FROM DAPHNE'S KITCHEN
Celebrate Culinary Christmas Traditions From Around The World
BY DAPHNE McWHITE
On Christmas Eve, my mom
wanted her children to understand
that the real
meaning of
Christmas was
the birth of
Jesus. So she
prepared a birth
day cake, com
plete with can
dles and the
"Happy Birthday
to Jesus" song.
We each then
opened one or two Christmas pre
sents. This special cake and pre
sents, along with the anticipation of
Santa's arrival, made Christmas Eve
the highlight of the holiday for me.
We enjoyed typical Southern foods
at Christmastime, including fresh
coconut cake, ham. fudge and divini
ty. Through very different from tradi
tional USA fare, the scrumptious
recipes offered to you this week
come from heartfelt contributors.
Some were born in Peru, others in
Germany and some moved here as
adults, others as children. Each has
shared generously their own tradi
tions and childhood memories of
Christmas past in their homeland!
These rich and buttery cookies are
popular in England at Christmastime
and are often served with tea.
ELEGANT SHORTBREAD
COOKIES
England
\% cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
A cup butter
2 dozen pecans (optional)
Strawberry preserves (optional)
In a large mixing bowl combine
flour and sugar. Cut in butter until
mixture resembles fine crumbs. (To
cut in, use a pastry blender or 2 din
ner knives.) Shape dough into 1 -inch
balls and place 2 inches apart on un
greased cookie sheet. Using your
thumb or pecan, press an indentation
in center of each cookie. Reshape
cookie, if necessary, around indenta
tion. Bake at 325 degrees 18 min
utes or until bottom is lightly
browned or until edges are lightly
golden. Immediately add 'A tsp.
strawberry preserves to empty in
dentations.
Yield: 20-24 cookies. Can freeze
up to 12 months.
? Mackie Smith
This recipe for a traditional
English beverage was found in
Southern Living, November 1991,
created by Cynda S. Spoon
HOLIDAY WASSAIL
England
6 cups apple cider
2 'A cups apricot nectar
2 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
> 1 cup orange juice
1 tsp. whole cloves
4 whole allspice
Three 3-inch sticks cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a
Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce
heat and simmer 15 minutes. Strain
and discard spices. Serve hot. Yield:
3 quarts.
V
This traditional steamy pudding is
rich and spicy!
ABERFOYLE CHRISTMAS
PUDDING
Scotland
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
114 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. allspice
1 cup sugar
1 medium carrot, grated
1 medium apple, grated
1 14 cups raisins
J4cup melted butter
1 cup hot milk
Sift together the flour, baking
powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger
and allspice. Stir in the sugar. Add
carrots, apples and raisins and stir.
Add the melted butter and stir again.
Next add the hot milk and mix well.
Butter a 2-quart ovenproof baking
dish or use a proper 2-quart steamer.
Fill it not more than half full, as the
pudding will need room to expand.
Cut a circle of aluminum foil * 1
inch wider that the top of the bowl.
Put it on top and fold it down se
curely with string. Set a large pan on
the stove one-quarter filled with wa
ter. Set the pudding dish on a rack in
the bottom of the pan. Bring to a
boil and keep boiling for four hours.
Add boiling water from time to time
as it is needed. Serves 12.
Four tablespoons of brandy
should be poured over the pudding
and set aflame before serving with
hard sauce or whipped cream.
Aberfoyle is a village serving as a
gateway to "The Trossachs," a very
popular stop for touring visitors to
Scotland.
? Martha McPartlin
?
SLOVAK KUSKIES
Czechoslovakia
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pound butter
4 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
12 Tbsp. cold water
Prune filling by Solo (if supermarket
doesn't stock this, they will
special order it)
Additional butter to spread on
dough
Combine flour and 1 pound of
butter with a pastry blender or two
dinner knives. Work with the mix
ture until resembles small peas. Set
aside.
In a small bowl combine yolks,
lemon juice and cold water. Add
yolk mixture to flour and butter mix
ture. Working with your hands, form
a large round ball. If dough is too
sticky, add a handful of flour. Place
in refrigerator for 'A hour.
Remove from refrigerator and cut
into 3 sections. Work with 1 section
at a time. Keep other 2 sections in
refrigerator until ready to roll out.
Roll the section of dough very
thin and cut into 2-inch squares.
Spread melted additional butter on
rolled and cut dough. Place 1 tsp. of
prune filling on each square. Roll
each square as you would a jelly roll
and place seam side down. Cut 3
slits on the top of each roll.
Refrigerate 20 minutes before bak
ing.
Bake 20 minutes at 4(X) degrees
or until edges are slightly browned.
Cool and sprinkle with powdered
sugar. Repeat with other refrigerated
sections of dough. These are melt
in-your-mouth delicious and should
not be overbaked. Tops will not be
browned!
? Freda Revella
Weihnazhpen (Christmas)
i In Germany
Luise Homer vividly remembers
her childhood Christmas in Ger
many. After Christmas Eve supper,
Santa came by to check his lust.
She remembers watching out the
window as Santa left the house and
walked through the snow and
woods to a neighbor s house.
Her parents ihen led the children
into the living room where for the
first tune they saw their Christmas
tree. The living room was kept
closed until the decorations were
ready on Christmas Eve. The fresh
tree reached to the ceiling and was
aglow with the warmth of lighted
white candles and hand-blown
glass balls. The room smelted
wonderfully of fresh greens.
After prayer and the singing of
"Silent Night," gifts were
exchanged. Christmas Day dinner
included a big fat goose, red
cabbage, weiner schnitzel (veal
cutlet) and special potatoes called
kloesse.
?
RED CABBAGE
Germany
2 pounds red cabbage, shredded
2 tart apples, grated
'A bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
4 cloves
X cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup water
1 tsp. sugar
Salt and pepper
Put cabbage, apples, bay leaf, salt
and cloves into bowl and pour vine
gar over. Stir. Cover at room temper
ature overnight. The next day, heat
the shortening in a large pot, add the
cabbage mixture, 1 cup of water and
1 tsp. of sugar. Cook until tender.
Season with salt and pepper.
Trudy Gore Freeman
v
When Trudy Gore Freeman was a
little girl living in Germany, her
family went to church on
Christmas morning. Her mother
stayed home to prepare a delicious
dinner of roast goose or duck,
potato dumplings, red cabbage,
Boston lettuce and cucumbers,
cookies, cake and coffee.
?
SPEKULATIUS
(Spiced Christmas Cookies)
Germany
4 cups all-purpose flour
YA tsp. baking powder
114 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
'A tsp. allspice
'A tsp. cloves
llA tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
2 sticks margarine or butter
A cup almonds, chopped
'A tsp. almond extract
1 cup almonds, thinly sliced
_Hace flour on countertop. Sprin
E. Harvie Hill. D.D.&, MAD.
Pediatric Dentistry
providing care for
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age? 1-21. Mao cane for
the handicapped
754-3333
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1Q1 Village Pine*. AhnlloUc
klc allspice, cloves, cinnamon and
baking powder over it and mix well.
Make a well and drop in eggs and
extracts. Then sprinkle sugar and 16
cup almonds over it. Cut butter into
slices and add to this mixture. Com
bine and knead to a smooth dough.
Place in refrigerator for 'A hour.
Or* u floured surfscs rc!! cut
dough to !<-inch thickness. Cut out
dough with cookie cutters. Grease a
cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly
with sliced almonds. Place the cut
cookies on top of almonds and bake
at 375 degrees 8-10 minutes or until
lightly browned. Makes 90 cookies.
? Trudy Gore Freeman
?
The "tamales" are the favorite
plate during the Christmas
celebration in Peru. The taste and
simple preparation make tamales
appealing to everyone!
SPECIAL PERUVIAN
TAMALES
8 cars of fresh com
1 pound, pork loin
I tsp. salt
'A. tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. red pepper
1 hard-boiled egg
'/ cup green olives or black dried
olives
%cup peanuts (roasted and without
shells)
3 banana leaves, parchment or
aluminum foil
Cut the corn off the cob and soak
it in a little water one day before
tamale preparation. Then clean and
crush corn with a heavy spoon or
rock. (A blender can be used, but
don't overmix.)
Mcanwjii'ic, mix sait, c'niii and red
pepper. Cut the meat into very small
pieces and add spice mixture. Bake
covered until tender.
Place the crushed corn and
cooked meat in a big plate and com
bine. Place mixture in foil in rectan
gular shapes. Add eggs, olives and
peanuts to the top of each corn and
meat rectangle mixture. Finally, cov
er with the foil tightly, making sev
eral small rectangular packets.
Place packets in a big pan of wa
ter and salt. Boil at medium heat for
1 hour. Ready to serve! Enjoy!
? Klena Miranda
?
Puerto Rico
Maria Fassbender of Calabash
spent her childhood in Puerto
Rico. She remembers receiving
presents on Jan. ft in celebration
of Tres Reyes Magos (Three Wise
Men). On the e\ e of Tres Reyes
Magos, children go outside and
collect grass for the Wise Men s
camels and place the grass in a
box, steeping with it by their beds.
In the morning, presents are beside
the bed, brought by the Wise Men.
During December, friends
serenade outside friends ' homes
with Christmas songs and
instruments. This is done after
midnight, and carolers are invited
in for food such as sweet rice with
ginger, cinnamon and fresh
coconut.
?
This is a great accompaniment to
anv ethnic dish.
MARINATED CARROTS
India
3 large carrots
I cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
'A tsp. dry chili pepper
Scrape carrots and cut julienne
style. Set aside. Combine lemon
juice, sugar, salt and chili pepper
Toss carrots with lemon mixture.
Marinate overnight.
? Deborah Mawji
?
COOKIE PEARS (Ahladakia)
Greece
1 cup vegetable oil
I H cups sugar
2 eggs
I orange, juice and rind
2 tsp. baking powder
'A. tsp. baking soda
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
(approximately)
Whole cloves
Beat oil and sugar together until
creamy. Add eggs, one at a time,
beating constantly. Dissolve baking
soda in orange juke and add tc
creamed mixture. Add baking pow
der and enough flour to make a soft
dough. Take a small piece of dough,
about the size of a walnut, and shape
into a small ball. Pinch one side to
resemble a pear and press a clove in
to one end of cookie.
Placc on greased baking sheet and
bake 20-25 min at 350 degrees.
Remove from baking sheet and cool.
Dip cookies quickly one by one in
warm syrup. For syrup, bring 3 cups
water and 2 cups sugar to a boil and
simmer a little. Add I Tbsp. lemon
juice and stir. Sprinkle dipped cook
ies immediately with granuated sug
ar and cinnamon. Makes 50 cookies.
? Eva Statbos
Correction
An article in last week's Beacon
about holiday food safety contained
a typographical error. A sentence
should have stated: "Remember to
keep hot foods hot (above 140 de
grees F.) and cold foods cold (below
40 degrees F.)
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