Holiday Recipes From Charleston Receipts

Holiday recipes from Charleston Receipts, the nation’s oldest Junior League cookbook, published in 1950 and now in its thirty-fifth printing.

Meeting Street Crab Meat

Serves 4 (1 1/2 pounds of shrimp may be substituted for the crab).

Ingredients

1 pound white crab meat

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1/2 pint cream

4 tablespoons sherry

3/4 cup sharp grated cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Make a cream sauce with the butter, flour and cream.

2.Add salt, pepper and sherry. Remove from fire and add crab meat.

3. Pour the mixture into a buttered casserole or individual baking dishes.

4. Sprinkle with grated cheese and cook in a hot oven until cheese melts. Do not overcook.

Mrs. Thomas A. Huguenin (Mary Vereen)

"Likker Pudding"

Serves 6. (May be used without “likker”)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups milk

3 medium sized yams

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 eggs

1/4 stick butter

1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds

1/2 cup whiskey or rum

Directions

1. Put milk into 2-quart casserole.

2. Grate yams, adding to milk as you grate to prevent potatoes from turning dark.

3. Beat eggs well and add sugar gradually. Add cinnamon and almonds and mix well with potatoes.

4. Dot generously with butter and bake in a 300-degree oven for two hours. Just before serving, pour the whisky or rum over the pudding.

Delicious with turkey.

Mrs. W. T. Hartman (Betty Blaydes)

Mrs. C.C. Calhoun's Chafing Dish Oysters

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup thick cream

6 waffle squares

1 pint small oysters

1 wineglass sherry

Cayenne, mace, celery salt

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a chafing dish. Add the oysters and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.

2. Pour the cream in slowly and carefully, and bring just to the boiling point.

3. When ready to serve add the sherry. Before ladling onto the crisp, hot waffles, dust with seasonings.

Mrs. Laurens Patterson (Martha Laurens)

Brandy Pudding

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs, separated

1 cup brandy

1 pint cream, whipped

Directions

1. Cream egg yolks and sugar. Add brandy slowly.

2. Cook in top of double boiler stirring constantly.

3. Remove from fire and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. When the mixture cools, fold in the whipped cream and pour into a mold which has been lined with lady fingers.

4. Let stand several hours in ice box before serving.

Mrs. Henry F. Church (Rea Bryant)

Peppermint Stick Ice Cream

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1 cup milk

1 pint heavy cream

1/2 pound peppermint stick candy, crushed

Directions

1. Heat milk in top of double-boiler; add candy and stir constantly until dissolved.

2. Pour into tray of refrigerator and chill.

3. Whip cream until thickened, but not stiff, and fold into chilled candy mixture.

4. Pour back into tray freeze with control set at coldest point, until firm. Stir once or twice during freezing.

5. Serve with hot fudge sauce.

Mrs. John Laurens (May Rose)

Charlotte Russe

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pint whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 egg whites

Sherry

1/4 cup cold milk

1/4 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tablespoon gelatine

Lady fingers, split

Directions

1. Whip cream until stiff, add vanilla and sugar, also sherry to taste.

2. Soften gelatine in cold milk, then dissolve in warm milk.

3. When cool add to above mixture, beating the cream all of the time.

4. Add beaten egg whites.

5. Pour in bowl or dessert glasses line with lady fingers.

Mrs. J. Stanyarne Stevens (Caroline Simonds)

Sausage Stuffing for Turkey

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 onion, chopped

1 cup cracker crumbs

1 pound sausage meat

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sherry

Salt and pepper

Directions

Let onion brown in butter. Add other ingredients and cook a few minutes.

Mrs. Kinloch McDowell (Annie Bissell)

Straws

Makes about 100

Ingredients

1 pound sharp cheese, grated

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1/4 pound butter, creamed

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper

Directions

1. Cream butter, add cheese, salt and pepper, then flour.

2. Put in cookie press or roll thin and cut into narrow strips four inches long.

3. Bake in 350-degree oven for twenty-five minutes or until light brown.

Mrs. Henry Ellerbe (Margaret Lucas)

Red Rice

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 can tomato paste

1 1/2-2 cups water

2 onions (chopped fine)

3 teaspoons salt

2-3 teaspoons sugar

4 strips bacon (cubed)

8 tablespoons bacon grease

Good dash of pepper

2 cups raw rice

Directions

1. Fry bacon, remove from pan; sauté onions in grease; add tomato paste, water, salt, sugar and pepper.

2. Cook uncovered slowly (about 10 minutes) until mixture measures 2 cups, then add it to rice in top section of steamer.

3. Add the 1/2 cup additional grease; steam for 1/2 hour, then add bacon, crumbled, and stir with a fork.

4. Cook 30-45 minutes longer.

Mrs. Charles Gibbs (Wilmot Welch)

Hopping John

Hopping John, made of cow peas and rice, is eaten in the stateliest of Charleston house and in the humblest cabins and always on New Year’s Day. “Hoppin’ John eaten then will bring good luck” is an old tradition.

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup raw cow peas (dried field peas)

4 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup raw rice

4 slices bacon fried with

1 medium onion, chopped

Directions

1. Boil peas in salted water until tender.

2. Add peas and 1 cup of the pea liquid to rice, bacon with grease and onion.

3. Put in rice steamer or double-boiler and cookf or 1 hour or until rice is thoroughly done.

Mrs. W. H. Barnwell (Mary Royall)

Cocktail Sauce for Shrimp Crab or Raw Vegetables

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon finely minced onion

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce

1/4 cup chili sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix well and keep in ice box until ready to serve.

Mrs. Horace L. Jones (Louise Dixon)