Candied Apples Apple Compote

 

This is  another recipe out of Masies cookbook.  It is labled Experiment X  Apple Compote

This is a dish that in our day seems to better go with dessert as it is sweet, but it is a dish that was served along with the meat course in another day.  We eat it either with dinner on our holidays or as a dessert either way.  I will put this one in as it was written in her cookbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aim:  To determine the family method of cooking apple compote.

Method:  6 apples (baking variety)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
pinch of salt
a small handful of cinnamon "red hot" candies

 
Wash, pare, and core apples.  Into a granite kettle (or another medium large pot) put the sugar, water, salt and cinnamon candies.
Heat till boiling.

 
Put the apples in the hot syrup.  When the syrup reaches the boiling point again, turn head down so it cooks very gently.   Cover the kettle tightly.

After the apples ahve cooked about 10 minutes test with a fork and turn each one over.  Care must be taken not ot cook too long or they will come apart when turning.   

Conclusion:  Apple compote must not cook at too high a temperature.  Ideal to serve with meats.  Good with bacon for breakfast, Nice to serve in a dish by itself at a dinner course.  Must choose apples very carefully. 


We also eat them as a dessert with whipped cream on it. 

Cornbread Dressing

 

Lets start with the cornbread.  Ma's cornbread recipe. 

We usually make 3 pans of cornbread to go in the dressing.   You can make it several days ahead of time and just put it in a big baggie or you can wrap it in foil.  It wont hurt anything if it is even a little dried out, because then it will reabsorb more of the broth.  We also cook our cornbread in cast iron skillets.   At Ma's house, we use her square pan because "Pie are round... and cornbread are square"  Ask about the joke if you dont understand the punchline.

 

Corn bread recipe

1 1/2 cup of corn meal (ma uses white corn meal if you can find it. Yellow works fine though,)

3 Tbs of flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking POWDER

1teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 Tbs of oil.  (shhhhh dont tell anyone, we usually melt crisco and put it in there.)

 

When I make the cornbread, I melt the crisco in the skillet to grease it then pour it into the mix. 

Bake it in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. 

 

Mashed Potatoes, yeah but added anyway

Dumplings

Turkey (Our Style)

     How to cook a turkey, OUR WAY... as if that is very different.  To some it is because we use a roaster instead of baking it in the oven, frying it or smoking it.  It is almost like putting it in a sauna for a water bath.  Anyway, we use the roaster for this task and for making our dressing in.

So, put your turkey in the sauna, on the rack so that you can lift it out later. 

I use fresh herbs to the extent possible.  Lots and lots of sage.  I also use rubbed sage and ground sage.  We like sage.  I also put just basic salt and pepper on the outside and maybe some of all of it in the open cavity as well. 

Cook at 350 degrees until the thermometer is at 180 degrees in the breast.  We then let it cool a little bit, lift the turkey out of the broth (which will be used for dressing and dumplings) and debone it before we take it to the table. 

There were always more kids around than turkey legs so deboning it kept the arguments down over that particular piece.  It also makes the clean up after that very filling meal much easier as we just have to put the left overs in to ziplock bags to either put in the refrigerator for next day use or in the freezer for much later use. 

Giblet Gravy

Candied Sweet Potatoes

 

This recipe is another of Masie's holiday fare recipes from her cookbook.  The flounder next to the ingredients are not part of the overall recipe by the way. 
The ingredients are sweet potatoes or yams, cinnamon imperials (sometimes known as red hots)  sugar and water.  you might also use a little red food coloring if you want the added color. 

 

We really dont have measurements for how many potatoes either, but generally count one per person invited and add to that however many you want to have left over.  Wash them and put them in a pot of water to boil until just fork tender.  You don't want them mushy as they will fall apart in the next round of cooking. 

 

When cool, peel and dice the sweet potatoes.  As you can see, we leave them in fairly large chunks. 

Add 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water to your pot and heat, stirring requently until combined and melted.  Drop in a handful or two of red hots (cinnamon imperials)  and let them desolve as well.
After the sugar, water and red hots are melted and at a boil, put the sweet potato chunks in and return to boil. 

 

 

Stir gently to coat the sweet potatoes with the sugar mixture and boil gently until they are very done. 

These can be served immediately warm, you can make them a few days ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator to be served cold. 



Imperial Salad

This is a recipe that came from your great grandmother,  from the Home Ec class she took in high school.  The cookbook she used was dated 1928 and it was also in her hand written notes from the class. 



1 pkg lemon jello (4 servin size)
1 pt. boiling water
2 Tablespoons of vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of cayenne pepper

Disollve the jello in boiling water, add vinegar, salt and cayenne pepper.  Chill till thickened but not completely.  (about an hour)

3/4 cup of raw finely shredded carrots
1 cup of raw finely shredded cabbage
4 Tablespoons of green bell pepper chopped finely.














Fold the vegetables in to the jello, mixing well. 

Chill until firm and serve with dinner. 

Masie's Applesauce Pie

Quick side note before you start.  When I use a store bought pie crust that comes in the pan this recipe is enough.  When I use my own pie pan, I have to double it. 




2 pie crusts.
16oz Applesauce
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8th tsp ground cloves
1/8 tso allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 Cup of sugar
and a little lemon juice

about 1 Tablespoon of Flour for thickening (you can use the same amount of tapioca if you have that by the way)
about 2-3 tablespoons of butter cut very thinly.

Mix all the spices, sugar and flour together. 

Pour filling into pie shell.  Sprinkle lightly the lemon juice around the edges of the pie filling, and pat the butter around the outside as well.

Put 2nd pie crust on top and "pinch the edges" together then trim. Cut "vents" in the top. On this one I cut out holes with one of my fall cookie cutters to try it.  You can also do an egg wash over the top if you want. 

 Not sure how its going to work but when it comes out of the oven, we will see!!!!

Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

You start with what is called Foundation Sweet Yeast Dough 

 

In a bowl large enough to accomodate the raised dough, sprinkle 2 packages of active dry yeast over 1 cup of luke warm water.  Add 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar.  Stir to dissolve. 

 

Into 1 cup of scalded milk, mix 6 tablespoons of melted butter or shortening, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of salt.  Cool to lukewarm.  Add to yeast mixture.

Add 3 beaten eggs.  Mix well.  Add 2 cups of flour.



With electric mixer set at low speed, or spoon, beat batter until smooth and satiny.  Add remaining    5 cups of flour gradually, changing from mixer or soon to hands as the dough becomes stiffer.  Knead for a few minutes, generally at least 5-10 till dough is kind of springy.  Grease exposed surface.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth, leaving edges outside of bowl.  Let rise in a warm plce (about 80 degrees) until it doubles in bulk.  it generally takes at least an hour up until 2 if the room is cool.  You might even heat your oven to about 200 degrees.  Turn the oven off and then set your bowl inside the oven to rise. 

 

After the dough has risen to double original size, divide dough in half and roll out dough on well floured board, in a large rectangel about 1/4 inch thick.  Brush generously with melted butter.  Sprinkle generous amounts of brown sugar and ground cinnamon over butter.  Rasins and/or chopped nutmeats may be sprinkled over dough, if desired.  I generally dont but hey, try it sometime.  Rol rectangle as for gelly roll, starting with wide side.  With sharp knife, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices.  Place in well greased oblong pan or on greased cookie sheet.  Cover with damp cloth again.  Let rise about 30 minutes, or until dough is almost doubled in bulk again.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.  Frost or glaze, if desired. 

 This last shot is everything we have made today represented.  I havent frosted the cinnamon rolls yet as I will wait till morning when they are cooled. 

The frosting will simply be about 3 cups of powdered sugar, about 2 table spoons or so of butter, softened, and a few table spoons of milk.  I also add about a teaspoon of vanilla.  Add powdered sugar until it is the thickness of frosting and spread it on each roll.  Enjoy in the morning with a great cup of tea or hot chocolate, or in my case.... coffee. 

And this is breakfast on Thanksgiving morning.  Some cinnamon rolls, a little Sharp Cheddar cheese and some Mozzerella.  A little fruit as well would be great.

Pumpkin Bread

 

Pumpkin Bread

 

Again I used fresh pumpkin in this so it is lighter in color than it would be if you made it from canned pumpkin. 

I didnt get pictures of the mixing up process.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease three 9x5x3 inch loaf pans.

 
3 cups of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and flower.  Make a well in center of dry ingredients. 



1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 cups of cookedmashed pumpkin
1 cup chopped walnut or pecan meats (optional)

Pour oil, beaten eggs, water, vinegar and pumpkin into well.  Mix just until moistened.  Add nutmeats , stirring only until blended. 
Pour batter into prepared pans. 
Bake 1 1/4 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 


I rarely add nuts because I have issues with them but when I do, I use walnuts. 
I am shooting for Thanksgiving breakfast for these 3 loaves while we watch the parades. 


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A New Twist on an Old Thought

Today starts a new thought on this blog.  It is almost Thanksgiving for those of us in the United States.  Several of my kids are going to be far flung this year.  So, I am going to try to do a picture blog for each of the dishes that we have traditionally eaten for our Thanksgiving and Christmas Menu.  To begin, most of the upcoming recipes came from my grandmother, Bessie Danley.  She went to high school here in the late 1920s and some of the recipes came from her high school home economics class. 
This is Sunday and I am trying to do a few of the things ahead of time so that Thrusday will be more relaxing and maybe I can also work on some of the Christmas presents I plan to make. 

This blog starts with Pumpkin Pie.  Not really that special as I just use the recipe off of the Libbys Pumpkin Can.  Most years though I do cook up our Halloween pumpkin to make the pies for Christmas and Thanksgiving and for any pumpkin bread, cookies or anything else pumpkin we plan to make. 



Add caption

 
Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie

In the small white bowl you find
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves




In the bowl you find:
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups of pumpkin

Stir in pumpkin and sugar spice mixture. 

Gradually add two 12 oz cans of evaporated milk

Pour in to pie shells.  This recipe says it makes 2 and if you make your own pie crust and use glass or metal pans it pretty much does.  If, however, you use store bought it usually makes 2 and a half. 

Sorry this picture is so blurry, but start out in the oven with your pies at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.  Serve immediately or refrigerate. 

The four darker colered pies have canned pumpkin but the lighter one is fresh pumpkin, so that you can see the difference.

The wo pies with the decorations on top came from left over pie crust that I cut out with cookie cutters and sprinkled with a little cinnamon and white sugar and put on the top about 10 minutes before the pie was done.  Just thought we would trie something new. 

Can't wait to try them.