The holidays are full of tradition, and many of those traditions come from the kitchen. Many of us have that one special recipe we only make at Christmastime. We asked our advisory board to share some of their favorite holiday recipes so we could share them with you. Happy cooking!
Rice Pudding – Marci Narum
¾ cup rice
6 cups milk—divided
1 egg
2 rounded tsp corn starch
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¾ tsp salt
Put 4 cups milk and rice into a double boiler and heat on stovetop over medium heat. When milk steams, reduce heat; cover and cook slowly until the rice is tender. Stir occasionally, cooking about 50 minutes or longer.
Add 1 ½ cups of milk and heat back to steaming.
Combine egg and ½ cup milk*. Mix cornstarch and sugar; add to the egg and milk along with the vanilla and salt. Add to rice mixture and cook until thickened.
*May substitute ½ cup cream
Add raisins if desired. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. May be served warm or cold.
Andes Mint Cookies – Jody Kerzman
Ingredients
1 (15.25 ounce) pkg. devil’s food cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 pkg. Andes Mints
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet. Bake for 6-9 minutes. Take baking sheet out of oven and while cookies are still very hot, place an Andes Mint on top of each cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Take a spoon and smooth out each mint like frosting.
Pickled Mushrooms – Roxane Romanick
2 small cans (4 oz. each, button or sliced mushrooms, or 1 lb. fresh mushrooms
1 to 2 small onions, thinly sliced
½ cup vinegar
½ cup water
1 bay leaf
5 peppercorns
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar or to taste
1 Tbsp. good oil
Layer the mushrooms and onion slices in a canning jar. Gently simmer the vinegar and water with the bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, and sugar. Pour warm vinegar mixture over mushrooms and onions; also add bay leaf and peppercorns to the mushrooms. Float oil on top of mushrooms in jar. Cap and let marinate in the refrigerator for one to three days until desired flavor is reached. Remove bay leaf and peppercorns if their flavor starts to become too strong.
Holiday Apps – Noreen Keesey
Need a quick and easy appetizer? Stop by your local grocery and visit the deli counter area. Pick up three varied kinds of high quality cheese. If you’re not used to buying cheeses, I’d suggest a experimenting a little and having some fun with it. I’ve been hosting a monthly happy hour for the past year and favorites have been: Havarti (Any kind…try the jalapeno if you like a little spice or the dill if you like herbs. If your other cheeses are flavored, go with the plain…it’s delicious on its own). Gouda is always good. And grab a cheddar for a little color. We tried a buffalo cheddar once and it was a big hit. Get three for variety, and let them warm to room temperature before eating. They taste better that way. Grab a couple boxes of good crackers on your way out of the store and your appetizer is all set!
For a quick, easy, no cook dessert for the over 21 crowds…get a sweet, fizzy wine and serve it over a bit of vanilla bean ice cream in a champagne flute.
Mom’s Potato Soup with Egg Dumplings – Beth Anderson
(Even better when served in a hollowed out sourdough bread bowl, Yum!)
Ingredients
Soup:
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
6 potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 stalk celery, diced
5 cups water
1 Tablespoon Parsley
6 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 pint half-and-half
¼ cup butter
Cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)
Egg Dumplings:
3 eggs, beaten
Salt to taste
Flour, enough to make a paste
Directions:
Combine all soup ingredients except butter and half-and-half in soup pot. Bring to a boil and then cook on medium-low heat until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes). Add the half & half and butter. If you like, add cooked bacon for flavor.
After adding the half & half and butter, mix the dumplings. Stir the eggs, salt together. Add enough flour to make a sticky paste. Once the soup begins to simmer again, drop the dumplings by teaspoonful into the broth. Dip the spoon totally into the broth and the dumpling will slide off the spoon.
Simmer for additional 15 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through.
Grandma Greta’s Christmas Caramels – Beth Anderson
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 ½ Tablespoon vanilla
Combine sugars, syrup, milk, cream and butter in heavy saucepan. Cook until it forms a firm ball when dropped in cold water. Remove from heat, add vanilla and pour into 9”x13”pan. Cool in fridge or freezer. Once cool, cut into pieces and wrap in wax paper. Best when stored in airtight container in fridge.