Happy Friday! I’m enjoying my morning coffee and having fun reading through all of your blog comments yesterday. So many of you are carrying on family legacies in your knitting/quilting/sewing/crocheting. I know future generations will be the lucky recipients of some of your beautiful work. The winner of yesterday’s blog contest is Melanie in Utah who wins this mega bundle of Wonderland Yarns Messenger Hat Kit! (The pattern is on the inside of the label, and this bundles makes two hats. It’s a sport weight yarn and there are 516 yards in the bundle.) Melanie, we’ll get this shipped out to you today, and I hope you enjoy it! Remember, we’re celebrating our Eighth Anniversary with eight blog contests over the next week and a half. See the end of today’s post for the details on Contest #3 and get entered.
Today’s recipe is one that our Office Manager Lynn shared with us. Her family makes this every year at Thanksgiving. We tried it this summer and it was delicious. It has a great caramel/maple taste, and we used maple syrup from the Arnold Family Farm (cousins!). I’ll bet it would be awesome on pecan pie, or with a few pecans sprinkled on top.
Lynn’s Maple Ice Cream
6 large egg yolks
1 cup pure maple syrup (the darker the syrup, the stronger the taste)
2 tsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups light cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Beat the egg yolks with the maple syrup, flour and salt. Set aside.
Bring the half and half to a simmer in a heavy saucepan. Then slowly beat the hot half and half into the eggs and maple syrup. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard begins to thicken slightly. (Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble.)
Remove from heat and pour the hot maple custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.
Stir the chilled custard, then pour it into your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft serve, or transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 2 hours or more for firmer ice cream.
Today’s Contest Question: Do you have a favorite family recipe that you make at just certain times of the year? (And if so, why not make it more often? Or would it be less special that way?) Leave a comment below and we’ll randomly draw a winner to receive our next great prize. Watch for the prize and winner on Monday’s blog post, along with Contest #4. Thanks for helping us celebrate eight years of fun!
Sheri whoneedstomotorthroughCampLoopyProjectThreethisweekend
Raspberry Dumplings! It sounds “odd” I know. My Mother-in-law makes this once a year when we can get fresh raspberries. I was skeptical until I tried the sweet, tender dumplings drenched in melted butter with the fresh semisweet raspberry sauce on top – yummy! She hasn’t passed along the recipe (yet) and makes it only 1 time a year. AND…… it MUST be served in the one & only blue and white enamel “Raspberry Dumpling Bowl.”
My dad was an awesome home chef! Sundays were spent eating his fine gourmet food (we really didn’t fully appreciate it until adulthoood) as 5 course meals. My favorite meal that he made was very special– and he always made it for New Years Day. It was German Saurbraten with Gingersnap gravy! (Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.) It was special because he would start the process of the roast on the day after Christmas as it needs to marinate for several days and then New Years Day– look out!!
We make a cookie that we call Puffs around Christmas. I have made them at other times of the year and it just doesn’t feel right.
We have peanut butter ice cream pie we only make in the summer for my sister’s and son’s birthday, and only make rommegrot (a Norwegian flour and butter pudding) at New Year’s Eve. My family would faint if I made them any other time because it is “tradition” to only have them at certain times.
Most of my family’s recipes center around the holidays. There is pierogi and kolache from my Mom’s family and my Grandmother’s Russian Black Bread. I love them all! But with my diagnosis of Celiac disease in 2009 came the realization that I cannot eat them any longer. Gluten-free flour just doesn’t behave the same.
I’ve taught my sons and daughter the recipes and this year – we’re going to let my 3 year old grandson help! It’s my way of making sure the traditions live on!
I make a salad that is (and Sherry, you might know this one) the “Pasta House” salad or the “Rich and Charlie’s” salad from a restaurant chain in St. Louis. I tend to make it for special occasions but there’s absolutely no good reason not to make it more often.
I make taboulleh salad to go with holiday meals. (bulgur wheat, parsley, tomatoes, scallions, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil). The lemony flavor goes very well with rich holiday meals. It is my youngest son’s favorite. He lives in Poland and will be home next week for a visit. There will be taboulleh. That will be a special occasion.
Thanksgiving is not complete without the family’s sweet potato casserole, I have made it at other times fo the year but it just tastes better as part of our Thanksgiving meal.
Custard pie any time.
I make giant cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day morning every year.
family recipe: my mother’s peach pie has always been a summer fave b/c the peaches must be at their freshest.
I make an egg soufflé for either New Years morning or Christmas morning. I usually make it only then, because I have enough family or friends gathered to eat the entire soufflé in one sitting.
I make pumpkin cake only at Christmas and a Thanksgiving but should make it more:-)
Congrats!
I have a honey cake recipe that I only make for the Jewish holidays. It took me over 20 years to find it
I loved homemade caramels when my husband’s grandmother made them at Christmas. I got a recipe from a friend and make them for Chanukah because they are golden like candles. I sometimes make the om request but they are still special because I don’t make them often. Kind of like turkey is special on Thanksgiving.
A pumpkin lasagne that I can only make in the fall. Family loves it!
Every holiday morning gets cinnamon monkey bread.
I don’t make anything very special, but everyone asks me to make my very veggie salads…abudance of various veggies, lettuce and cilantro and more than one type of dressing is offered.
I make cheese straws at Christmas – only at Christmas, because that’s when my aunt made them. If it’s not Christmas, it just wouldn’t be the same. It’s too bad, because I really love them.
Special cutout sugar cookies only at Christmas time. And the entire family decorates them on Christmas eve.
I make a confection called Taiglach (spitting needs to happen when you pronounce the ch).
It is hard balls of dough spiced with ginger that are boiled in a brown sugar/ginger syrup until they are golden brown. They are made at Chanukah cause that’s when my grandmother made them. Even though no chocolate is involved, they are delicious and I can’t stop eating them so I rarely make them.
Yes, I make cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s just the way it is; it wouldn’t feel right any other time.
my favorite family recipe is also ice cream! We have a tradition of making homemade peach ice cream every summer using in season peaches. It is so delicious! Usually we sit around the table talking and eating as much ice cream as possible and it is not the same other times of the year!
I make cranberry cake every year at Thanksgiving, and dark chocolate cake with peppermint frosting for my husband’s birthday cake. Both have become part of our special occasions!
Yummy recipe! I think I need to buy an ice cream maker!
One of the recipes that I like is my mother’s Vegetable soup. I don’t make it a lot but when I do, I always remember having it when I was a little kid. She’s gone now, so when I make it next time, it will be a nice memory of her!
Congrats to the winner of yesterday!!!
Latkes (aka potato pancakes) — we make them around Hanukkah in December and a few other times during the year. They’re not hard, but somehow I think having them infrequently makes us all really excited when we do have them.
There are several seasonal family recipes I love. I always make my grandmother’s corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day (and sometimes Easter). And then there’s the cracker mix my mom found a recipe for when I was in HS, we have made it every year since. She’s adapted her recipe over the years, but I still make the one that’s as close to the original as the recipe allows (lots of crackers that are in the recipe that are no longer made. I miss you Twigs.)
My family has a long standing tradition of making English Toffee every year at Christmas for friends (and ourselves). Including a pound of real butter, 1 pound of Hershey’s chocolate, almonds, etc.-it’s so addicting-even the crumbs are savored as sprinkles over ice cream! I will make the candy during the year for special requests, but usually right after Thanksgiving is when folks start asking when (not if) I will start making the candy.
Rum balls for New Year’s Eve parties! They are so decadent, perfect for that night alone. 🙂
I just made my mom’s potato salad today. I only make this for special parties for friends who love it. Hard boiled eggs and chopped onion are the texture and flavor plus some secret spices.
My Grammy’s eggnog is the stuff of legend – a dozen raw eggs, heavy cream, a fifth of bourbon – it’s a heart attack in a glass and we all love it!
My mom’s cheesecake is a Christmas staple. It has a sour cream top layer. Yum!
We make “Poppa Zoppa’s Turkey Stuffing” pretty much only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We’ve done it once in a while on a different date, but it does seem a little wrong to do so!
New year’s Day chile verde. I only make it once a year because it has so many ingredients .I often start it a day ahead and finish it up during the bowl games. This year the kids got stuck in ski traffic and it took them hours to get home. They were so happy to have the chile verde waiting for them when they returned.It is a 20 year tradtition.
Pumpkin bread between T’giving and Christmas. They get frozen and given as gifts. My mother also makes raspberry shortbread bars as gifts only at Christmas.
My family makes Waldorf salad for Thanksgiving. We occasionally make it for events but it’s never quite the same.
I make my mom’s recipe for sausage stuffing at the holidays. The rest of the year we don’t eat things like that! Too many calories!
Apple crisp was always a fall treat in my family. And my mom’s Christmas cookie selection is still the talk of my family during the holiday season.
Every year at Christmas we make a dark cherry jello. It has cherries, pineapple, nuts, and cream cheese cubes. It was a tradition started before I was born. It is delicious!
We have a bean dip recipe that we have for special occasions. It makes a lot so we don’t have it that often but there is no reason other than we can’t eat all of it without company!
Pecan Puffs (from the Joy of Cooking) are our official family cookie. They are made most often for Christmas, but I occasionally make them for other family events – like our family trip to the Tetons last summer. I don’t have what could be considered a large family, but even so they go so fast there’s no point in making anything smaller than a triple batch.
Every Christmas Eve growing up we had oyster stew, which is basically oysters cooked in milk, worchestershire, pepper and butter. Some of the brothers and sisters didn’t want the oysters so I made sure I sat next to them when they were trying to get rid of them. My husband doesn’t want this at all but I still make myself a small pot of this because what is Christmas Eve without oyster stew???
My brother always makes boeuf bourgignon and creme brulee for Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas morning, my sister-in-law makes this brunch casserole that we simply call Egg Dish. It’s the only time we eat these things, and I think they would be less special if we ate them more frequently than that.
Also… who can afford to eat such rich food all the time?
For Thanksgiving I bake a pecan pie with a chocolate base. It is delish but too rich and fattening to make on a regular basis.
We have an old family recipe for dressing, that only gets made for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone loves it! I make it in huge batches, so everyone has plenty to take home. If we want dressing any other time of the year, we use a different recipe!
Orange sweet rolls for Christmas morning. I have actually made them at other times but only upon special request for, say, a birthday breakfast. They do say Christmas for the family so I try to limit the number of times I make them. Better for the waistline, too.
I make a family tradition pumpkin pie. The recipe is secret, well kind of, but I only make it during the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I assumed the pie making role when my Father passed away in 2006. I hope I make it as well as he did.
I make an applesauce cake in the fall/winter. It was brought over from Germany by my great great grandfather. I add chunks of apple an raisins to it and serve it warm fresh from the oven – so delicious!
Cut out sugar cookies that we decorate as a family….and now the grandaughter is old enough to be part of the tradition! We make them for Christmas and Easter. I don’t make them more often because I am too lazy!! Want to spend my time knitting instead.
I only make Italian Chocolate Chip cookies at Christmas, because it’s my husband’s family’s tradition to do it then. I usually try to do them Thanksgiving weekend, so we can munch on them from Advent through Epiphany.
I also only make my grandmother’s sweet potato casserole on major holidays because that is my family’s tradition.
No one asks for them at other times of year, so I don’t usually think to make them except for holidays.