Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Celebrating Christmas At Thanksgiving

Nature becomes very quiet in November, with the glory of autum well on its way and only a nip in the air to tell us that winter will soon be approaching. All of the plants that managed to survive the heat of this past summer are in full bloom. The end of the year beckons in the distance. But one  of the things that happens every year in this month is the gathering of families and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving dinners are traditionally bountiful feasts.  I grew up in S.C. and it was not unual to see a buffet dinner with pumpkin soup, oysters, shrimp, Turkey, duck, chicken, roast beef, ham, barbecued pork shoulder, stuffing, cavier mousse, macaroni and cheese, fruit salads, vegetable salads, tomato aspic, green beans, butter beans, corn pudding, green bean , squash , broccoli cheese,  and praline potato casseroles.  There were homemade biscuits, rolls, cakes and pies of every category. This was a day of high everything, calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Everyone got to take home enough food for a week.
Of course,  thanksgiving was not quite complete without televised parades and football games between rival colleges.

In my immediate family, because we live in different states, every two years we travel to the Carolinas and celebrate Christmas at Thanksgiving. Our menus aren't as elaborate as the ones in the past, but they  taste as good and have half the fat and calories. And all of our Christmas shopping is done! Christmas and Thanksgiving is still the season of the year that gives adults and children alike the warmest of memories to carry with them for a lifetime.

GFWW holiday recipes appear in the recipe section of this blog. If you have a recipe that you would like to share, please send it along. We'd like to receive it. If it's one passed down through your family and you don't know the origin, say that. If you've gotten it from a copyrighted cookbook, we need to know that also. Now it's your turn....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanksgiving is over and I'm already gearing up for Christmas. I'm into " bake a cookie a day" for Christmas. Yesterday I baked pecan pie tarts. They freeze well.
Pecan Pie Tarts
6 ounces cream cheese
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2.Grease 30 small muffin cups and set aside.
3.To Make Crust: In a medium mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and 1 cup butter until light and fluffy. Blend in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, forming a smooth dough. Roll into 30 equal balls and press one into each greased tin so it lines the bottom and sides, like a pie crust.
4.To Make Filling: In a medium mixing bowl cream together 1/4 cup butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Stir in pecans. Fill each lined tin half full. Mixture will rise as it bakes.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool in tins, then use the end of a table knife to flip each tart out of the tin.
Hope you enjoy.
Carol

Ruby Johnson said...

Carol:
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe! Nothing like a mini version of pecan pie.

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