GETTING READY TO GRIND BERRIES

With the talk of Thanksgiving all around, our Ross is excited about getting to grind cranberries with Grandpa. Just last night I mentioned cranberries and his face lit up and he started recalling memories of the old grinder tightly screwed to the table. Grinding cranberries and oranges has been a long tradition with my dad and children. And this year again, Dad will patiently grind with children trying to turn the handle the wrong way or putting too much in at one time.

Mom will prepare all of our favorites, especially her pecan pie. Grandma Iva will make her oyster dressing, just a small pan so Grandpa and I can share it and Grandma Clara will make her homemade rolls.

Memories, and so many of them involve food. Around the holidays all thoughts turn toward home and family, and it feels so good.

Even though we have ground cranberries, one of my favorite gelatin salads is full of cranberries.

Cranberry Orange Salad

2 small packages cherry gelatin

2 small packages cranberry raspberry gelatin

2 cups hot water

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups sugar

1 pound cranberries, ground

3 oranges, seeded, ground

3 apples, seeded, ground or diced very fine

1 large can crushed pineapple, undrained

1 1/2 cups pecans, broken

Combine gelatin and hot water, stirring until well dissolved. Add cold water and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Stir both mixtures together and pour into a long flat pan. To serve, cut into squares.

I promised you I would share some apple recipes with you, and here are a couple more. The first is a side dish, not a stuffing, that is more apples than bread. It is especially good with pork.

Apple Dressing

2 cups soft bread crumbs

4 cups chopped, unpeeled apple, about 4 medium

3 ribs celery, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

In a shallow baking pan, toast bread crumbs in a 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or till lightly browned. In a large bowl, combine apple, celery, onion, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over all; toss till well combined. Avoid over stirring, just gently toss. Spoon into a lightly sprayed 2-quart casserole. Bake, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or till apples are tender. Uncover and bake about 5 minutes to brown top.

Cranberry Apple Harvest Pie

3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

5 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

2 pounds tart green apples, cut into 1/4-inch wedges

1 3/4 cups cranberries

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 9-inch pie shell

Topping:

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons evaporated milk

1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 4 ingredients. Add apples and berries and juice; toss well. Transfer to pie shell, mounding in center. Bake 1-1/2 hours. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes longer. Cool. For the topping: Melt butter with milk and sugar over low heat. Increase heat and simmer stirring constantly. Mix in vanilla then pecans. Pour into bowl, let stand until slightly thickened and just cool, stir occasionally about 10 minutes. Spoon over pie. Covering completely. Let stand until topping sets about 30 minutes.

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Vicki Ramey of Cape Girardeau needs a salad recipe to take to a dinner and asked if I would share a couple of my favorites. And of course I will, Vicki. I hope you enjoy them.

Fresh As Can Be Salad

8 cups mixture of fresh spinach and iceberg lettuce

2 cups fresh sliced strawberries

1 teaspoon orange peel

1/2 cup poppy seed dressing

1 tablespoon orange juice or orange juice concentrate

1/4 cup toasted pecans or sugar toasted pecans

Combine salad greens, strawberries and one-half of the pecans. For the dressing, combine the orange peel, prepared salad dressing, and orange juice or concentrate. Stir well and refrigerate until ready to serve. When the dressing has been added to the salad, top with remaining pecans and serve immediately.

When making this salad, use fresh grated orange peel and fresh orange juice. It makes all the difference in the world.

Strawberry Bacon Salad

1 cup strawberries

1 cup seedless red grapes

4 sliced bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Red and green leaf lettuce

Dressing:

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

1/2 cup oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all salad ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve. For the dressing, combine the dressing ingredients and heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Refrigerate until well chilled. Add the dressing just before serving.

Mrs. Melvin Fiedler of Altenburg, Mo. has shared a number of recipes with us and I will continue to share one with you each week.

Cranberry Gelatin With Sweetener

1 pound cranberries

4 tablespoons liquid sweetener

Cook over low heat until cranberries pop open. Cool.

2 small packages strawberry or cherry sugar-free gelatin

2 cups hot water

2 cups cold water

Apple, diced, in desired amount

2 cups diced celery

1 small can crushed pineapple, in its own juice, drained

Dissolve gelatin in hot water, stir well. Add cold water and stir well. Chill until it starts to thicken, then add remaining ingredients, adding the cranberries also. Pour into a bowl and chill until firm.

This ends another week of recipe sharing. May God bless each of you on this Thanksgiving holiday. Take time to ponder in your own heart all of the many wonderful blessings we are given each day, and, of course, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan, an administrator at Cape Senior Center, can be reached at Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699. Recipes published are not kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.