both sets of parents would pay you and really, back then kids were well behaved and rarely did we have any problems. If we did, there was always someone to call. 

 As we became older of course, we went out ourselves and the baby sitting days were over. 

We both had dresses similar to these.  Just for parties when we were older.  Thought we were very smart.   Small town living in the fifties was a great time to grow up.  We wish all of you a special New Year. May you enjoy the times you are living in now and relive some of those happy times in your Memories.

Limoncello Liqueur for Cake

This started with a recipe for a cake I found that called for Limoncello Liqueur. I went to both of our local Liquor stores and all I could find was a very large bottle that cost twenty dollars. As the recipe only calls for less than a half a cup, I was not going to do that, not knowing if I would ever use the recipe again.

After some research on the internet, I came up with what I thought might work and made a small amount of Limoncello. About half of the recipe I am going to give you. It was not hard to do, just takes some time. As any one can tell you, I am not a patient person so this was the hardest part.

Limoncello

Combine 1/2 cup of lemon rind strips with 4 cups Vodka, cover and let set 4 weeks.

Strain and combine with simple syrup made from 3 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Let stand 4 weeks more.

This should be in a dark cool place, The higher the proof of the Vodka the more lemon flavor the finished product will have.

You could use Everclear instead of Vodka if you wanted to. It comes out a pretty light yellow and smells good. I have some left so will have to make another cake or try a different recipe.

Cooking with Wine and liquor

I ran across a recipe for Limoncello cake and didn’t want to buy a whole bottle of it, not that I could find it anywhere around our area anyway. So I found directions for making Limoncello itself and will share both recipes next week.


 My Joy of Cooking published in 1964 has several pages of directions for making Martini’s and many other cocktails. It also lists drinks made with wines and liquors. We grew up in the era of Cocktail Parties and they seem to be coming back in style. Not everyone cares for wines to drink and like all things, styles in drinks and foods come back around. I can remember my grandmother who was a strict teetotaler making Dandelion and Elderberry wines to give away and she always put brandy on her fruit cakes.

As a teen, I baby sat a lot for a group who did the cocktail party bit. No one ever came home drunk, maybe because there was always lots of nibbles served at these parties.

After World War Two, life became so much easier and everyone enjoyed the time for more leisure and also many of our sons and brothers had served overseas and brought home new food ideas. Cooking with wines and beer and liquor became much more popular. France and Italy and most European countries have cooked with these beverages for many decades.

We are going to give you some of our recipes that we use and I am sure you have some of your own. Both Sue and I keep Sherry and Cognac and wine on hand to cook with. A small amount will add depth to your soups, broth and gravies.

As Julia Child would say “Bon Appetit”

Orange and Lemon Peel

We never waste citrus fruit. If we aren’t going to use the peel, as was the case today, when I wanted orange sections, we shred or grate the peel onto a piece of waxed paper and fold it up and save it in a freezer bag in the kitchen freezer door. To save lemons or oranges I can’t use right away before they spoil, I both grate the peel and save it and also juice the fruit, strain out the seeds, and save it in a plastic bag also. Myrna suggested this, she just breaks off the amount she thinks she need and puts the rest back in the freezer.

It’s not too hard to get lemon or orange juice, but the peel just isn’t easy to find. Dried versions you can purchase just aren’t the quality you need for cakes, cookies and frostings.

I love this microplane grater for getting the zest from citrus fruit.  If you use it in short strokes, you don't have to chop it up either.  My beautiful very old juicer makes quick work of getting juice without getting any bitter pith taste.  I also use a zester for strips of peel instead of shreds.
Try adding your frozen peel to cream cheese or butter cream frosting for carrot and spice cupcakes, add it to the batter for almost any kind of muffin or cake, even the orange peel in chocolate batter. Of course, many recipes call for lemon peel in the recipe, and you won’t have to go to the grocery to get a lemon to make it.
Some recipes we like that use lemon are:  Lemon Cream Wafers, Sole Meuniere, and Lemon Custard Cups.  We like Orange rolls, Cream Puffs with delicious Orange Filling, and these Orange Buttermilk Cupcakes, too.

Party Chicken Salad

This may be the quickest casserole I’ve ever made; individual casserole dishes made it even faster.   This is a fast, delicious way to use up some holiday leftovers – cooked turkey or chicken, olives from the relish plate, celery and onions you might have left from making dressing.   I think ham would be good too, or a combination of chicken and ham.   I remember this dish from '60's home economics classes.  The recipe was on a store-brand box of cornflakes I purchased to make cookies; I used some of the cornflakes in another casserole and also crushed them to bread pork chops.

My husband says “I’ll take this again.”  This is a perfect way to follow the adage “use it up……”         

                           Party Chicken Salad

  3        Cups  Cooked Chicken or turkey-- chopped

  1        Cup  Mayonnaise

  2        Tablespoons  Onion -- chopped

  2 1/4 Cups  Cornflakes -- divided

  1 1/2 Cups  Celery -- sliced

     1/3 Cup  Ripe Olives -- sliced

  2        Teaspoons  Lemon Juice

     1/2 Cup  Cheddar Cheese -- shredded, 2 ounces

·         Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine chicken, celery, mayonnaise, olives, onion, lemon juice and 2 cups cornflakes.  Pour into 1 1/2 quart shallow baking dish.  Bake 15 minutes.

·         Combine remaining 1/4 cup cereal and cheese; sprinkle over chicken mixture.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

I baked the individual casseroles 15 minutes, added topping and baked an additional 5 minutes.

Per Serving:  437 Calories; 38g Fat (76.2% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 82mg Cholesterol; 413mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 Fat.

Southern Orange Ambrosia

Do you remember when oranges and nuts were treasured treats in everyone’s Sunday School Christmas sack or in their Christmas stocking?  Oranges are still a Christmas-season fruit, and if you have any leftover, you can turn them into this delicious old-fashioned dessert – Ambrosia.  If you have a glass compote or any other pretty glass bowl, this is the time to use it.  This is very pretty on a holiday buffet table.

This is one of my favorite Southern desserts – this version is from Southern Living Our Best Recipes Volume 3 from 1978.  It’s simple and pretty.  I add maraschino cherries if I have them, just for my youngest grandson, the cherry lover.

Sectioning oranges used to be taught in “home economics” classes; remember to remove the pith and outside membrane from the orange, then slip your knife down one side of the section and up the other.  If this seems like too much trouble, peel the orange carefully and slice them about ¼” thick - remove any seeds. 
Maybe you can see that the orange peel has already been shredded on this orange - I put it in the freezer to use for Quick Breads and Fruit Cakes and Cookies.  I love getting every last bit of goodie from that orange, just like Grandma did.

                               Southern Orange Ambrosia

  6           large  Oranges

     1/2    cup  Sugar or cooking Splenda

  3           cups  Coconut -- shredded

·         Peel and section orange, removing seeds.

·         Place a layer of orange sections in a glass bowl; sprinkle with sugar to taste.

·         Layer with coconut.  Repeat layers, ending with coconut.  Chill.

6 Servings

The original recipe called for 1 coconut, shredded meat.  This should equal about 3 cups for 6 oranges.

For single servings, use 1 orange, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 cup coconut.

2010 Cost:  $6.38 or $1.07 per servig

Per Serving: 267 Calories; 13g Fat (42.7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 8mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 1/2 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Merry Christmas 2010

Myrna and I have shared many Christmas seasons…..not always together, except in our hearts.  We feel fortunate to live near each other these days, with our husbands and friends, and close to our children and their families.  After many years, you appreciate those people who share your memories.

We hope this Christmas season you'll make some happy memories too.

Bread Pudding

The Holiday dinner is over and you have all that leftover bread and dinner rolls. You can freeze them, or of course use them for stuffing, which you just had, so how about making Bread Pudding. 

This has been a thrifty housewife's trick for many years. Uses up eggs, extra milk and of course that bread. Since it works best with day old bread this is just what you need. Easy to make, good cold or warm and a real comfort food.

I made mine by adding some Cream Sherry to the milk and soaked the raisins in it while I cut up the bread.  This is optional of course, though we thought it really upped the taste. I used Golden Raisins as that is what we like, dark work great also.

Either way do give this a try.

Bread Pudding

2 slightly beaten eggs

2 1/4 cup milk

1 Tablespoon Cream Sherry* (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups 1" day old bread cubes

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup raisins

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt; stir in bread cubes.  Stir in brown sugar and raisins.  Pour mixture into 8 x 1 3/4" round ovenware cake dish.  Place pan in larger shallow pan on oven rack; pour hot water into larger pan 1" dep.  Bake at 350° about 45 minutes or till knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean.  Makes 6 servings.

* If using the Cream Sherry, put the tablespoon in the measuring cup and add enough milk to make the 1/4 cup called for in the recipe. Stir into the raisins and let set while you get everything else ready. Then stir into the recipe when called for.

Home Canned Cranberry Sauce

  
 Last year I purchased more fresh cranberries on sale than I could use, so I decided to try to can them.  My husband enjoys the whole berry sauce, and we used them to fill out a meal the rest of the winter.  I froze them right in the bags until I could find the time to can them.  Myrna suggested that I also keep some of the raw whole berries  in the freezer so I can use them in baking recipes any time of the year.  They are only available for a short time around the holidays.
I canned mine in half pints so the two of us could eat up a jar with no leftovers – I open several jars for company or recipes.  This year I'm planning to buy some extras when they are on sale and can them again right after the holidays, including any left from Christmas dinner.  This is one of the easiest recipes I have ever canned - no peeling or chopping - nothing tricky about it -  a good one to start learning with.
Cranberry Sauce

  36   ounces  Cranberries -- 3 bags

  3     cups  Water

  3     Tablespoons  Lemon Juice

  3     cups  Sugar

Hot Pack –Bring water, lemon juice, and sugar to a boil, add berries and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Skim foam if necessary.   Pour boiling hot sauce into clean, hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids.  Process in a Boiling Water Canner for 15 minutes for half pints, pints or quarts.

Yield:  "10 Half Pint Jars or 5 Pint Jars"

Cost:  Nov. 2012:  48¢ per half pint jar or $4.76 per recipe.  (cranberries cost $1.29 on sale and sugar was 59¢ per pound.)

More information on water bath canning HERE and HERE.

Equipment Needed:  Water bath canner or large covered stock pot with rack, stockpot or jam pan, jars, lids and rings.  Jar lifter, lid wand, funnel, bubble knife, ladle, long spatula or spoon, shallow pan with towels for filling jars, 1/2 sheet pan with cloth towel for cooling jars.

Per half cup Serving: 142 Calories; trace Fat (0.6% calories from fat); trace Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 2mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1/2 Fruit; 2 Other Carbohydrates.