I hope some of my visitors will share their stories with all of us. Please, if you have something unusual or funny, or if you just want to share your family traditions with us, E-MAIL ME!
When I was a teenager, about 16 or 17, I begged my mom for one of those electric cookie shooters. Strange request for a teenager, but I really wanted one. I told her if she would let me have it before Christmas, I would make all the cookies that year. As usual, she complied with my request and I was thrilled. I enlisted the help of my 7-year-old niece, Michele. I thought I could get her to do the "dirty work"!
We spent an entire Saturday, from early morning to late at night, making every kind of cookie imaginable! We had the entire kitchen a total disaster area. It was really fun and Michele didn't even mind the "dirty work"! When everyone came for Christmas that year, they were so surprised at all the different cookies we had made. No one could believe that Michele and I had done all this ourselves.
Every year after that, Michele and I continued to make our cookies. We expanded our horizons and made dough ornaments, breads and other goodies too. Now, Michele is grown and married and has three children of her own. Her oldest daughter, Stephanie, now helps me make Christmas cookies!
The first year I was married, I wanted to make some special ornaments for my family. I had invited a niece and two nephews over to help. They were really excited. I covered my kitchen floor with a big piece of plastic, because I some how knew a lot of the dough would end up on the floor! We spent the day mixing the dough and shaping it into various ornaments and baking them. We spent the afternoon painting and decorating them. The kids were thrilled and I was quite pleased myself. As we were counting the ornaments that evening, I was a bit surprised because I thought we should have made enough dough to make a lot more. Later that evening as I drove the kids home, Adam, the youngest at 6, was sitting in the front seat with me. He said he didn't feel too good. I pulled the car to the side of the road and he opened the door and was really sick! None of us could figure out what had happened, because he had been perfectly fine all day. When we finally arrived at their house, I told his mom about him not feeling well. She tried taking his temperature, but it was normal. Finally, he confessed. He had been EATING the dough!! I cannot recall the exact recipe at this moment, but I remember it had 2 CUPS OF SALT in it! I guess that explained why we didn't have as many ornaments as I had expected!
Adam is grown up and married now, with a 10-month-old son of his own. I tease him about the "dough-making day" and ask if Nicholas can come make some with me! He just smiles, but then turns kind of green at the same time! I wonder why?
I have never been one for cheese balls...they always tasted too cheesy! At an office party, a co-worker brought a cheese ball and insisted I try it. I have to admit, it was the best tasting cheese ball I had ever tasted. I asked her for the recipe so I could make it for our family Christmas dinner. Since I didn't like to take the time to shred the ham on my mom's old hand-held grater, I once again enlisted my niece's help. She loved the tedious process of shredding the ham and really liked to see how she could get it into the tiniest pieces. Everyone loved the cheese ball! They said it was the best tasting one they had ever eaten. Now, of course, I am expected to provide cheese balls for all family gatherings! That's fine...except now I use my food processor to shred the ham. Michele has "borrowed" this recipe from me, but she doesn't bring it to our family gatherings...she takes it to her in-laws! I guess it's kind of an unspoken rule that I do the cheese balls in our family!
By the way...the recipe for this cheese ball is in my Recipe Cupboard under the miscellaneous recipes, if you would like to try it out.
As our families have grown, and after we married, there were just too many to buy presents for. I have, however, always wanted to give something special to the small children. I started making them dough ornaments for their Christmas trees. I was surprised at the response from the children; after all, most of them like all the toys and big presents...or so I thought. Now, each year I get quizzed on what kind of ornaments I'm making for them. It is so simple and inexpensive...and they really look forward to it. I guess you don't have to spend a lot of money to give a present that is treasured.
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup water
Mix salt and flour. Slowly add water, mixing as you add it. Toward the end you will have to put dough on a work counter or on a lightly-oiled surface and knead well until dough is smooth. This dough can be used to make long-lasting ornaments and decorations. Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 1 1/2 hours until dry. After they have completely cooled, you can paint them with acrylic paints. After the paint is dry, cover with a clear acrylic finish to preserve them for years. If you want to hang them up, make sure that you make the holes to hang them before baking.
You can use cookie cutters for making the decorations. Use bigger cutters that don't have small areas for the dough to stick in and can't get it out.
