With dinners to make for the holidays coming up, I dug out the old recipes. I use a notebook where I record the instructions that I get from friends or relatives, a card file and several tomes. My Betty Crocker’s Picture Cook Book, a shower gift from Ken’s Aunt Irma, is 62 years old and raggedy but it still helps me make meals.
Some families number in the twenties or thirties for gatherings with everyone bringing a dish to pass. We’re a small group–less than ten. It doesn’t take more food than I can prepare. Some years, I haven’t been up to par and needed help, which is always available because everyone lives close.
Current magazines feature new twists, but I look forward to the old favorites. Years ago, when my husband was a farmer and we had three little kids, I mashed potatoes every day for dinner. Now mashed potatoes are a treat I only make once in a while. The same with dressing and gravy.
Thanksgiving calls for two kinds of pie–a Country Apple and a pumpkin topped with whipped cream.
Christmas requires bratzelies, a thin Swiss cookie, my folks baked on a special iron similar to a waffle maker and rosettes that Ken’s mother made by dipping irons into batter and hot grease. I’ll also sir up the red, white, and green Jell-O salad that’s traditional. A few guests will say, “No thank you.” I learned a long time ago, it’s nearly impossible to make meals that everyone eats everything. I’m the cook and my menus are what I like.
The highlight of both festive meals will be the fresh turkeys Ken fixes on our charcoal grill. The direction booklet that came with the Weber guides him through it.
What are your plans for the holidays?