Welcome to my world...

Let me begin by telling you I’m not a nutritionist, dietician, or Cordon Bleu Chef. I’ve never even worked in a restaurant. What I am is a wife of over 30 years, a mother, and a grandmother who loves to cook. I have, at times, needed to use all “101 Ways to Cook Hamburger”, made tuna casserole and split pea soup until my husband begged for mercy…and had fun doing it.

As times and finances improved, so did my repertoire. I had the freedom to try more exotic fare, like pork chops. By the time the kids were in high school, I had progressed as far as shrimp and crab. Now the kids are all grown up, it’s just the two of us, and I’ve had to re-learn to cook yet again. Of course, trying new foods and new recipes is part of the fun. My motto is “I’ve never met a recipe I didn’t change.”

That’s what this blog is about, sharing recipes, stories and memories. So, enjoy your food, enjoy your life. And most importantly, don’t forget to have fun, playing with your food.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Holiday Fruit Salads

            The holiday season is a time when we indulge in foods we don’t eat the rest of the year. Why we don’t, has always been somewhat unclear to me. As a child I was told, “If you had (fill in the blank) all the time, you’ll get tired of it, and it wouldn’t be special.”
            I suppose that’s partly true, especially if you’re a kid. My reality is closer to “if you had (fill in the blank) all the time, you’d never fit into a swimsuit again.” Even so, I believe the holidays are a good time to enjoy the comfort foods and heirloom recipes that we grew up with. Therefore, I think I’ll go with another of my dad’s sayings, “anything in moderation.”
            Ambrosia, also known as Twenty-four Hour Salad, Overnight Salad, or “that salad with the little marshmallows” has been a tradition in my husband’s family for four generations.  The last couple of years, my daughter has taken on the task. It’s always a challenge to make the overnight-salad as good as Grandma made. It’s one of the few recipes that I recommend following to the letter. It can be quite time consuming, but it’s worth it, the results are just not the same if you cheat.
            Great-Grandma swore that you had to use full size marshmallows, and cut them into quarters with kitchen shears. According to her, they could soak up the dressing better than miniatures. To this day, I haven’t dared make it any other way. I did have a friend once, though, whose mother made this with colored minis, and I really could not taste the difference.
            Another family favorite is Cranberry-Orange Ring. Fast, simple and cheap, it’s at the other end of the holiday fruit-salad spectrum. It has just entered its second generation as Thanksgiving tradition. When it’s made with raspberry jell-o, it’s very kid-friendly. I personally prefer a cranberry flavored jell-o, for less sweetness when serving mainly adults.

Ambrosia
2 cups Royal Ann cherries, halved

2 cups pineapple tidbits
2 cups mandarin oranges
2 cups quartered marshmallows, not miniatures
1 egg
1 ½ tbsp. sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup orange juice
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Combine well-drained fruit and marshmallows. Beat egg until lemon colored. Gradually add sugar, lemon juice and orange juice. Mix well.
Cook in double boiler until smooth and thick, stirring constantly. 
Cool completely. Stir in whipped cream. Pour over fruit and fold in. Chill 24 hours before serving. Do not freeze.


Cranberry-Orange Ring
1 - 6oz. box red jell-o, raspberry, cran-raspberry, or cranberry

2 cans whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 small cans mandarin oranges, drained well
¼ tsp. each, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice 

Dissolve jell-o in hot water, per box directions. Add spices. Stir in cranberry sauce in place of cold water. Chill for and hour until partially set. Gently fold in mandarin oranges, and pour into 6-cup mold. Allow to set at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. 
To make un-molding easier, dip mold to the rim in very hot tap water for 10 seconds. Immediately flip onto serving plate and re-refrigerate until ready to serve.
Garnish with whipped cream just before serving, if desired.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Pumpkin Pie Time

            My motto (one of them) has always been “it’s never too early to plan.” This is especially true for holidays, especially where food is involved. With Thanksgiving incredibly less than 3 weeks away, it seems like a good time to start planning the feast.
            We have two extra, uncarved, pumpkins left over from Halloween, and Laura and I decided we'll try to make them into pie filling. So far, we haven't found the time, but I'm hoping  that will change in the next couple of days. The plan is to clean and quarter the pumpkins, season them with cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg and cloves, and bake until soft. Then scrape the flesh, puree and proceed as usual. We'll see how it turns out.
            Just in case, I’d like to share once again, one of my family’s favorites, Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. I found the recipe originally in a magazine in the very early 80’s, and made it for my first “adult” Thanksgiving. It was an instant hit. You can use “lite” cream cheese without hurting the results at all.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Heat oven to 425°
2 Crusts for 9" deep dish pie
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 ½  cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 can pumpkin (29oz.)
Whipped cream for garnish
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Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Place on cookie sheet in preheated, hot oven.
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Immediately lower temperature to 350°.
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Bake 35 -45 minutes or until center is almost set.

Cool completely on wire rack. Serve topped with whipped cream