Once again, KERA is inviting you to tell us about the rituals and recipes that bring meaning and fulfillment to your holiday season.
Do you fill your kitchen with irresistible aromas that draw family and friends to your table? Perhaps you take part in spiritual services, read stories to your children or deck the halls with bright lights and a tree.
Add your memories and recipes by emailing details to traditions@kera.org . We’ll post them on this website and broadcast some on KERA radio.
Please send no more than 300 words. Recipes should include ingredients and cooking instructions. Provide your name and identify your community, and send a phone number and e-mail address where we can reach you. If you have a photo, send it as well.
Here are the traditions KERA listeners have shared so far:
• Sandra Mimi McLean, Rockwall: Christmas Train
• Joe Kalka, Dallas: Homemade Pierogis
• Sheryl Helt, Fort Worth: Handmade Christmas stockings
• Alexis Lhose, Fort Worth: Solstice Goblin
• Samra Bufkins: Post-Midnight Mass Christmas Celebration
• Christie Lape Roden, Denton: Denton Holiday Lighting Festival
• Ann Mayo, Arlington: A Christmas Carol Reading
• Lisa Cox, Fort Worth: Britcom Christmas Episodes
• Bob Reitz, Dallas: Christmas Lights through January
• Charlie and Susie Murray, Poolville: “Goat Berry Painting”
• Lawrence Wilson, Richardson: The Lion in Winter
• Abbey Daniels, Coppell: Jigsaw Puzzles
• Sharon Vaughan, Dallas: Dog Pictures
• Meredith Shafer, Dallas: English Bread Sauce
• Dessa Watson-Ferris, Dallas: Gingerbread Men
• Janet Reynolds, Dallas: Solstice Celebration, the Return of Light
• Kelly Pfiffner, Dallas: Pool Cranberries
• Melanie Lemley, Arlington: Advent and Christmas
• Aki Shane, Dallas: Collecting Menorahs
• Courtney Hernandez, Dallas: Horror Movie Christmas Eve
• Greg Glancy, Dallas: Retro Instant Christmas Tea
• Kelli Winn, White Settlement: Christmas Tree Paper Chain
• Sam Shane, Dallas: Hanukkah Candles
• Toni Maples, Weatherford: Decorating early
• Koni Ramos Kaiwi, Garland: Bunuelos
• Jennifer Friedel, Dallas: Kransekake
• Julie Clegg, Dallas: Charitable Donations
• Fred Duffy, Dallas: Medical City Tradition
• Millie Lozano, Irving: Peruvian Tamales
• Nicole LeBlanc, Dallas: Christmas Angel Program
• Cookie Baker, Fort Worth: James Brown Memorial Talent Show
• Natalie Lockhart, Dallas: Oyster Stew
• Rachael Biederman, Dallas: “Cheese-logging”
• Mary Lebus, Dallas: Holiday Harp
• Larry Ehemann, Dallas: Orange Slice Cake
• Carol Mills, Dallas: Elvis Drive-In
• Jonas Park, Dallas: Mandu
• Kineta Massey, Dallas: Buddhist Christmas
• Scott Bigelow, Dallas: Christmas Potatoes
• Carl Youngberg, Richardson: Cardomom Bread
• Bobbie Berger, Dallas: Hanukkah Traditions
• Mark Coomes, Denton, Östkaka (Scandinavian Dessert) Recipe
• Riley Couger, Graford: Christmas Potato Throwing
• Todd Deglandon, McKinney: Cajun Santa Tradition and Crawfish Pie
• Emma Flocke, Denton: Christmas Tree
• Anna Gaines, Fort Worth: Homeless Gift Bags
• Trudy Hess, Dallas: Holiday Chestnuts and “Glühwein” from Austria
• Hedy Helsell, Dallas: Tart Sherbet
• Craig Holcomb, Dallas: Dusties Cookies
• Brenda Lancaster: Christmas Morning
• Zoila Light, Dallas: Christmas Turkey
• Terri McCord, McKinney, Holiday Fruit Salad Recipe
• Sheila Yeomans, Fort Worth: Christmas Oratorio and Cranberry Bread
• Rosie Moncrief, Fort Worth: Grit Souffle
• Jordan Sternblitz, Dallas: Latkes
• Tricia Bartlette, Dallas: Holiday Brunch
• Janice Henderson, Dallas: Christmas Eve Fried Oysters
• Hallie Sternblitz, Dallas: Lighting The Menorah
• Susan Sternblitz, Dallas: Community Giving
• Judy Lawrence, Irving: Sam’s Pie
• Jerome Simms, Dallas: Andy Griffith Show
• Gabriela Patarro, Dallas: Coca-Cola Salad
Sandra Mimi McLean, Rockwall: Christmas Train
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My name is Sandra Mimi McLean, I’m from Rockwall, Texas and our holiday tradition is the Christmas train. Don wanted a train as a little boy, but he grew up in the Depression and there were eight children in the family and he didn’t get that. So I thought well, I’ll try this as a present. It gives a center to your life, and our grandchildren, it’s just a way to bring our grandchildren in.
Joe Kalka, Dallas: Homemade Pierogis
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Hi I’m Joe Kalka from Dallas, Texas and our holiday tradition is making the world’s best homemade Pierogis. It starts with my sister’s dough. It has butter, sour cream and eggs just to get started with so it’s really rich. We make a mashed potato out of Yukon potatoes and add the sharpest cheddar cheese on the inside of it. I just like it simply because it keeps you rooted, keeps you thinking about where you came from and it’s genuine.
Sheryl Helt, Fort Worth: Handmade Christmas stockings
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My name is Sheryl Helt, I live in Fort Worth, Texas and our holiday tradition is handmade Christmas stockings. My great grandmother started making handmade Christmas stockings when she was working as a nurse. She made the stockings for my two sisters and me, my cousins; she probably made ten or twelve. Now I’ve tried to carry on the tradition and I’ve made two so far. They’re usually the first thing to go up because it’s the easiest thing to put up and it does really represent Christmas.
Alexis Lhose, Fort Worth: Solstice Goblin
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Hi my name is Alexis Lhose and I’m from Fort Worth and our holiday tradition is the Solstice Goblin. The Solstice Goblin it’s sort of the same premise as Santa Claus. The good kids get gifts on the morning of the Solstice but the bad kids lose gifts. Instead of milk and cookies we leave good quality cheeses and a nice craft beer. This year we made some noise shakers and we’re going to go out into the yard run around with our shakers and say, “Goblin, Goblin, Goblin!”
Samra Bufkins: Post-Midnight Mass Christmas Celebration
My parents had the most amazing Christmas Eve tradition, and it’s one I would have continued if I’d had kids myself. I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this. Our family is Catholic, and we always went to Midnight Mass, which in those days actually started at midnight. We’d be awakened from our late naps around 8 pm, dressed up and enjoy a light Christmas Eve meal before heading to church about 11 p.m. After Mass was over we’d come home, open the door, and Santa Claus would have visited! While we were at Mass all the toys and presents would have been arranged beautifully in the living room, around and under the Christmas Tree! The display was always amazing, with the Christmas lights twinkling and the wrapping papers and ribbons sparkling like stars. The cookies and milk we left for Santa were eaten, and everyone was really excited.
Soon after we arrived our neighbors (including the Jewish family next door) and close friends would magically appear, and Daddy would make omelets and hash browns while everyone drank champagne and ate shrimp cocktail. We kids could play with any un-wrapped toys, but opening the rest of the presents had to wait until later in the day. It was all quite festive. Sometime around 3 a.m. everyone went home, and we’d go to sleep for a few hours before getting up to unwrap the rest of the presents and eat another breakfast.
To this day I still don’t know who Santa’s helpers were, but since we didn’t have a chimney for Santa to come down, somebody had to have a key to let Santa in to deliver the presents while we went to Midnight Mass. My parents were older when they had us, and very few of their friends (with the exception of the Jewish family next door) had kids our age. I’m sure, whoever Santa’s elves were, they got as much joy out of the season as we did, and it’s a holiday memory I’ll never lose.
Christie Lape Roden, Denton: Denton Holiday Lighting Festival
Regardless of when Advent begins, for me, the Christmas season doesn’t start until I’ve attended the Denton Holiday Lighting Festival. Even though I’m quite the traditional Christian – Methodist, to be exact- it still doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve sampled wassail all over the Square; sung along with the sing-a-long while waiting for the lights to be turned on; checked out everything and every place on and around the Square from Santa to the toy drive to the live nativity and everything in between; listened to Polly Maynard’s Childbloom guitar students, and finished the evening by doing the hokey pokey and chicken dance with Brave Combo. The community spirit and feeling in Denton is incomparable. Our community is blessed with the best musicians in the world, and it is an incredible feeling to share this evening of music and fun with my fellow Dentonites- all of us “kids from one to ninety-two.”
Ann Mayo, Arlington: A Christmas Carol Reading
In my family, we read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. We read a stave (This is what Dickens’ called chapters.) a day ending with the last and fifth stave on Christmas day. I do not know when we started this. I believe my parents read this before we kids came along but we, my two brothers and I, grew up reading this every Christmas.
At first, we kids were too young to read but as soon as we could, we joined in. Over the years, we have developed reading styles that bring this story to life and we have favorite parts we like to read. My mother’s is the last stave on Christmas Day. My father has a facsimile copy and heartily corrects us reading from others. As we kids went off to school and moved on to our adult lives, we would schedule the reading of A Christmas Carol so that most of us would be there for all the staves, sometimes doubling up on staves. We quote the text and make allusions to the story throughout the year, and thus, try to live up to Dickens’ closing words to live with the Christmas spirits all the year. Now my 14 year old niece joins in the reading as well.
Lisa Cox, Fort Worth: Britcom Christmas Episodes
On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or both, we watch Christmas episodes of British comedies we’ve taped, including “The Good Life,” “To the Manor Born,” “Are You Being Served,” “Keeping Up Appearances,” “Mr. Bean,” and “Blackadder.” Fun! 
Bob Reitz, Dallas: Christmas Lights through January
I live on the edge of a working class neighborhood in north Oak Cliff. People work hard for their money and then use some of that money to set up Christmas lights during the holiday season, and are not anxious to remove them so quickly. My tradition is go out at night after the Super Bowl on that third week of January and drive around to see how many of my neighbors still have their lights up. The tree may be at the curb, but the hard work those Christmas lights represent, still shines bright. Thanks for allowing me to share.
Charlie and Susie Murray, Poolville: “Goat Berry Painting”
We live near Poolville, Texas and this is our holiday tradition. Our holiday tradition involves whomever we have and whenever we have a critical mass for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We have a small ranch in the Post Oak Belt that, along with its signature Oak trees, has a lot of green briar. Goats love to eat this pernicious weed. So we also have goats. Another plant that comes along with the oaks is poke weed. Poke weed has big bunches of purple berries that just to ask to be smushed between your hands to create an incredible magenta paste. Our holiday tradition is to smear our hands with poke weed berries and paint whichever goats we can catch with this brilliant color. It might be hand prints, or smears or Picasso like stripes. Anyway, we always enjoy it and the decorated goats seem to enjoy the attention.
Lawrence Wilson, Richardson: The Lion in Winter
Our (very) longstanding Christmas Eve tradition is to gather as a family and watch The Lion in Winter. It’s a riveting movie and won Best Picture in 1968. By now we all know the memorable lines: “Come for me, Johnnie.”, “What family doesn’t have its ups and downs?”, “That, to these old eyes is success.”, “Spare the rod and you’ll spoil those boys.”, “I’m king, and when I say it’s over; it’s over” etc… It’s set in 12th Century England, but seems to reflect modernity; we hope others might enjoy it.
Abbey Daniels, Coppell: Jigsaw Puzzles
My name is Abbey Daniels. I grew up in Coppell, and my holiday tradition is doing jigsaw puzzles with my family. We set them up on the card table at my parents’ house, which becomes a sort of hub for all of the grown children and extended family over the holidays. Sometimes we might finish one in a night, while Christmas movies or music play and seemingly endless pies, cookies, and cakes materialize from the kitchen. Or they might slowly progress for days until my insomniac sisters polish them off in the middle of the night. There’s something great, during all the busyness, about sitting together and working at something so utterly pointless; enjoying time together at the basic but satisfying task of creating order out of chaos.
Sharon Vaughan, Dallas: Dog Pictures
My name is Sharon Vaughan and I live in Dallas, Texas. Every December I gather my dogs for a Christmas portrait. I do not dress them up and the location is different every year. One year they are in front of a fireplace or outside. Last year they sat in front of my lighted Christmas tree. I have always had three to five rescue dogs and now I have four: Jackie, Molly, Henry, and Harry. My friends always look forward to getting a Christmas card from me because they know that my dogs are photogenic and pose for the camera. The only thing wrong with dogs is that they do not live long enough. A year ago, I lost my 14-year-old schnauzer, Kaiser. My Christmas pictures of him and others who are no longer here are a source of great joy as I look at them now.
Meredith Shafer, Dallas: English Bread Sauce
In the wanderlust years of my mid-twenties, I decided to move to, and work in, London. I learned very quickly that although we speak the same language, there are a variety of cultural gaps, all of which left me feeling very American. I found myself particularly lost in the build-up to my first English Christmas as my colleagues would discuss their favorite components of their Christmas dinners – from chipolatas, which are essentially the equivalent of “little smokies,” to mince pies, of which there is no American equivalent. There was always a consensus that bread sauce was the best part of the meal. I made the mistake of responding, “EWWW! BREAD sauce? That sounds AWFUL!” It was a knee jerk reaction, and it caused a fair amount of offense, so much so that it set my co-workers on a mission to enlighten me on the “delicacy” that is bread sauce. It took no time for me to eat my words – this stuff is delicious. The sauce starts by creating a base of butter and milk, and then simmering onion, bay leaves, and nutmeg for flavor. Then, the bread is blended into the base, creating a velvety and wholesome sauce, very similar to béchamel. Although I love bread sauce in and of itself, I associate it with the kindness of my British co-workers, who were so eager to include me in their Christmas traditions. Since repatriating three years ago, my experiences in London have inspired all of my Christmas Eve dinners, including the most uniquely English accompaniment of them all: bread sauce.
English Bread Sauce:
2 Slices stale bread (crusts removed)
4 T. Unsalted butter
1 Small onion
3 Cloves
2 ¼ c. Whole milk
1 Bay leaf
Fresh nutmeg (Just a few glides back and forth on a microplane) or a pinch of ground nutmeg
Sea salt
White pepper
Chop the onion in half. Finely chop one half of the onion. Leave the other half whole, and stud it with the three cloves. Gently heat two tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and add the chopped onions. Cook until they are translucent. At which point, add the other half of the onion, milk, bay leaf, and nutmeg to the pan. Bring to medium- medium high heat and let gently simmer for about fifteen minutes. Let the sauce cool for about 30 minutes so the flavors can seep without overcooking. Discard the whole onion and bay leaf. While the sauce is cooling, take the stale bread slices and pulverize them into breadcrumbs using a food processor. After the sauce has cooled, add ½ cup of the breadcrumbs. (Reserve any extras in case you want to add more to make a thicker sauce.) Transfer the mixture, in batches if necessary, to the food processor, and pulse until the mixture is smooth. Return the saucepan to medium heat, and add the remaining butter. Pour in the bread sauce from the food processor and gently stir until smooth. Season with sea salt and white pepper, or any additional nutmeg or seasonings (I like a tiny bit of white wine vinegar), and serve.
Dessa Watson-Ferris, Dallas: Gingerbread Men
Many years ago during my senior year in college and my first year out on my own, my grandmother gave me a box of recipe cards. One recipe was for gingerbread cookies and it quickly became my go-to recipe for the holidays because not only were the cookies delicious but the house smelled like Christmas for days. When I got married, my husband helped me, though his style of decorating was definitely non-traditional. Gingerbread men became babies with “dirty” diapers as gifts for his brothers and their small children. Rudolph became a hunting trophy. Snowmen were mutilated. When we had our son, he first enjoyed eating them and then, when he got old enough, he began helping us decorate them. Of course, both my husband and son enjoy decorating them in the most non-traditional way possible. My son is now 14 years old and each year after Thanksgiving he asks “when are we going to make the gingerbread cookies?” I love baking, decorating & eating the cookies but, most of all, treasure the time we spend as a family.
Cookies:
2/3 cup butter – room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar – packed
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp cloves
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 to 1/3 cup water (depending on amount of humidity)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Cream together butter & brown sugar. Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves & baking soda.
Add 1/4 cup of the water and mix well. Then add the flour a little at a time. The dough will be soft, pliable and easy to roll out. If the humidity is low, add more water to keep dough from being crumbly.
Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick for crispy cookies – roll out to 1/3 inch thick for softer cookies. I roll out the dough onto a flat cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil to make clean up easier. If you dampen the cookie sheet first, the aluminum foil will stick making rolling out the dough much easier. I’m usually able to consolidate and re-use the leftover dough 2-3 times (depending on how much flour is used when rolling out the dough) before the dough becomes too crumbly.
Cut out using cookie cutters and pull away left over dough to consolidate.
Bake @ 375 for about 8 minutes. If the dough is thicker, the cookies will be soft and may appear underdone but they will harden slightly as they cool.
*** This recipe is also good for making gingerbread houses. Just roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick and cook 9-10 minutes instead of 8.
Icing:
Beat 2-3 egg whites until frothy. Start adding icing sugar until it’s a good consistency for spreading on or using in an icing bag. Flavor with almond extract – add to taste. After adding the extract, you may need to add more icing sugar.
Janet Reynolds, Dallas: Solstice Celebration, the Return of Light
Every year on the longest night I gather with my family and friends to welcome the return of lengthening days. We share food, drink and friendship. We make one list of what we are grateful for from the year that is passing and another list for what we hope will come forward from the New Year. We place these in the chiminea and release them. There are tables set with art materials to collage candles and to make ornaments. The evening is one of creating, reflecting and imagining the future within community of friendship and love.
Melanie Lemley, Arlington: Advent and Christmas
My name is Melanie Lemley from Arlington and our family celebrates two seasons this time of year: Advent and Christmas. Advent means “arrival”, and the focus of the Advent season is the celebration of the First Advent of Jesus the Christ, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. This year Advent is from Sunday, November 27th through Christmas Eve. During Advent our family lights the appropriate candles in our Advent wreath for each week of Advent, an additional candle every week. In our family , these candles represent (1)the prophets – Isaiah 9:2, (2)the angels- Luke 1:42, (3)the shepherds – Luke 2:8, and (4)the Wise Men – Matthew 2:1-2. On Christmas Day we light a fourth candle in the center of the Advent wreath to symbolize the birth of Christ. We put up our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve to prepare for the second season, Christmas, which lasts for twelve days until the Day of Epiphany on January 6th. On this night we also enjoy a festive meal at home and then attend a Christmas Eve worship season to usher in the Twelve Days of Christmas. We have the typical presents under the tree on Christmas morn, but also, on Epiphany, we celebrate with a special dinner at home where my husband prays a special prayer over each one in our family. We each then receive an “Epiphany” gift, to commemorate when the Wise Men brought gifts to the toddler Jesus (Matthew 2:11). Our family loves celebrating “two” holidays this time of year and the special significance of our family traditions.
Kelly Pfiffner, Dallas: Pool Cranberries
My name is Kelly Pfiffner, I’m from Dallas, and my holiday tradition is Pool Cranberries. It’s important to note that this tradition is more of a technique than a recipe, and it can be employed by any cranberry sauce-maker with access to a pool. The tradition started when I was 11 – my Dad got a late start on the cranberry sauce and by the time it was ready to cool, there wasn’t room in the fridge. Thinking creatively, Dad set the pot on the first step into the pool knowing that the cold water would chill the sauce rapidly. Unfortunately, the pool sweep began its scheduled cleaning and knocked the pot off the step so that it drifted to the bottom of the deep end. Luckily, water pressure acted to make sure that the lid stayed on the pot ensuring that the delicious berries were not strewn around the pool. While the guests were arriving for dinner, I bravely dove to the bottom of the pool in freezing temperatures to retrieve the pot and the cranberries made it to the table. We’ve used this method to cool Dad’s cranberries ever since, although now we secure the pot to a brick on dry land to protect against future mishaps.
Courtney Hernandez, Dallas: Horror Movie Christmas Eve
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I’m Courtney Hernandez from Dallas and my holiday tradition is watching Stephen King made for TV movies on Christmas Eve. I think I maybe had just finished reading ‘The Shining’ so I wanted to see the movie and we loved it and my sister and I love horror movies and it just sort of became a tradition. Cujo or Salem’s Lot, Pet Semetary, I had to turn that one off because it really creeped me out.
Greg Glancy, Dallas: Retro Instant Christmas Tea
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My name’s Greg Glancy, I’m from Dallas, Texas, my holiday tradition is making retro instant Christmas tea. We’ve had this every year that I can remember, since I was born basically. It’s got instant powdered tea, Tang, powdered lemonade, sugar, ground cinnamon and ground cloves. This is like the ultimate holiday comfort food, for me. It just tastes right, it tastes like the holidays are coming.
Retro Instant Christmas Tea:
1 20oz plastic container of regular old orange Tang
1 cup instant lemonade powder mix
1 cup instant “tea” (the powdered stuff in a jar – unsweetened)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
Stir ingredients together in mixing bowl, spoon (to taste) into mug, add hot water and enjoy!
Kelli Winn, White Settlement: Christmas Tree Paper Chain
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My name is Kelli Winn, I’m from White Settlement and my holiday tradition is making a chain for our Christmas tree. Every day one of the children would get to go and break that chain, they would take turns, and as they would break the chain they would see what the chain said. So it might say something fun like today we are going to go look at Christmas lights. Now our chain’s a little shorter because I have to wait until my daughter gets home from college to start so it’s a little shorter but that’s ok, it’s just as special.
Sam Shane, Dallas: Hanukkah candles
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I’m Sam Shane from Dallas and my holiday tradition is lighting the Hanukkah candles with my family. I don’t remember doing it when I was little but I’ve seen pictures of it with me and my grandparents, they’re holding me up because I couldn’t really reach. Lighting the Hanukkah candles has been something that people have been doing for hundreds of years. Hanukkah is one of my favorite Jewish holidays to celebrate; I honestly couldn’t imagine the holiday season without it.
Aki Shane, Dallas: Collecting Menorahs
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I’m Aki Shane from Dallas and my holiday tradition is lighting candles with my family for Hanukah. We’ve collected various menorahs through the years, one is from Israel; family friends brought the menorah back from Israel when Sam was just a baby. We definitely use that one every year. We each have our own menorah so we light four menorahs every night, as you can imagine by the last night with nine candles on each menorah, it’s a really pretty sight.
Toni Maples, Weatherford: Decorating early
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My name is Toni Maples and I am from Weatherford Texas and my holiday tradition is decorating early. I wanted to be able to enjoy my house and have everything done, mainly to come in and relax so I can enjoy my decorations. I collect reindeer and so I have quite a few reindeer throughout the house and I just enjoy any type of reindeer. The 28th of October is when I started getting my stuff out. I just love Christmas, I’m kind of sad when it’s over.
Toni’s Pumpkin Logs:
Cake:
2/3 cup pumpkin ( one can of the small pumpkin makes three cakes)
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
¾ cup flour
½ tsp. baking soda
3 eggs
Filling:
2 tbs. butter
1 8 oz. cream cheese
3 tps vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cake dough in a bowl with mixer and pour on to a 13 x 9 cookie sheet (have wax paper already across the cookie sheet). Spread evenly and bake about 13 minutes. Have ready a cup towel that has powdered sugar spread on top, and then turn cake over on top of cup towel and peel off the wax paper and roll up. Let cake cool. In the meantime, mix filling in a bowl. When cake is cool unroll, spread filling on top of cake and roll back up, this time without the cup towel. Place roll on wax paper, twist the ends and place in freezer, until ready to serve, or 1-2 hours in refrigerator. Cakes will freeze up to a month or so. The filling is enough for one cake.
Koni Ramos Kaiwi, Garland: Bunuelos
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My name is Koni Ramos Kaiwi I live in Garland Texas and our holiday tradition is making Bunuelos with our grandkids. Once you have the dough, you roll them out, you extend them out and then you cook them in the oil and then you transfer them from the oil to the sugar and there you have a finished Bunuelo. They taste really good. Our grandkids love to be with Grandma and Grandpa, that’s number one. Whatever we decide to do, it’s fun as long as they’re with Grandma and Grandpa.
Bunuelos Receipe:
½ cup water
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
Oil for frying
½ cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon, mixed together
In a small saucepan, boil the water and cinnamon sticks for 3 minutes. Discard the cinnamon and set the water aside. Place the flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add the egg, sugar and shortening. Mix all the ingredients together with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the reserved water by tablespoons as needed, mixing and kneading with your hands until the dough is soft and pliable. Cover and let the dough rest in a bowl for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 12 balls, each about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Flour a working surface and your rolling pin. Roll out each ball to a circle about 7 inches in diameter. With your fingers, stretch the dough as much as possible without breaking it, until almost transparent.
Meanwhile, heat ½ inch of oil in a large skillet. When it is very hot, add 1 of your rolled out bunuelos. After 15 to 20 seconds, turn it over and bathe it with the hot oil until it is light golden and has puffed up, about 30 seconds.
Transfer to a plate covered with paper towels to drain the excess oil. Immediately sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture on both sides. Repeat with the remaining bunuelos.
Bobbie Berger, Dallas: Hanukkah Traditions
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I’m Jewish and so I celebrate Hanukkah. I love the celebration because it is known as the festival of lights and we place candles in the darkness. When we light the candles and put them in the window, so other people can see them, it sort of lights up the world.
One of things that I remember about Hanukkah from my childhood is playing with the dreidel. The dreidel is a four-sided top that is spun with your fingers. On each side of the dreidel is a Hebrew letter which symbolizes the words, “A Great Miracle Happened There.” I am a dreidel collector, have about 200 of them and display them in my home. My children say I collect dreidels because I never wanted to give up my toys.
Mark Coomes, Denton: Östkaka (Scandinavian Dessert) Recipe
This is a Swedish (Scandinavian) dessert dish, traditionally served at Christmas. Not really custard and not really cheese cake, I enjoy it at any time of the year. As one can see, it is not recommended for consumption if you are watching fat and cholesterol intake. It is delicious!
The hardest part of making this is acquiring raw milk.
When I first made this recipe, it was from an oral rendition handed down through several generations. The first stumbling block came when the recipe called for heating the milk to lukewarm. I consulted a cheese-making text and discovered the range of temperature. Be sure to use a thermometer during this step as this temperature range activates the rennet enzyme. Since then, I have not lost a batch. There is no doubt that a perfect batch of östkaka can be made every time.
One last historical note: The difference between the initial 400° and final 325° is attributable to the burning of a four log fire to a three log fire.
Recipe in memory of and attributed to Clarice Johnson Pauls and Johanna Wimberly.
Do not rush! Take your time! Have Fun! Var så god!
Östkaka
Yields: 20 servings
Ingredients:
1 Gallon Raw Milk
1/2 (half) Rennet Tablet Dissolved in 1 TBSP. tap water
3/4 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
5 Eggs
1 Cup Whipping Cream
Directions:
1. Save out one cup cold milk to mix with flour to make a soft paste.
2. Dissolve rennet in water.
3. Heat milk to lukewarm (98°-102° F).
4. Remove from heat, add soft paste to warm milk and stir in dissolved rennet. Stir often until milk begins to set; cover and let stand until firm (about one hour).
5. Break up the milk mixture and remove the whey. Do not make the curd too dry and TREAT WITH GENTLE HANDS.
6. Preheat oven to 400° F. Mix eggs, sugar and whipping cream. Add cream mixture to curd and bake at 400° first 30 minutes and reduce to 325° for about 30 more minutes.
Optional: Serve with Lingonberries.
Riley Couger, Graford: Christmas Potato Throwing
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the birth of modern holiday spud tossing. No one is quite sure how the tradition began. Many believe it began in the later half of the 20th century when a young man tossed seasonal greetings wrapped around uncooked potatoes into the yards of houses decorated with Christmas lights. It was his way of saying, “Thank you and Merry Christmas.”
Before the advent of the Christmas Potato, there was no way to easily thank those who brighten our holiday season with their unselfish efforts. Now each year children and adults alike look forward to the annual pitching of the holiday spud.
But why a potato? The young man grew up in a town called Topeka, which means a good place to dig potatoes.
Todd Deglandon, McKinney: Cajun Santa Tradition and Crawfish Pie
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I grew up in the village of Hessmer in central Louisiana, and moved to McKinney 4 years ago. A few years ago, my family began a tradition called Cajun Santa.
Every year, after a big family Thanksgiving dinner, my father gathers all of his grandchildren (now ranging from ages 5 to 13) together and loads them onto a big flat-bed trailer pulled by a small farm tractor. We then travel to the large cattle pasture which has trees of many types along its fence line. Just the hayride through the pasture on a beautiful fall day is an adventure in itself for the children.
After riding through most of the pasture, a tree is selected. Usually a medium sized evergreen tree, not too pretty and not too scrawny, but something that would fit a Charlie Brown episode.
After enlisting the children’s help in cutting the tree, it is loaded onto the trailer and hauled back home where it finds an appropriate place to be decorated.
Before Christmas, my father purchases many cheap little gifts and wraps them using newspaper or some other corny wrapping paper and places them under the decorated tree. On Christmas day, after Christmas Dinner, my father takes the kids to the Cajun Christmas tree to see if Cajun Santa has passed by and then he hands out the gifts to all of the grandchildren.
They are delighted with their Dollar Store toys, having already forgotten about the new $300 gaming console system Santa brought them the night before. As you know, most children are happy with a wooden spoon and a cardboard box.
I hope the year the grandchildren outgrow this tradition is not in the near future.
Crawfish Pie:
2 refrigerated pie crusts (or make 2 pie crusts)
2 lbs for crawfish tails
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup oleo
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can petmilk (5 oz)
1 tsp corn starch (heaping, then dilute with a small amount of water)
green onions, parsley flakes to taste
cayenne pepper seasoning to taste
Saute’ onions, celery and garlic in olea until clear.
Add soup, milk, and diluted corn starch.
Cook 10 minutes stirring often
Add crawfish, green onions, and parsley
Cook until tender
Pour into uncooked pie crust
Top with another uncooked pie crust
Cut 2 slits in top crust
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1.5 hours, after 20 minutes of baking, cover the edge of crust with tin foil until golden brown.
Emma Flocke, Denton: Christmas Tree
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I thought you might get a kick out of my family’s semi-stolen Christmas tree tradition. It may be a little straggly looking, but it’s our tradition- cutting a native cedar from a nearby vacant lot.
Anna Gaines, Fort Worth: Homeless Gift Bags
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My Christmas tradition is to collect donations from friends and co-workers to purchase items to make up gift bags for the homeless in Fort Worth. We make a party out of packing the bags, then a group meets at 6:00 the following morning for “drive-by gifting” of the bags around the Union Gospel Mission, Presbyterian Night Shelter, and Day Resource Center. This year, on Sunday, December 20 we will meet at Conlon’s Pub, 2528 White Settlement Rd. Fort Worth. We will pack 480 Christmas Gift Bags for the Homeless and 40 children’s bags to be donated to Lowdon-Schutts Women and Children’s Shelter. Setting up the assembly line will begin at 3:00 p.m. and we will pack the bags at 6:00 p.m. 
I’m like a big kid leading up to the time we hand out the bags, and never sleep the night before because I’m so excited. And it really tickles me when new donors tell me later in the year how they never read or hear the word “homeless” the same way again.
Trudy Hess, Dallas: Holiday Chestnuts and “Glühwein” from Austria
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My name is Trudy Hess. I grew up in Ohio, but have been living in Dallas since 1980. I came from Austria when I was in the third grade, and my family continued many old world traditions as I was growing up. I wanted to share this one with all my KERA friends. I’m a long-time listener and supporter of KERA, and am currently a “Friend”. My husband Charles and I come to the station during the membership drives and help answer the phones. We love being part of a community of smart and caring people.
In Austria, Christmas Eve is the more celebrated part of the holiday (as opposed to Christmas Day being the major event in the U.S. for those who celebrate Christmas). One tradition I fondly remember is that of chestnuts and “Glühwein” served around midnight on Christmas Eve. “Glühwein”, literally translated, means “glowing wine”. It is very easy to make, and fairly inexpensive, as well. Chestnuts are difficult to find, are usually expensive, and are often not in good condition. However, when they are available, they are a special treat. Look for chestnuts which appear plump and moist, not hard and dried-out. For those who are interested, and lucky enough to find some, I am also including instructions for how to prepare them. (Hint: No open fire needed for roasting).
So, first, here is how to make “Glühwein” (2 servings):
2 cups inexpensive dry red wine
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 stick cinnamon
5 whole cloves
2-4 slices of lemon
Place all ingredients except sugar into a heavy saucepan. Heat until you see a trace of steam; lower heat to medium-low and add the sugar all at once. Have a wooden or metal spoon handy, and watch carefully, because at this point the wine will quickly come to a boil and can boil over. Once it comes to a full boil, turn off the heat, place a cover on the pan, and let it steep 5 minutes. Strain into festive mugs and enjoy.
How to prepare chestnuts: (allow 10 per serving)
Take each chestnut, place on a cutting board, and with a very sharp knife make a cut through the skin on one side of the chestnut. (Place chestnut with pointy tip to your left, and cut with the knife in normal slicing position). Repeat for each chestnut. Take a 9″ square pyrex pan, place about 1/4 c. water in bottom of the pan, and add the chestnuts, cut side up. Place in microwave and process on high 3-5 minutes. Let chestnuts get cool enough to handle carefully (but not very cool, because they’re harder to peel once they completely cool down). Place thumb and forefinger on either end of the cut and squeeze; this forces the cut to spread open, and the chestnut can be removed. Chestnuts require no seasonings — unless you count the “Glühwein” as seasoning.
So, maybe some listeners will adopt this European tradition for a cold winter evening.
Hedy Helsell, Dallas: Sherbet Tart
This recipe is something I grew up with, and my mother served it both at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s great with fowl, but we serve it with any meat dish. It sounds like a dessert, but is a salad or side. It’s light and yummy and can be made ahead of time – a must in my house.
Tart Sherbet:
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg white
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 bottle maraschino cherries, drained and cut up.
Dissolve sugar in orange and lemon juice. Add pineapple and cherries and chill. Combine with salt and buttermilk. Freeze to a firm mush. Fold in beaten egg white. Freeze.
Craig Holcomb, Dallas: Dusties Cookies
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I do not like to shop and so, about six years ago, decided that Dusties were what we would give everyone for Christmas. My father, my assistant, our neighbors, they all get the same thing. My dad, since Christmas is also his birthday, gets a few more than most folks.
We now make 1200 cookies. We start buying ingredients in November. This year, Hector decided we needed new cookie sheets but made me promise not to use them till we were ready to bake. No pizza or hot dogs on those sheets. We then deliver the bags of cookies on Christmas eve.
The recipe – flour, sugar, butter, pecans, butter, vanilla extract and butter. Roll them in powdered sugar while warm, but not hot, from the oven. As for the specifics, you will need to work them out for yourself. Family secrets should remain family secrets.
Brenda Lancaster: Christmas Morning
Years ago when I had five children at home, we would start Christmas morning off by going to each child’s bedroom bearing hot chocolate, cinnamon buns, and their Christmas stocking. We would start with the oldest, and then each child would in turn go with us to the next oldest. It was a great way to start the day!
Zoila Light, Dallas: Christmas Turkey
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I was born in Mexico and I came to the United States when I was fourteen years old. When my father started working in the U.S., his boss would give him a turkey at Christmas. He would bring the 20-pound bird back to his large family for a holiday feast, and we would buy pecans and raisins and olives to make the stuffing. All the kids would sit down and peel the nuts. It was just a happy time.
I still use my father’s recipe to make the dressing at Christmas. It is one of my holiday traditions.
Zoila’s Nut-filled Stuffing
Yield: Stuffing for 18-20 lb turkey
INGREDIENTS:
8 lbs. Pork (cut into half-inch cubes)
Olive oil
1 C. Celery (chopped)
1 C. Onion (chopped)
1 C. Pecans (raw/chopped)
1 C. Black Walnuts (raw/chopped)
1 C. Pine nuts (raw/chopped)
1 C. Almonds (blanched/slivered)
1 C. Dark Brandy
1 C. Raisins
1 C. White Raisins
5 Prunes (chopped)
3 Pickled Jalapenos (chopped)
1 C. Green Olives (sliced)
1 C. Black Olives (sliced)
1/2 C. Pimentos
Salt and Pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
-Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat 2 T. olive oil over medium-high heat in a very large skillet or stockpot (10 qts. or larger), brown the pork. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened. Add all of the nuts, brandy, raisins, prunes and jalapenos. Increase heat to high and cook until 5-8 minutes or until liquid is reduced by one-third.
-Add olives and pimentos. Cook until almost all of the liquid is evaporated. Remove stuffing from heat and let cool.
-Stuff cavity of turkey with stuffing and roast turkey according to your favorite recipe for a stuffed bird.
Terri McCord, McKinney: Holiday Fruit Salad Recipe
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My Dad was our holiday cook. He loved to try new things. Some things stuck – like sweet potatoes – and others didn’t (Oyster dressing). We finally got down to Turkey, white bread dressing, sweet potatoes and fruit salad “mess” as the core items. He could add anything he wanted as long as we had those items. When I married, it took two years to get the recipes. I had to watch him dollop and pinch his way through the preparation and then verify it the next year! At 55, I still serve the “core” dinner, having added green bean casserole, cornbread dressing and other items. Now I do the pinch and dollop method, but I have the written recipes in case anyone asks!
Fruit Salad Mess
(No cooking – feeds an army)
1 12 oz tub Cool Whip
1/2 10 oz bag of mini-marshmallows
Tangerines – segmented, deseeded & sliced in half
Black grapes – deseeded & sliced in half
Red grapes – deseeded & sliced in half
Bananas – sliced in bite-size pieces
Red apple – cored, cut in bite-size pieces (skin on)
Green apple – cored, cut in bite-size pieces (skin on)
1 cup walnut halves
Mix all the fruit together (bananas & apples need to go into the mix after the tangerines to prevent browning).
Add marshmallows, nuts & Cool Whip.
Cover & refrigerate leftovers. The original recipe called for whipped cream (pre-dates Cool Whip). Cool Whip lasts longer.
3 tangerines, 1 each apple and banana and 6-8 of each grape with cup of marshmallows, 1/3 cup walnuts and 1/3 tub Cool Whip feeds a family of 4.
Sheila Yeomans, Fort Worth: Christmas Oratorio and Cranberry Bread
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During my decades of marriage to (my husband) David, we have celebrated Christmas in the snows of western New York, in the gentle breezes of Palm Beach, Florida, in an architect’s dream house in eastern Washington, with a freshly cut tree in a farm house in the cattle country of eastern Oregon, and with TCU purple trimmings here in Fort Worth. Our celebrations have ranged from just the two of us to a clan of extended family.
Regardless of circumstances there have been three constants: the midnight church service, my aunt’s cranberry bread and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. On Christmas morning I rise and set a table near the tree with a Christmas cloth. I make fresh eggnog, put on the coffee, pour cranberry juice, and cut the cranberry bread. As the aromas fill the house, it is time for the magnificent trumpets and tympani of the opening “Jauchzet, frohlocket” chorus of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio to serve as reveille, announcing the beginning of our celebration. (We even blew out our old speakers a few years ago with this joyful music!) Family young and old then tumble from their beds and assemble for the lighting of the Christ candle in the advent wreath and a reading of Gospel story of Christ’s birth. Then cranberry bread and coffee accompany our opening of gifts while Bach and ancient carols play in the background.
Through the years, the Bach has migrated from our treasured LP to CD, and, at the Oregon farm, our iPod attached to a boom box. When our daughter Sheryl married in 2001, one of her first requests from us was a CD of the Christmas Oratorio and the cranberry bread recipe. It is a warm feeling to see our Christmas tradition carried to the next generation.
Aunt Glennis’ Christmas Cranberry Bread:
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 egg, well beaten
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup orange juice
2 cups sifted flour
1/4 cup water
1 cup + 2 T. sugar
2 T. melted butter, slightly cooled
1 3/4 t. baking powder
1 t. grated orange rind
1 t. salt
1/2 t. soda
Pre heat oven to 350º. Sift dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquids all at once. Stir only enough to moisten all the dry ingredients. Add nuts, cranberries, and the teaspoon of grated orange rind. Stir just until blended. Turn into a 4×9″ greased, waxed-papered loaf pan. Bake at 350º about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out dry. Cool in the pan on a cake rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, cool another few minutes, and remove the waxed paper.
Rosie Moncrief, Fort Worth: Grit Soufflé
We read a Christmas story to the grandchildren. When it comes to the Christmas meal, the one food the family always requests is the Grit Soufflé. It’s pretty fabulous. It has lots of cream, butter, garlic and cheeses and that’s why it’s fabulous.
Grits Soufflé:
2 cups quick cooking grits
2 tsp. salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups milk
1 1/2 sticks butter
4 oz. blue cheese
1 cup cream
4 eggs, beaten
2 extra egg whites, beaten with a fork
1 tbs. dried Rosemary
1 tsp. dried Sage
1 tsp. dried Thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
Add the salt and garlic to the milk and bring to a boil. Stir in the grits. Cook covered over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
When the grits are done, add butter. Spoon in small dollops of the blue cheese. Stir until well blended. Mix in the cream, beaten eggs, egg whites, herbs, salt, pepper and parmesan. Stir until well blended.
Pour into a 10 cup greased soufflé dish. Bake @ 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Jordan Sternblitz, Dallas: Latkes
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My name is Jordan Sternblitz and I live in Dallas Texas. I’m Jewish so we celebrate Hanukkah. One of my favorite Hanukkah traditions is the food. My grandma makes brisket and that’s pretty good. And my mom and my bubby make latkes. I dip those in apple and gelt, it’s like Jewish chocolate. We have a great time and I love Hanukkah.
Latkes (Potato Pancakes)
2lb. Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled (or not!)
1c chopped yellow onion
2 eggs
3 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying>
Grate potatoes by hand or in a food processor and let them sit for about a half an hour.
Drain potatoes and rinse them in cold water.
Combine the rest of the ingredients with the potatoes, stir well, and let sit for a few minutes before frying.
Heat oil in skillet and drop spoonfuls of potato mixture into hot oil, forming circle or pancake shape.
Fry a few minutes on each side to desired crispiness! They will most likely need to be placed on a paper towel when you remove them from the skillet to drain excess oil. Serve hot with applesauce and/or sour cream!
Tricia Bartlette, Dallas: Holiday Brunch
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My name is Tricia Bartlette and I live in Dallas, Texas. I love to cook and my Holiday Tradition is brunch with my girlfriends. During December we stop, get together, share some stories and share some Christmas hugs. I always make a special white chocolate cherry biscotti, homemade eggnog and my signature dish is a crème brule French toast. This is a time when they get to come, reenergize and live through the holiday season with a smile on our faces.
White Chocolate Biscotti with Cherries and Pecans
2 C flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
12 oz. white chocolate chunks, chopped (or chips)
1/2 C sweetened dried cherries (or cranberries)
1/2 C chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour large baking sheet. Mix flour and baking powder in medium bowl.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended after each addition. Stir in 1 ½ C of chocolate and the cherries and pecans.
Roll out dough to 1/4” thick on floured surface. Cut in strips about 1” wide and 3” long. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn over and bake and additional 10 minutes until slightly dry and browned. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.
Melt remaining chocolate with 1 T. shortening and drizzle over biscotti. Let stand until chocolate is firm.
Mom Carroll’s Holiday Eggnog:
2 eggs well beaten (or egg-white product)
1 can (15 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1 qt. milk
1/2 pint heavy cream (whipped)
nutmeg
Irish whiskey (optional)
Combine well-beaten eggs, condensed milk, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended. Gradually beat in milk. Gently fold in whipped cream.
Serve with nutmeg and/or whiskey!
Crème Brulee French Toast:
1 stick unsalted butter
1 C packed brown sugar
2 T corn syrup
1 loaf French bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 C half and half
1 t. vanilla
1 t. Grand Marnier (optional)
1/4 t. salt
In small, heavy saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a 13×9 baking dish. Cut 1” thick slices of French bread. Arrange slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier and salt until well combined. Pour over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, for at least 8 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring casserole to room temperature. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, about 35-40 minutes.
To serve, invert on a large platter.
Janice Henderson, Dallas: Christmas Eve Fried Oysters
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My name is Janice Henderson and I live in Dallas, Texas and my Holiday Tradition is cooking fried oysters on Christmas eve. I come from a very big, traditional Texas family where only the women cooked. Except on Christmas eve, the men in our family would put on their aprons and they would fry those oysters. All the children would race through the kitchen and sneak the oysters off the platter. I hope my children will continue this tradition with their children.
1 lb. crab meat
3 eggs, beaten
Chop finely the following
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 Tbs chopped parsley
2 cups ground bread crumbs
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup oil
2-3 packages finely crushed saltines
1 Tbs Worcestershire
Dash Tabasco
2 dozen raw oysters, large
Drain crab meat, removing any cartilage or shell. Finely chop and cook onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in oil until tender. Combine bread crumbs, eggs, parsley, salt & pepper, cooked vegetables and crab. Add Tabasco and Worcestershire. Mix thoroughly.
Roll up 1 Tbs of stuffing in each oyster and roll oyster in crushed saltine crackers. Fry in 1/2 – 3/4 inches of oil in skillet, turning once. Be careful not to burn. Also be careful not to undercook.
Hallie Sternblitz, Dallas: Lighting The Menorah
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My Name is Hallie Sternblitz. I live in Dallas, Texas. We’re Jewish and we celebrate Hanukkah. Our family tradition is our Menorahs. We pick our own candles and I even made two of the Menorahs.
Susan Sternblitz, Dallas: Community Giving
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My name is Susan Sternblitz and I live in Dallas Texas and we celebrate Hanukkah. One of our Hanukkah traditions commemorates the great miracle that happened long ago. We take the children and we donate gifts to a local charity or we might just do a family charitable event at a soup kitchen to remember how grateful we are for the great miracles in our lives.
Judy Lawrence, Irving: Sam’s Pie
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I’m Judy Lawrence and I live in Irving Texas. My holiday tradition is Sam’s Pie. It’s actually praline pumpkin pie. We began making it when my grandson was three years old and he really wanted to help. And right in the middle of making the pie he took a big lick! It shocked everyone because Sam did not try new foods. So ever since Sam’s Pie has been our family tradition. His little brother Jake has joined us and we wouldn’t think it was the holidays without Sam’s Pie.
“Sam’s Pie” – Praline Pumpkin Pie:
1/2 Cup chopped pecans
1 Cup cold milk
1/2 Cup butter
2 – 4 oz Vanilla Jello Instant Pudding
1/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 – 16 oz can pumpkin
1 – 8 oz tub Cool Whip
1 8” or 9” pie shell – graham cracker or baked
Heat the nuts, butter, and sugar in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds. Spread in the bottom of the back pie shell and let it cool to room temperature.
Combine milk and pudding mix. Beat 1 minute (mixture will be very thick). Stir in the canned pumpkin and spice. Gently fold in 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip. Spread the pumpkin mixture into the cooled pie shell. I usually decorate the top with pecan halves but you can sprinkle it with chopped pecans as well. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Serve with a dollop of Cool Whip. (optional).
Gabriela Pataro, Dallas: Coca-Cola Salad
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My name is Gabriela Patarro and I live in Dallas Texas. My family immigrated from Acapulco, to Hurst Texas when I was 8 years old. My most important holiday tradition is Coca-Cola salad and sharing that with my friends and family. Coca-Cola salad is something that I first tasted on the first Thanksgiving in this country when I was 8 years old. It’s very reminiscent to me…it definitely brings back memories. It has continued and hopefully will always continue in my family.
Coca Cola Salad
1 lg box of Red Jello
2 C pineapple juice —————– dissolve the jello in the hot juice over stove
Set the gelatin to cool down to room temp, at that point, adding 1&1/2 Cup of room temp Coca Cola
Chop finely: 2 sticks of celery, 1 Cup of pecans, drain crushed pineapple to yield l Cup
Combine: celery, pecans and pineapple into gelatin mix and drop into a mold (that can later be flipped over) with flourless, food release-spray coating.
Using about 8 oz of cream cheese form into small chunks and drop into the gelatin and lightly moving them around to settle into the gelatin.
Cool overnight and un-mold before serving.
Jerome Simms, Dallas: Andy Griffith Show
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My name is Jerome Simms. I live in Dallas Texas. My Holiday Tradition is watching the Andy Griffith Show Christmas episode that first aired in December 1960. It’s basically the Mayberry version of the Ebenezer Scrooge story. It’s just a good example of the warm feeling you get at Christmastime.
Carl Youngberg, Richardson: Cardamom Bread
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My name is Carl Youngberg. We live in Richardson, TX. Our favorite holiday tradition tradition is Cardamom Bread. It has a Lemony taste. It’s just delicious. It was always wonderful going around with my daughter Laura to deliver this to the neighbors. My favorite memory is of a neighbor friend lined up at the front door waiting for the bread to come out of the oven. I think that you don’t appreciate your own traditions until you get exposed to others.
Ingredients:.
• 1 cup warm whole milk (110 degrees F (43 degrees C)
• 1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F (43 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cardamom
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup pearl sugar
Directions:
1. Whisk together the warm milk, warm water, sugar, and 2 tablespoons melted butter in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over top, and set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Once the yeast is foamy, stir in the flour, adding more if needed to make a stiff dough. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with the cardamom and cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 9×13-inch rectangle, and brush with 1/2 cup of melted butter. Sprinkle with the cardamom sugar, raisins, and walnuts. Roll into a log, pinch the edges closed, and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. With a sharp knife score the top layer of the roll with V-shapes that don’t quite meet in the middle the whole length of the roll, this will make the bread look braided, and is very pretty, but could be skipped. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with almonds and pearl sugar.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is golden-brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Scott Bigelow, Dallas: Christmas Potatoes
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My name is Scott Bigelow I live in Dallas Texas. My Holiday Tradition is Christmas potatoes. It’s almost like a potato lasagna. It takes lots of garlic and cheese and cream and herbs in there. It’s extra gooey and yummy with lots of flavor. Wonderful smells fill the whole house. It just reminds me of the holidays and being with family. They’re always a big hit.
Bigelow Holiday Potatoes
Serves 8-10
The ingredients:
2 large potatoes: peeling optional, cut into thin disks
potato slices will be partially cooked before they go in the baking dish
1 large onion: chopped small
2 shallots: fine chop
4 to 7 cloves of garlic: mince
use as much garlic as you wish!
8 ounces of Gruyere cheese: grate the cheese
You can use a good Swiss or Jarlsberg if you eat all the yummy Gruyere before you make this dish.
Heavy cream: about half a cup
Fresh thyme: 5 to 10 sprigs – depending on how much you like thyme
Fresh oregano: 5 to 10 sprigs – depending on how much you like oregano
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Paprika
Crushed red pepper
Some butter
Preheat oven to about 375
Place a big pot of water on the stove. When it comes to a boil you can put the potatoes in. Since they are thin slices it should only take a few (3-4) minutes. When they are done (think al dente), pour them into a colander and let them cool.
Next, in olive oil – sauté the onions and shallots until they are just beginning to brown, then throw in the garlic for about five more minutes. You may add salt and pepper and paprika to taste
Take the thyme and oregano off of the twigs and throw them in with the onions, shallots and garlic.
Butter the inside of a deep glass baking dish.
Start assembling the dish with layers:
onions
potatoes
cheese
salt, pepper, paprika, crushed red pepper to taste.
Repeat until you reach the top of dish (about four layers of each)
Reserve enough cheese for a top layer
Drizzle heavy cream over the potatoes.
Cover with foil.
Place dish in the oven for about 30 minutes. Take off the foil,
Add remaining cheese and leave in
for another 30 minutes to brown the top.
Let it cool down a little when the dish is done.
Enjoy!
Kineta Massey, Dallas: Buddhist Christmas
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My name is Kineta Massey. I’m from Dallas Texas. My holiday Traditions is a Buddhist Christmas; some of my family is Buddhist, some of them are Christian. So we still get stockings and we still do a Christmas tree. But we also do things like eat sake chicken wings on Christmas Eve and decorate our own Tibetan prayer flags.
Mitchie’s Sake Chicken Wings
(As understood by Carolyn Reitz and explained to Kineta Massey)
- 10 lb. bag of chicken wings
- 1 large bottle of Sake (the largest you can find)
- 3 large bottles low sodium soy sauce
- Fresh ginger
- 1 large container with lid (big enough to hold the 10 lbs of wings)
Clean the wings.
Mix soy sauce and sake in large container, then add wings.
Add water, or more sake, until the wings are fully covered.
Grate in fresh ginger. (as much as you like)
Marinate in refrigerator for at least three hours, but the longer the better!
Heat oven to 325
Place a single layer of wings in baking dish.
Cook for roughly 30 minutes, flipping wings at least once.
Continue cooking batches until all 10 lbs are ready.
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My name is Jonas Park. I am from Korea. My holiday Tradition is to prepare Mandu or Jiaozi for the traditional Korean feast called Jesa honoring our deceased relatives. Jesa literally means feast-for-the-dead. Mandu is made of minced meats, veggies and tofu. My family was know for our Mandu and I am very proud of that.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb preferred meat
2 packs dumpling wrap
1 egg
1/4 cabbage
2 carrots
1 zucchini
1/2 onion
3 scallions
1/2 tofu
1/2 tbsp ground garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
(Optional)
1/2 cup dried daikon/radish strips
2 tsp soy sauce
Prepare ingredients for the filling.
Slice cabbage into 1 inch lengths.
Steam it lightly in boiling water and squeeze out excess water with cheesecloth.
Then, fry steamed cabbage in a pan with a little bit of oil and a pinch of salt. Think of squeezed out sauerkraut.
Add a pinch of salt on sliced and thinly chopped zucchini strips and let it sit for a while. Squeeze out any excess water and fry it in a pan too.
(Optional:) Dried radish strips need to be hydrated in water first. Squeeze excess water out. Chop! Chop! and fry with soysauce.
Just like the above picture, chop carrots too and fry (no need to salt or squeeze out water). Fry ground turkey with little bit of salt until there’s no more liquid/water/whatever there is.
The idea is that all the ingredients cannot be watery.
Chop onion and scallion BUT DO NOT fry them.
Squeeze out excess water from tofu. Tofu is supposed to be crumbled.
When you are done, all the ingredients should look like this!
NOW mix all the ingredients from the previous step and an egg together so everything will be mixed nicely. Add salt, black pepper, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and garlic as well. *Make sure your wrapper can be separated from each other. Gently thaw them. It’s perfect when it’s still little frozen but separable.
Let’s start making Mandu!
Place the wrapper on your left hand (if you are right-handed) and stuff about a spoonful right onto the center of the wrapper.
(Important): Do not over stuff. Remember to leave outer edge clean to seal mandu closed.
To close mandu up you can use just plain water or nicely mixed egg.
Use a spoon or your fingers to wet the of edge half the wrapper.
Fold in half and close the edges.
They can be fried, steamed or used in soup
Enjoy!
Carol Mills, Dallas: Elvis At The Drive-In
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My name is Carol Mills, and I live in Dallas Texas. My Holiday Tradition is Elvis at the drive in! My mother was a widow raising three children in Beeville, Texas and she loved Elvis! So every Christmas, she would pile us into the car and take us to a drive-in that showed an Elvis double feature every year. Drive-ins were mostly gone by the time I had a family and our traditions became more “sophisticated,” but they were never as much fun.
Larry Ehemann, Dallas: Orange Slice Cake
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My name is Larry Ehemann and I live in Dallas Texas. My mother’s tradition is an Applesauce Orange Slice Cake. The basic recipe is an applesauce cake. It has pecans, raisins soaked in Triple Sec and twenty candied-orange slices. And you have to chop them into pieces about the size of your fingertip. That’s the hardest part of the whole recipe is to chop the bloomin’ orange slices. It really does make the holidays.
Orange Slice Cake:
2 cups chopped Pecans
I lb candy-orange slices
18 oz package dates chopped
I can Angel Flake coconut
I cup melted oleo
I cup raisins (soaked in your favorite liqueur overnight for topping)
Pour melted oleo over chopped dates, pecans, orange slices and coconut. Let stand while preparing batter.
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
Beat eggs gradually adding sugar add sugar and other ingredients. Then mix with nut mixture. Bake in greased floured tube pan for 2 hours at 300 degrees.
Mary Lebus, Dallas: Holiday Harp
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My name is Mary Lebus. I’m from Garland Texas My holiday tradition is to volunteer playing my harp. It’s wonderful when I feel like maybe I made a difference. I remember once I was playing and there was a young man walked up and I said would you like to try the harp. And he and didn’t say anything but he sat down and played the harp…and just got so soft and beautiful. This is my purpose in life.
Rachael Biederman, Dallas: “Cheese-logging”
My name is Rachael Biederman and I live in North Dallas. My family has a tradition that we call “Cheese-logging”. It was our little method of rating homes decorated with lights for the Christmas season. We were not looking for the professional or tasteful installation but more like the gaudy or haphazardly done ones. We joked that, like fruitcake, you couldn’t give Christmas cheese logs away and if you could who else could be worthy of such gifts? You know the houses we were looking for, where the icicle lights are flashing but in no particular pattern or the ones where it looks like they ran out of enthusiasm halfway around the front door and thought, ”eh, good enough”.
Our favorites growing up were the over the top, Chevy Chase houses that blinded you from a block away – those might be worth the maximum three cheese log rating. My father would purposely take the long way home so my brother and sister and I could look for the really ‘good’ houses.
I know I will get a call from my mother sometime in the next few weeks to let me know the neighbors are only a “two cheese-logger” this year. And our silly tradition will continue. At 5 years old, my daughter, Corinne, should be old enough to do some serious “cheese-logging” with me this year and I can’t wait!
Natalie Lockhart, Dallas: Oyster Stew
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My name is Natalie Lockhart and I live in Dallas, Texas. I love the segment and wanted to share my holiday tradition. The holiday tradition I cherish the most is a Christmas Eve meal of chili and oyster stew. This tradition came from my Dad’s family and every Christmas my Mom would reluctantly make this bizarre meal. Her resistance was as much a part of the tradition as the food. “You know,” she would say as she was stirring in the kitchen, “This tradition is your Dad’s, not mine.” My Dad would smile and begin telling the stories of his childhood Christmas Eves.
Always a great storyteller, his memories of Christmas Eve were so vivid – complete with the drama of fighting brothers and the excitement of a brand new pair of waders.. In those Moments I felt like I knew my Dad as a boy. My first Christmas away from home was in my early 20s. I was working as a manager at Neiman Marcus and had barely had a day off since before Thanksgiving. I remember standing by the door as the last Christmas Eve shopper walked away. I turned the key and rushed for the employee exit so I could go back to my tiny apartment and make my first attempt at this sacred meal. My boyfriend (now husband) and his mother came over and sat patiently while I tried with limited success to cook from memory.
I learned two big things that night. First, as I served the creamy stew and meat filled chili I found out that my future Mother in Law was a lactose intolerant vegetarian. I also learned that great traditions have more to do with what you feel than with what you do. Just making that meal made me feel closer to home and to my Dad – both the Father I grew up with and the little boy waiting anxiously to open his Christmas gifts.
Cookie Baker, Fort Worth: James Brown Memorial Talent Show
I am Cookie Baker, and I live in Fort Worth, Texas. Our holiday tradition is the annual James Brown Memorial Talent Show. It began more than 40 years ago,when our children nieces and nephews put on a roller skate show in the garage. Following our holiday meal, every family member is urged to present a talent. Winners are selected by majority vote, and have included a violin duet, cheerleading routine,and a senior dance interpretation of “Kung Fu fighting”. No talent is too outrageous, and the crowd usually rejects professional renditions for impassioned amateurs. Our traveling trophy is a dancing James Brown doll, who holds a place of honor in the winner’s home until the following year. Winners are expected to bring James in a new outfit the following Christmas. The talent show was named in his honor after his Christmas weekend death.
Nicole LeBlanc, Dallas: Christmas Angel Program
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The most consistent holiday tradition I have is probably my participation in the Christmas Angel Program at a church-related food pantry where I volunteer, Holy Trinity Center. Some of our donors live out of town; some just don’t want to shop, but are happy to write a check. Some families are added at the last minute, due to some kind of additional crisis in their lives. In all those cases, the Christmas shopping duty falls to me: Nicole LeBlanc, Proxy Shopper. Despite the fact that I am bit of a clotheshorse, I am not what anyone would EVER call a shopaholic. This “proxy shopping” for needy families is the only reason I can be lured into the horrors of the holiday shopping hubbub.
The Center gives me the list of each child’s toy wishes and clothing needs, and it’s my responsibility to round up the goods requested with the available funds. So far this year I have shopped for 11 kids, and there’s almost always some kind of last-minute snafu on the evening the donors drop off their gifts–which leaves my husband and I scrambling to big box stores late that night, before the families come to pick up the donations in the morning..
I spent 25 years in fashion design, so I love coordinating out the clothing items. But I don’t have any kids, and when it comes to the maze of toys, I am baffled and bewildered trying to figure out where to find “Dora’s 6-pc Percussion Pack” or “Little People Stand & Play”! I feel like a character in a sitcom. Without fail, I have to seek assistance from employees–if I can find one, especially one who can interpret the toy requests for me–or from other customers who look like they have a clue what they are doing in the toy aisles..
It always works out in the end, though. I eventually find the items the kids are coveting, and manage to sort it all out on my living room floor!.
Millie Lozano, Irving: Peruvian Tamales
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One of our most treasured memories is on Christmas Eve. My mom, my sister, and I get together to prepare Peruvian tamales. Peruvian tamales consist of banana leaf wrapped tamale with pork, chives, black olives, slices of boiled eggs, raisins, peanuts. We accompany these yummy tamales with hot Abuelita chocolate with cinnamon. We also eat Panetton with this, which is a sort of sweet bread with all the fruits you would find in a fruitcake. I love to order Kringles from Racine, Wisconsin and we eat this as well. Our tradition consists in going to Mass at midnight on the 24th, coming home after Mass and eating at 1:30 am.
This tradition is a cherished tradition and adds a Peruvian accent to our holidays from whence my mom comes from. We have our traditional turkey and Prime Rib on the 25th and watch the kids open up their gifts. I call this a combination of 2 traditions, the American and Peruvian. I am a proud AMERINCAICA! Feliz Navidad!
Fred Duffy, Dallas: Medical City Tradition
A Christmas tradition that has developed in our family over the last 10 years is a Christmas eve visit to Medical City dressed as Santa with my two sons tagging along as my elves. I am a plastic surgeon at Medical City and started the tradition to brighten the moods of my co-workers and say thanks to the various units and floors that care for my patients. The last stop is always the pediatric floor and my goodness have I witnessed some wide-eyed sick little kids over the years…their smiles are all the thanks we need. Our family tradition has become a Medical City tradition…everyone wants to know if Santa is coming this year! It is the best part of Christmas at our home. Attaching some pics from our visit a couple of years ago.
Merry Christmas and be good…Santa is always watching!
Julie Clegg, Dallas: Charitable Donations
My name is Julie Clegg and I have two holiday traditions I’d like to share: one relatively new, as far as traditions go, because it is only about 20 years old and the other is almost 45 years old.
Twenty years ago my parents determined a need to broaden the reach of giving in our various communities. At Thanksgiving they provided each child’s household with a check and instructions to select charities which were meaningful to us and make a donation. We were to report back on Christmas morning in any manner we chose, which charities we’d selected and why. Each household doubled the amount provided that first year. I’m happy to report that the tradition continues and the amounts have continued to grow exponentially each year. Additionally, as I’ve traveled and moved in the last 20 years I’ve shared this holiday tradition with friends, strangers, colleagues across the world and I know the tradition has now taken hold in many households throughout the world and I’m joyful when I hear of it starting somewhere new all because someone spoke of it.
The other tradition is Christmas Eve dinner. Initially the menu was selected because it was easy to do after Christmas Eve church services and still got small children to bed at a decent hour. We have eaten the exact same meal every year for 44 of the past 45 years. The only deviation came when my sister-in-law wanted to experience the meal so we ate it Christmas Day; we all felt it was just ‘wrong’ and we’ve never deviated again. The menu? Beef fondue, spinach salad, sauteed mushrooms, a family cheese bread recipe and Christmas cookies and ice cream for dessert. In the last few years a friend has provided a cheesecake (the best in the world) and we’ve naturally swapped cookies for cheesecake.
AND in the days of Glenn Mitchell we thoroughly enjoyed the 24 Hours of Christmas KERA provided. Thank you for your service and dedication to the North Texas region.
Jennifer Friedel, Dallas: Kransekake
Growing up in South Texas, the daughter of a Mexican mother and a German father, our holiday tradition every Christmas Eve was homemade chili and tamales before the 11:00 candlelight service. And of course, ours was real Texas chili with no beans!
When I married my husband, his family, who hail from Minnesota and South Dakota, are firmly entrenched in Norwegian Christmas traditions. The first Christmas I spent with them, they introduced me to Norwegian meatballs, sinfully delicious mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream, and lefse, a Norwegian flat bread similar to a crepe. My mother-in-law always ordered Mrs. Olson’s lefse by the case from Minnesota for our celebration.
One year, a friend (another native Minnesotan) taught me the fine art of making lefse. Recipes vary, but the basic ingredients are flour and potatoes. To my surprise, I found out that my mother-in-law had all the cooking tools needed to make lefse securely stored in her attic which she gifted to me.
Now, the Mexican/German girl from South Texas makes the lefse for our Norwegian celebration. In addition, I’ve learned to make rosettes and kransekake, a Norwegian Christmas ‘cake’
