Twir's Holiday Potluck Extravaganza 2008

This Week in Ravelry Holiday Potluck & Scrapbook The Recipes

Susanmarie’s Christmas Punch A holiday isn’t a holiday without punch in my family. I mix up a batch (the recipe varies) for sipping on Halloween night, Christmas eve, Valentine’s Day, Christmas day, and New Years. My kids have come to expect it. My Christmas punch: 1 qt. Cranberry Juice Cocktail 1 qt. unsweetened Pineapple juice 1 cup sugar 1 tsp almond extract 1/2 gallon strawberry ice cream, softened 1 qt. ginger ale Chill all the liquids in advance.. Combine all ingredients except ginger ale in punch bowl. Stir well and make sure the ice cream has melted into the punch. Just before serving slowly add the ginger ale and gently stir to mix. Optional: You can scoop out a few scoops of ice cream and keep frozen while the remaining ice cream is softening. After mixing in the ginger ale you can add the scoops of ice cream to the punch. They will float on the top as a garnish and as they melt they will help keep the punch cold.



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Auntie BubboPants Gingerbread Trifle 1 gingerbread cake made per directions on the box (or made from scratch, your call), cooled and cubed. 2 tart apples, chopped 2 bosc pears, chopped 2 cups toasted walnuts, chopped 1 cup chopped dates Heavy whipping cream 1 dash each cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice sugar to taste Ginger syrup (below) Whip up your heavy whipping cream with the spices and sugar until you have medium whipped cream. Toss apples, pears, walnuts and dates together in a bowl. In a large serving bowl place a layer of gingerbread cubes on the bottom, sprinkle with an even layer of apples, pears, walnuts and dates. Make sure you do not completely cover the gingerbread below. Drizzle with ginger syrup. Cover completely with spiced whipped cream. On top of the whipped cream add another set of layers of gingerbread, fruit/nuts, ginger syrup and whipped cream. Repeat this until the serving bowl is filled or you run out of ingredients being sure to end with a layer of whipped cream on the top. Make this a couple hours ahead of time to allow the flavors to blend. Ginger Syrup Two thumbs worth of ginger, peeled and matchsticked one cup sugar one cup water mix together, bring to boil. Simmer for 10 or 15 minutes, let cool. Strain. Also good mixed with vodka and lemon sour for a refreshing drink.

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rainydaygoods’ Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies Mary-Heather

Chocolate, oatmeal, and peanut butter are always a winning combo for my guy Jacob. These cookies are super easy to whip up and one of his favorite treats. 2 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons cocoa 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup peanut butter (you can use any kind, I’ve used plain and crunchy and they’re both good!) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 cups quick-cooking oats

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In a medium pot, bring to a boil sugar, cocoa, milk and butter. Let it boil for 1 minute.



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Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter until melted. Quickly add the oats and vanilla.



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Drop by spoonfuls onto freezer paper or waxed paper. Let stand 1/2 hour until cool or flash freeze - I usually keep mine in the freezer. So yummy!

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rainydaygoods’ Artichoke Pie Mary-Heather

This is a staple at my family holiday gatherings - hearty, vegetarian, simple to make, and great cold or warm as leftovers the next day! I’ve changed it over the years, and this is how I make it today. Artichoke Pie 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 large red onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 16 oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and coarsely chopped 3 Tbsp minced fresh parsley 1 tsp dried basil 1/4 cup grated parmesan (plus more to sprinkle on top…) 1/4 cup milk 3 beaten eggs Salt and freshly ground pepper Fine dry bread crumbs for the crust

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees



2.

Heat oil in a small skillet. Add the onion and saute over moderate heat until translucent. Add garlic and continue to saute until onion is golden. Set aside and cool slightly.



3.

In a mixing bowl, combine the beaten eggs with the onion mixture and all the remaining ingredients except the bread crumbs and stir well.



4.

Oil a 9- or 10- inch glass pie dish or tart pan. Line the bottom with a generous sprinkling of bread crumbs. Pour in the artichoke mixture and top with another light sprinkling of crumbs. If you want to, sprinkle additional parsley on top, as well as some extra parmesan cheese (MH note: I always want to).



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Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until set and lightly golden on top.



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Let cool to warm or room temperature. Cut into thin wedges to serve.

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everknowledge’s Sweet Potato Pie This recipe was inherited by my family and is only pulled out on holidays. It was passed along from my Uncle’s Mother-In-Law to my Mom and Aunt. Although the recipe says it is a pie, this is served as a side-dish to the main turkey or roast.

2 ½ lbs Sweet Potato or Yams ½ Cup Butter 1 Tsp Cinnamon ¼ Tsp Salt 1 ½ Cup Sugar 3 Eggs (Separated) ½ Tsp Vanilla ½ Cup Evaporated Milk

Boil & peel sweet potatoes (yams). Mash the sweet potatoes then add the butter, spices, salt and sugar to the hot potatoes Beat this mixture until smooth and light. Beat Egg Yolks and add to mixture. Add vanilla slowly then add milk. In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold beaten egg whites into the sweet potato mixture. Pour mixture into an unbaked Pie Shell. Bake 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 & Bake 30 minutes or until pie is firm in the middle.

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everknowledge’s Holiday Cookies One of my favorite holiday memories is of decorating cookies with my sisters. My mother would make the following cookies every year and then sit my sisters and I down and let us decorate them. Mom would put on some put on Christmas music and armed with a paintbrush (or fingers), sugary glaze in a rainbow of colors and some sprinkles, we would entertain ourselves by making cookie masterpieces, while she would tend to some other holiday baking.

1 ½ Cups Sifted Confectionary Sugar 2 ½ Cups Flour 1 Cup of Margarine 1 Egg 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 2 Teaspoons Almond Flavoring

Heat oven to 375 degrees Cream the sugar and margarine. Mix in the egg and flavorings. Stir dry ingredients together and blend into the sugar-margarine mixture. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours. Roll-out Dough to 3/16 thickness, use your favorite holiday cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place on non-stick cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before decorating. Glaze:

¾ cup of Confectionary Sugar 1 Tablespoon of hot water (you can add more to reach the desired consistency) Add food coloring if desired.

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Prairieknitwit’s Grandma’s Carrot pudding I just finished making Grandma’s Carrot pudding–she told me to make it in canning jars so it will keep until Christmas dinner. All I have to do on Christmas Day now is make the hard sauce and heat up the puddings This recipe is Grandma-approved. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Pudding/Detail.aspx?prop31=1 Just add 1/2 cup butter to the batter and then steam it in quart sealer jars (3/4 full to allow for expansion) She also told me to add the baking soda to the shredded potatoes before mixing to make the texture of the pudding lighter.

Tropicflower24’s Frog’s Eye Salad At Christmas and Thanksgiving there is VERY traditional dish. Frog eye salad is a must at every holiday. http://www.recipezaar.com/Frog-Eye-Salad-8756 LOL In all my life I cannot remember a single holiday when we didn’t have frog eyes. LOL



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Dixie’s Dump Cake by Timiat (I didn’t invent it, but I credit myself with introducing it to Ireland)

Every year for his entire life, the Mr. and all the “kids” in the family (all are now grown up, some have kids of their own, and spouses of kids are included) receive a selection box, which is a collection of different chocolate things made by the major chocolate manufacturers (Cadbury, Nestle, etc). But for me, it isn’t Christmas until I’ve inadvertently created confusion over dessert by forgetting that “jello” and “jelly” mean different things in different countries. I’d offer a recipe for carrot soup, but I haven’t finessed it yet. At the moment it’s more like free-form crochet than a pattern fit for distribution. I do have vague memories of Dump Cake from my childhood, awakened recently when the dish was mentioned somewhere here on Ravelry. My recent holidays have involved going “home” to Dublin and eating a lot of unhealthy food I can’t get in the States, and when I say “unhealthy” I mean “you can feel your arteries clogging as you eat it” bad. Although Dump Cake is not a delicacy from the land of battered sausages, it certainly fits with the tradition of eating yourself into an early grave. The secret is to not overthink the recipe. Give it to a 12year old and get him/her to make it if you have trouble with that.

1 can (~20 oz / ~566g) of crushed pineapple 1 can (~20 oz / ~566g) of cherry pie filling 1 box of yellow cake mix 1 stick of butter (not those wimpy half sticks, a good full stick) chopped pecans (optional, but omitting them for any reason other than allergy is just wrong) 1 9” x 13” (or 3 quart or 22 x 33cm) casserole dish (I used an 11” x 7” because that’s all I have, but for the love of Bob do not go smaller than that.) Preheat the oven to 350F (or 175C, if that’s how you roll). Grease the dish (though if you forget this, it’s okay). Dump the can of pineapple into the casserole dish. Spread it out over the bottom. Dump the cherry pie filling into the dish. You may make a small effort to distribute the cherries evenly if you’d like. Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix evenly over the fruit mixture. Do not stir. Sprinkle pecans evenly over everything. Chop the butter into little slices and dot evenly over everything. Cook for 45 - 60 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Ravelry Ba% Cupcakes bunnysquirrel

Inspired by caryatid and endorsed by Casey, these cupcakes are a delicious way to celebrate Bobmas or the holiday of your choice. Serve at your last-minute-holiday-knitting party, or toast your fellow crafters with a cupcake on New Year’s Eve. Makes 18 cupcakes

1/2 cup shortening 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder 4 tablespoons liquid red food coloring 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Place 18 cupcake liners in pans or grease well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Make a paste of cocoa and red food coloring and mix into to creamed mixture. Combine salt, vanilla, and buttermilk. Alternating the flour and the buttermilk mixture, stir into to the creamed mixture. Mix soda and vinegar and fold gently into batter. Distribute batter evenly in pans and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup softened butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar 2 tablespoons milk or maraschino cherry liquid red paste food coloring black gel icing

Cream shortening and sugar. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When sugar is fully incorporated add 2 tablespoons milk or cherry liquid. Add food coloring until shade matches the Ravelry ball logo. Frost cupcakes with red frosting and add black gel icing swirls to complete logo.

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phoenix’s New Year’s Black Eyed Peace with ham hock Annotated

According to tradition (that I heard, it varies) the ham hock, or any kind of meat brings wealth. The dish is also served with mustard greens and the greens are supposed to bring health. There are variations on this, including dropping an actual coin, usually a dime, in the beans. I don’t recommend that one myself. If you like, you can cook the greens right in with the beans. We never have and I prefer them separate, but they are good either way. You can substitute or omit the ham hock if you like and I offer a few suggestions. Leftover holiday ham on the bone is a good substitute as is smoked turkey. Bacon will work, but if you want to eat the meat in addition to using it to season the beans, it not the best choice as it gets soggy, tasteless and limp. If you would like to make a vegetarian version I’d probably use a richly flavored vegetable stock instead of water and get creative with some spices for flavor. I probably would add the greens for a vegetarian version. In this case, you can say the greens are for wealth (greenbacks) and the peas are for health. The tradition still stands. Another note, we don’t actually measure or time anything so all measurements are estimates. This amount should serve about four, depending on how much you like peas. We also don’t agonize too much over it. This is a very laid back meal and the dish basically cooks itself.

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2 cups (one 1lb bag) Black-eyed or pigeon peas washed and picked over for debris and soaked over night or for as long as possible. Fo%ow the bean instructions on the bag. This isn’t a particularly necessary step but it wi% help the beans cook quicker and some people say it cuts back on the gas. I guess you can used canned, but I don’t think you’d get enough cooking time to get the right flavor and the beans wi% be very mushy. I’m also weirded out by that goo that comes out of the can.



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3 or 4 Ham hocks.

Get meaty ones so you can eat them.

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1-2 onions minced finely

You can chop them, but I like them to disappear as the beans cook.

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1 green pepper chopped finely

This is my mother’s version, I always forget the green pepper. Sometimes she adds red peppers for color.

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salt and pepper to taste.

You may want to go easy on the salt if you are seasoning the beans with pork.

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1/2 teaspoon of fresh red pepper flakes

I got this measurement 'om a book. We just crackle a whole pepper in but that’s rea%y spicy for some people!



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1 dollop (tsp or so) white vinegar (optional)



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1 dollop or two white wine

I add the vinegar and wine, and like the extra flavor. You can also use stock or vinegar of your choice. My mother doesn’t. Instead she adds..

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1 tsp of sugar instead of the vinegar/ wine



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Tabasco sauce

Traditional, and tota%y optional, but I never use it and only use it on the chitlins myself. Add the peas to a large pot and fill with enough water to generously cover them. Bring to a boil. If any foam appears skim that off. Add the hocks, onions, and red pepper. Turn the heat to low and cover loosely while the mixture simmers. Stir every fifteen minutes or so just to make sure the water doesn’t boil out. Add more water if necessary. About an hour and a half later check on the meat. When it is done (nice and soft and pulls off the bone easily), take it out and let it cool while the beans finish cooking. When the meat is cool enough to touch cut the meat off the bone and chop into bite size pieces, then return to the pot. Add the vinegar/wine or sugar plus the salt and additional pepper, if needed. This is the time to taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Continue to cook until the beans are soft enough to your liking. For many southerners, this means “to death” or until they are completely mushy. I like mine while the still resemble beans so tender is fine for me. How long does this take? It depends on your beans. Fresh beans cook more quickly. Old beans that have been in your pantry for ages, take longer. I tell you what my mother told me. cook them until they are done. That’s it, then serve. You may be tempted to drain the beans. That of course is your prerogative, but don’t let a southerner see you do that. The liquid is called pot likker and throwing it away is as good as washing your wealth and health down the drain! Better to sop it up with some corn bread.

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