Wassail

I remember drinking this a long time ago after a night of caroling. It was powdered and still good. This recipe is wonderful. We all loved it, and it's so easy to make. --Mark

Ingredients:

1 gallon 100% orange juice (or a mixture of 100% juices)
1 orange, thinly sliced
10 whole cloves or a pinch of ground cloves
5 cinnamon sticks, or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer and serve

Notes:

To make a smaller amount just estimate and enjoy.

Eileen's Spicy Gingerbread Men

We love the idea of making wonderful, traditional holiday treats, but we are not always the best at doing them. This is a recipe we found when we needed to make gingerbread men for one of Kate's activities. They were surprisingly simple and very flavorful. --Mark

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.

Notes:

*Be generous with spices, almost double the cloves *Chill a long time and you won't need extra flour

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Eileens-Spicy-Gingerbread-Men/Detail.aspx

Cheese Ball

Cheese balls are a holiday tradition at our house and this one has a simple taste and is addictive. We can pick at it all day long. We tend to leave the nuts off to make it easier to get at the cheese. Do what you will. --Mark

Ingredients:

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese

1 jar Old English Cheese spread (Kraft)

1 T minced onion

dash garlic powder

chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

Mix all and chill for a while. Form a ball, Crush walnuts and place on top. Serve with crackers.

Toffee ("Christmas Crack")

I love this recipe. It's so weird, unique, and delicious! It's so hard to stop eating this!! I don't even like toffee that much otherwise, but made with saltines? Oh yeah! Sweet and salty. We love to make these at Christmas time especially. I got this recipe from my ex-sister-in-law Tammy. --Stacy

Ingredients:

Saltines
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
Topping (colored chocolate chips, Reese's Pieces, walnuts, etc.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray large cookie sheet. Cover with saltines. In a saucepan, heat butter and brown sugar to boiling. Once boiling, boil for 3 minutes exactly, stirring constantly. Then, pour mixture over crackers and coat all crackers. Next, place sheet into oven for exactly 5 minutes. Remove promptly and pour 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips over tray and allow to melt. Spread chocolate evenly over entire tray of toffee and cover with your favorite topping. Place in fridge until firm. Break into pieces and serve. Enjoy!

Notes:

Follow the directions EXACTLY. It says 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, but you use a whole bag, which might be more like 2 cups.

Biscoitos Artemisia

These are our traditional holiday cookies. We make them every year, we make a lot of them, and we eat them daily for breakfast. These cookies alone account for my usual winter 5-pound gain. They're simple and delicious and it's so hard, if not nearly impossible, to eat just one. -- Stacy

Ingredients:

9 cups flour
2 cups sugar
8 eggs, slightly beaten
1 lb. butter, melted
2 T baking powder in 4 T milk

Instructions:

Combine first 2 ingredients. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Shape by grabbing a bit of dough, rolling it into a "snake," and forming a donut-shaped cookie. We also like to shape them into letters and dots. Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350° F for about 9-10 minutes. My Dad always liked them cooked longer and crispier. I prefer them cooked for less time and softer. Bake as you wish.

Notes:

This recipe is from my Tia Artemisia (she's my mother's sister). Once you bake these, keep them in a covered container to keep them fresh.

Prime Rib

We're not big beef eaters, but a good prime rib is hard to resist. Not that we eat prime rib all that often either. Serve it with some delicious Yorkshire pudding, though, and that's magic on a dinner table. --Mark

Ingredients:

One rib roast
Garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Slit the roast in multiple locations. Insert garlic into slits. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and cover. Roast for 60 minutes and then turn off the heat. Leave in oven for 90 minutes. Do not open the oven!

Notes:

If using a meat thermometer, cook to an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Crushed garlic works well, too.