Holiday traditions, like decorations on a Christmas tree, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. However, the annual preparation of a special, festive food or drink might be the most treasured, the most anticipated, and perhaps the most important holiday tradition of all. Some of your Apex neighbors have generously shared their favorite family holiday recipes, a veritable ‘festival of flavor’ topped off with a cup of good cheer from the one and only Ebenezer Scrooge.
Molly Rodgers: For many years, my dear friends–the Bowlings–would host an annual “Soup and Bread” extravaganza at their Fuquay-Varina home just before Christmas. I always made smoked tomato bisque. Here is the recipe:
Smoked Tomato Bisque
Ingredients:
1/4 cup onions, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
Olive oil or olive oil/butter combo
1 or 2 (16-ounce) cans whole peeled or crushed San Marzano tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
1 pint heavy cream
2+ teaspoons Italian seasoning
Drops of balsamic vinegar to taste
Black pepper to taste
Drops of liquid smoke to taste
Directions:
In a medium stock pot, sauté onions and celery in oil until tender.
Add the tomato puree until it’s well incorporated.
Add the whole/crushed tomatoes.
Cook over low heat for 30 minutes or so (like making tomato sauce).
Blend all with a hand blender to puree it.
Stir in the chicken stock. Heat through.
Add the heavy cream, seasonings and liquid smoke
Cook on medium-low heat. (Don’t let it boil or the cream will break.) Stir frequently for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve with grated cheese, croutons, and balsamic vinegar.
Liz Avigliano: One of my favorite family recipes to serve on Christmas Day is stuffed cabbage. My mom and dad were from Eastern Europe (Hungary and Poland, respectively). They immigrated to the U.S. in 1949. All of the holiday food my mom made was drawn from either Polish or Hungarian recipes. This recipe was handed down to me by my mom. We had this every Christmas and I still make it every year.
Mom’s Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients:
2/3 cup uncooked white rice
2 heads green cabbage
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 slices bacon
2 cans of tomato soup
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1 package of sauerkraut
2 bay leaves
Directions:
- Cook rice according to package directions, cool.
- Rinse your sauerkraut, drain.
- Spread your sauerkraut on the bottom of your baking pan.
- Remove core from cabbage.
- Remove 8 – 12 leaves from each head of cabbage.
- Boil cabbage leaves until limp, about 5 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. Drain and rinse in cold water.
- Cut about 2 inches of the heavy center vein from the leaves.
- Combine cooked rice, egg, ground beef and ground pork, the 1/2 cup onion, salt and pepper; mix well.
- Place about 1/4 cup of rice mixture in center of each cabbage leaf; fold in sides and roll ends over rice.
- Place rolls, seam side down, on top of sauerkraut.
- Mix tomato soup and tomato sauces together in a pan with the bay leaves and cook it for about 10 minutes, then remove the bay leaves.
- Pour tomato mixture over cabbage rolls.
- Place a few pieces of bacon over the stuffed cabbages.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350º degrees for 1¼ to 1½ hours.
Patti Alves: We gather at my mom’s house on Christmas Eve morning to make the zeppole. Several of my mom’s family members do the same at their houses. In other words, my cousins, my brothers and I have all continued the tradition.
Zeppole with Anchovies
Ingredients:
4 packages yeast
6 cups water
6 teaspoons sugar
6 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons oil
15 cups of flour
8 cans of anchovies (whole in oil)
Directions:
- Mix as for yeast bread.
- Let dough rise until doubled.
- Drain and cut anchovies. Place into a golf ball sized piece of dough and then deep fry until golden brown.
Zeppole (Scalded Cookies)
Ingredients:
6 cups boiling water
4 cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
Honey
Directions:
- Mix flour into salted boiling water quickly until combined. Dough will be clumpy.
- On a well-floured surface, roll into rope and cut into about 5-inch pieces and twist.
- Deep fry until slightly crispy.
- Heat honey and pour over zeppole.
Amanda Meeks Mellenberger: This recipe has been used for the holidays across more than five generations of my family. It’s light and fresh, while offering a touch of color to the table. We’ve also served this in mini-cups at parties as an appetizer or dessert.
Maraschino Cherry Salad
Scrooge’s Eggnog!
Scrooge (a.k.a. Ira David Wood III): We did it! We got one of the stingiest holiday characters of all-time to share something with us!
Feeling a bit like Scrooge this holiday season? May his suggested spirits lift yours!
