ANOTHER GREAT COUNTRY COOK

Born Diana Ellen Judd in Ashland, Kentucky, Naomi Judd is one of Country Music’s all-time greats.   A singer, song writer, author and actress, she is also a great mother (daughters Wynonna and Ashley) and a fabulous cook.  In fact, she wrote one of my best and most-used cookbooks (Naomi's Home Companion: A Treasury of Favorite Recipes, Food for Thought and Country Wit and Wisdom) .  I’d give anything if she’d write another cookbook!

 

 

Here is a recipe Naomi for a beautiful Thanksgiving casserole that you’re sure to enjoy.

NAOMI JUDD’S SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

"My mama was a cook on a riverboat in Mississippi. My mom knows her way around the kitchen. First of all, her grandmother, my great-grandmother, owned a little restaurant in our town. We lived in a one Dairy Queen kinda town, Ashland, Kentucky. The Judd family traditional holiday dinner is all made from scratch, and I think if I didn't make my Sweet Potato Casserole, Wynonna and Ashley would think they were orphans. They’d walk into the woods and never be heard from again… This is our traditional recipe" – Naomi

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds of sweet potatoes)
1/2  cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2  cup milk
1/2  stick or ¼ cup butter, melted
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1/2  cup packed light brown sugar
1/2  cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nuts
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a shallow 2-quart casserole.

In a medium bowl, stir together the potatoes, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, butter, salt, and vanilla and scrape the mixture into the prepared casserole.

Making the topping: In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, nuts, and flour. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Dot with the butter. Place the casserole on a baking sheet.

Bake, uncovered, in the 350 degree oven until heated through and lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY, TOO!

To Grandmother's House We Go -- Thanksgiving in Florida, 1962

Daddy carving the Turkey -- 1964 and 1965

Me and my sister Linda

Steve takes on the Thanksgiving Turkey

CAN’T HAVE THANKSGIVING WITHOUT YAMS

Want a real showstopper at your Thanksgiving Dinner Table?  Make your very own Cranberry Sauce.  My friend David’s Mom Joan always makes her own.  She has seven sons and each likes a different way of doing the sauce s she makes several kinds.  Each is different and delicious and you’ll be glad you tried them.  They’ll become a tradition at your holiday gatherings.  Thanks for sharing , Joan!

Cran-Raspberry Sauce

2 cans  (14 oz. each) jellied cranberry sauce

1 bag  (10 oz.) unsweetened frozen raspberries

Combine the cranberry sauce and frozen raspberries in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on high power, stirring occasionally, until the cranberry sauce has melted, about 8 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Strain, if desired, to remove any seeds. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.   Serves 10.

Fresh Orange-Cranberry Sauce with Walnuts

1 12-ounce bag cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 medium seedless orange, all peel and pith cut away, fruit diced

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

 

Combine first 4 ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook until cranberries are tender and mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in orange pieces and walnuts. Transfer to bowl. Cover and chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.   Serves 8.

Another Orange-Cranberry Sauce with Pecans

1 12-ounce bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more to taste
1 strip orange or lemon zest
1 orange, quartered (unpeeled), seeds removed
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, quartered (unpeeled), seeds removed
1/2 cup toasted pecans

 Empty cranberries into a saucepan, reserving 1/2 cup in a small bowl. To the saucepan, add 1 cup of the sugar, the lemon or orange zest, and 2 tablespoons water. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst, about 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the reserved cranberries. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Roughly chop the apple and orange in a food processor with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Fold into the cranberry sauce along with pecans. Let cool to room temperature before serving.

JELLIED CRANBERRAY SAUCE

This jelly bears no resemblance to the stuff in the can —it's definitely worth the effort. Though we call for 4 bags of cranberries, the yield is only 3 cups because all the solids get strained out. You'll be happy if you have any extra cranberry sauce when you make sandwiches with the leftover turkey.

 

4 (12-ounce) bags cranberries, thawed if frozen

3 cups sugar

3-1/3 cups cold water

2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (from three 1/4-ounce envelopes)

Bring cranberries, sugar, and 3 cups water to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until all berries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a large fine-mesh sieve set over a 2-quart glass measure or a bowl and let stand until all juices have drained through, about 30 minutes. If necessary, press on solids until there is enough juice to measure 3 cups, then discard solids.

Stir together gelatin and remaining 1/3 cup water and let stand 1 minute to soften. Bring 1 cup drained cranberry liquid to a simmer in a small saucepan, then add gelatin mixture and stir until just dissolved. Add gelatin mixture to remaining cranberry liquid and stir well. Pour cranberry sauce into lightly oiled mold and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until firmly set, at least 12 hours.

To unmold, run tip of a thin knife between edge of mold and cranberry sauce. Tilt mold sideways and tap side of mold against a work surface, turning it, to evenly break seal and loosen cranberry sauce. Keeping mold tilted, invert a plate over mold, then invert cranberry sauce onto plate.

Friday, November 6, 2014: SO GOOD TO BE HOME

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I have been in the hospital since Monday.  I was having excruciating pain in the lower left abdomen and although I had an appointment to see a gastroenterologist in a couple weeks, the pain became unbearable, so Steve took me over to Ocala regional Hospital.  I was admitted and my GI came to the hospital and ordered some pelvic imaging.  The next day, he told me that he had seen a golf ball-size mass and some polyps In the colon.  That same day an oncologist came to my room to discuss what could lay ahead.  Meeting with the cancer doctor was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.  I wasn’t prepared to even think about that.  But an immediate colonoscopy was ordered.  And the outcome is nothing short of a MIRACLE!  During the priocedure, NO MASS WAS FOUND!  Two polyps were removed which the GI doctor said do not appear to be cancerous (and he said he would know after performing thousands of these procedures).  The Lord heard the many, many prayers that were going up on my behalf and He healed me with a miraculous touch.  The mass had been there.  Three doctors had confirmed it and even knew the size and location.  But in an answer to prayer, it had disappeared completely.  I know several of you were among those praying for me and you’ll never know what that meant to me.  God is so good when we walk in faith with Him.  I feel that I am living a true Bible story!  I can’t thank Him enough.  And as Wynona Judd sings in one of my very favorite sings, “With every breath I take, I will give thanks to God above.  For as long as I shall live, I will testify of love”!

Just a quick recipe today.  Like my Grandmother before me, I am a huge fan of butter beans.  And this recipe is one of the best!

BARBECUED BUTTER BEANS

4 (15-1/2 oz) cans butter beans,   drained & rinsed

1/2 lb. bacon, fried

1 green pepper, cut up

 1 (1 lb) can stewed tomatoes                

1 (24 oz) bottle ketchup                

1/2 lb. brown sugar

1 onion, chopped

2 T. margarine

Mix ingredients in casserole.  Bake (covered) at 350-degrees for

2 hours; remove lid for the last half-hour.  Serve hot.