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Here is my grandmother Viola's ultimate holiday punch. Collect the car keys beforehand and snuggle up with a cup of this:
SANTA'S HELPER'S PUNCH
'You'll need Santa's help to get up off the floor"
1 quart raspberry ice or sherbet
2 bottles rose wine (choose any pink table wine, I like pink Zinfandel)
1 6 oz. frozen pink lemonade concentrate
sugar to taste
2 bottles of sparkling rose wine, well chilled
garnish: Santa's presents
make pink lemonade from concentrate: fill 4 ice cube trays with pink lemonade then drop one maraschino cherry into each square and freeze
In a punch bowl: combine sherbet, rose wine and lemonade concentrate, stir until blended. Add sugar (if desired). Right before serving, pour in the sparkling rose, drop in Santa's presents (the cherry/lemonade ice cubes) and serve at once. Makes about a gallon. Yum.
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Here is a delicious recipe from my dear friend Melanie:
BREAD & CHICKEN HOUSE HALLELUJAH CHERRY COOKIES
• 4 cups flour (stir or sift before measuring)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups butter (evil laughter)
• Candied cherries - red, of course
Preparation:
Mix flour, salt, sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add extract. Work the dough with hands until it holds together; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll dough into little balls and press an indention with your thumb. Put a cherry in each indention. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove and sift with powdered sugar if desired. Yield 30-36.
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NEW ENGLAND ROAST (I call it GREG'S POT ROAST)
"Tempt your taste buds with this delicious roast recipe form my mentor Greg Cantrell."
1 beef roast (4lbs)
3 T flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 T oil
1 cup whole cranberry sauce
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
4 whole cloves
1/2 cup horseradish
16 small onions
1 bunch carrots, cut in 3 inch lengths
Put meat in a crock pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine cranberry sauce, cinnamon, cloves, horseradish, and flour. Pour over meat. Quarter at least 2 regular onions and place around meat mixture. Slice 3 or 4 carrots and add to the mixture. Cook several hours until meat is tender. If sauce/gravy is too thin, thicken with flour or corn starch.
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I hope you enjoy this recipe
that comes your way by my pal Dee
Emmerson, and it is also featured in BIG CHERRY HOLLER.
COUSIN
DEE’S PEANUT-BUTTER BALLS
Blend: one box of confectioner’s sugar
18-oz. Jar of crunchy peanut butter
2 cups of graham-cracker crumbs
2 sticks of melted butter
Roll into bite-size balls.
Melt: 12-oz. Package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 box of paraffin wax
Dip balls into melted chocolate and wax and place on wax
paper.
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Here is a favorite
from MILK GLASS MOON (p. 116):
CHOCOLATE
COCA-COLA CAKE
CAKE:
2 cups plain flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup Coca-Cola
2 sticks butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
A pinch of salt
ICING:
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. For cake: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a saucepan,
combine &
heat butter, cocoa, Coca-Cola and marshmallows until it
begins to boil
(add marshmallows last)…remove from heat & stir
to dissolve
marshmallows. Pour over sugar & flour and blend well…add
remaining cake ingredients and blend well. Pour into greased
9x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
2. For icing: Combine butter, cocoa &
Coca-Cola in saucepan and bring
to a boil... mix with powdered sugar till it makes a thin
paste, then
drizzle over the cake while it’s hot from the oven.
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Here's a recipe
from ROCOCO -- this one is sure to go over well!
OUR
LADY OF (DROWN YOUR) SORROWS CONSOLATION CAKE, with HEAVENLY
FROSTING
CAKE:
3 Milky Way bars, cut into pieces
3 Three Musketeer bars, cut into pieces
3 Snickers bars, cut into pieces
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup shortening
3 eggs
1tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Grease and flour a 9 by 13 baking
pan. Melt the candy bars and butter in a saucepan, blend.
In a large
bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, shortening
and
eggs. Beat well! Slowly add the buttermilk until fluffy.
Then Add
vanilla and candy bar mix from saucepan. Beat well! Pour
into pan,
back bake 60 minutes until done.
HEAVENLY FROSTING:
1 bag marshmallows
2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 box confectioners sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
8 tbsp. fresh cream
4 tbsp. room temperature butter
Remove cake from oven, cut
marshmallows in half and cover the top of the hot cake with
marshmallows halves sticky side down. Scatter the
nuts over the marshmallows, then make a layer of coconut
over the nuts.
Blend sugar, cocoa, fresh cream and butter in a bowl, whip.
Pour
mixture over the hot cake. Serve when cool.
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Here is a refreshing
recipe from HOME TO BIG STONE GAP:
HOPE
MEADE'S MINTS
1- 8oz package Cream Cheese
1/4 tsp peppermint oil or other flavoring
2-1 lb packages of powdered sugar (fine)
Cream the cheese. Add the flavoring. Mix well. Add the sugar
mixing until creamy. (Can use food processor using 1⁄2
of recipe at a time.) If more than one color is desired,
separate the dough at this time. Mix in the coloring as
desired using hands to mix. Wrap in plastic to prevent drying.
Pinch off enough to place in molds. Before placing in mold,
dip in granulated sugar, then place in rubber mold. After
molded, pop out onto wax paper. Dry thoroughly. Will freeze
or keep in refrigerator in airtight container for several
weeks.
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Here is another
sweet treat from THE QUEEN OF THE BIG TIME:
MAMA'S
WEDDING COOKIES
1/4 lb. unsalted
butter
1/4 lb. unsalted margarine
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Cream these ingredients together.
1 tsp. Almond extract
1/2 cup milk
Add into the first mixture.
3 1/4-3 1/2 cup flour
pinch of salt
5 tsp. baking powder
Add together and mix well.
Keep hands wet and shape the mounds in rounds, high in the
center.
Bake until lightly browned at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.
FROSTING:
1/2 box powdered sugar
2 tbsp. Unsalted butter
Milk-just to wet the powdered sugar
Almond flavoring
Mix well and ice cookies. Dip the iced cookie in coconut.
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Here is a a dinner option for hungry tummies from LUCIA,
LUCIA
VIOLA
PERIN’S FISH BRODETTO
1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lb lobster tail cut into chunks
1 lb sole cut into chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
6 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 large sweet onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 cups red wine
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 fresh lemon
2 quarts water
salt and pepper
Prepare fish, squeeze lemon
over, set aside. In a large pot sauté
onion, garlic, tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar lightly.
Add water and
wine. Stir well. Add fish, parsley. Add salt and pepper
to taste. Cook
on stove top over medium heat for 40 minutes or until
fish cooks
through. To serve, line soup bowls with thin slices of
toasted Italian
bread. Ladle stew over bread and serve.
