From Our Kitchen to Yours

The holiday season is a time when sweet smells and tastes come
from the kitchen. Most South Valley residents are busy baking
cookies and candies and whipping up dishes to share with loved ones
during the next few weeks. But just as each family is unique in
their own way, so are their favorite family holiday recipes.
The holiday season is a time when sweet smells and tastes come from the kitchen. Most South Valley residents are busy baking cookies and candies and whipping up dishes to share with loved ones during the next few weeks. But just as each family is unique in their own way, so are their favorite family holiday recipes.

Here are a few of our staff’s favorites. Happy Holidays.

Baked Brie with Amaretto

– Ana Patejdl

Sports Reporter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 ounces amaretto

1 round Brie cheese

3 Tbs. almond slivers

Step 1: Cover brie with layer of brown sugar. Pour amaretto over the Brie. You may want to add more brown sugar, depending on how much the amaretto soaks up.

Step 2: Sprinkle almond slivers on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve with your choice of crackers.

Deep Dish Pecan Pie

– Becky Ybarra

Classified Advertising

“This recipe comes from my good friend Sandy Hicks in Los Banos. It’s delicious.”

Serves 8

1 cup Karo Corn Syrup

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted

1 1/2 cup pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust

Step 1: Stir corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla and melted butter together in a bowl, then fold in pecans.  

Step 2: Pour into pie crust.  

Step 3: Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes. Serve alone or with a scoop of ice cream.

Sugar Cookies

– Serdar Tumgoren

News Reporter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup shortening or butter

2 eggs

2 Tbs. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 1/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Step 1: In a large bowl cream the shortening and the sugar. Add the eggs, extract and milk. In a medium bowl mix the dry ingredients with a wire whisk.

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl. Mix with mixer until well-combined.

Step 3: With hands, shape dough into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.

Step 4: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Roll half or one-third of the dough at a time;keep the rest refrigerated. For crisp cookies, roll dough, paper thin. For softer cookies, roll 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thick.

Sauerkraut Jell-O

-Steve Staloch Publisher

“I recommend a nice Merlot de Maalox 2005 served at room temperature to accompany.”

1 small box Jell-O (any flavor except grape)

1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, chopped

1 cup cooked carrots, mashed

1 tsp. water

1 mashed anchovy (optional)

Step 1: Make Jell-O according to package directions.

Step 2: Before Jell-O firms, add sauerkraut, carrots, anchovy and water. Chill until firm.

Monkey Bread a.k.a. Pull-Apart Bread

– Chris Riley

staff photographer

“My dad makes this every year, and it’s really easy to make.”

2 cans of Grands Homestyle canned biscuits

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 stick of margarine

3/4 cup granulated sugar

cinnamon

chopped nuts (optional)

plastic zipper bag

bundt pan

Step 1: Preheat oven to 360 degrees.

Step 2: Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in the ziplock bag; shake mixture together. Set aside.

Step 3: Open cans of biscuits, separate and cut each biscuit into approximately eight sections. After you have cut about three biscuits into small sections, drop sections into plastic bag with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Shake bag until each piece is covered.

Step 4: Sprinkle small amount of chopped nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Evenly distribute coated biscuit pieces into the bottom of bundt pan. You may sprinkle extra cinnamon at any time if you like.

Continue doing this process until all biscuits have been used. Set bundt pan to the side.

Step 5: In a small pan and on low heat, melt margarine or butter and add brown sugar. Stir mixture until it comes to a low boil. I like to used a wooden spoon to do this. You may also add more chopped nuts.

Step 6: After the sugar and brown sugar have completely mixed together and come to a low boil, pour mixture over the biscuit sections and place into your oven. Let bread cook for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and while it’s still hot and turn onto an oversized plate. If you let the bread cool too long in the bundt pan, it will stick.

If all of your Monkey Bread isn’t eaten during the first round, you can pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds for a warmed treat.

Wine-Glazed Stuffed Figs

– Katie Niekerk

Lifestyles Assistant Editor

1/3 cup sweet wine

1 pound dried figs

15-20 walnut halves

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Step 1: Pour wine over dried figs; let stand while preparing sauce.

Step 2: Bring water and sugar to boil; simmer 10 minutes.

Step 3: Add wine and figs. Simmer, turning figs frequently, until well glazed.

Step 4: Cool, split and stuff figs with walnuts. These also can be stuffed with pecans, cream cheese and crystal ginger.

Atole aka “Champurrado”

– Diana Mulleniux

human resources manager

“I got these recipes from my mother Adela Vasquez, who is a native of Michocan, Mexico. I have great memories of having these dishes during the holidays!”

This is a chocolate porridge usually eaten on Christmas Day.

4 cinnamon sticks

4 cups water

4 ounces masa (available at Mexican grocery stores)

3 Tbs. water

warm milk

1 tablet Mexican chocolate (available at Mexican grocery store), broken into pieces

granulated sugar

Step 1: Boil cinnamon sticks in water. Remove sticks and set aside water.

Step 2: Add 3 T. of plain water to masa and and mix until all lumps are removed.

Step 3: Add masa mixture to water in which cinnamon sticks were boiled and blend until smooth. Cook over low heat.

Step 4: Gradually add warm milk to mixture and continue stirring. Add tablet of chocolate and mix until chocolate is dissolved.

Step 5: Remove from heat. Add sugar to taste. Mixture should be thick and creamy. Serve warm.

Cranberry-Apple Relish

– Kelly Savio

Lifestyles Writer

1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples chopped, peeled

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white grape juice

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

12 ounces fresh cranberries

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thick. Cool completely before eating.

Koloches

– Nathan Mixter

Page Designer/Graphics

“Holiday koloches come from our Czech roots and have become a tradition each year. They can be filled with any number of fillings such as apricots, pineapple, cottage cheese or poppy seed, but we’ve always used prunes.”

One pound pitted prunes

4 cups water

dash of nutmeg

Prebought rolls

butter

Step 1: Boil one pound of pitted prunes in 4 cups of water. Simmer until thick.

Step 2: Add a 1/2 cup of sugar and a dash of nutmeg. The bread dough can be made in a breadmaker, or prebought rolls can be used.

Step 3: Butter the rolls. Place the filling in a hollowed-out area of the bread, and cook in the oven until the bread is lightly browned.