Aunt Sadie’s Brisket of Beef

8 Servings
3 Large onions-Sliced Paper Thin
8 Whole allspice
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder
Hungarian paprika
5-6 lb brisket; 1st cut

Remove any excess fat from brisket, but leave a little on top. Place one half of the onions on bottom of pan.

Season the onions with a little salt, pepper, garlic powder and lots of Hungarian paprika. Place brisket on top of onions, then other half of onions and allspice on top of the brisket. Cover and roast in a 300 degree F. oven for 3 hours.

Test your brisket and when it is fork tender, take it out. Let it cool and then slice it very thin. Strain juice and either thicken it with a little cornstarch or serve it au jus. You will have a very dark brown juice.

NOTE: Best when made one day in advance.

Barbecued Butterflied Leg Of Lamb With Mint And Pocket Bread

9 Servings

1 Leg of lamb (5-6 lb)*
3/4 c Balsamic vinegar
1/3 c Mint jelly
1/3 c fresh mint leaves,Minced
Fresh mint sprigs (opt)
Salt
Pepper
Small pocket bread**

* – boned and trimmed of surface fat
** – or regular pocket bread, cut in half crosswise

1. Lay meat boned side up. Slash about halfway through thickest portions, as needed, and pull meat, patting cut edges down, to make the piece relatively even.

2. Place lamb in a 9×13″ pan. In a 1 1/2 quart pan over medium-high heat, stir vinegar with 1/3 cup mint jelly just until boiling. Stir in mint and pour evenly over lamb. Cover and chill 2 hours or up to a day. Turn meat over occasionally.

3. On fire grate in a barbecue, with a lid, ignite 50-60 charcoal briquets. When briquets are dotted with ash, in about 30 minutes, spread them into a single layer; scatter 10-12 more briquets over coals. Set grill 5-6″ above coals. Lift meat onto grill; reserve marinade. Put lid on barbecue and open vents.

4.Turn meat as needed to brown evenly; baste with marinade. Cook until thickest part of meat is done to your liking; for rare (140′ on a thermometer) in center of thickest part, allow about 40 minutes total. Thinner sections will be well done.

5. Transfer lamb to a platter and let rest 5-10 minutes. Garnish with mint sprigs. Slice meat thin. Season to taste with mint jelly, salt, and pepper. Eat with knife and fork or tuck into pocket bread.

Brownie Cakes In A Jar

2 CANNING JARS,wide mouth
1 c ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1 c SUGAR
1/2 t BAKING SODA
1/4 t CINNAMON (optional),Ground
1/3 c BUTTER,or MARGARINE
1/4 c WATER
3 T UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER
1/4 c BUTTERMILK
1 EGG,beaten
1/2 t VANILLA EXTRACT
1/4 c WALNUTS,finely chopped

Every recipe technique is the same, just different ingredients…

Sterilize, two 1-pint straight-sided wide-mouth canning jars
(specifically made for canning jams and jellies) lids and rings
by boiling for 10 minutes (keep the lids and rings in the hot
water until ready to use); set aside.

In a small bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and
cinnamon, if desired. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine butter or margarine, water and cocoa powder; heat and stir until butter or margarine is melted and mixture is well blended.

Remove from heat; stir in flour mixture. Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla; beat by hand until smooth. Stir in nuts.

Pour mixture into the prepared canning jars; place jars onto a cookie sheet.

Preheat oven to 325-degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a pick inserted deep into each cake comes out clean.

Remove cakes from the oven, one at a time. Place a
lid, then a ring onto the jars and screw down tightly. USE HEAVY-DUTY MITTS, the jars ARE HOT!! Place jars onto your counter to cool.

You’ll hear a “plinking” sound. If you miss the sound, wait until the cakes are cool and press on the lids, they shouldn’t move at all, that means they’ve sealed.

Store cakes in a cool, dark place. They should last up to a year.

If you’d like to decorate them, place a wad of cotton in the center of each lid, then place a piece of decorative cloth, about 3-inches larger in circumference than the lid, (cut with pinking shears) on top of the cotton.

Screw the ring back on (by this time the rings can
be removed as the lids should be sealed). Use your imagination when decorating–a hot glue gun works wonders (dried flowers, ribbon, etc). These make WONDERFUL Christmas gifts.

Candied Cranberries

2 Servings

1 c Sugar
2 T Water
1/2 c Cranberries

Cook 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Transfer to top of double boiler. Add cranberries. Cover berry mixture and place over simmering water. Cook 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from over water. Let cranberry mixture stand at room temperature overnight.

Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar on plate. Drain cranberries well. Add t sugar and turn to coat. Let dry at least 30 minutes.

(Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Makes about 1/2 cup

Candied Pineapple

6 Servings

1 c Sugar
1 cn (20 ounce) pineapple,Slices
-packed in own juice
and 1/3 cup juice,Drained reserved
2 T Light corn syrup
Sugar

In 3 qt casserole, combine 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup reserved juice and the corn syrup. Arrange five pineapple slices in single layer over sugar mixture.

Microwave on High 8-12 min. or until sugar dissolves and slices are glossy and transparent on edges, turning over and rearranging every 4 minutes.

Remove slices to wire rack and cool.

They will become more transparent as they cool. Add remaining slices to the hot syrup and repeat as above. When slices have cooled completely, coat with sugar.

Cover with wax paper and let stand on wire rack at least 24 hours to dry.

Recoat with sugar. Slices will be slightly sticky.

Store in airtight container with wax paper between layers no longer than 2 weeks.

M&M Christmas Ornaments

TREE ORNAMENTS =================
Plastic wrap
Pkg.’s M&M’s
Pipe Cleaner
Ribbon
CHRISTMAS WREATH ===============
Same ingredients as ornament
– but also a wire coat
– hanger

TREE ORNAMENTS: Cut plastic wrap into 6-inch squares. Gather corners and twist tightly. Secure with pipe cleaner.
Cluster individual balls into one large one, connecting each ball with the adjoining pipe cleaner. Tie “curling” ribbon around the cluster to form a loop at the tops. Tie two 10-inch strands of ribbon at the bottom and curl. Hang on the tree with the loop ends.

M&M CANDY WREATH: Make cluster balls the same way as the candy tree ornament clusters, using plain or peanut M&M’s. Form a circle from a wire coat hanger, the hook forms the hanging loop. Attach cluster balls to the hanger with pipe cleaners. Tie a large bow at the top of the wreath.

Cheesecake With Cranberry Jewel Topping

1 1/2 c Vanilla wafers, crushed
1/4 c Sugar
6 T Butter, melted

FILLING
========================
1/2 c Whipping cream
1 pk Vanilla powder
1 1/2 lb Cream cheese, room temp.
1 c Sugar
1 pn Salt
4 lg Eggs

TOPPING
========================
12 oz Fresh (or cranberries)
-Frozen
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Cranberry juice concentrate
1/4 c Water

Preheat oven to 350 F.

CRUST: Wrap the bottom and outsides of 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil. Lightly butter inside of pan and set aside.

Combine cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture onto bottom and halfway up sides of prepared springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes on center rack of preheated oven. Set aside, but do not turn off oven.

FILLING: Using electric mixer, blend together all ingredients. Add eggs and mix just until well-combined. Pour filling into prepared crust.

Bake until center is just set, about 50 minutes. Refrigerate cake immediately, and leave until thoroughly chilled (at least 6 hours or overnight).

TOPPING: Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve set over a lage bowl, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon to force as much of the liquid through sieve as possible. Spoon warm topping evenly
over cold cake. Refrigerate until topping is set, at least 2 hours.

(Can be prepared 1 day before serving. Store covered in
refrigerator.)

To serve, pipe rosettes of whipped cream around edges of cake.

Garnish with whole cranberries.

Chocolate Covered Peanuts

6 Servings

6 oz Chocolate Chips,Semi-Sweet
1/4 c Light Corn Syrup,Karo
1 T Water
2 c Peanuts,Salted

Combine the chocolate pieces, corn syrup, and water in a double boiler top. Place over hot water and stir until melted.

Remove from the heat and stir in the peanuts stirring until well coated.

Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper lined baking sheets.

Cover with aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator until firm.

Makes about 36 pieces.

Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge

6 Servings

1 lg Can Evaporated milk
1/4 lb Butter
4 c Sugar
2 pk Chocolate pieces ( 6 Ozs ea)
1/2 Jar marshmellow cream

Combine first three ingredients in saucepan and cook to 234 degrees, until it forms a soft ball in cold water.

Stir often.

Remove from heat and fold in remaining ingredients. If desired add chopped nuts.

Pour into greased 8 X 13 inch pan.

Refrigerate until firm.

Cut into squares.

Chocolate Wreath Cake

12 Servings

3 c All-purpose flour
1 T Baking powder
1 T Baking soda
1 1/2 t Salt
3 c Sugar
3 c Water
6 oz Semisweet chocolate
-finely,Chopped
1 lb Unsalted butter,softened
3 Large eggs,lightly beaten
2 1/4 c Confectioners’ sugar
1/2 t Vanilla extract
-Few drops green food colori
Fresh raspberries,dried
-cranberries,or cherries,
-for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan with a non-removable bottom.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a medium pot, combine the sugar and water and bring them to a boil.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chocolate and 1 stick of butter. When the chocolate and butter have completely melted, whisk the mixture to combine completely. Whisk in the beaten eggs.

Pour about half the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk vigorously to thoroughly combine the ingredients and remove any lumps. Working quickly, add the remaining chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, cream together the remaining 3 sticks of butter and the confectioners’ sugar, until light and fluffy.

Remove 1/3 cup of the icing, place in a small bowl, and color
it with a few drops of the green food coloring. Put the remaining icing in a pot, add the vanilla.

Over low heat, stir the icing until it becomes a pourable consistency. (If it overheats, causing the butter to separate, put the icing in the refrigerator to chill and stir to bring it back together.)

Pour the icing over the cooled cake so that it drips down the center and outside. Cluster the red berries in groups of 3 on top of the cake. Fill the green icing into a pastry bag fitted with a leaf tip and pipe a few leaves around each cluster of berries.

Serves 12 to 16.