It’s the end of the year, a time for celebration! Pick a celebratory food (either inspired by the season or not, it’s your call). Make it up and share it with loved ones!
Happy New Year! Wishing you all good food, fun, family, and the peace and comfort of such joys!
All food is celebratory food for us! We cook and set the table and enjoy as if each and every meal were an event. It's something I learned from my grandmother and even when I eat alone, I set a place and take a moment before each meal to reflect on how fortunate I am to have such a gift before me. But Christmas this year brought a gift more wonderful than I could have imagined!
So we will make a White Christmas Pie from the CBS Homemaker's Exchange Recipe Booklet October/November/December 1950. Extra special for me as I was born in November 1950.
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| The ingredients. |
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| One package of gelatin dissolved in cold water. |
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| Milk added to some of the dry ingredients. |
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| Cooked over low heat until boiling and then cooked 1 minute more. |
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| The gelatin has set up slightly and is added to the slightly cooled cooked mixture. |
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| The minute the gelatin was added the consistency changed to a softer and more fluid state. |
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| Beat with a rotary beater until smooth - which didn't take long. |
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| The heavy whipping cream was made earlier and kept in the refrigerator until this step. The almond and vanilla extract are added to the other ingredients... |
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| ...and the whipped cream added and everything folded together gently. |
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| 3 eggs separated and whites beaten until stiff with sugar and cream of tartar added slowly. |
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| Egg white mixture and coconut ready to be added. |
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| Everything folded together. |
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| Poured into the prebaked and cooled pastry shell. |
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| Topped with coconut! The entire island appears to have gotten a coconut topping! Into the refrigerator for 2 hours. |
We know that sometimes it looks as if Jeanette is doing all the writing and that is partially true. It also looks like Jeanette is cooking and taking photos and that is only somewhat true. We usually cook together and in our home we have a rule that has served us well - one cooks, the other cleans. Really! No need to worry about using too many dishes and ruining your enjoyment of cooking with a lot of clean up afterward! The other will clean! This is the mess I left for Patrick today. *smile* But I know he'll love the pie!
Several hours have passed, we've gone for a beautiful walk in the woods, and now to try the pie. It sits out for 20 minutes before serving. Cutting is easy, and it slides out of the pan nicely. I like the presentation of the golden crust in the glass pie pan and although the recipe called for a 9" pan, this pan is 9.5" and just barely held the filling.
The filling is so smooth with the light crunch of coconut and could really stand up to a strong flavored tea or coffee. It would also be fun to toast some of the coconut to sprinkle on the top. Excellent pie!
We have so much to celebrate this holiday season! Patrick's twin daughters, Cathy and Chrissy, are 31 years old and you might remember from a previous post that Cathy became engaged to Aaron in October. Patrick and his daughter's mother were divorced and the Joint Custody Agreement outlined the rights and responsibilities of each parent. Holidays were divided and since the girls were out of school for two weeks during the Christmas break, they spent the first week with their father and the second week with their mother. With my marriage to Patrick I became part of that schedule and Cathy and Chrissy would be with Patrick and me until Christmas Eve when the girls would go to church with their father and leave with their mother. After an entire week of love and laughter in our home, Christmas Eve was a sad time as the house was again quiet.
After Christmas in 2013 Cathy and Chrissy's mother passed away suddenly. She was in her late 60's and the death was completely unexpected. Patrick travelled from our home in North Carolina to Illinois and spent the next month with his daughters helping them through the emotional and financial tangle.
We were touched when Cathy and Chrissy invited us to spend Christmas with them this year! Patrick and I have been married 22 years and this would be our first Christmas Day with them. We made the trip to Illinois, had the most wonderful time with Cathy, Chrissy, Aaron, and Aaron's mom and dad, Janet and Tom, who, although they are also divorced, spend together time with their children.
What a special time!
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| L to R Front: Cathy, Jeanette, Patrick L to R Back: Aaron, Chrissy, Janet |
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| Jeanette, Patrick, and Janet at The Bean in Downtown Chicago |
Historical Food Fortnightly
The Challenge: #16 Celebratory Foods
The Recipe: White Christmas Pie, CBS Homemaker's Exchange Recipes
The Date/Year and Region: October/November/December 1950, United States
How did you make it? See photos and description in post
Time to Complete: 3 hours
Total Cost: $6.00
How successful was it? 4 thumbs up! Very smooth, could handle the balance of a strong tea or coffee, and the almond flavor is very wonderful!
How accurate is it? Still a popular recipe around the internet and the recipes are basically the same, so very accurate.
Celebrate, Celebrate, Dance to the Music!
Patrick and Jeanette
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