Family Recipes and their stories. . .

Sisters---First, don't forget that our next activity meeting is THIS Thursday at the Stake Center...breakfast for dinner--my favorite!  We will also be exchanging ornaments, and helping out with the Young Women's "Mama's Hands" project for the Homeless.  This will be our last meeting at the Stake Center, because next month we will be holding our meetings at the Kentwood Building!  Yay!!!  I can't wait.  Also...I have finished the third and final installment of the Pinterest Live saga, but I misplaced my notes so I need to double check names on a couple pictures *blushes...sorry!*  I will post that in the next day or so.  It is ready, sans two names...

Junior Libby

So in the last post, we talked about Holiday Disasters....speaking of disasters, I forgot to share one of the stories!  It's a great story too.  This story is from Jenny Lund, and I am going to let her tell you in her own words.   

"The very first Christmas we were married, we decided that our Christmas gift to Scott's family would be a beautiful Christmas dinner, prepared by ME. We had received an awesome cookbook for our wedding that had whole holiday meals planned with full-color pictures, so we decided that we would do the complete Christmas meal: Shrimp Cocktail, Standing Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding,  Roasted Potato Fans, Broccoli with Butter-Almond Sauce, Watercress, Pear, Endive, and Walnut Salad, and Pumpernickel-Rye Bread, as well as Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake and Chocolate Dipped Fruit. 

"Sounds great, looks great in the pictures, but all that takes three days to prepare and...the pumpernickel bread requires two cans of beer. So Scott was required to go to the store and buy the beer, because I sure wasn't going to, and besides, I had to cook. He made it through in manly fashion, really pleased with himself that he hadn't seen anyone we knew.  

“However, that batch didn't rise and I had to start over. So, back again he went, feeling hopeful that he could get away cleanly again. As he stood in line to buy the beer, he glanced over his shoulder and whom did he see right behind him? Of course, our Sunday School teacher, whom we didn't really know. Scott mumbled something lame about pumpernickel bread and saw the look of "Ya, right, buddy" in his eyes and wanted to crawl under a rock. He slinked home and announced that he was not going back again, even if that meant no pumpernickel bread for our dinner. 

"Luckily, the bread rose that time. But it turns out we really don't like pumpernickel all that much." 

Thanks Jenny, I love that story. 

So next up....last week I told you about Chris Workman's Holiday Roll fiasco...the food storage flour that is supposed to be good for 10 years, but is only good for 9?  She assures me that this recipe, when made with fresh flour, is always a hit.  We're going to have to test this theory...here's the recipe:

 

AUNT MILDRED’S REFRIGERATOR ROLLS

 2 pkg. yeast

½ c. warm water

1 tsp. sugar

3 eggs, well beaten

½ c. sugar                                                                  

½ c. butter or marg.
2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
4 ½ c. flour

Dissolve yeast in the ½ c. warm water and 1 tsp. sugar.  Microwave 1 c. water, ½ c. sugar, ½ c. butter, and 2 tsp. salt. Let it cool to tepid.  In a big bowl beat eggs.  Add the cooled liquid and then the yeast mix. Add the flour, beating in-between.   Beat until smooth.  Dough will be soft.  Cover and let it rise until double.  About 1 hour.  Punch down, cover with foil.  Put in the refrigerator overnight.

Three and a half hours before serving, roll out half the dough on a bread board. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle a tiny bit of sugar over it.  Roll up long way like a jelly roll.  Slice into 18 pieces.  Brush muffin tins generously with melted butter.  Place piece of roll in tin.  Flip over. Fill the rest.  Let rise about 3 hours.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 400.  Loosen around the edges as soon as possible.

Antoinette Teglovic offered our next wonderful recipe. It has been in her family for 5 generations (okay, I made that up...sounds cool though, right?)  Since I don’t cook (and my family is grateful), I will see if I can get my husband to make this for me! 

JOSEPHINE'S DRESSING 

pork lean

eggs

bread

carrots,  celery, onion, garlic, mushrooms

parmesan. cheese

All veggies should be of a uniform size, cook them in  olive oil  then drain and cool. Add chopped parsley, eggs, salt and pepper parm. cheese (mom was Italian,) add cooked and cooled diced pork  and cubed day old bread or rolls crest removed. enough veg. or chicken stock to create very moist but not soaked mixture. Place into oiled baking pan 350 degrees for ? It will depend on the amount made. it will pull away from the sides and not be spongy to the touch. Golden brown is nice.

Mom used one cup of bread, one half cup vegetables, and one quarter cup meat per serving.

One egg for every four cups. Make lots for great sammies.

 

Next...a recipe from my family.  One of my grandmothers was from Texas, her great-something grandmother carried this recipe with her when she evacuated The Alamo.  (I’m kidding, of course).  Seriously, this is not even my Grandmother’s recipe, but she did make Divinity.  The recipe is from my friend Heike, passed down from her great-something who carried it as she fled Hitler….ok, yeah, I made that up too.  You are too quick for me today….anyway, here’s the recipe:

 

PERFECT DIVINITY: 

In 2 quart saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, 1/2 cup hot water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir till sugar dissolves and mixture comes to boiling. Cook to hard-ball stage (250 degrees) without stirring (it's underlined in my recipe!). Wipe crystals from sides of pan now and then with a fork wrapped in a damp cloth. Remove from heat. 

Immediately beat 2 egg whites stiff; pour HOT syrup SLOWLY over beaten whites while beating constantly at high speed with mixer, about 5 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until mixture forms soft peaks and begins to lose its gloss (this is the fun part! Heads leaning over the bowl "Is it losing its gloss? I think it is almost there! No, not quite yet. It's there! The gloss is gone! Hurry! Stop beating!") 

Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts if desired. Drop divinity from a teaspoon, pushing off with a second spoon, onto a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. Twirl top as you put the divinity on the cookie sheet. If divinity becomes too stiff for twirling, add a few drops of water.