Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style!

Overwhelmed with Joy is sponsoring Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style for sharing holiday recipes. I am going to toss three into the mix: Holiday Wassail, Sour Cream Apple Pie (including my grandmother’s fabulous, mix-in-the-pie-plate crust recipe), and Bacon/Hot Dog Wraps.

Holiday Wassail

In my early married days when I couldn't cook anything I discovered this recipe in one of my first cookbooks. I took it to every seasonal gathering we attended, finally purchasing a bigger crock-pot so I wouldn't spill it on the way. Here's your excuse to learn and perform The Wassail Song!

Holiday Wassail

1 gallon apple cider (buy the fresh kind in a "milk jug" in the produce section)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 6-oz. can frozen lemonade
1 6-oz. can frozen orange juice
12 whole cloves
6 whole allspice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 4-inch cinnamon stick
2 bottles of port (optional - I've never tried it)

In a large kettle, combine cider, sugar, lemonade, and orange juice. Tie cloves and allspice into a small piece of cloth (I use cheesecloth) and add to cider. Add nutmeg and cinnamon stick; simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add wine; heat to steaming. Do not boil. Remove spice bag, discard, and serve hot. Makes 30 to 35 servings.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

I got this recipe several years ago from the Atlanta Journal/Constitution. It is not going to win any pie beauty contests; however, I promise it will make your taste buds happy.

Sour Cream Apple Pie

Apple Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1 9-inch deep-dish unbaked pie shell

Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. butter, softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For the filling, in a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, sour cream, flour, vanilla, and salt. Stir in apples to coat them well with filling mixture. Pour into crust, mounding apples in center. Bake 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make topping. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees and remove pie. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie and bake 20 minutes.
Note: For more color and flavor, add 1/2 cup cranberries to apples before stirring them into the filling mixture.
Do-ahead tips: Bake a day in advance and serve chilled, at room temperature, or warmed in a low oven.

Here is my Grandmother Piles's pie crust recipe. The fabulous thing is that you stir the ingredients together right in the pie plate - no rolling or transferring!

Grandmother's Easy Pie Crust

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil
2 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir ingredients together in pie plate, then shape by hand for crust.

Bacon/Hot Dog Wraps

These are absolutely amazing appetizers, and very easy. I know what you're thinking - hot dogs? Buy fancy ones like Hebrew National if you like, but it makes no difference. The cinnamon, sugar, and bacon drippings combine to make a divine "syrup." Men love these things. If very many people will be in attendance, you may want to double the recipe to avoid fighting. No joke.

Bacon/Hot Dog Wraps

1 pkg. of hot dogs (each cut into 5 pieces)
17 slices of bacon (each cut into 3 pieces)
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
50 tooth picks

Preheat oven to 325. Wrap each hot dog piece with a piece of bacon and secure with a tooth pick. Place wrapped hot dogs in a single layer on a cookie sheet (see note below). Mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon together in a bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the wrapped hot dogs. Bake for about an hour or until nice and brown (also make sure bacon looks done!).
Note: I cook these on the Pampered Chef stoneware large bar pan. I definitely recommend using something with a little edge to it, or the bacon grease will drip into your oven.

Head over to Overwhelmed with Joy for other great holiday cooking ideas!