Christmas recipes from the kitchen of Violet Anderson

Cream Sauce

Make about 1 1/2 pints cream sauce. Start 30 minutes before serving. Combine 1 1/2 pints cold milk, add 3/4 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir with wire whip on stove until thick.

Add 2 tablespoons butter.

Liver and Barley Pudding

Make two to three weeks ahead of time and freeze in baking casserole. Buy 2 pounds beef and pork liver. Cook until soft in pressure cooker (or oven) with salt and onion. Grind the cooked meats in a meat grinder. Cook 2 cups pearled barley with plenty of water until soft. Stir often. Takes about 2 hours. Mix with barley, season more if desired. and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot. Serve with cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 package Ocean Spray fresh or frozen cranberries

In a sauce pan mix sugar and water; stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil, reduce heat; boil gently 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and refrigerate. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

Rice Puddling

Measure ¾ cups rice. Add ½ cup sugar and ½ teaspoons salt. Add 1 large can evaporated milk plus enough milk to make 1 ½ quarts liquid. Add 1 cinnamon stick. Cook and stir on top of stove. For 30 minutes. Finish baking in oven. Serve with a dollop of grape jelly.

Deluxe Peas

3 10-ounce packages frozen peas

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup (or less) butter

1 6-ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained

¼ cup chopped canned pimento

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Cook peas according to package directions; drain. Cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Add peas, mushrooms, and pimento. Stir in sugar, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cover and heat through. Makes 12 servings.

Swedish Brown Beans

Use 1 12-oz. bag of Swedish brown beans. Takes about 7 to 8 hours to finish, if you use an electric crock pot. (You don’t have to soak overnight.)

Wash beans thoroughly. Drain in strainer. Put in crock pot, on high, with 10 cups water, and cook for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, stir in ½ cup brown sugar, 1/3 to 1/2 cup vinegar and 4 teaspoons salt.

Cook in crock pot 2 more hours on high, or until tender.

When beans are tender, stir in: 4 tablespoons dark corn syrup and 5 tablespoons butter. Keep cooking while you make a paste of 2 tablespoons cornstarch and water; add to beans, stirring carefully, trying not to mash the beans. Cook about 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Serve hot. Can be frozen until ready to use, and then heated in microwave or oven.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatos

6-8 large potatoes, mashed, 8 oz. package cream cheese, ½ cup sour cream, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. While mixing, use enough milk to make a smooth consistency.

Put in casserole. Bake, 1 hour at 350 degrees. Can be made ahead of time and kept in refrigerate a few days, or frozen.

Red Cranberry Jello Salad

Grind together 1 pound raw, washed cranberries, 1 large or 2 small apples, peeled and 1 orange with peel.

Mix and add 2 cups sugar. Let stand

Add to 2 small packages strawberry Jell-O, diluted with 2 cups boiling water and 1 cup cold water. Pour into a 6-cup mold. Refrigerate until set.

Swedish Limpa Bread

2 Loaves

1 package active dry yeast

¼ cup warm water

¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

2 Tbs. shortening

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 ½ cups hot water

2 ½ cups rye flour

1 to 2 Tbs. grated orange peel

3 ½ to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

 In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. In large bowl combine brown sugar, molasses, shortening, salt and hot water; stir to dissolve. Cool to lukewarm. Stir in rye flour, orange peel and yeast mixture; beat until smooth. Stir in enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover; let rise in warm place until double in size (about 1 ½ hours). Punch down dough; divide in half. Shape each half into round loaf (about 7 inches across). Place on greased cookie sheets. Cover; let rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

Tip: Dough can be shaped into loaves. Place in 2 greased (9x5 inch) loaf pans. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow

Swedish Coffee Cake

from Aunt Gen

Melt 2 sticks butter or margarine

Add 1-1/4 cups sugar

Stir in 3 eggs, 1 at a time

Add 1-1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. almond flavor

Grease 10 inch pie plate and pour batter in. Sprinkle slivered almonds over the batter. Bake 325-350 degrees for 25 minutes or until center is done.

 Lefse

from Aunt Ethel

3 cups riced, or mashed, potatoes (potatoes cooked in their jackets have a better flavor)

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 ½ cups flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

Mix sugar, salt and shortening into hot potatoes. Add flour after potatoes are cooled. Roll out very thin and bake on ungreased surface (electric skillet or lefse iron.)

Holly Candy

Aunt Hazel and Grandma A

Melt in microwave: 1 stick butter or margarine and 30 large marshmallows, stir a couple times.

Add green food coloring and 3 ½ cups cornflakes, being careful not to break up the cornflakes too much.

Drop little by little on wax paper or buttered cookie sheet. Try to make them look like little Christmas wreaths.

Put in refrigerator. Turn over in ½ hour. Decorate by putting one red-hot candy in the middle of each.

Grandma Mabel’s Pie Cookies

with Date Filling

Make date filling first:

            Combine in saucepan:             1 ½ cups dates, cut up and pitted

                                                            ½ cups sugar

                                                            ½ cups water

Cook over direct heat to a thick paste, stirring often. Cool. Add crushed nuts, if desired.

 Rolled cookie dough:

            Cream:     ¾ cup shortening or margarine

   1 ½ cups sugar

            Stir in:   3 beaten eggs

  1 tsp. salt

  1 tsp. vanilla

Sift together: 2 ¾ cups, or more, flour

1 tsp. baking powder

(Dough should be stiff enough to roll.) Chill.

Roll to 1/8 in. thickness on lightly floured board. Cut in circles. Put 1 tsp. date filling in center and cover with another circle. Fork around edges to seal and twice in middle and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until done. Do not overbake. They should not get overly brown.  Made 33 cookies from this recipe.

Kringla

1 cup sugar                                          1 tsp. baking soda

½ cup butter or margarine                   3 cups flour

1 tsp. vanilla                                        3 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 cup buttermilk

Cream sugar, butter and vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and mix with creamed mixture. Mix dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Chill dough for several hours. On floured board, shape into 1-inch rolls in 12-inch lengths. Twist into figure-8 shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Watch very closely as you don't want them to turn golden. They should be quite white. Remove from oven just as they show first hint of color. Yields 3 dozen.

Noel Cookie Gems

½ cup shortening                                 ½ tsp. salt

¾ cup sugar                                         ¼ tsp. baking powder

1 egg                                                   ¼ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla                                        ½ cup sour cream

2 ½ cups unsifted flour                       1 ¼ cups finely chopped nuts

Jam, jelly or preserves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large mixer bowl, combine shortening, sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to shortening mixture alternately with sour cream; mix well. Shape into 1 ¼-inch balls; roll in nuts. Place 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets. Press thumb in center of each ball; fill with jam. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Noel Cookie Gems can be made ahead and frozen.

Spritz Christmas Tree Cookies

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. almond extract

2 ¼ cups flour

½ tsp. baking powder

dash salt

green food coloring

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, egg, and almond extract thoroughly. Add green food coloring. Stir in flour. Using ¼ dough at a time, force dough through cookie press on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until set but not brown. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Variations: Before baking, sprinkle with green or red sugar. Before baking, place a red-hot cinnamon candy on the top of the trees.

Christmas Cheese Ball

1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 8-oz. shredded cheddar cheese

2 Tbs. finely chopped onion

2 Tbs. chopped green pepper

2 Tbs. chopped pimento

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 dash Tabasco sauce

Dash of salt

1 pkg. finely chopped walnuts

Mix softened cream cheese and cheddar cheese together. Add rest of ingredients. Chill until it can be formed into a ball. Roll in nuts. Serve with crackers.

Swedish Korv Meatballs

Make and freeze ahead of time.

Buy 3 pounds mixed pork, veal and beef, ground meat. Add 2 onions, cut fine. Buy 1 pound pearled barley. Cook ¾ of box in plenty of water until soft, stirring often. Mix with meat and season with salt and pepper, approx. 2 Tablespoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Make into meatballs, meatloaf or stuff into ½ lb. casings.

Swedish Sausage

Korv

3 ½ lb. ground beef and 1 ½ ground pork

1 11-ounce box Quaker barley (2 cups dry, cooked in 6 cups water, with 1 tsp. salt

3 medium onion, minced and cooked slightly in margarine

½ teaspoon pepper, 5 more tsp. Salt, 1 tsp. Allspice

5-6 oz. Casings

Cook onion in margarine. Mix all together and stuff skins, tied at both ends. Can be frozen until ready to use. When ready to use, place sausage in cold water and cook for 25 minutes. Take out, place on greased pan and brown in oven. Serve hot.

Swedish Sausage

in 1985

Made with barley. Used 5.38 lbs. of meat (about 3-1/2 lbs. ground beef, and 1-1/2 lb. pork.)

1-11 oz. box Quaker barley (2 cups dry, cooked in 6 cups water and 1 tsp. salt.)

3 medium onion, ground and cooked slightly in margarine.)

½ tsp. pepper

5 more tsp. salt

1 tsp. allspice

Cook cut-up onion in butter first.

Mix all together (meat raw), and stuff into sausage skins tied at both ends.  Can be frozen until used.

Made 14 sausages, some 12 inches long, and 2 or 3 shorter.

When ready to use, place sausage in cold water and cook for 25 minutes.  Then take out, place on greased pan (with Pam or margarine) and brown in oven or toaster oven.  Serve hot, cut in 2 or 3 inch pieces.

(Back of recipe card)

To make Swedish sausage with mashed potatoes:

 Use:    4 lbs ground beef

            2 lbs. ground pork

            6 lbs. Idaho potatoes, cooked and mashed.

            4 onions ground and sautéed

            4 tsp. salt

            ½ tsp. pepper

            1 tsp. allspice

Mix and stuff.

Swedish Sausage

(Bought 3.30 lbs of mix in 1972.  Used ¾ # barley- Made 180 meat balls)

5 lbs. beef, ground

5 lbs. pork, ground

6 onions, ground coarsely

2 lbs. crushed barley

Salt – pepper (Approx 6Tbsp. salt 2 tsp. pepper)

1 lbs. casings

Cook barley for 2 hours or until tender, with plenty of water. Mix all together.

Makes 20# finished

Cost about $6.00 (1946)

Cost about $8.82 (1951)

Swedish Meat Balls 1972

(Back of recipe card)

Mix:

3.3 lbs of meat

¾ lb. cooked barley

Salt and pepper and allspice to taste

4 whole eggs

1 large onion or equivalent

½ cup flour or bread crumbs

Let sit overnight or for 2 hours.  Fry on square pancake griddle.  (Heat first, then add just a little liquid shortening, then form meatballs.  Keep flame adjustment low-straight up and down.  Made 180 meat balls.

Potato Sausage 1983

19 sausages

(Pack for freezing in zip lock bags and label)

4 # beef

2 # pork

6 # raw baking potatoes

3 large onion sautéed in butter

8 oz. casings

8 tsp. salt – try 9 in 1984

1 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. allspice

½ tsp pepper

Taken from recipe on pg. 52 in yellow and blue book “Swedish Recipes.”

Meatball Stats

Meatballs 109

            48-Dinner

            34 Paula

            27 give away

Give away 27 – 12 Cot. Cheese containers

8 marg. cups

7 marg. cups

 1989 - 90 Meatballs

54 Dinner

30 P & P

6 V and G

1990 - 96 meatballs

            45 older generation dinner

            45 family

            6 V & G

 1991 - Made 86