Comfort Foods = Joy

I just took one of my favoite holiday treats out of the oven - cranberry shortbread! Yesterday I made a pot of spiced cider. Hot Spiced Cider plus Cranberry Shortbread equals a joyful mouth and tummy! At least for me they do, since one of my favorite treats is a cup of one and a chunk of the other, enjoyed while blog-hopping in the morning.

The cider is easy. I simply take a gallon of the clear cider - I find it works better than the fresher stuff - and pour it into a large pot - my 5 quart one works great. I add about 3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar, a few cinnamon sticks, a bunch (tablespoon or so) of whole cloves, a few strips of orange peel (without the white part) and simmer it all on the stove for a while, testing occasionally until it tastes spicy enough for me. Then I strain the spice pieces out of it and pour it back into the jug it came in from the store, and keep it in the fridge. Bear in mind, as it simmers, it also evaporates, so you won't have a gallon when you are done. When I want a cup, I simply pour it into a cup and zap for about 1 min. 20 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes, and voila! It's ready to drink.

The cranberry shortbread is easy, too! I've been making this recipe about 3 - 4 years, and originally got it from HERE on the Martha Stewart website. I have made this same recipe with mini chocolate chips, nuts, etc. and each one is delicious! Anyway, Martha baked hers in a cake pan and cut the pieces out with heart shaped cookie cutters, but I have this >>>

>>> handy dandy Nordic Ware Shortbread Pan. You can find more info about it here, just bear in mind I didn't buy it from there, and didn't pay that much for it, either. Anyway, it is perfect for baking the shortbread, as you can see here >>>

>>> and it makes nine 3 inch squares of shortbread, which is a nice sized piece for washing down with hot spiced cider, lol! Each square has different design on the top, including a pineapple, a butterfly, a stem of two cherries, etc.

The recipe for this is very easy - just remember to take the butter out of the fridge so it can come to room temperature ahead of time.

Cranberry Shortbread

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature (I've used salted and it's okay, too, just reduce your salt in the recipe a little)

3/4 cup sifted confectioners (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (or less if using salted butter)

1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries (craisins) or cherries (or nuts or mini chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 325 degres.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until combined, but not too creamy. Stir in last ingredient (dried fruit, nuts, etc.)

Pat dough evenly into an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan. Bake until just beginning to turn golden - about 20 minutes. (Note, in my heavy pan it takes closer to 30 minutes, so check it often, and bake until it's just getting golden) Place pan on cooling rack until cool enough to touch, turn out and cut into squares, or if desired, into shapes with cookie cutters.

Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.

Here are a couple of pictures of my finished product >>>

Doesn't that look delicious! Very pretty sprinkled lightly with sifted powdered sugar, too!

Well, we got the tree put up and all the decorations out of the attic today, but that naked tree in the living room isn't decorating itself, so I guess I'd better go help it out some. Have a great evening! Blessings y'all! Becky

Holiday Recipes

It's a week until Thanksgiving, and usually I would be cooking up a storm, or at least doing some prep work for the day's eating, but this year we've decided to take a camping trip down to one of our favorite places - Savannah, Georgia - and I will be letting someone else do the cooking this year! We'll be eating out at a restaurant somewhere in Savannah.



We were there three years ago for Thanksgiving and had our big meal at Uncle Bubba's Oyster House - a restaurant owned by Paula Deen and her brother, Bubba. The food was incredible and the weather was great so we ate at a table out on the deck overlooking the marsh - it was so beautiful! But this year, with money tight and their prices WAAAYYYYY too high for our pocketbook, ($31 p/p) we'll be finding somewhere less expensive.



Anyway, in honor of the holiday, I thought I would share a couple of my favorite holiday recipes with you. First is a recipe I got from a lady I worked with years ago, Aunt Fanny's Cabin Squash Casserole - it is soooooo good!

Aunt Fanny's Cabin Squash Casserole

1. In large pot, boil 3 pounds chopped yellow squash with a little salt until tender.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Drain squash, and put in a large bowl with 1 egg.
4. Mash up squash with the egg.
5. Add: 1/2 stick butter or margarine, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1/2 +/- (to taste) chopped onions, dash black pepper, 1/2 cup bread crumbs
6. Mix all ingredients well.
7. Place in 2 quart casserole dish (I use 9 x 13).
8. Sprinkle top with another 1/2 cup bread crumbs and drizzzle with another 1/2 stick melted butter or margarine.
9. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes or until bubbly in center.

This is such an easy recipe, and can be made a day ahead up to the baking and refrigerated until you are ready to bake it the next day.

Recipe number two is my all time favorite holiday dish, and brings back bunches of great memories! My Dad's Mother (Cliffie Bell Cook Forrester) always made this for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and always put it into the same bowl - a pink depression glass footed bowl. I never got the recipe from her, and regretted it so much, but after many failures I finally got it right. After she passed away a few years ago I was able to get her bowl, and now I always make the cranberry salad in that bowl for our Thanksgivng and Christmas meals. Here's a picture of the bowl - without the salad.

And here's the recipe:

Mama Cliffie's Congealed Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 small packages jello - can be cherry, black cherry, strawberry - basically any RED jello - although I prefer black cherry
• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 1/4 cups cold water
• 2/3 to 1 cup orange sections, in chunks (you can use mandarins cut up, but I prefer fresh oranges.
• ½ to 2/3 cup diced apple, peeled
• 2/3 cup chopped toasted nuts (pecans or english walnuts work well)

1. Mix the jello and boiling water and stir to dissolve.
2. Add the can of cranberry sauce while warm and stir to dissolve sauce.
3. Add cold water, stir well and put into fridge.
4. When the jello is 'set' or beginning to firm up a bit, add the fruit and nuts and stir well.
5. Pour into a mold or pretty bowl and return to fridge and continue chilling until firm.

This will keep a couple of days in the fridge, so it's easy to make ahead of time.

I hope you try these, and I hope you enjoy them. If you do try them, please leave me a post and let me know how they turned out for you and your family. Everyone have a very blessed, and THANKFUL holiday! I am grateful for YOU! Blessings, Becky