(Holiday) Food for Thought
Nothing rings in the holidays more than those all-too familiar smells that are associated with this time of year. Who doesn’t think of Thanksgiving when smelling turkey and dressing cooking? And who doesn’t experience a wave of warm and fuzzy nostalgia that a whiff of eggnog evokes at Christmas?
Most cooks go to their usual favorite recipes when putting together their menus for the holidays, and I am no different. Apparently, all of the WordWrangler gals aren’t much different either because when we were throwing around ideas for a December blog theme, one of them suggested posting our favorite holiday recipes and we all wholeheartedly agreed. So, here are two of my favorites, and what I love about them is not only are they delicious, but they’re pretty much fail proof, too. I hope you’ll give them a try, and—dare I say?!—include them with your own favorite dishes on your holiday table this year.
Happy eating and drinking, friends. And the happiest of holidays, too!
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JANIE’S CROCK POT CORNBREAD DRESSING
Serves 8 – 10
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix (or favorite kind; Martha White, etc.)
12 crackers (I use Saltines)
4-5 ribs of celery – diced
1 large onion – diced
1 -2 rounded TB of poultry seasoning (I use 2)
2 – 14 oz. cans of chicken broth
S & P to taste
Cook cornbread according to package directions. Let cool then crumble into a large bowl. Crumble crackers very thoroughly and add to cornbread.
Sauté onion and celery in oil or butter (can use a little of both, which is good), until fairly tender then add to cornbread mixture.
Season w/ poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
Add chicken broth (you want enough so that mixture is extremely moist, not runny, but close to it.) I add about 4 cups, or so.
Mix all together well, then pour into a well-greased crock pot.
Cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until set.
**It will be fine if you don’t serve it right away, but turn your crock pot to WARM and leave it covered.
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MARTHA STEWART’S CRANBERRY CIDER
Serves 6 – 8
2 quarts cranberry juice
2 oranges
4 three-inch cinnamon sticks
2 two-inch pieces fresh ginger (I substitute ¼ ts cloves instead)
Sugar to taste (I add about ¼ cup during cooking)
With a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, remove four 3-inch-long strips of peel from oranges and set aside. Juice oranges and strain out pulp. In a medium stockpot, combine orange juice reserved orange peel, cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, sugar (if adding), and ginger (or cloves if substituting for ginger). Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Strain solids immediately and serve hot.
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