The "here is what I always make to eat at Christmas" thread..

[transplant99]

Always a source for new ideas CP needs one of these.

There seems to be tradition for most, and I think we should share recipes!!!!

First one to say hookers and blow gets cyber-slapped.

I will start with a deliciously evil recipe my grandmother taught me years ago....and they are GOOD, though very sweet.


Peanut Butter Balls


Ingredients

1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup White Karo (corn syrup)
1 cup Peanut Butter
2 cups of Corn Flakes
Wax paper


Directions

Bring Sugar and Karo to a boil for 2 minutes or so
Remove from heat and add peanut butter and corn flakes
Stir until everything is mixed together suffiecently
Spoon drop onto wax paper as small or as large as desired
Let cool for 2 hours (otherwise burnt tounges will be plentiful)
Enjoy!

[MattyC]

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=1415

[habernac]

not much for recipes, my perfect Christmas meal is half a plate of mashed potatoes plus half a plate of turkey. smother in gravy. Repeat as necessary.

[MattyC]

not much for recipes, my perfect Christmas meal is half a plate of mashed potatoes plus half a plate of turkey. smother in gravy. Repeat as necessary.
no stuffing? that's a mistake my friend

[Muta]

This is going to sound weird, but...

... raw oysters and risotto.

[Canada 02]

This is going to sound weird, but...

... raw oysters and risotto.
not at all; i was going to post a raw oyster dish as well

[MissTeeks]

I love baking at Christmas, it's my favorite part of the Holidays. I always make sugar cookies shaped like Christmas trees with green icing and silver candies. My family's favorite treat at Christmas is called caramel heavenly cookies, they are very sweet but really good.

12 graham crackers
2 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut

Line 15 in x 10 x 1 in baking pan with foil. Place graham crackers in pan; cover with marshmallows. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Spoon over the marahmallows. Sprinkle with almonds and coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes until browned. Cool completely. Cut into 12 inch squares; then cut each square in half to form triangles. Yield: 6 dozen

The graham crackers get all chewy and the marshmallows get crunchy, so good.

[troutman]

Xmas eve - I have been known to make surf and turf - steak and lobster tails.

Cheese fondue or raclette is another fun thing to do.

[fredr123]

Turducken.

This is the first year we have a house at Christmas so it is also the first year where we are having family visit us over the holidays. As such, this isn't really something we "always" make at Christmas but I hope it becomes somewhat of a tradition. We are cheating a little bit this time around, given it's the first time we are cooking one ourselves, and getting it prepared by Bon Ton so all we have to do is roast it.

[red sky]

Hookers and errr... snow

*prepares to be slapped*

[Eastern Girl]

I love that CP has a recipes thread. Fantastic.

I will probably give that recipe a try Missteeks, or I will pass it on to someone who won't screw it up.

I don't make anything for Christmas, I don't want any mass food poisoning to occur, but my mom makes this recipe we found years and years ago, called "Texas Potatoes." They are always a huge hit.

Might as well throw this out here, anyone have any mint and chocolate dessert recipes? Maybe something that incorporates candy canes. I have a bunch of them and would love to use them.

[Canada 02]

Might as well throw this out here, anyone have any mint and chocolate dessert recipes? Maybe something that incorporates candy canes.

try making Creme de Menthe chocolate truffles, then roll them in crushed candy canes

easy peasy

[FurnaceFace]

A tradition I grew up with. I don't know exact portions, but they don't matter:

melt chocolate chips and (i think) butterscotch chips together
Toss in peanuts and chow mein noodles (there was a variety which was in a can with a black label back in the day which were the best)
Mix.
Spoon out dollops of the mess onto wax paper and then pop the cookie sheets out your backdoor for a couple of minutes to harden. (I grew up in Regina so a couple of minutes was all that was required, times will vary with your level of tundra. You might need to employ your freezer here in Calgary)

Store in freezer. Eat at will.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Might as well throw this out here, anyone have any mint and chocolate dessert recipes? Maybe something that incorporates candy canes. I have a bunch of them and would love to use them.

You could try a homemade version of President's Choice Candy Cane Bark. I'm just guessing at the recipe but smash the candy canes into little pieces, melt dark chocolate, mix in the candy cane bits, lay flat on a covered cookie sheet and put in the fridge.

[First Lady]

This year I am making "Sex in a Pan."

I know it sounds like something Borat would say, but it is incredibly tasty.
Recipe is available online, google it..... with safe search ON.

[Flash]

A tradition I grew up with. I don't know exact portions, but they don't matter:

melt chocolate chips and (i think) butterscotch chips together
Toss in peanuts and chow mein noodles (there was a variety which was in a can with a black label back in the day which were the best)
Mix.
Spoon out dollops of the mess onto wax paper and then pop the cookie sheets out your backdoor for a couple of minutes to harden. (I grew up in Regina so a couple of minutes was all that was required, times will vary with your level of tundra. You might need to employ your freezer here in Calgary)

Store in freezer. Eat at will.

My grandma makes those...I didn't think I'd like them, but SO good.

Edit: Digging up some recipes now, I'll post them soon.

[flip]

Supposedly my mom is going to make a ricotta cheesecake this year.

I've warned her that since it is her first time making it she should make a couple of practice ones in the weeks in advance. Here's hoping she listens.

[pope04]

Every Christmas Eve, my wife and I do the prep work for Christmas Morning Lifesaver, which is hurled in the oven as the kids open presents Christmas morn. I don't have the exact recipe, but it wouldn't be Christmas without it. White bread without crusts, eggs, ham, green and red pepper, green onion. I'll see if I can find the recipe.

[You Need a Thneed]

I don't usually make them, but cookies... lots of cookies.

[fredr123]

Every Christmas Eve, my wife and I do the prep work for Christmas Morning Lifesaver, which is hurled in the oven as the kids open presents Christmas morn. I don't have the exact recipe, but it wouldn't be Christmas without it. White bread without crusts, eggs, ham, green and red pepper, green onion. I'll see if I can find the recipe.

You must be related to my wife's family. They do the same thing with pretty much the same ingredients. Really good with coffee while you try to read instruction manuals.

[troutman]

Every Christmas Eve, my wife and I do the prep work for Christmas Morning Lifesaver, which is hurled in the oven as the kids open presents Christmas morn. I don't have the exact recipe, but it wouldn't be Christmas without it. White bread without crusts, eggs, ham, green and red pepper, green onion. I'll see if I can find the recipe.

My mom makes something like that too.

[Flamesoholic]

Might as well throw this out here, anyone have any mint and chocolate dessert recipes? Maybe something that incorporates candy canes. I have a bunch of them and would love to use them.


You could also try a mint and chocolate cream pie. I haven't made one myself but a friend of mine made one last year and she said is was super easy.
You could use the candy canes as stir sticks for hot chocolate.

[Ford Prefect]

Every Christmas Eve, my wife and I do the prep work for Christmas Morning Lifesaver, which is hurled in the oven as the kids open presents Christmas morn. I don't have the exact recipe, but it wouldn't be Christmas without it. White bread without crusts, eggs, ham, green and red pepper, green onion. I'll see if I can find the recipe.

Ya, we make that some years too. We're going to have a boat load of relatives staying with us at Christmas this year, so thanks for bringing it up. We'll have to make it this year for sure.

My contribution to this thread is ... I make Rusty Nails every year at Christmas, and only at Christmas. It's my equivalent of egg nog.

Edit: Here's a link for Christmas Morning Lifesaver recipe, also called Christmas Morning Wifesaver:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,195,155176-225195,00.html

[Eastern Girl]

You could also try a mint and chocolate cream pie. I haven't made one myself but a friend of mine made one last year and she said is was super easy.
You could use the candy canes as stir sticks for hot chocolate.

That's a great idea.

Thanks.

[pope04]

The only time I crave eggnog - with the requisite splash of Cap'n Morgan's - is around Christmas. Tastes like hell in any other season, but mmmmmmmmmm, it's good now.

[V]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterballen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliebol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquette

These are my three favourite holiday treats.

[annasuave]

Spinach Salad. The secret ingredient is... BACON!

1 bag (or 1 bunch) baby spinach
1/2 pound of bacon
3 green onions - finely chopped
4 eggs (boiled)
6-8 large strawberries - sliced
6-8 large mushrooms - sliced
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
tablespoon of poppy seeds
Sugar to taste
Pepper to taste

1. Cook bacon in microwave until crispy
2. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bacon drippings into a heat proof measuring cup. (discard the rest)
3. Put cooked bacon in freezer to chill
4. Peel and chop/slice boiled eggs. Reserve some cooked yolk for the dressing
5. Add vinegar and oil to bacon drippings in measuring cup. Add sugar and stir until disolved. Add egg yolk and stir until disolved. Add green onions, poppy seeds and pepper. Adjust ratio of oil, vinegar, sugar and poppy seeds to your taste. Stir and set aside
6. Toss spinach with strawberries and mushrooms
7. Just before serving - get bacon out of freezer and crumble into dressing
8. Toss salad with dressing and top with egg slices - serve right away.

Putting some egg-yolk in the dressing acts as an emulsifier and stops the dressing from separating. Bacon makes it goooood.

[ricosuave]

This is our traditional xmas morning breakfast...

Peach & poppyseed sour cream pancakes

Nutrients per pancake
4g protein
6.9g fat
19.2g carbohydrates
1g fibre
1mg iron
88mg calcium
178mg sodium
154calories
Good source of folacin

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 4 minutes per batch
Makes 14 to 16 medium pancakes

4 small peaches

2tbsp (30 mL) butter
2cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1/4cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
2tbsp (30 mL) poppy seeds
1tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
1/2tsp (2 mL) salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) milk
1 cup (250 mL) regular or light sour cream
1tsp (5 mL) vanilla
butter for cooking pancakes

1.Peel peaches, if you wish, then slice into thin wedges. Microwave 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter in a small bowl until melted. In a large bowl, using a fork, stir flour with sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt. Make a well in centre. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with milk, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture and stir just until evenly mixed.

2.Melt about 1 tsp (5 mL) butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. (Save time by cooking on a large griddle or simultaneously in 2 pans.) Use a 1/4-cup (50-mL) measure to pour batter into hot frying pan. Depending on size of pan, add 1 to 3 more pancakes. Immediately top each with 2 or 3 peach wedges and push into batter. Cook until pancake surfaces are covered with bubbles and edges are lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and continue to cook until pancakes are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Place on a plate and keep warm in a low-temperature oven while cooking remaining pancakes. Delicious drizzled with maple syrup.

[redforever]

There seems to be tradition for most, and I think we should share recipes!!!!

I usually make apple strudel for dessert. My Mom made her own strudel dough but I have never been able to duplicate how thin and delicate she could make it so I cheat and use store bought phyllo (filo). This recipe will serve 8 to 10 and it is easier to make this apple strudel than apple pie.

APPLE STRUDEL

9 sheets phyllo (filo) dough – in frozen foods where you find pie shells and puff pastry
½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp icing sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon for sprinkling

9 large apples
1 cup raisins (dark seedless California)
¾ cup brown sugar
4 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon

1. Center a large 11” springform pan on a piece of foil. Fold foil part way up sides of the spring form pan. This prevents butter and juices from leaking out during baking.

2. Filling: I normally use around 5 Granny Smith and Jonagold for the other 4 but all Golden Delicious works too. Peel the apples, cut in half and core. Cut each half into 3 pieces, so 6 wedges per apple. Cut each wedge into 4 to 5 slices, not too thick, not too thin. In bowl, toss together the apples with the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; set aside. The easiest way is put all the ingredients in an ice cream pail and shake vigorously to incorporate the apples with the dry ingredients. Stir with a large spoon to make sure apple slices on the bottom are coated with the dry ingredients.

3. Arrange 1 sheet of the phyllo on work surface such as a large cutting board, keeping remaining phyllo covered with damp towel to prevent drying out. Brush the sheet of phyllo lightly with butter. Top with second sheet; brush lightly with butter. Top with third sheet but do not butter. Each time, cover your reserved phyllo with a damp cloth so it does not dry out. If it dries, you wont be able to separate the sheets.

Spread one-third of the filling in strip along closest long edge of phyllo, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) border at each end. Sprinkle a small handful, approximately 1/3 cup, of raisins over the apple filling. Fold ends over and roll up firmly jelly roll style. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 2 more rolls. Snake two of the rolls on the outside of the pan and push them tightly towards the outside to make a large cavity in the inside. It will look like a donut with a hole in the middle. Coil and fit the third roll in the inside, being careful not to break it. If any of the rolls do break, take a bit of phyllo and cover the broken portion. Brush the whole surface of your strudel liberally with melted butter.

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Put the strudel in the bottom third of the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake for 50 minutes longer or until golden brown and crisp. You can test with a fork to see if the apples are cooked but I find this time to be dead on accurate.

5. Remove the strudel from the oven and remove the foil from the springform pan. Put the springform pan on a large serving plate. Loosen the clamp on the outside of the springform pan but don’t remove the side of the springform pan. Let the strudel cool for about an hour. After an hour, you can remove the loosened side of the springform pan.

The strudel can be set aside at room temperature for up to 6 hours. It should not be covered and refrigerated because the phyllo pastry will lose its crispness. It can be reheated just until warm in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes. It is nicest served warm.

Sprinkle with icing sugar and a little cinnamon. A small scoop of vanilla ice cream is the perfect accompaniment.

Note: Left over phyllo pastry can be refrozen. Put a sheet of wax paper on top of the stack of phyllo and now roll the phyllo up. Wrap with saran and put back in the box the phyllo came in. Put the box of phyllo in a plastic bag and freeze. One box of phyllo pastry will make 2 strudels, possibly 3 depending on the brand that you buy.

Here are the before and after pictures.

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/flameforever/before.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/flameforever/after.jpg

[Top Shelf]

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

This is the basic recipe, I usually throw in some Soy Sauce, and fresh garlic and let marinate over night if I have the time.

INGREDIENTS



1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
16 ounces sliced bacon
2 (8 ounce) cans water chestnuts, drained

DIRECTIONS



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a saucepan, combine ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce; heat just to boiling. Pour sauce over bacon and water chestnuts.
Cut bacon slices into thirds. Cut some of the bigger water chestnuts in half. Wrap chestnuts in bacon and secure with toothpicks; place in a 9x13 pan.
Bake in preheated oven until bacon is completely cooked, about 45 to 50 minutes.

[notoepik]

I have a good mint and chocolate recipe I will have to dig up tomorrow for you EG....

Meanwhile you go get that Texas Potato Recipe from your Mom ;)

I have quite a few traditional recipes we make. I have always hosted Christmas, and I wanted to make traditions from my girls. What I really never thought about, was that I was also making traditions for my nephews. Now that they are married with kids of their own, they want recipes, or better yet, to come to Aunt Becky's for Christmas. Makes me feel good that they enjoyed their visits so much they want the foods and games to continue with their own families :)

I will post some recipes when I get done laying the new floor in the family room :blink:

[ShaolinFlame]

I think I win.

Deep Fried Stuffing Balls

Pack stuffing into 1 inch diameter balls.
Insert small piece of turkey meat into centre of stuffing ball.
Roll through flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
Deep fry in hot oil.
Get fat and be merry! Also anyone who tries them will instantly love you.

[V]

I think I win.

Deep Fried Stuffing Balls

Pack stuffing into 1 inch diameter balls.
Insert small piece of turkey meat into centre of stuffing ball.
Roll through flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
Deep fry in hot oil.
Get fat and be merry! Also anyone who tries them will instantly love you.

That's bitterballen pretty much to a tee. I find it best when dipped in dutch mustard.

[boobaloo]

Pistachio Salad...very easy and yummy. Almost like dessert with your turkey!

1 pkg Instant Pistachio Pudding mix
1 can Crushed Pineapple
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tub cool whip, thawed

Mix pudding, pineapple thoroughly. Fold in Cool whip and marshmallows. Chill overnight.

Looks green and festive

[Eastern Girl]

I have a good mint and chocolate recipe I will have to dig up tomorrow for you EG....

Meanwhile you go get that Texas Potato Recipe from your Mom ;)


That would be awesome.

I will ask her to forward me the recipe for those potatoes and post it. They really are quite good, extremely popular in my family.

[redforever]

I quite often make just half of the Christmas Wife Saver and then make this to go along with it. Both can bake in the oven at the same time and then you have a bit more variety for your breakfast/brunch. Serve with a bit of fresh fruit and some bacon or sausages or ham on the side.

BLUEBERRY MAPLE BREAKFAST BAKE

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/flameforever/untitled1.jpg

1 loaf of white bread
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided
8 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Use good quality bread such as a French or Italian loaf. Remove crusts from bread and cut into small cubes, enough to fill your baking dish. Cut cream cheese in small cubes (makes about 1 cup). Grease a 9x9 inch deep baking dish. Place half of the bread cubes in the dish. Scatter cream cheese cubes and 1 cup of blueberries over the bread. Top with remaining bread cubes and blueberries.

3. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, maple syrup and butter. Carefully pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight or bake immediately.

4. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour, covering with aluminum foil if edges brown too much. If you have refrigerated this over night, either increase the baking time a bit or let the dish warm to room temperature before baking.

5. To serve, sprinkle the top with icing sugar and cut into squares. Accompany with a dollop of whipped cream and some homemade blueberry sauce (see below) if desired.

Yield: 9 portions.

Now if you want this to taste truly outstanding, serve with a dollop of whipped cream and some blueberry or raspberry sauce. The fruit sauce can be prepared the night before as well.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/flameforever/blueberrysauce.jpg

3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup liquid honey
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp ruby port (optional)

In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Mix until smooth.

Place the blueberries in a large saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to a quick boil. Stir in honey and bring back to a boil.

Slowly add the cornstarch solution to the boiling blueberry mixture. Boil and stir constantly for around 2 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, port (if using) and butter. Cover, refrigerate and cool completely.

Note 1: Try not to stir the blueberries too rigorously while you are cooking them. You want the sauce to have mostly whole blueberries. In other words, you do not want jam.

Note 2: You could use frozen blueberries but will have to modify the recipe. Put the frozen blueberries in a colander over a bowl and thaw. Put the liquid that drains from the blueberries in a large saucepan with half of the blueberries. Proceed and cook as above. When the sauce is done, add the reserved blueberries and stir in. Cover and refrigerate.

You could use fresh raspberries in which case, use only 1/4 of the berries when boiling and cooking the sauce. Fold the balance of the raspberries into the hot cooked sauce.

Note 3: This makes quite a large amount of sauce but it halves easily.

And if you want something truly simple to make the morning of Christmas, try these pancake squares and serve them with a dollop of whipped cream and the blueberry sauce from above. They probably won't take quite as long to bake, so if you are making them along with the Christmas Wife Saver recipe, put them in the oven a bit later.

PANCAKE SQUARES

3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 large egg
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly grease an 8” x 8” baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add the sugar and then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle top with your favorite fruit.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Cut in squares and eat with butter and syrup or else serve with a dollop of whipped cream and a fruit sauce.

Note: This can be doubled and baked in a 9 x 13 pan. Baking times might have to be adjusted for the larger pan.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Nothing.

I usually sleep in.

[RedHot25]

Pistachio Salad...very easy and yummy. Almost like dessert with your turkey!

1 pkg Instant Pistachio Pudding mix
1 can Crushed Pineapple
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 tub cool whip, thawed

Mix pudding, pineapple thoroughly. Fold in Cool whip and marshmallows. Chill overnight.

Looks green and festive

This is a GREAT dish. Love it.

But just pineapple? Bah. Put in instead a can of fruit cocktail (make sure you remove the liquid though). Now that is good....

Did I say how much I like this ;) .

[BuzzardsWife]

smoked salmon spread
brazil nut balls
shortbread
nanaimo bars
stuffed french toast (xmas breakfast)
bacon wrapped scallops
chocolate crinkle cookies
white chocolate candy cane bark

[BuzzardsWife]

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

This is the basic recipe, I usually throw in some Soy Sauce, and fresh garlic and let marinate over night if I have the time.

INGREDIENTS



1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
16 ounces sliced bacon
2 (8 ounce) cans water chestnuts, drained

DIRECTIONS



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a saucepan, combine ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce; heat just to boiling. Pour sauce over bacon and water chestnuts.
Cut bacon slices into thirds. Cut some of the bigger water chestnuts in half. Wrap chestnuts in bacon and secure with toothpicks; place in a 9x13 pan.
Bake in preheated oven until bacon is completely cooked, about 45 to 50 minutes.


i make the same thing but just soak them in soya sauce and brown sugar..yummmm..my mom always made these every Christmas Eve..I always half cook the bacon before wrapping the nuts

[BuzzardsWife]

Ya, we make that some years too. We're going to have a boat load of relatives staying with us at Christmas this year, so thanks for bringing it up. We'll have to make it this year for sure.

My contribution to this thread is ... I make Rusty Nails every year at Christmas, and only at Christmas. It's my equivalent of egg nog.

Edit: Here's a link for Christmas Morning Lifesaver recipe, also called Christmas Morning Wifesaver:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,195,155176-225195,00.html
There is also a good recipe for it in the red Best of Bridge book..the original one. I use the stuffed french toast wifesaver from the green Best of Bridge (or yellow maybe)

[oilers_fan]

I don't have a recipe, but my mom and aunt always used to make eggs benedict for breakfast on Christmas morning. Also, for whenever the family gets together, my grandma makes little pieces of thick bread with cheese and bacon on top. VERY simple, but it is something that as kids we used to go bonkers over.

[pope04]

There is also a good recipe for it in the red Best of Bridge book..the original one. I use the stuffed french toast wifesaver from the green Best of Bridge (or yellow maybe)

My wife, while unable to tell me how exactly it was different from Ford's posted recipe, informed me that she uses the Best of Bridge recipe as a template.

[redforever]

My kids always want this waldorf fruit salad whenever I make a turkey or a roaster chicken.

Waldorf Fruit Salad

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh30/flameforever/waldorf.jpg

Fruits:
1 cup raisins (plumped)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 to 4 apples, unpeeled, chopped bite size (depends on size)
1 to 2 cups grapes, halved, seeded if necessary
1 can mandarin oranges, well drained
1 small can pineapple tidbits, well drained
2 stalks celery, sliced (use pale inner stalks)
2 to 4 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated (depends on size)
1 cup pecans, whole, toasted

Dressing:
1/3 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp sugar

Heat oven to 350F, spread pecans in a dish, bake for around 8 minutes to toast.

While the pecans are toasting, plump the raisins. I use the dark seedless California variety. Put them in a bowl and add around 1 Tbsp water and stir to coat all the raisins with water. Cover bowl with a saucer or plate and microwave for 20 seconds. Leave covered in the bowl for about 15 minutes to plump.

Put your plumped raisins, the lemon juice and all the other prepared fruits in an icecream pail as it is a big enough container that you can toss all your fruits with the dressing. Otherwise, use something of similar size that you can cover and refrigerate. Don’t add the toasted pecans at this point. Stir well to distribute the lemon juice. The lemon juice prevents your other fruits from turning brown. Cover and refrigerate. This can be done up to 6 hours ahead of time. Prepare the dressing, cover and refrigerate. You might have to double the amount of dressing depending on how much fruit you have.

Around one hour before you serve the salad, you can assemble the salad. If there is excess liquid in the salad ingredients, drain it off. Now add the toasted pecans and the salad dressing. Stir well, cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to meld.

If you have fruit salad remaining, it will keep around 2 days, covered and refrigerated.

Note: I like to use either green apples and red grapes or vica versa. That ensures a nice colorful fruit salad.

[Dion]

Grasshopper Pie Recipe

Ingredients

20 oreo cookies (40 halves), fillings discarded, cookies crushed
5 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup hot milk
24 large marshmallows
1/4 cup creme de menthe liqueur - i use a lot more :w00t:
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Method

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-1.jpg

1 Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix crushed oreo cookie halves and butter. Pat into bottom and sides of 10 inch pie dish. Bake in oven for 5 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool completely. Once cooled, place in freezer to chill.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-2.jpg http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-3.jpg

2 In saucepan, melt marshmallows in milk over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool. Add creme de menthe and mix well. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into chilled pie shell. Freeze for 3 or 4 hours.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

This is the basic recipe, I usually throw in some Soy Sauce, and fresh garlic and let marinate over night if I have the time.

INGREDIENTS



1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
16 ounces sliced bacon
2 (8 ounce) cans water chestnuts, drained

DIRECTIONS



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a saucepan, combine ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce; heat just to boiling. Pour sauce over bacon and water chestnuts.
Cut bacon slices into thirds. Cut some of the bigger water chestnuts in half. Wrap chestnuts in bacon and secure with toothpicks; place in a 9x13 pan.
Bake in preheated oven until bacon is completely cooked, about 45 to 50 minutes.



We make those every year as well. The first time my wife told me about them I thought they sounded a bit strange........but my oh my.....they are addictive.

[BuzzardsWife]

Grasshopper Pie Recipe

Ingredients

20 oreo cookies (40 halves), fillings discarded, cookies crushed
5 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup hot milk
24 large marshmallows
1/4 cup creme de menthe liqueur - i use a lot more :w00t:
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Method

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-1.jpg

1 Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix crushed oreo cookie halves and butter. Pat into bottom and sides of 10 inch pie dish. Bake in oven for 5 to 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool completely. Once cooled, place in freezer to chill.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-2.jpg http://www.elise.com/recipes/photos/grasshopper-pie-3.jpg

2 In saucepan, melt marshmallows in milk over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool. Add creme de menthe and mix well. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into chilled pie shell. Freeze for 3 or 4 hours.
I just might have to make this soon. To make it simpler..u can buy the oreo cookie crumbs in the baking section.

[notoepik]

My chocolate mint recipe is similar to that pie.

1 small pkg Oreos made into crumbs in food processor. Press into 9x13 cake pan.

2 cup milk
1 16 oz package mini marshmallows
1 pint whippng cream, whipped
1/4 tsp mint extract.
few drops red OR green food coloring

Melt marshmallows in milk over hot water (in a double boiler) Cool. Add flavoring and color. Fold in whipped cream. Spread over crumbs in cake pan. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top. Refrigerate or freeze.

I prefer this frozen rather than refrigerated.

[notoepik]

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates (the boys called these Cholesterol Wraps)

1 pkg regular bacon cut into 1/3 's
1 pkg pitted dates
1 can smoked almonds

Stuff each date with an almond, then wrap with 1/3 slice of bacon. Place seam side down in baking dish. When all the dates are stuffed and wrapped, sprinkle with 3/4 cup brown sugar and a little soy sauce (soy sauce optional) Bake about 30 min in 375 degree over, or until the sugar is melted and the bacon is done.

[notoepik]

Cheese needs to post his Grand Marnier French Toast recipe!

[TSXCman]

Spinach Salad. The secret ingredient is... BACON!

1 bag (or 1 bunch) baby spinach
1/2 pound of bacon
3 green onions - finely chopped
4 eggs (boiled)
6-8 large strawberries - sliced
6-8 large mushrooms - sliced
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
tablespoon of poppy seeds
Sugar to taste
Pepper to taste


Putting some egg-yolk in the dressing acts as an emulsifier and stops the dressing from separating. Bacon makes it goooood.

This is a great thread. This is a great salad as well, my mom whips it up a couple times a year. and we also do the Morning Wifesaver without any peppers though.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Grasshopper Pie Recipe

Ingredients

20 oreo cookies (40 halves), fillings discarded, cookies crushed
5 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup hot milk
24 large marshmallows
1/4 cup creme de menthe liqueur - i use a lot more :w00t:
1 cup whipping cream, whipped


This sounds good but I think there are a lot of options that you could use to replace the creme de menthe that would be really good also. Almond or coffee flavoured liqueurs would be really good. But I think some Blue Curucao would make a really unique version of this recipe.

[Flash]

Here's one my Grandma taught me to make...they're always really popular at Christmas time.

Ham Pockets

1 pkg. puff pastry
4 slices cooked ham (or about 8 slices of ham from the deli counter)
1 medium onion
3/4 cup medium grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley or 2 tbsp. dried
1 tsp. chives
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
salt & pepper to taste

Put ham and onions through a chopper.
In a large frying pan, heat the ham, onion, cheese, parsely, chives, egg yolk, salt & pepper until the cheese is melted and everything is warmed through.
Let cool.
Roll out the puff pastry and cut into squares or circles.
Put the ham filling into the center, and fold over the edges.
Brush with egg white.
Bake in 350F oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

[Flash]

One more...

Ham & Cheese Ball

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup mayo
2 8 oz. tins flaked ham
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tsp. minced onion
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4. tsp. tabasco
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

With an electric mixer, beat cheese and mayo until smooth.
Stir in next 5 ingredients.
Cover and chill several hours.
Separate into 2 medium sized balls, roll in nuts to coat if desired.
Serve with crackers.
Freezes well.

[RogerWilco]

I make reservations.

[Flash Walken]

I make excuses about not having eaten all day.

[Flash Walken]

Nothing.

I usually sleep in.Scrooge!

[First Lady]

Even when you try to make a gingerbread woman;
fate steps in and makes it a gingerbread man.

http://i35.tinypic.com/3148fnm.jpg

[Saint Troy]

We usually do wifesaver that was posted earlier, we also now put our turkey in a brine the day before it goes in the oven. Saw that tall chef from the east coast (Michael Smith?) do it on his show, so we tried and WOW!

[Reggie Dunlop]

Scrooge!

Why?

Some of us celebrate Christmas Eve. It's tradition in some European countries.

[Dion]

This sounds good but I think there are a lot of options that you could use to replace the creme de menthe that would be really good also. Almond or coffee flavoured liqueurs would be really good. But I think some Blue Curucao would make a really unique version of this recipe.

You raise some interesting possibilities :cool:

[rubecube]

Am I honestly going to be the first to say Plum Pudding? Ridiculous!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CHNKZTQ2L._AA280_.jpg

[Eddie Bronze]

I'm single and very far away from family for the holidays this year, so you know how much cooking I'll be doing. I have actually tried to cook/bake in the past...tried. lol

[bigtmac19]

We always have Christmas pudding at our house, my parents raised us on that Christmas tradition. My kids hate it, and I don't know anyone else that ever eats it.
My youngest son has started the tradition of baking the pumpkin pie, which he loves, but my other son doesn't like either of those desserts, so we always have a third one as well which differs from year to year.

[boobaloo]

I love baking at Christmas, it's my favorite part of the Holidays. I always make sugar cookies shaped like Christmas trees with green icing and silver candies. My family's favorite treat at Christmas is called caramel heavenly cookies, they are very sweet but really good.

12 graham crackers
2 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut

Line 15 in x 10 x 1 in baking pan with foil. Place graham crackers in pan; cover with marshmallows. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Spoon over the marahmallows. Sprinkle with almonds and coconut. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes until browned. Cool completely. Cut into 12 inch squares; then cut each square in half to form triangles. Yield: 6 dozen

The graham crackers get all chewy and the marshmallows get crunchy, so good.


I made these today and they are great! The only thing is, I used 24 crackers, not 12 to almost cover the pan. YUMMY!

[sadora]

Not so much of a set tradition with my family other than getting together for dinner, with relatives and friends, usually my mom and I doing the cooking and it's always something different.

Last year we made Turducken...(Partially de-boned Turkey stuffed with a Duck stuffed with Chicken...layers of stuffing in between each holding everything together. This not only looks pretty cool, the turkey actually benefits from being cooked with the fatty duck for moisture.

[tete]

My mom makes an apple salad that I just love. Basically it's peeled,cored and diced apples, mixed into a dream whip/mayo(or miracle whip), thinned with a bit of milk mixture. Sounds gross, but is sooo yummy.

I made these cookies this year for a cookie exchange.

Oreo "truffles"
1pkg (large one 550 g?) oreo cookies
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
chocolate for dipping (I used Bernard Callebeaut chips)

Pulverize cookies in food processor until crumbs. Whip cream cheese until soft. Mix cookies and cream cheese together until well mixed. form into balls, chill. Dip into melted chocolate, chill again. Makes 50ish balls. They're not as sweet as you'd think - the cream cheese softens the sweetness of the cookies.

[3 Justin 3]

I don't know the recipe or what they are called but they are like marshmellow Rice Crispy balls. It is just marshmellows melted in with rice crispy, made into balls. I will take pictures when my Grandma brings me some. THIS is the best thing about xmas. mmmmmmm

[Cheese]

The best Xmas breakfast you'll ever have...get out and get the goods today!
Grand Marnier French Toast



4 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream...or 1/2 and 1/2 if you desire.
1/8 cup Grand Marnier...or more :whistle:
1/2 cup orange juice (best if fresh squeezed)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 or more 1 - 1.5"-inch-thick French bread slices




Whisk first 7 ingredients to blend in medium bowl. Dip each bread slice into egg mixture and arrange in a glass baking dish. Pour remaining egg mixture evenly over bread. Let stand over night in fridge or leave in cool garage.
Preheat oven to 375F. Place toast on baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes, flipping them half way through. Sift powdered sugar over. Serve with maple syrup if you like or make Orange butter as follows.


6 oz. butter (softened)
Juice of one orange
1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier...or more!! :whistle:

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
Orange zest from one orange

Soften butter. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Form a ball and refrigerate. Spread over hot French Toast.

Guaranteed to please!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ZTb0AKUjCKA/StDxXBRBN-I/AAAAAAAADRg/YduuQIhvaCo/s320/IMG_8006.JPG