Holiday Recipes

Maggie McKinney, Web Editor-In-Chief|Dec 4, 2020

PHOTO | Maggie McKinney

Senior Megan Aldaco’s recipe for pumpkin nut bread is a holiday favorite for her

PUMPKIN NUT BREAD-  senior Megan Aldaco

  1. Cream together four beaten eggs, three cups of sugar, one cup of oil and 14 ounces of canned pumpkin.
  2. In a separate bowl, sift together three and a half cups of flour, two teaspoons of salt, one teaspoon of cinnamon, one teaspoon of allspice, two teaspoons of baking soda, one teaspoon of baking powder and one teaspoon of nutmeg.
  3. Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture.
  4. Add two thirds of a cup of water, two thirds of a cup of chopped walnuts and one cup of raisins.
  5. Put mixture in two greased loaf pans and bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.

 

HOMEMADE NOODLES- freshman Lucy Shively

  1. I usually make a 12 egg recipe for large groups and so I have leftovers. The secret to this recipe for me is buying a fat hen and boiling until done. Save juices and pull off chicken to add to noodles for cooking. When cooking the noodles for chicken recipe add a couple drops of yellow food coloring for a rich look. You will also need to buy extra large cans or boxes of chicken broth to add as you cook. The noodles absorb lots of broth. You can save noodles after drying to a sealed container in the freezer to add to any soup recipes, including beef or add to other recipes such as casseroles.
  2. The recipe usually calls for 21/2 cups of flour for two eggs and that can vary according to eggs size and flour. I use brown farm eggs. They make for a better noodle but white are fine.
  3. 12 eggs beaten add flour, five tablespoons of butter (real), 11/2 cup of milk, teaspoon salt. Mix all ingredients together until a ball is pliable ball is formed. Knead the dough for about five minutes. Let rest covered for about 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out sections of the ball to a thin circle. I like it thin because it dries faster and I like thin noodles. Let circles dry as much as possible but not so dry you can not roll them up in a jelly roll. It is possible you might have to used extra flour when rolling them out and flipping them over to dry faster. Aflter you roll them in a jelly roll fashion you re ready to cut. I prefer very thin strips and various lengths. It is your preference.
  4. Let the cut noodles dry on floured surface tossing often. When dry, not brittle, store in sealed container and freeze with a paper towel between layer for easier removal and non sticking. Cooking the same day or a day later bring chicken pieces and broth to a boil and start adding noodles a small amount at a time stirring to keep from clumping and sticking. Keep adding extra very broth for the consistency you desire. The flour from the noodles will thicken the broth. Add a couple drops of food coloring and cook until your taste buds says it is done.
  5. Cooking a day ahead allows the flavors to take hold and the mess put away. If cooking a turkey and have extra juice it is a nice addition to your broth. As you are rewarding the noodles add more chicken broth or water to desired gravy thickness.
UPSIDE DOWN GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE- senior Violet Tumlin
  1. Prepare a box of German Chocolate cake mix as directed, and set aside.
  2. Liberally grease a nine inch by 11 inch cake pan and lightly flour.
  3. Melt one stick of butter and eight ounces of cream cheese over medium heat until smooth and mix in one box of confectioner’s sugar until you reach a creamy consistency.
  4. Sprinkle one cup of pecan pieces and one cup of flaked coconut evenly in the cake pan and then pour over the cake mix.
  5. Pour cream cheese mixture over the cake evenly
  6. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
  7. Cool before serving (unless you prefer it warm!)

 

MAC AND CHEESE- freshman Toni Gooden

1. Boil and drain one or two bags of pasta noodles and rinse with cold water.
2. Cut up one block of Velveeta and one block of cream cheese.
3. Put the noodles, Velveeta, cream cheese, eight ounces of milk, a dash of salt and pepper, one stick of butter and one can of cream of mushroom soup into a bowl.
4. Mix and put into a glass dish.
5. Put it into the oven at 350 and wait until the cheese melts.
6. Take the dish out of the oven and stir until completely mixed.
7. Put one bag or shredded cheese on top.
8. Put back into the oven till the cheese is golden brown.
NUTMEG LOGS- Cara Ostomel ’00
  1. Sift three cups of flour and one teaspoon of nutmeg.
  2. Cream together one cup of butter, two teaspoons of vanilla and two teaspoons of rum flavoring. Gradually add 3/4 cup of sugar and cream well.
  3. Blend in one unbeaten egg to cream mixture.
  4. Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix thoroughly.
  5. Shape pieces of dough on lightly floured surface into long rolls that are 1/2 inches in diameter. Cut into three inch long lengths. Place onto uncreased baking sheets.
  6. Bake at 350 of 12-15 minutes. Cool and frost, marking frosting with the tines of a fork to resemble bark. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

Frosting:

  1. Cream together three tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and one teaspoon of rum flavoring.
  2. Add two and a half cups of sifted confectioner’s sugar alternately with two to three tablespoons of cream, beating consistently.
PASTICHO- freshman Gioia Serra

Ragu sauce 

  • Ingredients  
  • 16 ounces of ground lean beef 
  • Two cans San Marzano peeled tomatoes 
  • ½ cup of red wine
  • One onion 
  • Two to three garlic cloves 
  • One carrot 
  • One stalk of celery 
  • One slice of pancetta 
  • Two tablespoons of olive oil 
  • One teaspoons Rosemary 
  • One teaspoon Basil 
  • One tablespoon Amore Tomato Paste 
  • Two cloves
  • Four to five porcini mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup water 
  • One cube of chicken bullion   
  • Instructions for making the Ragu Sauce  
  • Before you make the sauce, place porcini mushrooms in water and let soak for about an hour. After you have let them soak take the mushrooms out of the water and place them in a separate container. Strain mushrooms water with cheesecloth because there will be residue from the mushrooms that you don’t want. Save the water for later. Put half of the olive oil in a pan and add meat, chopped pancetta, garlic, rosemary, basil, carrots, celery, and onion. Cook on medium/high heat until meat is brown. Add wine and let it evaporate. Add rest of olive oil, full tomato can, and one cube of chicken bullion. Add one tablespoon tomato paste along with two cloves. Add mushrooms and strained water to the sauce. Cover half of the pan and let the sauce boil. Once it boils turn down the heat to low and mix once and a while, until the sauce reduces by half (or when the olive oil separates front the sauce. The oil has to be clear). Add salt and pepper to taste at the end. 

Béchamel Sauce

    • Ingredients 
    • Eight tablespoons of unsalted butter. Plus more for assembling the dish.   
    • Four cups of warm whole milk
    • Four tablespoons of flour (may need more) 
    • Add a pinch of nutmeg 
    • Salt and pepper
    • Two cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Plus more for assembling the dish.   
  • Instructions for making the Béchamel sauce
  • In a large non-stick frying pan melt butter over medium-low heat until the butter starts to have a gold tint. Add all the flour to the melted butter whilst whisking. If the sauce is not thick enough add more flour.  Whisk out all the clumps so the mixture is very creamy. Add warm milk little by little whilst mixing to prevent clumps. Do not let the mixture boil or else the bechamel sauce is ruined. After the mixture is smooth and is not too thick or too watery, add grated parmesan cheese.  Cover the pan and set aside. 

Making the Noodles  

  • Two boxes of lasagna noodles ( if you want you can make your own) *side note*- the noodles cant have ridges on the sides 
  • How to boil – boil salted water. You want to drop the lasagne noodles for just one minute. Immediately take out and dry off/pat the water with a paper towel. 

Preparing Pasticho

  • Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Cover the bottom layer of the lasagna pan with a layer of ragu sauce. Then on top of that add the noodles to cover the layer of ragu sauce. Then add a layer of bechamel sauce and grated parmesan cheese. (distribute evenly with a spatula). Keep the cycle going. It should go 1st layer ragu sauce. 2nd layer pasta. 3rd layer behcmale and cheese. Fourth layer ragu sauce. 5 layer pasta. 6th layer behcmale&cheese…. Etc. you should end with the behcmale&cheese on the top of all the layers. To that, add a couple of small dobs of butter on top. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes. When you take it out of the oven the top should be a golden brown. Let the dish rest for ½ – one hour before serving. 

Highly recommend tips 

  • Make the bechamel and ragu sauce a day before you assemble
  • Let the sauce become room temperature before assembling 
  • Don’t let the lasagne layer too high past the pan when assembling