3 posts tagged “christmas”
I told my friend Maggie Mason about a family Christmas tradition we have regarding left over candy canes. While we love getting candy canes for Christmas, especially when they are picturesquely perched in our stockings, we don't particularly want to eat the whole darn thing.
So a few years back, we started gathering the left overs and making Candy Cane Ice Cream. It's delish, and takes care of those peppermint scragglers in one fell swoop. We'll be having ours with friends on New Year's Day after a lunch of homemade North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ. Here's our favorite recipe, based on one we found in Joy of Cooking:
Peppermint Candy Cane Ice Cream
(requires ice cream maker!)
1/2 pound peppermint candy canes
2 cups milk (preferably whole - this is not health food, people)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whipping cream
Crush peppermint candy canes to very small pieces. Add milk to candy in a medium size bowl. Stir and refridgerate overnight. Add cream and whipping cream and thn freeze in ice cream maker per machine instructions. Enjoy!
It's been years since I have considered myself a practicing Christian. Still, I love the holidays, the decorations, the baking, the whole shebang. I imagine that must irritate people for whom this is an intensely important religious holiday. Like how environmentalists must resent the people who only celebrate the earth on Earth Day, them go back to their lives of styrofoam and SUVs.
That being said, I can't imagine there's a down side to having everyone, regardless of their affiliation, gather together with those they love, and celebrate. I guess at some point, it becomes Thanksgiving 2.0.
I wonder, though, how and why things you've "outgrown" still tug at your heartstrings. Why does "O, Holy Night" make me cry? Assuming it's performed well, am I just having an intense aesthetic experience? Or have I retained more beliefs around Christmas than I will allow myself to admit? What inexplicably makes you cry?
Those who know we know that I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished baker. But one of my most requested treats falls into the aft maligned "no-bake" category. In the interest of gaining as much weight as possible over the holidays, I give you...Tennessee Snowflakes! These somewhat trashy confections were first discovered in a tin in the pantry during a summer of nannying in East Tennessee. They sound disgusting but are fairly addictive, and even the most incapable cook can make then.
- Melt a bag of white chocolate chips in the microwave per the package instructions.
- Spread a bit of peanut butter in between two Ritz crackers.
- Dip the peanut butter cracker sandwich in the melted chocolate. Set on wax paper until chocolate sets. Can also be put in the fridge to cool if you can't wait for room temperature to do its thang.
Friends, it will become a beloved holiday tradition to work up a batch of these babies. Enjoy!
xoxo
mags
