Sausage and Cranberry Dressing

Sausage & Cranberry Dressing

About 4 cups bread, crusts trimmed, cubed

(I usually use Goldminer Cracked Wheat Sourdough)

1 12-oz pkg Jimmy Dean Regular pork sausage

1 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced celery

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 apple, diced

3/4 cup dried cranberries

4 Tbs butter

1 can Chicken Broth

Toast cubed bread on a large pan in a low oven (about 300°F), stirring several times until completely toasted and dried. This step can be done ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Crumble sausage into 12-inch skillet and cook over medium heat, along with the diced onion, for 10 to 12 minutes stirring frequently to break up the sausage. Add butter, celery, sage, poultry seasoning and thyme and continue to cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.

Place dried bread cubes, apple, cranberries into a large bowl. Pour sausage mixture over and stir to combine. Add chicken broth to moisten--note: you may not need quite all of the broth.

Place mixture in a 2-quart casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Hot Buttered Rum Batter

Hot Buttered Rum Batter

This recipe was given to me by my friend Norm Ritter and was developed long ago--before raw eggs were deemed unsafe to eat by those who might have compromised immune systems. So to be on the safe side, use only "certified" eggs or a pasteurized product such as "Egg Beaters/"

1/2 lb (2 sticks) real butter, softened

1 lbs brown sugar

1/2 lb powdered sugar

2 whole eggs (or use Egg-Beaters)

dash of rum

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all ingredients well with electric mixer.  Store in covered container in the refrigerator.  Use about one heaping teaspoon (or more to suit your taste) per cup of boiling water or hot milk, add one jigger of rum or brandy.

Grandpa Gene on Right on trip from MO to WA

Cheese Ball

Cheese Ball

A family Christmas tradition since the 1960s, but this appetizer is tasty at any time of the year!

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened

About 4 oz Blue Cheese, crumbled

1 jar Old English cheese

1 Tb dried minced onion

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup toasted & finely chopped nuts*

Rehydrate the dried minced onion in the Worcestershire sauce for about 5 minutes. Blend cheeses with an electric mixer (easiest in a large stand mixer). Add onioin-Worcestershire sauce to the cheeses and mix to combine.

Place chopped nuts in a shallow bowl. Scoop about 1/4 of the cheese mixture at a time into the nuts and use the nuts as a coating to shape into flattened balls or log shapes. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill to firm. Serve with crackers.

*Note: Toast the nuts in a 325° F oven for 7 or 8 minutes and cool before chopping. A small food processor is the best way to chop the nuts very finely to more evenly coast the cheese balls.

Mom at the house in Nahcotta

Almond-Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Christmas card photo 1955

Almond-Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

The first time I made these cookies I mistakenly used Almond Paste instead of the Almond Filling--the batter was much stiffer, instead of spreading the cookies maintained their pre-baked shape and they were not as sweet--but they were tasty anyway! 

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can Solo Almond Filling

2 egg yolks

1 tsp almond extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Raspberry Jelly or Jam (seedless is preferrd)

Powdered sugar

Beat butter and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add almond filling, egg yolks and almond extract; beat until blended.  Mix flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl--stir into butter mixture with wooden spoon to make soft dough.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, placing on parchment-covered baking sheets about 1-1/2 inches apart.  Press thumb into center of each ball to make indentation.  Spoon Raspberry Jelly or seedless jam into a decorator’s tube with a large tip and fill indentations (this method is much quicker and easier than trying to spoon it into ech cookie). Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until edges of cookies are golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer cookies on parchment to wire rack.  Sift powdered sugar lightly over tops of cookies, if desired.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Notes: the dough will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week, so you don't have to bake all the cookies at one time. I have also found one easy way to sift the powdered sugar directly onto each cookie is by using an individual wire-mesh tea strainer.

Easter Pâté

Mom made cute cakes for my birthdays!

When I was about 11 years old I was tasked with preparing Easter dinner for my family because my Mom worked. I cranked the oven up to 500° F to preheat while I lined the the roasting pan with foil. I put the ham in the oven and started whipping the cream to frost a cake Mom had baked. 

I poured the pint of cream into a bowl, and then I dumped a one-pound box of powdered sugar into the bowl and started beating the cream. Apparently I'd never really paid attention when Mom had whipped cream, because I thought this one-to-one ratio was correct. After running the beaters on high for about 5 minutes the cream was still not achieving the correct texture, so I added MORE sugar and continued beating. After another five minutes chunks of butter began floating around. That's when I smelled the ham burning. When I opened the oven door I found the ham completely charred on the outside. I can't remember for sure, but I think I started crying about then. I turned the oven down to a normal temperature and gave up on the churned cream. 

How did our Easter dinner turn out? Well, after removing the charred fatty layer from the outside, that was the juiciest and most succulent ham EVER, and Mom made some quite nice buttercream frosting for the cake. So it all ended well.

This recipe is good as a sandwich spread (especially if your ham is a little dry) and uses up some of those boiled Easter eggs. It is also good on crackers. You can substitute leftover beef roast for this recipe to make a sandwich spread.

Easter Pâté

3/4 to 1 cup ham, cut into chunks

2 or 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled

2 or 3 small sweet pickles (or use relish)

2 or 3 Tbs (or squirts) of prepared mustard (I use stone ground)

Enough Mayo to moisten the mixture
Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Dill Weed to taste

Place ham, eggs and pickles in food processor and pulse until very finely minced. Add mustard and mayonnaise and mix to combine. 

Applesauce Fruitcake

The ubiquitous Christmas Fruitcake: It is typically dense and baked in a loaf pan (therefore shaped like a brick and heavy enough to serve as a doorstop), usually served in very thin slices (so thankfully one doesn’t have to ingest too much if forced to eat it out of politeness), crammed with nuts and dried fruit (by what stretch of the imagination are hard candied bits of citrus PEEL—the stuff you throw away when you’re eating an orange!—and translucent flavorless bright GREEN cherries considered fruit?), and is sometimes presented to family and friends during the Yuletide season (the gift that says “I really don’t like you very much.”)

In the middle ages fresh food was so hard to come by that having some withered pieces of dried fruit in the winter was a treat. Hell, times were hard, plagues were rampant, and having anything to eat was probably a treat! We have better transportation and refrigeration now—we can eat fresh fruit year-round. But traditions are traditions, so here’s my family’s fruitcake recipe. It includes cocoa, does not contain candied peel, and it’s actually pretty good.

Dad & Rick, Christmas 1953
(No cordless power drills in the 1950s)

Applesauce Fruitcake

2-1/2 cups flour

1-1/4 cups sugar

1-1/2 Tbs cornstarch

2-1/2 Tbs cocoa

2-1/2  tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp EACH cinnamon, nutmeg, 

    cloves, allspice

1/2 cup red wine* 

  (I confess: we use Manischewitz Blackberry)

2 cups applesauce

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

4 or 5 rings of dried, sweetened pineapple, chopped*

about 6 oz dates, chopped*

1 cup dried cranberries* 

   (or raisins if you prefer)

1 cup dried cherries*

 (or 1 small container glacé red cherries if you really must)

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Prepare one 10 inch tube pan by cutting parchment or waxed paper to fit bottom.  Grease pan, insert paper, and grease paper.

Sift dry ingredients into a very large bowl; then stir in wine, applesauce and oil.  Fold in nuts and fruit. Bake for about one hour, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.

*NOTES: the natural foods section of most supermarkets is a good source for some of these dried fruits; it is usually easiest to cut these fruits using kitchen shears. If you do not wish to cook with alcohol you may be able to substitute a fruit juice (such as blackberry or cherry), however I haven’t tried it and would suggest you add just a small amount of vinegar with the juice to increase the acidity level and help the baking soda.

Turkey Croquettes

Aunt Peggy & Mom
ca. 1938 Oysterville, Washington

These croquettes are a good way to use up the Thanksgiving leftovers when you're tired of sandwiches.

Turkey Croquettes

4 Tbs butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 to 1 tsp Poultry seasoning

(if available you can use abt 2 total tsp fresh herbs

such as sage, rosemary, thyme)

1 clove finely minced garlic

2 cups finely chopped cooked turkey

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups finely ground fresh breadcrumbs

Oil for frying*

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until limp, approximately 3 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, seasonings and garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in turkey and cream, and cook until liquid is reduced, another 1 or 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Add potatoes, flour, and egg to turkey mixture, and stir to combine thoroughly.

Place breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of the  turkey mixture into crumbs and turn to coat completely, flattening mixture into 2-inch patties. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to set.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook croquettes in a single layer until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Keep warm in oven while frying remaining croquettes. Serve immediately with cranberry sauce. Makes about 20.

*for added flavor you can use a mixture of melted butter and oil for frying.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Aunt Peggy & Uncle Lee
December 1961

Sweet Potato Casserole

A Volunteer Host brought this yummy dish to a Potluck at Fort Stevens State Park. She called it a side dish, but it is so sweet it really should be classified as a dessert, and is especially good during the Holiday season since it is fairly easy to make. Similar dishes are made with a marshmallow topping, but I much prefer this nutty crisp topping.This amount is enough for a 9-inch casserole, but can be increased for a 9 x 13 pan.

FILLING:

3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

TOPPING:

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix filling ingredients and pour into ungreased casserole dish. Melt butter, stir in sugar, flour and pecans. Sprinkle over potatoes. Bake 30 minutes.

Bird Nest Cookies

For some reason in my family we only seem to make these cookies around Christmas, but they are too good to be reserved for just one season. There are other similar recipes out there which call these "Jam Thumbprints" but we always called them Bird Nest Cookies. A food processor speeds the process by quickly and more finely chopping the nuts. Back in the 1960s when Mom made these cookies she used to fiddle about using a teaspoon to fill the center of the cookies with jelly. It is so much easier to just spoon the jam or jelly into a decorator's tube with a medium to large tip and pipe it into the cookies. If you don't own one, it is well worth the investment to just buy a cheap plastic one.

Rick, Sherrie, Terri 12-25-1954

Bird Nest Cookies

1 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 egg yolks

2 cup flour

2 egg white, slightly beaten

2+ cup very finely chopped nuts

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg yolks and mix well.  Add flour and mix.  Shape into small balls (about 1‑1/4" in diameter). Dip cookies in beaten egg white and roll in nuts to cover. Place on cookie sheet and press indentation in center. 

Bake in 350  oven for 8 minutes; remove, press center again (use end of a wooden spoon or some other implement so you don't burn your fingers) and fill with a tart jelly (currant or red raspberry).  Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Cranberry Butter

This is a good accompaniment for toasted Pumpkin Bread and is also good on other hearty breads. The flecks of cranberries glow like little rubies.

Cranberry Butter

2 sticks butter, softened

1 stick margarine, softened

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1-1/4 cups finely minced fresh cranberries*

1 tsp lemon juice

In mixing bowl combine 2 butter and margarine; beat until fluffy.  Add brown sugar, honey, and cranberries, and 1 tsp lemon juice.  Mix thoroughly.  Store in refrigerator.

*Note: if fresh cranberries are not available, you may use thawed frozen ones. The easiest way to handle mincing these little buggers is to use the chopping blade of a food processor, as they try to escape the knife and bounce all over!

Sherrie's Pumpkin Bread

This is a nice "quick bread" for the Fall and Winter and makes a nice gift during the holiday season, especially when accompanied by a small container of Cranberry Butter.

I usually send some along in with the Christmas gifts I ship to relatives. In early December 2007 I had everything ready to go, but then the BIG ONE hit the North Coast with hurricane-force winds. There were trees down all over, the power was out for about 4 days and our area was cut off from the rest of Oregon. I ended up taking all the first batch to work with me to share with the crew at Fort Stevens State Park, which had also been hard-hit by the storm. Everyone seemed to enjoy it--of course cutting their way through hundreds of downed trees may have helped increase their appetite!


Mom & Aunt Peggy
ca Thanksgiving, 1937

 Sherrie’s Pumpkin Bread

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1-1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cardamom

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

1 cup vegetable oil

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

3 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1+ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350  F.  Lightly grease (I use Pam spray) either two 9x5  or six 6x2-1/2 inch loaf pans. Mix flour, soda, and spices in a bowl (preferably one with a tight-sealing lid--then all you need to do is shake it!).

In large mixing bowl combine eggs, water, oil, pumpkin and sugar; mix well.  Add all but about 2 Tbs of the flour and blend thoroughly.  Add nuts and cranberries to remaining flour and shake or stir to coat; stir into them into the mixture. Pour into pans.  For smaller pans bake about 45 minutes; for larger pans bake about 65 to 70 minutes. Great warm or cold, plain or toasted, or spread with cranberry butter or cream cheese!