Especially during the holidays, gathering as family around the dining table brings a comfort you can’t find anywhere else. When you pass around Mom’s signature stuffing she makes every year without fail, and wait anxiously for Grandma’s decadent dessert, you are reminded of home, of tradition. At Town&Style, we celebrate this connection among generations by sharing some of our favorites. So from our family to yours, we hope you enjoy these recipes—they just might become a tradition in your homes as well!
rose’s cranberry jell-o mold
from publisher Lauren Rechan
This is a family favorite that my grandmother, Rose Sherman, would bring to every holiday gathering I can remember. After she passed away, it took years of trial and error (always unsuccessful!) before I finally found her old, handwritten recipe in a drawer. It’s a cross between jellied cranberry and Jell-O and therefore can please everyone from kids to adults. The banana gives it a great twist! Fill the center of the mold with mandarin oranges, pineapple bits or anything you like. We filled it with Waldorf Salad this year.
1 can Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry (14 oz.)
1 small box Cranberry Jell-O
1 small box Strawberry Jell-O
2 c. boiling water
2 small, just-ripe bananas
Put the dry Jell-O mix into a blender and add the 2 cups boiling water. Stir for a minute to melt gelatin. Add all other ingredients and turn on blender to completely combine. Mixture should be smooth. Pour into a Jell-O mold of choice (this makes about 3 to 4 cups of liquid). Refrigerate overnight (preferably) to set, but can be done the day of, if needed.
spoon eggnog
from associate editor Julia M. Johnson
I make this every year on the day my parents and I trim their Christmas tree. It’s from my mom’s 50-year-old Betty Crocker cookbook. We put the tree up and decorate it first, then have eggnog while we’re sitting back, listening to holiday music and enjoying our work. You can make this recipe with liquor if you like; I prefer vanilla extract instead. The eggnog is very thick and rich, making it more of a dessert than a beverage … so eat it with a spoon!
4 eggs, separated
1/2 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
2 c. whipping cream, whipped
1-2 T. rum or 2 t. vanilla extract, if desired
Beat egg yolks, sugar and salt together until thick. Fold egg yolk mixture into whipped cream. Beat egg whites until stiff; fold into egg-cream mixture. Chill until cold. Spoon into glasses, and garnish with a sprinkle of ground nutmeg or cloves. Makes about 4 large servings.
ethel weiner’s indian potatoes
from editor Dorothy Weiner
This recipe is something my mother-in-law would make at family gatherings. It’s served warm and has delicious East Indian flavors. The recipe came from the Weiner family’s foreign exchange student, Ishwar, and his wife, Reena.
5 lbs. white potatoes
½ T. mustard seed
1 T. cumin seed
2 T. coriander
Salt to taste
At least 2 hot green peppers (jalapenos), chopped
1 ¼ c. oil, heated
Cook potatoes in skins. Cool, peel, and cube. Add everything except oil and peppers. Then pour hot oil in, and mix well. Add peppers and heat on stove.
christmas pudding
from senior editor Alexa Beattie
The only things missing from this recipe are the little silvery sixpence my grandmother buried in the pudding for luck. (Never mind broken teeth.)
1 lb. mixed dried fruit (golden and black raisins and chopped apricots)
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored
and roughly chopped
1 orange, finely grated zest and juice
3 T. brandy or rum
3 oz. butter, softened
3 1/2 oz. light brown sugar
2 eggs
4 oz. self-raising flour
1 t. allspice
1 1/2 oz. fresh white breadcrumbs
1 1/2 oz. almonds, roughly chopped
Measure mixed fruit and apple into a bowl with the orange juice. Add brandy or rum. Stir and leave to marinate for one hour.
In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and orange zest with a wooden spoon or mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little of the measured flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
Sift together the flour and spice, then fold into the creamed mixture with the breadcrumbs and the nuts. Add the soaked dried fruits with their soaking liquid, and stir well.
Generously butter a 5-cup pudding mold lined with foil or parchment paper at the bottom. Add pudding mixture and press down with the back of a spoon. Cover the pudding with a layer of parchment and foil loosely to allow for expansion. Tie this cover securely with string under the rim of the mold. Trim excess paper with scissors.
To steam, put the pudding in the top of a steamer filled with simmering water, cover with a lid and steam for eight hours, adding more water as necessary. Keep in refrigerator until day of serving.
On Christmas Day, reheat pudding by steaming a further two hours. Turn the pudding onto a serving plate. Slowly heat brandy or rum in a small pan, pour it over the hot pudding and light it. Serve with brandy butter or whipped cream and top with sprig of holly.