Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was a blend of old and new traditions.

We gathered at Sister's with the Mabry's on Christmas Eve for David's tenderloin (recipe blogged March 24, 2011), Sister's Layered Salad (recipe April 21, 2011) and lots of other goodies. After dinner we had a surprise visit from Simba which I thought was just a much fun as a surprise visit from Santa. We laughed remembering Christmases past with Quinn and the Roach kids and then Jay and the Mabry girls re-enacted the game that the children used to play at Christmas - steamroller. Simba didn't quite understand the game but the rest of did and it was fun to remember good times.

Quinn, the Roaches and David IV weren't there to Steamroll this year because times change and they have new locations, new jobs, new babies and new lives of their own to manage. I loved and appreciated how David IV analyzed the situation. He said, "At first it bothered me that I had to work Christmas Eve and then I realized that I have been really lucky to spend 23 wonderful Christmas Eves with our family."

As much as we want things to stay the same we have no power over that, but we do have the power over how we respond to change. I was really proud of David's response and it also helped me to be at peace with our new reality.

A good airline crew and a jet were better than Santa's sleigh and eight tiny reindeer to get David IV home on Christmas morning. Driving into the ARRIVALS terminal to see him in his cowboy boots and black overcoat brought on that same happy excitement that I used to feel as a child when I would run down the steps on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought.

David was running on about 4 hours of sleep and had texted before boarding that he sure would love a snack for the ride to Lattimore. This was a Christmas wish that I could deliver.

I packed up Mama Crowder's Tea Cakes (recipe Feb 13, 2011), Sister's Cheese Wafers (recipe June 13, 2010) and Mama's Homemade Biscuits that I had cut into heart shapes and stuffed with Honeybaked Ham (biscuit recipe May 23, 2010).

We arrived in Shelby in time to pull some ribs off the cooker, head out to Lattimore for Christmas Brunch and then to play the present game.

We have exchanged gifts in a variety of ways over the years and most recently have played the present game. It reduces the stress and the cost of exchanging gifts in a family as big as ours while preserving the fun of selecting and opening presents.

The present game is also called Dirty Santa, Yankee Exchange and a ton of other names and it can be pretty competitive and funny at times. As we started to play Jim Martin said, "I think we better discuss the rules before we start." Jim has always had a lot of common sense.

So we all started talking at once about the rules and then Dad commanded, "The HOUSE will be in ORDER!" Dad presided as Rules Chairman of the NC House for several years and he knew how to bring the chaos under control.

After much discussion, we established this year's rules and let the game begin. With 28 people it can take some time but it's interesting to watch the coalitions and strategies evolve and there is also some salesmanship going on to keep things interesting.

Over the last several years when the present game is done, Daddy introduces his counting game. Daddy loves to count. He also loves to play games. One year the game was to guess how many red birds were in Mama's house. Another year it was to guess how many cabinet knobs were in the kitchen. Daddy has always pre counted these things and knows the answer before we start. I'm sure that keeps him occupied for many an hour on long December days.

This year the game was to guess how many pennies were in a Quart sized Mason Jar. Lattimore is an interesting place. I have seen a lot of things in Mason Jars like Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Cherry Bounce, but I did not have a clue how many pennies would fit in there. Everybody guessed and Heidi came out the winner of the 2011 Christmas guessing game in Lattimore.

Still making up our own fun after all these years. The more things change the more they stay the same. Merry Christmas to All!

Jesus, God and Santa Claus - A Southern Season Brunswick Stew

On a Christmas Eve 16 years ago Jay, David IV, David III and I were gathered at Sister and Jack's home with our extended families. Jay was about 5 years old and wanted to say the blessing. He said a sweet short prayer and ended it with "Thank you Jesus, God and Santa Claus!"

I guess that about covered it for a 5 year old. Or maybe any age.

David IV reminded me of this the other day when he messaged a picture of a pretty decorated Christmas Tree in Texas with the caption "Thank you Jesus, God and Santa Claus!"

So today is Christmas Eve and we will gather again at Sister's house for dinner. It will be a smaller group than 16 years ago but we will celebrate the memories of Christmases past and anticipate the love and joy of the present.

It has been an unusual season of Advent this year. A mix of many activities and some time alone as well.

We enjoyed pizza at Jackson's house and then great music at Gardner-Webb when Mark Wood from the TransSiberian Orchestra once again came to town to conduct a big group of local high school orchestra students. Mark Wood, his wife, son and several others accompanied the orchestra and chorus performing songs from Kansas, the Beatles, Aretha Franklin and more. It was a fantastic concert and proof that young people really want to dig in and learn when they are interested in the method of teaching.

Beth, Papa John, Linda and I enjoyed the spirit of Christmas and more wonderful music from Jeff Renn and Friends at the Don Gibson Theatre.

Wandering through uptown Shelby another day, I saw Santa and snapped a quick pic. He waved but was busy hugging the 3 year olds from a local day care. There is nothing sweeter than a 3 year old's face as they run toward the open arms of Santa.

Later on we gathered at the Cabin for the company Christmas lunch. Harry and his elves prepared the food for everyone, Daddy stoked the fire and I arranged table with Mama's Christmasey tablecloths and a lot of poinsettias. The cabin is so easy to decorate because it is always so warm and homey. David thanked each and every one for what they mean to the company and to him personally.

After lunch, Jay and I wandered into the pasture to get a closer look at the calves. There are a lot of babies in the pasture at this time of year and babies are miraculous any time but never more than at Christmas.

We welcomed a new baby cousin a few days ago and can't wait to meet Mary Eden in person soon. Julia, Braxton and Maggie will probably teach her all about sports before we know it.

And we welcomed another baby. A furry puppy. Jay and teammate, Max, had rescued the puppy from a thorny bush on the campus at Gardner Webb. Since the basketball team played away at Wake Forest and East Carolina, it wasn't long before the puppy arrived at our house.

Yet another walk-on in our menagerie. Dingo and Mr. Cat were less than pleased with the new addition. But Jay reminded Dingo that when she walked on 10 years ago Sandy and Oreo had to put up with her puppyness.

Jay - who is very good at arguing a case - declared that the puppy should be named Simba. To represent the Circle of Life. We all love the Lion King movie and have watched it many times. We took a very special family trip to see the play in New York City several years ago. And we all believe in the Circle of Life.

We were toast.

Our friend and vet, Dino, proclaimed Simba healthy and happy. Dino said Simba was eight weeks old and suggested that he may be a mixture of German Shepard and Samoyed. I didn't know what a Samoyed was so I googled and found that they are a Russian Breed of REINDEER HERDERS.

Well you never know when you might need a good reindeer herder. Especially at this time of year. In fact, just a few days ago, I had seen 5 baby deer running across the golf course.

Simba is just about the cutest little teddy bear of a puppy we have ever seen. But then what puppy isn't adorable? The good Lord knew what he was doing with puppies. Even Dingo and Mr. Cat have warmed up to his cuteness.

Simba has brought new joy and happiness to our household. And isn't that what we celebrate this time of year? Joy, Love, Hope. Peace.

O the wonder and magic of Christmas. Thank you Jesus, God and Santa Claus!

A Southern Season Brunswick Stew
(from Chris Holloway, Executive Chef)

This is a really neat idea for a family gathering or any kind of gathering. Judy got this recipe from A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, NC which is one of the coolest kitchen store/cafes around.

The idea here is to have various people prepare different parts of the recipe and then get together and pour everything into a huge pot to simmer. As the pot simmers, everyone enjoys each other's company, maybe a brew or two, and then enjoys the stew. It makes so much that there is usually plenty to send home with folks.

I make brunswick stew various ways depending on what I have on hand. Typically I don't put beef in there but you can put whatever you want in stew. Like Greasy Sae said in the Hunger Games, "when I put it in the stew I call it beef!"

I actually haven't done this yet but it is on my short list of things to do. Here is the recipe from Chris Holloway.

Ingredients:

24 cups tomatoes
10 cups butter beans
10 cups corn
8 cups onion, 1/4 inch chopped
8 lbs potatoes, 1/2 inch diced
2 large hens (or 10 breasts and 10 thighs)
5 lbs Boston Butt
5 lbs beef

1 1/2 Tbsp red pepper
1/8 cup black pepper
3/4 lb butter
12 oz worchestershire
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Day before:

Cover beef and pork with foil and roast fat side up at 350 degrees for 3 hours or until falls apart.

Cook chicken in water. Bring to low boil and cook until meat falls of bones (about 2 hours).

Let meat cool and pull. Store in fridge overnight.

Boil Potatoes and Mash half. Mash 1/2 butter beans.

Day of:

Put everything together and cook over low heat till deep orange color - about 6 hours. Brunwick Stew is NOT red!

Stir. Drink Beer. Stir. Enjoy.

Makes 17.5 quarts or 4.5 gallons. Send everybody home with some for the freezor.

The instructions say to serve with saltines. Mama looked this recipe over and everything was going along fine until she got to the part about saltines. She emphatically said, "No! not saltines. Brunswick stew is served with cornbread."

I'm with Mama on the cornbread, but this does sound like a fun gathering.

Exams and Experiences - Cindy's Broccolli and Raisin Salad

It's exam time for college students so there are no Gardner Webb basketball games this week. That gives me just enough time to post a few pics from some of the four home games from last week. And to reflect on the college experience. And experience in general.

With all of the scandals in college athletics our experience with both Wofford Football and Gardner Webb basketball has been a blessing. These are real student athletes. They work hard, train hard, play hard and they learn some hard lessons on and off the court.

But first and foremost they are students.

In the middle of all the practices and team meetings and road trips and home games, Jay has been learning and writing about things like the European Debt Crisis and the politics of Somalia. Recently one of Jay's professors had their political science class of eight students over for dinner so they could taste the cuisine and discuss the places they have studied this semester. That's a real college experience and I appreciate the very personal committment to academics at GWU.

It was great to have four home basketball games after the seven road games and even greater to see the continued steady improvement of the Runnin' Bulldogs. With eight new players and only 2 seniors on this year's team there are plenty of adjustments to make and it is really interesting to watch how it all unfolds.

The Bulldogs won three of the four home games so their record is steadily improving. It feels like it's beginning to jell - when a team becomes a coherent team instead of a just a group of individuals.

It's not just the gamescores and players that make it all interesting. The Holtmanniacs are always fun - creative and energetic and sometimes a little edgy like college fans are supposed to be.

One of the halftime shows last week was a juggler who kept several tennis racquets in the air at once. That was about as close to a tennis racquet as I have been recently. He also juggled fire and fortunately for everyone there was a fire extinguisher close by. My favorite half time show so far has to be the cute frisbee dog.

On the subject of animals, Dingo and Mr. Cat have been very helpful around here. Dingo helped us get the boat out of the lake before the water level was lowered for dock repair. At the lake David picked up a fallen evergreen limb and when I mentioned that it looked a lot like a Christmas tree, David stuck it in the umbrella stand on the dock. O Christmas Tree. We both thought it was perfect for Lake Lure.

And Mr. Cat helped us decorate the Christmas tree at home - twice. It seems Mr. Cat found it irresistable to play with the shiny tinkling ornaments. To get to some of those irresistable ornaments Mr. Cat needed to climb up in the Christmas tree. So the other night we heard a loud, swooshing, jingling crash and ran into the living room where we found the tree sideways on the floor. Mr. Cat seemed very nervous.

After a little gnashing of teeth - mine - David tied the tree securely to the windows and we redecorated with ornaments that had flown all over the living room. Looking on the bright side the majority of our family's favorite ornaments are unbreakable. And it was an unexpected bonus to remember sweet stories about the various ornaments for a second time this season.

O Christmas tree. Experience is a great teacher.

Cindy's Broccolli and Raisin Salad

Cindy made this salad for Merry Thanksgiving and it was so good that several people wanted the recipe. It is sort of healthy because it has broccolli and raisins in there but in true Lattimore tradition is also has two of the best flavors in the world. Bacon and Mayo. Hopefully that doesn't cancel out all the healthiness.

Salad:

4 cups broccolli florets
1 cup Golden raisins (the golden part is key)
1/2 cup red onion
1/2 cup pecans
10-12 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled (it's easiest to do this Sister's way - cut the bacon before cooking and then you can kind of stir fry it around in the pan as it cooks)

Dressing:

1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sugar
3 TBSP vinegar

Mix the dressing together and then mix into the salad. Refrigerate overnight.

Merry Thanksgiving! - Brining Turkey

The first weekend in December turned into Merry Thanksgiving weekend. Since David IV was working on Thanksgiving day he decided to come home the next weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving. And since he will be working on Christmas eve we decided to have a little Christmas too.

Lately a lot of conversations with family and friends have centered around how to do the holidays. It's just a plain honest fact that every year in everyone's life some things change and we are all challenged to figure out how to adjust holiday celebrations. Some times the changes are bigger than others.

The trick is to try and focus on what really makes the celebration a celebration instead of a bigtime headache (or worse a bigtime heartache). Being rigid about the details of how things are done is the best way to ruin any kind of celebration. The best thing is to try and assess what will bring the most joy to the most people and then assess what is actually possible to accomplish.

Music once again saved me because I was really struggling with how to put a little Thanksgiving and Christmas together in one weekend.

Basketball was involved as well. After playing away for 7 games, GWU had two home games. One of the games was against UNC-Asheville and Jay knew that Bruce Hornsby's son happens to play for UNC-A. Jay and I were talking about that and I mentioned one of my favorite Hornsby song lyrics - "that's just the way it is. Some things will never change."

And that's when it hit me that I needed to focus on what HAS NOT changed instead of what HAS changed during the past year. What HAS changed most is David IV's location and schedule. There are a variety of other changes just as anyone should expect in a years time.

That's just the way it is. Or as PawPaw used to say, "That's the way it tiz and it can't be no tizzer."

What HAS NOT changed is that we still want to celebrate Thankfulness. And Love. And Hope. And Faith. And Family. And of course - food.

So we put up the Christmas decorations a little earlier than usual and just as David IV and I were putting the last lights on the tree - first Rhett and then KC appeared with big smiles at the front door. It was a Friday morning but it felt like a Christmas eve. And it's amazing how much faster a tree gets decorated with eight hands working together.

Later on that day a few people dropped by fairly spontaneously to visit David and then some music broke out. Jeff blew us away with his beautiful rendition of Mary Did You Know? And David Martin blew us away playing Sweet Hour of Prayer. On a saw. I teased him asking if it was a band saw. And we threw in a crazy version of Twelve Days of Christmas which has been a family tradition for a long time. As always, Mama and Daddy knew their part - A Partridge in a Pear Tree. The rest of us kind of winged it.

We had brined a turkey and made sage dressing again because David IV said sage dressing was the food he missed most on Thanksgiving Day. And we had a few of his other favorite things like ribs, tenderloin, cream cheese and olives. And rotel dip. I even pulled out Aunt Burnette's punch bowl to make it feel like Christmas.

During the whole weekend I was walking around the house trying to remember if it was Christmas or Thanksgiving and then I thought about Bruce Hornsby and Paw Paw and others near and far and I was at peace. Because while change is gonna come, there are some things that will never change. And it really is best to focus on that. Peace and Love and Goodwill toward men. Merry Thanksgiving to all!


BRINING TURKEY

Jamey and David III had collaborated on our brined and smoked Thanksgiving turkey and it was so good we decided to do it again so David could enjoy it on Merry Thanksgiving weekend.

There are plenty of brining recipes out there. Susan and Thomas said Gene brined their Thanksgiving turkey in a cooler with a brine mix that looked like it was from the 1800s and it turned out wonderful too.

Jamey found this recipe on Epicureous.com and being an intuitive cook like a lot of us, he doesn't measure anything or follow the directions exactly. I did look up brining and learned that the main thing is the sugar, salt and water which actually change the molecular structure of the meat to make it more juicy and tender.

Water
2 Large Onions - Peeled and Quartered
2 cups peeled and chopped Fresh Ginger
1 1/2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
Coarse Salt
8 Bay Leaves
Star Anise - 8 whole ones if you can find them. If not use Anise seeds
Whole Black Peppercorns - crushed with the back of a knife
A whole orange quartered (to put into turkey cavity before cooking)

Mix everything except the orange together in a large pot with several quarts of water. Stir over medium heat until spices are completely dissolved. Cool and pour into a five gallon bucket. Add a little ice if needed and then a little more water. Put thawed turkey in the brine with the cavity up so it will fill with brine. Cover tightly and put in the refrigerator for a couple of days. You can brine in a large cooler if you don't have enough fridge space. You can turn it a few times during the brining process or not. Jamey turned the first one we cooked but I didn't turn this one because I didn't have time and nobody could tell any difference.

When ready to cook, remove turkey from brine and place a quartered orange into the turkey cavity.

David smoked this turkey in the big cooker with hickory wood at low heat for about 7 hours. It was so flavorful, tender and juicy. We haven't tried a brined turkey in the oven yet, but everyone who does says it turns out great that way too. Generally a turkey should be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

Brining a turkey is a winner. I love a new tradition.