May each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with plenty of good food and more important family sharing and caring. As usual I am hosting a dinner for all who can make it with open house the rest of the day (where you look after yourself at the abundantly supplied table of leftovers). Expecting 35 to 40 people at 1:00!! Hope they bring a lot as I am not able to do what I usually do. I will make my usual traditional cranberry salad. Whatever happens it will be a magical day.
Talk about magic, I was amazed and delighted last week. The phone rang and the caller ID read “Clarence” as I quickly answered. I have a niece whose husband is named Clarence and I was expecting it to be her. Imagine my excitement when I realized it was a voice from my past, but the Clarence was correct. During the 1950’s for 8 years we lived on a farm southwest of Melbern, which we rented , sharing the income from crops. The man who owned the land was an OLD, OLD man (he was about 80!!) but he was at the farm several times a week. He had a daughter who lived in Defiance and we saw her a number of times. Years later, she and her husband built a home on some of the acreage. She still lives there alone and is now 104, with 105 quickly approaching! We sent her an invitation to my 90th birthday celebration. She was unable to attend and wanted to call me. What a thrill to hear her voice. We had over a half hour chat catching up on her great state of health and both of our families. You made my day a very magic one, Margaret Bohn!
Today I had a food experience that perhaps I should not mention. It will spoil my image of those of you who think I know more about cooking than I do. Today I did not use what I really know. Last week’s recipe for the Frito meat balls intrigued me, but I did not want meat balls. I am not fond of corn chips but when I was at the local store I saw some small bags at 2 for $1.00. It would be worth it to try something so when I got home I found them in my grocery bag! First of all I had to crush them. I did not want to make a whole recipe and I had just enough chips to make a half recipe.
From then on it got dangerous. I thought I knew what the recipe stated so I put the soup in the meat. (It was supposed to be poured over the top.) That was not enough to stop me. I prepared my cast iron skillet on the small burner, then made three small burgers, I thought. With the soup in the meat they sprawled all over the skillet. So okay, I will have one big Frito burger. Remember me telling my daughters that you do not put something on the stove and then go into the living room. I forgot to mention that you do not go to check something on the computer in your bedroom. My almost original concoction was well past the well done stage on the bottom. I quickly turned it over and watched it brown on the other side, trying not to look at the nearly burnt top edge. I know, I will cover it with the rest of the mushroom soup, so I can’t see it. Out of sight, out of mind. Wrong. Sometimes I say to myself, “I do not have to eat that”. But with hamburger costing $3.99 a pound, plus my dollar for chips, those thoughts helped me eat the whole thing. I offered it up as penance, but I think I am way ahead of the game with penance.
Now have I scared you out of using any recipe I might offer? In the case that I have not spoiled my reputation I will include a recipe for beets that I found in an Aro cookbook that was a Christmas present to me in 1989 from my daughter’s kids. (It was submitted by Doyle Wines.) It will probably be a second cousin to Harvard beets.
SAUCY ORANGE BEETS
1 can of beets, 303
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons orange juice
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix flour and sugar together. Add orange juice a little at a time. Add butter and salt. Drain beets and add to the sauce. Heat on low heat until thickened.
CLUB CHICKEN
1 cup Club or Town House Crackers
1 package Italian salad dressing mix
2 to 3 pounds frying chicken
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Combine crackers and salad dressing mix in a large plastic bag. Shake 2 pieces of chicken at a time in the crumb mixture. Place chicken skin side up in a casserole dish. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.
After Thanksgiving Day you have my permission to proceed with your Christmas decorations, Christmas carols and lights. As for me I will get it done early in December. Each year I do less as I no longer have Christmas festivities at my home, but I want the house to look as if I know it is Christmas.
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