Welcome to the almost-Christmas Exchange; next week will be last-minute inspiration and guidance.
Today’s only specific request may get its answer after The Feast, but here it is, and for marital harmony I will not name the writer. “I was having this argument, um discussion, with my wife that I’m tired of doing a full turkey and want to do turkey breast for Christmas, but I’ve had trouble finding one at local grocery stores. Perhaps I’m not asking the right question or looking at the right place.”
The recipe our correspondent has gotten is for a boneless turkey breast, but before or after the celebratory fact, we would be glad to learn your method for a bone-in turkey breast, as all gravy-makers know that the bones enhance the broth.
Last week I mentioned the ultimate comfort food. It is, of course, banana pudding. (Of course, you ask? If you disagree, offer a correction.) Debbie Pataky’s reminiscence and recipe included one of the great pleasures of the kitchen: licking the bowl. One can do that as the cook … or as the cook’s watchful companion. Ms. Pataky has been on both sides of this process. Her best memory: “I always got to lick the pan.”
Mama’s Banana Pudding
5 room temperature eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 can Carnation evaporated milk
2 cups sugar
5 tablespoons White Lily self-rising flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 stick salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 bananas
1 box Nilla wafers
10 tablespoons sugar (for meringue)
Separate yolks and whites of eggs. Place egg whites in a mixer bowl, for making the meringue.
Pour evaporated milk into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add egg yolks and stir together. Add enough water to fill to 2 cups.
Pour into a heavy pot (My mother and I both used the bottom of an old faithful pressure cooker.)
Then add 2 cups whole milk, to make 4 cups liquid.
In a bowl combine 2 cups sugar and 5 tablespoons self-rising flour (I’ve found, the hard way I might add, that sifting this makes it creamier.)
Add dry ingredients to the wet in your pot. Stir to combine.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent sticking.
Stir until thick. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla extract.
Ready your pudding bowl by lining with vanilla wafers. I usually put a ladle of pudding to anchor the bottom layer of them. Slice banana over wafers, then pudding, then bananas, wafers, pudding, until dish is almost full. Leave room for the meringue.
In your mixer bowl, whip egg whites until frothy. Add a dash of salt, then add a tablespoon of sugar at a time and whip until you’ve added all 10 spoons.
Turn your mixer up to high and scrape sides with your spatula until the meringue is huge.
Turn oven on broil.
Spread meringue over pudding. Smooth it and use a spoon to “pick” the meringue into peaks. Place meringue topped pudding under broiler and turn several times to brown meringue on all sides. Be careful. I always leave oven door open and carefully rotate the pudding bowl. Remove from oven, chill and serve.
Hint: I usually double this recipe and put custard into little cups with no meringue, because kids like just the custard without the pudding.
Now you can lick the pot — my favorite part.
Margaret McNeil’s favorite food gift is both memory-awakening and blog-inspiring. (See more at her blog margaretsmorsels.blogspot.com.)
First, the memory. “I saw the request for Christmas food gifts. I wanted to share what my Chattanooga mother gave away every Christmas. Instead of cookies or candy, she’d make cheese balls. She used clean 6-ounce juice cans to form the mixture into logs. Once firm, she’d push them out of the cans and coat them with lots of chili powder. For gift giving, she’d wrap them individually in plastic wrap and seal the ends with red or green ribbon, using scissors to curl the ribbon. She’d always add a sleeve of Ritz crackers because they were the perfect size when the cheese ball was sliced.
“In the 2010 blog, I share how I make the logs now that 6-ounce juice cans aren’t commonly available. The recipe makes four cheese balls, but it can easily be halved. The pecans can be omitted entirely, or used in only half the recipe, making sure to label which half is which.”
Jennie Brown’s Cheese Ball
1 pound cream cheese, softened
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 cup chopped pecans
Chili powder
Bring the first two ingredients to room temperature. Add garlic, cayenne and pecans and mix well. Shape and refrigerate overnight or for a couple of days. When ready to serve, coat the mixture thoroughly with chili powder.
Teri Purvis adapted this recipe to take to a recent Bible study luncheon, and it should fit well in a glorious holiday feast. Notice that there is no lettuce to wilt, so the salad should keep.
Greek Salad
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow or orange pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half-rounds (optional; I usually skip)
Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1/2 pound feta cheese, 1/2 inch diced not crumbled (I sometimes skip)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
Prepare vinaigrette and pour over the vegetables. Add the feta and olives and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (or substitute good red wine vinegar)
1 to 2 teaspoons honey (to cut acidic taste in dressing)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil
Whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion.
Makes 6 servings. Recipe adapted from Ina Garten.
We will watch for you on Christmas Eve morning, with all the last-minute ideas you care to send.
Requests
— Turkey breast recipes
To reach us
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send, and know we cannot test the recipes printed here.
— Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
— Email: chattfare@gmail.com
