Staff report
As the holidays near, The Pagosa Springs SUN is asking readers to share special family recipes. The SUN will share selected recipes with our readers during the upcoming holidays.
Please submit your recipes to editor@pagosasun.com beginning now and not later than Dec. 16.
To kick off recipe sharing, following are some of the recipes shared by SUN readers last year.
The SUN staff looks forward to receiving your family recipes.
Glögg
From the kitchen of Diane Levison.
When I was young, I remember my dad making Norwegian Glögg, a hot, strong, mulled wine-type drink around the holidays. I grew up on the Fox River in Illinois and just before Christmas, my mom and dad would go out in this little Viking ship they made out of a fishing boat, cut through the ice in the river to get to the middle where there was open water, and ride up and down the river, handing out candy canes to the kids and glögg to their parents. Oh yeah, one more thing — they were dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus! Needless to say, this was embarrassing to me as a teen, but now I can embrace my parents’ spirit, uniqueness and ode to our Norwegian heritage traditions.
The glögg recipe I used of my dad’s was much more complicated than what I currently make, and it used a lot more liquor. It called for burgundy and port wine, brandy, 151 rum and Everclear (grain alcohol) in various parts of the recipe. Let’s just say it was incredibly good and very dangerous. My version is easier and tastes like dad’s. Enjoy!
2 bottles (750 ml each) of red wine. (I like darker ones like burgundy, cabernet sauvignon or port.) They don’t have to be pricey; boxed wine is fine.
10-15 cloves
20 green cardamom pods (cracked)
4 inches of fresh ginger or equivalent amount of frozen shaved ginger or ginger paste
1/2 cup raisins (you can substitute Craisins, dried apricots or prunes)
1/2 cup blanched almonds (the skin is bitter; you don’t want the skins on)
1 orange peel or 2 teaspoons dried orange peel
3 large cinnamon sticks
1 cup honey (or 1 1/3 cups of cane sugar)
The following ingredients are added closer to the end of cooking, not at the beginning:
1 cup vodka (or brandy)
1/2 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec or similar orange liqueur
Put all the ingredients except the vodka/brandy and Cointreau/Triple Sec in a large crock pot. It’s best to put the small spices in a cheesecloth or tea strainer balls so they are easy to take out of the glögg. Cook on low for 2-3 hours or so. Do not let it come to a boil as that will cause the alcohol to evaporate and Christmas won’t be as merry.
The longer you cook the glögg, the more flavor will come out of the spices. Towards the end, add the last two liquors. Turn to “warm” and serve immediately or put into glass bottles or containers along with the fruit and almonds and refrigerate to serve later. You can garnish with orange slices, additional dried fruit and cinnamon sticks if you like. Serve with a spoon so your guests can eat the fruit and nuts in the glögg.
Note: If you don’t have one of the ingredients, but have something similar, feel free to use an alternate that’s on hand that you like. That’s why I’ve noted the alternates in the recipe. I rarely use precise recipes in the drinks I make. Taste, and add or modify to fit your taste.
Monster Cookies
From the kitchen of Kristi Smith.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, combine and cream:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
Add and mix well:
3 eggs
Add and mix:
1 1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add and mix in the following, one cup at a time:
4 1/2 cup quick oats
Stir in:
1 cup M&Ms
1 cup chocolate chips
Using ice cream scoop (to make monster-sized cookies), scoop out mixture onto cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes.
Kruidige Rodekool: Spiced Red Cabbage
From the kitchen of Maxine Everaert.
This is a family favorite which was always served either at my husband’s home or later at our home. Our three girls also use it.
4 servings
1/4 cup butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 small red cabbage, finely shredded
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 cloves
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash of vinegar
In a saucepan, place 1 tablespoon butter, the water and salt. Add red cabbage, apples and cloves and simmer 45 minutes.
Add remaining butter, sugar and vinegar and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove cloves before serving.
Tamale Dressing
From the kitchen of TJ Roseth.
A new twist on southern cornbread dressing.
Mix together:
Masa from 6-8 tamales, crumbled into small pieces
3 slices toasted white or wheat bread, torn into small pieces
4 boiled eggs, chopped
1 bunch of celery, chopped
3 green onions, chopped (just the chives if you don’t like onion)
Pinch of sage
2 teaspoons of salt
Place in a 9x12 baking dish. If you are having turkey with your meal, about an hour before the turkey is ready, take it out and pour drippings in with the dressing ingredients, otherwise use chicken or turkey broth. You will need at least 1 cup of drippings or broth to ensure that the dressing is quite moist before cooking. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and cook at least an hour at 350 F (or whatever temperature you are cooking the turkey). Uncover and cook another 30 minutes so that the dressing will get a little crispy on top.
One of the great things about this recipe is you can mix together all the ingredients a day or two prior and refrigerate in zip-lock bag until needed.
Angel Biscuits
From the kitchen of Shari Pierce.
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
Combine first five ingredients. Cut in shortening. Dissolve yeast in warm water, stir into buttermilk. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and stir to moisten. Cover and chill.
When ready to use, roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits with 2-inch cutters. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet or in glass baking pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes 4 dozen.
You can keep the dough in the refrigerator for several days and bake as desired for fresh biscuits.
