In the cider-producing counties in the South West of England or South East England wassailing refers to a traditional ceremony that involves singing and drinking the health of trees in the hopes that they might better thrive. The purpose of wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away any evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in the Autumn. Wassail is a hot mulled beverage often associated with Yuletide. A historical wassail consisted of mulled beer or mead, sugar, ale, ginger, and cinnamon. They would be placed in a bowl and heated, and topped with slices of toast as sops. Hence the stanza of the traditional carol the Gloucestershire Wassail dating back to the Middle Ages...
"Wassail! Wassail! All over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl, we'll drink to thee."
so here is my recipe that I have had for over 30 years!
Wassail
8 cups apple cider
1 cup brown sugar
1 6oz lemonade concentrate
1 6oz orange juice concentrate
in cheesecloth put 6 whole cloves, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 teasp orange peel
mix together liquids and heat. put in cheesecloth with spices. Let simmer.
I even make this late Christmas Eve and let sit overnight. Then heat up on
Indeed! These are amazing!! I made them this morning and they are so fabulous! Gotta try them! Here is the link! http://www.recipegirl.com/2011/03/01/cinnamon-roll-pancakes/
Make Cookies - Mix together brownie mix, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of water and softened butter by hand or beat for 1 minute until blended.
Place heaping tablespoons of batter on lightly greased or parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool completely.
Make Topping - Toast coconut in a 350° F for 3-5 minutes until coconut is lightly browned. Remove from oven and hold.
In a microwave-safe bowl put caramel pouch, 6 oz of caramels and 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk. Microwave on high for 11/2 minutes and stir. Continue melting caramels in microwave at 10-second intervals until caramels are smooth. Stir in toasted coconut and spread on top of cookies.
Melt chocolate pieces in microwave-safe bowl for 20 seconds or until melted and smooth. Do not over heat. Drizzle over top of coconut topping. Allow to cool and enjoy.
Tips:
Use a small ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper for easy clean up
Place chocolate chips into a zippered plastic bag, melt chips in microwave for 30 seconds, squeeze to help melt chips, continue on 10-second intervals till chips are all melted. Cut corner of baggie and drizzle chocolate on cookies. ENJOY!!!
ok...there are three recipes coming at you today!!! We had Sunday dinner and celebrated Alex's birthday. I hadn't made pot roast in quite a while, and decided to try Julia Child's recipe.
Julia Child's Pot Roast 1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika 1 boneless chuck roast 3-5 lbs oil for browning meat and onions 2-3 cloves garlic, minced, sliced or crushed 1 T. Worcestershire sauce 2-3 T Soy Sauce 1/4 cup tomato paste 1/2 cup Red Wine 1 cup --or more beef stock or broth rosemary, thyme, bay leaf Place seasoned flour on plate and dredge the roast in it, coating all sides well. Heat oil in roasting pan and brown meat well on all sides. Remove meat and brown onions in same pan until the onions are well caramelized. Add wine, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce to pan with onions, turning heat down, and cook, stirring to deglaze and scrape up any brown bits. Add tomato paste, 1/2 cup broth and 1 tsp of rosemary, thyme and 2-3 bay leaves. Put roast in pan and cover. Cook in 325 degree oven for about 3 hours or until meat is fork tender. Every so often check liquid in pot and add more if needed. Remove meat and pour liquid through sieve with pan underneath. Bring liquid to boil. Add 2 T cornstarch to 1/4 cup water. Add this to liquid, whisking until thickened. Some of my family loved the gravy but others said it was "interesting" ha! Politically correct way to say...."I didn't like it"!
I usually make these fantastic rolls for Thanksgiving....but decided to make it an extra special dinner for Alex. I originally got this recipe from my dear friend, Ann Thornton...who has since passed away. These are mouth wateringly delicious!!!
Cresent Rolls
2 T. yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 1 cup melted margarine 1 cup sugar 6 eggs 1 1/2 tsp. salt 8-9 cups flour mix yeast and water. Let it set and proof (about 5-10 minutes) Add sugar, eggs and margarine. Add flour and salt. Let rise till double. Stir down and refrigerate overnight. Divide dough in half. Roll one half into a circle. Spread with butter. Cut into 16 pie shaped pieces. Roll up from outside edge. Roll out other half the same way. Let rise till desired size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
These are Tiffany Porter's fabulous Lemon Bars!! They are the best I have ever had!
Lemon Bars
Crust- 2 cups flour 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 cup butter (probably why they are so fab!) Combine until crumbly. Press into the bottem of a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until light golden brown
Filling- 4 eggs--slightly beaten 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/4 cup lemon juice Combine eggs, sugar, flour and baking powder. Mix well. Add lemon juice. Pour over warm crust and return to oven. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.
Glaze- 1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tsp lemon juice. Spread over completely cooled bars ENJOY ALL!!!
I got a request for this recipe... they are everyone's favorite ....it seems! Guys especially love them! So here they are
Snickerdoodles
1 cup margarine 1 cup shortening 2 1/2 cups sugar 4 eggs 4 3/4 cups flour 4 tsp. Cream of tartar (not an option!!) 2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp salt sugar/cinnamon
Cream margarine and shortening, sugar and eggs together. Blend in other ingredients. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls and roll in sugar and cinnamon. Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Valentines Day!! Ken was home and Alex came over for dinner, so I tried a new recipe! AND it is way amazing!! Served with rice and snow peas and a fresh green salad with grapes and mandarin oranges!! Also fat free corn muffins shaped like hearts! Delish! (and the guys didn't even know they were fat free! ha! of course they put enough butter on for an army!!! kinda defeating the purpose! LOL)
Sweet & Spicy Chicken!
6 chicken breasts 1 131/2 ounce can pineapple tidbits- drained (reserve syrup...I also used an extra can of pineapple juice) 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tsp Chinese Chili paste 1 T. shortening 1 tsp. cornstarch
Make sauce with soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar and chili paste. Pour into a zip lock bag with chicken and refrigerate at least 4 hours...turning the bag over once. Drain Chicken. Make another batch of sauce. In frying pan, melt shortening. Brown chicken. Add 1/2 cup of sauce and cover and cook on low for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. In small sauce pan mix cornstarch and water. Stir in remaining sauce. Heat to boiling stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pineapple and serve with chicken! ENJOY!!
Alyssa and I visited Grandma Porter on Monday and made cinnamon rolls....boy did her home smell lovely!!! (Alyssa...what a beauty!)
Yummy, yummy cinnamon rolls!!!
GG and sissa!! Two fabulous women!!
I got this recipe many years ago from a lady and dear friend in Tucson, Wally Bishop. I have tried many recipes...but this one is the very bestest!
CINNAMON ROLLS 2 cups warm water 1 cup sugar 2 T. yeast 2 cups flour 3/4 cups oil 2 eggs 4 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp. salt Mix water and yeast. Wait until bubble (usually takes 5 minutes) Mix in sugar and 2 cups flour. Let rise 1 hour. Add rest of ingredients. (I let my eggs sit out during the hour to get room temp) Cover and let rise till light. Make into desired sweet rolls. Let rise. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. ENJOY!!!
