Mysterious packages appear in plain view...
Yes, waiting can be hard. But I am here to tell you that it can be done.
By Cynthia Bowan
Return to Index
Another holiday season is upon us. As much as many of us complain, we still go through it year after year. The shopping, decorating, cooking, baking - when all is said and done, through it all, most of us still enjoy December, with all the pluses and minuses.
Part of it is - let's be honest - the presents. This is, after all, the time of year when we specifically give and receive. Giving is one of the simple ways to show those around us that we care. We make special recipes and buy those gifts, all the while, making a present of ourselves as well.
Children await anxiously Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwaanza. Mysterious packages appear under the tree or in plain view somewhere, making it hard to wait to open. When you are young, people understand this inability to wait. When you are older, they snicker and lecture and even whisper behind your back, shaking their collective heads in disdain.
There are people who can wait until the appropriate time, those with self-control so overwhelming that nothing can cause them to do something as childish as, oh, say, shake a wrapped box to see if they can hear anything. Or gently lift up the Scotch Tape strips on a package end to see if the contents can be recognized.
Yes, they are the same people who can eat carrot sticks at a holiday party while the rest of us enjoy the chips and dips - and they like the carrots!
Those packages are so annoying. They tease us - think, just think! What could they be hiding? What treasures lie within the green and red patterned papers? What delights do the boxes hold? They issue a siren call, begging us, tempting us, luring us to sin... Oh, okay, so it may not be on a level like that, but there are some of us who simply have not been able to resist checking out packages before their time to be opened...
The first time I ever peeked, I must have been about 8 years old or so, and found a toy typewriter in my parents' room. Momma walked in just as I made my discovery, and informed me I might as well play with it, since it was all I was getting for Christmas. I couldn't touch it - and thankfully, she had not meant what she said.
I am not pointing a finger at any other specific persons, nor finding fault with their nebbiness <G>. My Momma always said, if you point a finger at someone, there are four fingers pointing back at you. And yes, I continued to be guilty of sneaking peeks at presents. But my husband helped me to kick the habit, even though it took many years.
The Christmas before we were married, he wrapped my three gifts, piled them on top of each other, and then made a wire frame out of old coat hangers around the gifts. This was covered with a couple layers of Christmas wrapping paper. Nothing moved, nothing shook.
Our first married Christmas, there was a huge present for me in our apartment walk-in closet. One afternoon while he was at school, I couldn't stand it any longer. I lifted the tape on one end, and there was a small sign which read: "Now aren't you sorry you didn't wait for Christmas?" I went no further, and retaped the whole thing.
A few years later, he repeated the wire frame performance, only he made the outer frame pyramid-shaped. Some holidays later, I walked out into the living room on Christmas morning to find a palm tree waiting for me. He had wrapped my presents separately and placed them inside a large wooden bucket - which he said, would hold magazines after the holiday. The top of the bucket was covered in brown paper (for "dirt"), the "trunk" turned out to be a huge poster from the movie Gone with the Wind, rolled up and covered in dark brown crepe paper. Merrill used coat hangers to make the branches; each was covered in green crepe paper, with edges shredded, to make the palm fronds.
By then, I no longer tried to shake a box or anything. I was content to wait until Christmas to open things. The problem was, he loved the camouflaging so much, that he kept on! For example, the year Holly was born, he bought me a rocking chair. It was encased in cardboard and tons of wrapping paper...I can't even begin to describe the weird shape....
At least, I know I am not alone. Friends have shared their stories with me. Like my Internet friend, Kim, who wrote this:
"Last year I was determined our oldest granddaughter was not going to know what she was getting for Christmas. She is always snooping and finds out. When I wrapped her Easy Bake Oven I put a tag on it for Gideon (her 14 year-ld uncle). She won't mess with any packages but her own so I knew she wouldn't find out. Well, needless to say, since I haven't done this before - I forgot I put the wrong name on the tag. Imagine my surprise when I heard Gideon say "Yeah! I thought I was too old for good presents." and I heard
Haileigh scream "You can't have my Easy Bake Oven.". I had to buy another one for Haileigh because Gideon did not give it up. This year he and his girlfriend had an Easy Bake Oven party and invited all their friends over to help bake. They had a blast. Imagine seeing 15 & 16 year old boys and girls all looking in that tiny window at what was cooking. They asked it they could do this again. This year Gideon has asked for Play-Dough!"
Or how about how about Mel in Florida?
"Gee, I had a very large gift once... I unwrapped it and there was another gift. I unwrapped that one, and there was another wrapped gift. I couldn't tell you how many wrapped boxes I went through before I found the roll of nickels in the last tiny box... maybe like 10 or 12 boxes.... all very beautifully wrapped."
But my most favorite story of all comes from Kathy. The problem isn't herself, it is her husband:
"My husband has always been as bad about opening Christmas presents as you seem to be. One year he "accidentally" spilled gravy on a box and the dog tore it open. Now how in the world the gravy boat got so close to the Christmas tree is beyond me!!!! He is also the person in our house that discovered if you lick packages you can read what's on a box underneath the fancy paper! Had to hide stuff from him worse than from the kids! "
Yes, waiting can be hard. But I am here to tell you that it can be done. Now, in the spirit of the Season, I offer you some wonderful recipes that fit right in with our topic - each of them is a wrapping around a surprise (you'll see what I mean). I hope you will Enjoy! them, and I wish for you all a wonderful holiday, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! CYH - consider yourself hugged!
Crepe Party Purses
1 1/4 c. milk
1 c. flour
1 egg
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 green onions
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 c. chopped, cooked chicken breast
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth (reduced sodium works)
1/3 c. dry white wine
1 pkg. (5.2 oz.) Boursin cheese
1/8 tsp. dried tarragon, crushed
Red bell pepper strips, opt.
For crepes: combine milk, flour, egg, cooking oil, baking powder and salt in a blender or processor container. Cover and blend until smooth. Heat a lightly greased 7-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; spoon 2 T. of batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt skillet to spread batter.
Return skillet to heat; cook for 1 minute or until light brown. Turn with a spatula; cook second side for 30 seconds. Carefully slide finished crepe onto a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping crepes covered while you prepare the remainder. You should have 12 crepes; set them aside.
Clean green onions. Trim and discard root ends; reserve 12 whole green tops. Thinly slice white parts. Bring 1/2 c. water just to boiling in a large skillet. Add green onion tops; cook for 30 seconds. Immediately rinse with cold water; drain on paper towels and set aside.
Heat olive oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced green onion (white parts), cooked chicken and white pepper; cook just until chicken is heated through. Add broth and wine; bring to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-7 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. Add cheese and tarragon; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Strain mixture, reserving liquid as sauce and the solid portion as filling. Cover sauce and keep warm.
For each serving, spoon about 2 T. filling onto a crepe. Pull up edges to make a purse. Tie purse closed with a cooked green onion top. Spoon 1 T. sauce onto each plate, set purse in sauce. If desired, garnish with sweet pepper strips. Makes 12.
Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Appetizers 2000.
Hot Olive Cheese Puffs
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese, softened
3 T. butter, softened
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
24 olives (green, pimento-stuffed)
Drain olives well. Using an electric mixer, blend cheese and butter. Stir in flour, salt and paprika. Wrap 1 tsp. cheese dough around each olive, covering completely. Place in baking pan or on a baking sheet, and bake at 400F., 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm. Recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled.
To Freeze: Place on a cookie sheet until frozen, then put in a freezer bag.
Individual Beef Wellington
1 lb. medium mushrooms
1/4 c. butter
1 medium onion, minced
3 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
salt
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
2 eggs, separated
1 beef rib roast (about 4 lb.)
pastry for 2- crust pie
Remove stems from 10 mushrooms, set aside. Mince remaining mushrooms and the
extra stems. In a 12 inch skillet, over medium heat, cook mushrooms and onions 5 minutes in butter. Stir in bread crumbs, pepper, thyme and 1-1/2 tsp. salt, cool. Trim fat off roast, cut meat in half lengthwise, slice each half crosswise into 5 equal pieces. Dry with paper towels.
Pastry:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. shortening
5 to 6 T. cold water
Stir together flour and salt, with a pastry blender or 2 knives cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle cold water, a T. at a time, mixing lightly with a fork after each addition until pastry just holds together with hands shape pastry into a ball, divide pastry in half.
Roll 1 piece of the pastry on a floured surface to 14 x11". Cut 2 rectangles 6 1/2 by 10, reserve scraps. Place 1/3 c. of mushroom mixture in center of pastry rectangle. Top with a piece of meat, sprinkle meat lightly with salt, top with whole mushroom. In a bowl with a fork beat egg whites with 2 tsp. water brush pastry edges with this fold pastry over meat and mushrooms, overlap edges. Press to seal, place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate while preparing remainder.
Roll out pastry scraps with a sharp knife cut into designs, brush backs with egg whites arrange on pastry, refrigerate.
About 35 minutes before serving, preheat oven to 400F. In cup beat egg yolks with 2 tsp. water, brush over pastry. Bake 25 minutes for rare, 27 minutes for medium, with a pancake turner, place Wellingtons on a warm platter You can either slice these or serve them whole.
From hillbillycorn recipes newsletter:
Russian/Mexican/Wedding/Tea Cookies with Surprises
This delightful cookie has several names, but is always made with butter and chopped nuts. The addition of the centers makes a great surprise.
1 c. butter, softened (no substitutions)
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts
Your choice: maraschino cherries (well-drained); filberts; Hershey's Kisses (regular or nut); malted milk balls; or similar candies.
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with nuts. Chill dough at least 1 hr. Roll dough into 1" balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400F., 10 minutes, or until set, but do not brown. Roll in additional confectioners' sugar while still warm. Makes about 4 dozen. These cookies will freeze and keep well.
OR: Roll dough around choice of center. Follow directions as above. I do not know if the filled cookie version will freeze well - but in our house, these are so quickly gone that it doesn't matter. <G>
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies
10 oz. jar small maraschino cherries with stems (about 48)
2 T. cherry brandy or cherry juice
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
Chocolate-Cherry frosting (recipe follows)
Drain cherries; reserve juice if desired. Lightly toss cherries with brandy or reserved juice in a small bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Drain well, reserving liquid.
Beat butter in large mixing bowl with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, cocoa, baking soda and powder; beat until combined well. Beat in egg and 1 tsp. of reserved liquid. Beat in as much flour as possible with the mixer; stir in remaining flour with wooden spoon.
Shape a scant 1 tsp. of dough around each cherry. Place each ball in a 1" foil or paper baking cup. Place cups 1" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350F., 10-12 minutes, or until tops look dry. Transfer cookies to wire racks. Frost each warm cookie with 1/2 tsp. frosting; cool completely. Makes 48.
Chocolate-Cherry Frosting
Stir together 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips and 1/3 c. sweetened condensed milk in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat just until chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1-2 T. of reserved cherry liquid to make spreading consistency. Makes about 1/2 c.
By Cynthia Bowan
Return to Index
Crepe Party Purses | Hot Olive Cheese Puffs
Russian/Mexican/Wedding/Tea Cookies with Surprises
Individual Beef Wellington | Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cookies
