Christmas Family Tradition

by Suzanne Berton

As a French Canadian girl, one of the things that stands out most in my mind about celebrating Christmas as a youth was the loving parental involvement in preparation for this wonderful time of year. As most parents do, my Father did most of the decorating and my Mother did the baking. One year my Father returned from hospital after surgery for cancer; during recuperation, he must have gotten the Christmas spirit all over again because he bought cotton batting and for a couple of hours he delicately pulled and stretched it to make the tree appear as though real snow had fallen. It was the most beautiful tree that we had ever seen. As the primary focus of the Christmas celebration, and of course my Mother’s encouragement, my Father always placed the crèche beneath the tree for all to see. In this way, we never forgot the true meaning of Christmas.

With nine children, my parents did a whole lot to make Christmas as wonderful as they could. Without complaint, my dear Mother lovingly baked all sorts of goodies not only for the Christmas dinner, but also for the “Réveillion” on Christmas Eve. With such a large family, she baked many meat pies, cookies, fudge and Christmas cake. With admiration, I remember watching my Father stir all the candied fruit and cake mixture in a special fruitcake bowl for my Mother because my Mother needed to make a huge recipe; it was too hard for her too stir all the contents. Christmas at home with Mother and Father always meant family, the crèche, meat pies, fruitcake, cookies, fudge, and candy. Mainly it meant love. By Suzanne Berton 2004

(Note: Most of my mother’s recipes can be found in the Grandparent’s cookbook at www.CANGRANDS.com, a GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT! If you click the link http://www.cangrands.com/cookbook.htm you will find information on a Grandparent tested and approved cookbook.)

MOM’S DARK FRUIT CAKE
(5 lbs)

1-cup Seeded raisins
1-cup Seedless raisins
1 cup Currants
3 ounces candied lemon peel, chopped
3 ounces candied orange peel, chopped
8 ounces candied cherries
8 ounces candied pineapple
8 ounces citron, thinly chopped
2 cups walnuts
1/3-cup flour for dredging
1 1/3-cup flour for mixing
¼ tsp. Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Allspice
¼ tsp. Mace
¼ tsp. Nutmeg, grated
2/3-cup butter
2/3-cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs separated
1/3-cup molasses
3 tables. Fruit juices
2/3-cup strawberry jelly

1.Prepare fruits and nuts; dredge with dredging flour.
2.Sift mixing flour; measure; add soda & spices.
3.Cream butter; add sugar gradually, cream together until light and fluffy.
4.Add molasses, fruit juices and strawberry jelly; blend thoroughly.
5.Add fruits and nuts.
6.Fold in dry ingredients, adding about one third at a time.
7.Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
8.Turn into pans, which have been greased and lined with waxed paper (Mom did foil) – fill pans about 3/4 full.
9.Bake in a slow oven (250 F) about 1-½ hours for 5lbs cakes or less.

NOTE:The original recipe called for wrapping cakes with cheesecloth soaked in brandy.
To repeat this occasionally. Mom omitted this step.

*****

Mom’s Christmas Gum Drop Cookies

1 cup margarine
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs unbeaten
2 cups rolled oats
¾ cup coconut
1 pkg. McCormick’s baking gums (cut very fine)
½ cup chopped nuts
¾ tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ½ cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ¼ tsp. baking powder

1.Combine margarine, sugars, eggs, lemon rind, vanilla. Beat thoroughly.

2.Sift flour with salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to margarine mixture and mix well.

3.Add rolled oats, coconut, gums and nuts. Mix thoroughly.

4.Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes.

Mom’s Tourtière

3 lbs. ground beef
3 lbs. ground pork
¾ tsp. pepper
¾ tsp. ground cloves (don’t use whole cloves)
2 ½ tsp. salt

Optional: Add chopped onions if you wish.

Place ground beef and pork in a large pot such as a stock pot. Pour water in the pot to cover the meat. Add spices to taste. Cook slowly until the meat is no longer pink. Stir often. Drain. (I reserve some of the liquid. I pour 1 tsp. liquid on top of the meat mixture before I cover with the top crust. This makes the meat pie less dry. This is optional. Mom didn’t do this but this tip was given to me by a friend and I found it works.) Pour into unbaked shell. Cover with top crust. Bake until golden.

Note: If you are going to freeze the meat pies, bake until crust just starts to get golden brown since you will be reheating pie at a later date. I freeze these in ziplock bags.

This recipe makes approx. 4-5 tourtières depending on how much filling you like in your pie.

Super Chocolate Fudge

1 pkg (350 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 ¼ cups icing sugar
Pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

1.In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with Eagle Brand.

2.Stir in remaining ingredients. Make sure icing sugar is completely blended.

3.Spread evenly in a waxed-paper-lined 8 inch square pan. Chill 2 to 3 hours or until firm.

4.Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off paper. Cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes about 2 lbs. fudge.