Good Morning,

The big meal was three days ago and the remnants of it still remain as refrigerator storage containers of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, yams, ambrosia salad, cranberries and a plethora of other food dishes, enough to have the meal all over again.  Then of course there are the desserts waiting in the wings, like pumpkin chiffon pie, sour cream raisin pie, Oreo balls and the granddaddy of them all “The Cherpumple” cake, which we managed to consume but only half.

Saturday I made my turkey noodle soup (7-quarts) and that evening had everyone back over for the occasion.  Around here it has become a tradition of sorts and it somehow just seems right with the onset of winter to have a good soup.  Mine always turns out more like a stew with too little broth.  The extra large noodles I use may have something to do with that as well.

I for one, happen to like leftovers as the seasonings have had time to work their magic on the recipe.  So I now look forward to a series of “mini-meals” this next week with most including potato bread, turkey and ham sandwiches.

I like Thanksgiving the best of the holidays and I believe it is because it is still considered a family holiday and an opportunity to recognize the things we are thankful for.  While the efforts persist, it still hasn’t been commercialized like the others.  I guess they leave that for the day after, “Black Friday” as the official launch to Christmas and the opportunity to stampede a stranger into the floor of the retail outlets that are competing for the almighty dollar.

This year we had all of the children and their families here, which I really enjoyed.  I think it is important that we have this time to at least catch up on one another before we return to the day-to-day of our lives when the focus shifts to providing and surviving.  It is easy to get lost in our own little circle of life and as the days fly by and we lose connection to our roots.

I am thankful for the relationships I have with my children and while each one is unique, none is more important than the other, for each one is precious to me.  Maybe that is what makes each one special, just for the differences we all share.  I am also thankful for the 34-year relationship I have had with Jeanie.  We have seen a lot of Thanksgivings come and go and each one offers up memories of times spent together.

Well, the Christmas lights are now up and soon we will slide into the holiday, another new year and ride that next trip around the sun, before we know it.

Love, Dad

P.S. Thank you Dedra for the photo.

Good Morning,

My mother Leona’s recipes when using potatoes always seemed to start out with 10lbs of potatoes.  Whether it was Potato Salad, Potato Soup or Mashed Potatoes it was always 10lbs.  It could have been from how she was raised in a family of 10.  She being one of eight brothers and sisters living on a farm in Nebraska, you would learn to cook “for the masses” such as large family gatherings, thrashing crews and the like, so the recipes would naturally be larger.

Over the years, I realized that my mother’s greatest concern when having people over for dinner, was not having enough food.  So almost always there was enough left over for another whole meal or that last minute drop-in to join us.  Everyone was welcome at my mother’s table and none more so then at Thanksgiving.

The old antique oak round claw-foot table, which my parents bought in the early 50s and now resides at our house, would expand to 12 feet long. (impressive) I once saw it accommodate 19 people for Thanksgiving and my mother cooked most of the meal with delight.  She loved doing this kind of thing.  This Thanksgiving it will see 15 souls around it in celebration of things to be thankful for and family being one of them.

One of the staples of the meal was her mashed potatoes and are still lovingly made today by our family for special meals.  Mind you these are not just any mashed potatoes and if you are a lover of such things, then these will surely win you over.

Here is the recipe and remember if you take this on…don’t skimp, she may be watching.

• 10lbs. of Russet Potatoes
• 1lb. Real Butter (softened)
• 1 Pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Pint Half & Half
• 1 Tsp Paprika

Clean, quarter and boil potatoes with the skins on, drain water, then peel and lightly mash into a large mixing bowl.  While still hot add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, salt and then after mixing by hand, add half & half to thin as desired.  Place in a large bowl, dot with butter and sprinkle lightly with a little Paprika for color.

All of this should be done a little before serving, as the mashed potatoes will thicken from sitting.  If they have to be transported to another place then you may want to make them thinner to start.

So there you have it.  The mashed potatoes are guaranteed to be a hit and usually always demand seconds, so if you are thinking of cutting down on the recipe, you may wish to reconsider.  I have actually seen some guest opt out of pie and go back for more mashed potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving and Bon Appétit

Love, Dad

Photos:

Top:  We kept the finished Mashed Potatoes in a large crock pot to keep them warm before the meal.  It also makes them easy to transport.  Stir once more and add butter and paparika just before serving.  Note a box of Subarashii Kudamono Asian Pears in the background. Wonderful fruit!

Bottom:  In our kitchen, Jon Jr hand mixing the potatoes in large bowl.  Notice the Butter, Sugar and Cream Cheese box in the background.  Jeanie is watching the process.

Good Morning

As a child in the 40s & 50s, we ate a lot of different things at home, many of them home canned or pickled. It is entirely possible that the time and place my parents were raised would have had an influence on that.  My Mom grew up on a small farm with seven other brothers and sisters in North Eastern Nebraska and in the house where my Grandmother Arp gave birth to her in 1915. 

Magnet School 1925

Times were… well let’s just say different then, and being self-sufficient more prevalent than today.  There was a General Store a country mile away in the little town of Magnet, (est. 1893) along with a Post Office, Methodist Church on the corner, City Park, Jail House, Grain Mill next to the railroad tracks, Livery and Service Station, and the Magnet School (K-12) where mom walked to every school day for 12 years.  (Mom is front row, third from the left.  She is 10 years old in the photo.)

 When you lived on a farm in the mid-west back then, you used everything you produced.  I’ve heard stories, but never experienced even a fraction of what they did.  Of course there were fresh vegetables from the garden and there were always fresh eggs from the hen house along with some of the freshest fried chicken (in bacon grease) you have ever tasted, once you lopped its head and plucked it clean of feathers and innards.  The bacon grease came from the pig that you raised, slaughtered, butchered, and cured the hams, bacon and other bits and pieces.  This was done mostly in the winter where the meat could be stored in a small room upstairs set aside as a cooler and where items would stay cold if not frozen.  Pickling and canning was the way of preserving food where refrigeration was not available and then storing these things in the storm cellar.  When you lived in Tornado Alley, (Magnet has been hit twice by tornados) you had a storm cellar which also doubled as a food cellar since the temperature was stable and cooled from the earth around it, food would keep longer, albeit a bit dark unless you lit the kerosene lamp. 

  Mom knew how to bake, cook, cure, can and pickle from the time she was a small girl and I was one of the beneficiaries of the products from those skills.  It always seemed that we had canned fruit and veggies around, but as she got older and the family smaller there was less and less of it.  Of course, in the 50s when I was in my adolescence and later a teenager, the last thing I wanted to learn were those skills, for there were more important things in my myopic world.  So, I didn’t… and in retrospect, I now realize I missed a golden opportunity to learn from a master of her craft.

 For years mom would make pickled eggs with a little bit of liquid smoke for flavor.  She has been gone from us now for close to a decade and I realized the other day that I was missing those eggs.  It also could have been her that I was missing or those times, as well as the eggs and like and anchor that ties us to another time I needed to placate the condition and conger up a jar or two.

 They are really pretty simple to make as long as you are willing to spend the time.  Here is how to do it:

• 1 – Quart – Mason Jar w/Lid  [I like the old looking kind with the wire latches]
• 1 – Pint – White Vinegar
• 1 – Dozen – Large Eggs
• 1 – Table Spoon – “Wright’s Liquid Smoke - Mesquite Flavor”
• ¼ – Tea Spoon – Table Salt
• (Optional and highly recommended)
• 2 – 2” Jalapeño Peppers – 1-Green & 1-Orange, sliced in 1/8” rounds.

Pickled Eggs

To Do:

•  Hard-boil the eggs (25 min.) peel and wash.
• Place eggs in Mason Jar or a 1 quart jar of your choice, taking care to create an organized appearance.
• (Add peppers during this time for even distribution and appearance.)
• Add White Vinegar to cover eggs
• Add Liquid Smoke
• Add Salt
• Cap the jar and gently turn it upside down a few times to stir up the salt and smoke.
• Place in refrigerator to keep them cool.
• Ready to eat in 3 days and they get better after that.

 The Jalapeño Peppers add more flavor than heat and is a variation from what my Mom’s used to be.  Certainly worth a try to see if you like them better.  I know they are nothing like picked pigs feet, (something we also ate) but these guys go great with beer and the like. 

 So there you have it.  Live the adventure and try it, you just may like it.

 Love, Dad

Photo Credits:

Magnet School from my mom’s photo alblum.

Pickled Eggs: Mine, but feel free to use it.

The Story,

In the late 1940s we lived just outside of Portland, Oregon in the little town of Hillsboro.  My mom worked at a grocery store named Tipton’s in what we would now consider the deli section.  Mom would make her Potato Salad along with other salads at home and then bring them in for the deli.  You could do that back then.  Mom “trained” her replacement who happened to be Mildred Reser on how she made her potato salad before she left.  Mrs. Reser started her business making potato salad from her home and secured a contract with Safeway Stores in 1951 after we had moved to California.

This story was told to me by my mother after she had moved back to Hillsboro and I have no reason to doubt it.  When I buy potato salad these days, I always go for Reser’s Mustard Potato Salad, as it is the closest to my mom’s that I have found.  Now I’m sure the recipe has changed some over the years, but this one will keep you coming back for more.   As with all of my Mom’s recipes, don’t skimp at least the first time when you make it.  There will be more opportunities to tweak it next time.

Ingredients:  (Serves Many)

• 10lbs of Russett Potatoes
• 3 Dozen Large Eggs
• 6 Bunches of Green Onions (Use tops as desired)
• 2 Cans Medium Black Olives (Sliced not diced)
• 2 Jars Chopped Pimentos
• 2 Quarts Sweet Pickles (Cut in small pieces)
• 2 Quarts Best Foods Mayonnaise
• 1 Cup Yellow Mustard
• 1/2 Cup White Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup Sweet Pickle Vinegar
• 1-1/3 Cup Sugar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix:

• Clean, quarter and boil potatoes with skins on.  Remove skins after cooked and cut in 1/4″-1/2″ slices in large mixing bowl.
• Hard boil eggs and peel.  Slice eggs once length ways and the in 1/2″ slices.  Put in mixing bowl.
• Clean and Chop Green Onions in 1/4″ slices at least 1/2 way up the greens. Put in mixing bowl.
• Slice Sweet Pickles once length ways and then in 1/4″ slices.  Put in mixing bowl.  Save Pickle Vinegar from jars.
• Drain and add Black Olives  and Pimentos to mixing bowl.

Dressing:

• In a separate mixing bowl add:
  • Mayonnaise
  • Mustard
  • White Vinegar
  • Sweet Pickle Vinegar
  • Sugar
  • Salt & Pepper
• Mix until blended. (not whipped)

Gently blend dressing into mixing bowl ingredients until it is a consistency you like and well mixed.  Keep any extra dressing to thin later.

The Potato Salad may still be warm, so unless you are going to serve it right away, put it in the refrigerator to chill.  I find it is better the next day when the flavor really starts to come out.

Note: As with any salad that contains mayonnaise, it is a good idea to keep it refrigerated when not serving.

Enjoy.

Senior’s Chili Colorado Recipe (Con-Carne)

I have enjoyed Chili Colorado for many years since my good friend Don Sutter introduced me to it at The El Sombrero in Portland, Oregon in the eighties.  This is a recipe which if you enjoy cooking and preparation should satisfy.  Much like riding a motorcycle, it is the journey much more than the destination.  I welcome any comments and suggestions that you feel will enhance this recipe for others.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

One of the staples of my mom’s meal was her mashed potatoes and they are still lovingly made today by our familyfor special meals.  Mind you these are not just any mashed potatoes and if you are a lover of such things, then

these will surely win you over.

Here is the recipe and remember if you take this on…don’t skimp, she may be watching.

• 10lbs. of Russet Potatoes
• 1lb. Real Butter (softened)
• 1 Pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 Pint Half & Half
• 1 Tsp Paprika

Clean, quarter and boil potatoes with the skins on, drain water, then peel and lightly mash into a large mixing bowl.  While still hot add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, salt and then after mixing by hand, add half & half to thin as desired.  Place in a large bowl, dot with butter and sprinkle lightly with a little Paprika for color.

All of this should be done a little before serving, as the mashed potatoes will thicken from sitting.  If they have to be transported to another place a crock pot works great and you may want to make them thinner to start.

So there you have it.  The mashed potatoes are guaranteed to be a hit and usually always demand seconds, so if you are thinking of cutting down on the recipe, you may wish to reconsider.  I have actually seen some guest opt out of pie and go back for more mashed potatoes.

Grandma Catherine (Tina) Arp’s Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Yields: One 9” Deep Dish Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Sour Cream (See Mix)
• 2 Eggs
• ½ Cup Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Teaspoon Allspice
• 1 Cup Raisins (See Plump)

(Mix) Sour Cream Mix Formula:

• 1 Cup ½ & ½
• 1 Cup Whipping Cream
• 1 Teaspoon White Vinegar
• Mix and let sit for 15 minutes.

(Plump) Raisins:

• Soak raisins in hot water for 2-3 minutes, strain and dry.

Blend Sugar, Cinnamon and Allspice.

Scramble Eggs in separate bowl.

Add Eggs and Dry Mix to Sour Cream.

Put even layer of raisins on bottom of uncooked pie shell.

Gently pour mix over raisins in shell to bring just up to edge of crust.

Bake at 450 degrees in preheated over for 15 minutes (Cover edges of crust during this time).

Then bake for 325 degrees until done.

Test for done when center no longer jiggles.

The pie will have a thin brown top color from the spices.

Raisins will remain on the bottom of the pie.

Note:

• I find it easier to make two pies at once by doubling the recipe, as any mix left over can go into a small baking dish and baked as a custard.
• It is also a good idea to pour the mix into the pie shell close to the oven as moving it when full can be a challenge for the faint of heart.
• I use pre-made pie shells, usually Marie Calendars.  I’m sure grandma made her own pie dough.
• Be sure to use edge covers for the first part of the baking or your crust will be burnt.
• A little whipped cream on the top when served is a nice touch.