Holiday Traditions

           With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, I need to get out my old recipe file. It's a whicker basket, a mother's day gift from years ago. The cards inside are tattered, stained, and treasured. Each year, I have to look them up, to help me write my grocery list, and again to reference as I cook. These are recipes I only make for Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though they are family favorites.

            The kids used to ask me why we ate some foods only at holiday time. My answer was usually "that way it stays special, and we don't get tired of it."

            That being true, up to a point, the real reason is much more practical. Most of those dishes were a lot of work, or expensive to make. This fruit salad falls into the first category. It takes time and prep work, but it's worth the effort. It's been in the family forever, and is one of my few "don't cheat" recipes. Normally, I'm all for labor saving shortcuts, but not here. If you use fruit cocktail and cool-whip, for instance, it just isn't the same.

            Great-Grandma swore you had to use full size marshmallows, and cut them into quarters with kitchen shears. (Note: It's easier if the marshmallows and shears are both chilled.) According to her, that way they could soak up the dressing. Grandma too, was obstinate about it, and to this day, I haven't dared change anything. That would feel like cheating. So, I've passed the superstition, I mean tradition, on to a fourth generation. Now it's Laura's turn.

             I did have a friend once, though, whose mother made it with colored miniature marshmallows...and the world didn't end.

            Known regionally as 24-Hour Salad, Overnight Salad, or "that salad with the little marshmallows", this is one of my husband's favorites:

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Ambrosia

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2 cups Royal Ann cherries, halved

2 cups pineapple tidbits

2 cups mandarin oranges

2 cups quartered marshmallows

1 egg

1 ½ tbsp. sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup orange juice

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

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Combine well-drained fruit and marshmallows.

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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.

Allow to cool completely. Stir in whipped cream.

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Pour over fruit and fold in. Chill 24 hours before serving. Do not freeze.

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           Going from the labor intensive, to the beautifully easy, I still only make it a couple of times a year. It's a way to dress up your cranberry sauce. You still need to plan ahead a little, but the prep time is minimal. It's a jell-o salad that even cranberry-shy kids like, and the shape is a departure from the classic "can mold" of my youth.

            I've used various size and shape molds, but my favorite is a 3-cup copper ring. This makes two of those, or one 6-cup Tupperware mold.

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Cranberry-Orange Wreath

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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

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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.

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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.

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Garnish with whipped topping just before serving, if desired

 

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 well¼ 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.