Getting Ready for the Holidays

With the Holiday seasons approaching, I am getting out my Turkey Dressing recipe. The following is for six people so adjust amounts accordingly for more or fewer guests. My story with this 3^rd generation recipe is my Mom always added eggs to bind the ingredients together. My husband’s family never used eggs and he had never heard of the idea. When he went to the garage on an errand, I added 6 eggs as fast as I could mixing them with the other ingredients.

 

Brown in a non-stick skillet 1 pound of pork sausage with one large coarsely choppe onion then add:

• one envelop of dried onion soup
• 1 ½ loaves of dry bread crumbs
• six eggs
• 2 tablespoons Sage
• 2 tablespoons Salt

Mix all of the above ingredients and take off heat.

Add about 1 cup turkey stock and mix thoroughly. (You can use water or milk.)

Mix until all ingredients are “moist” not wet.

Fill cavity of turkey and bake the last hour that they turkey requires

Bake remainder of the dressing in a casserole dish 350 degrees for one hour.

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Roasted Wild Duck  Absolutely the most hated kitchen chore I ever experienced was prepping Wild Duck for roasting. Several times after a long day of teaching 30 grade school youngsters, I came home to find four recently shot ducks at my door step. My friendly neighbor was so generous with his hunting! Naturally I could not dispose of this delicacy by way of the garbage can.

So the chore began: Pluck the feathers, dress the carcass, then place the four servings into a plastic bag to roast later. The method of roasting I used was one I learned growing up in the Midwest.

Insert ¼ of an apple inside each duck and then wrap strips of bacon around each. Place into a large pyrex baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees one to one and ½ hours.

Then serve with wild rice and a wonderful bottle of wine. Bon Apetit! 

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With each of my four children there were favorite foods in the making as well as in the eating. Steve’s favorite  dish is the Cranberry Salad that we made for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. We would make the salad a week before serving so that the ingredients would blend into the hearty flavor.

Steve’s role in the process would be to use the hand crank meat grinder as he loved watching the pieces of fruit being squished.

You will need:

• 12 apples washed, cored and quartered - do not peel.
• 2 pounds of packaged cranberries washed and drained
• 8 oranges washed quartered with peels on

Alternating the apples, berries, and oranges grind the fruit into a container. Be sure to place a pan under the grinder to catch any dripping juices.

 In a larger mixing bowl mix 4 cups of sugar with the chopped fruit.

Pack into closed containers and refrigerate until served.

I hope you enjoy this special salad as much as my family has for years and years.

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A very popular side dish for our special New Year’s buffets is Scalloped Oysters. My son, Steve, has since asked for this dish every time he visits from overseas. It is simple to make and yet so tasty you’d think it I’d been in the hot kitchen all afternoon.

Mix together in Pyrex mixing bowl

• 2 cans cove oysters
• 2 cups cracker crumbs
• ½ stick of melted butter
• ½ cup of milk or ½ & ½

Pour into a Pyrex casserole dish and spread to the sides evenly. Sprinkle paprika over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with meal and get ready for compliments from those who are oyster fans.

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Creamy Cherry Cheese Pie

My eldest son dined out with friends in high school and came home describing the delicious cherry cream pie he had. Mom, can you make me one. He so loved my recipe that he began requesting it every month. I finally told him it was time he develop the culinary skill of making it himself. And he DID! He would go out and buy all the ingredients and make the pie on a whim to satisfy his craving.

The ingredients are:

1. One 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened is best)
2. One 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
3. 1/3 cup of lemon juice
4. 1 can of cherry pie filling (chilled)
5. 1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium mixing bowl using an electric mixer beat the cheese until light and fluffy. Add condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla.

Pour evenly into graham cracker crust. Top the cheese with the cherries. Refrigerate at least one hour.

These are just some of my many family recipes. Enjoy and Happy Holidays

 

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