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"Christmas! ' Tis the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity in the heart"...Washington Irving

Speak to me of food and what springs readily to my mind is not so much a recall of particiular dishes I've relished, but a succession of images, sad and funny, sweet and tender, of people and places and happy occasions from the recent or long-gone past.

What I'm talking about, when you come right down to it, is friendship, sharing and caring. I'm talking about is love. We give dinners for those we seek to honor. There is a bond between friends who prepare food together, between friends who dine with each other. The breaking of bread together has, for many centuries, held something of a ceremonial significance for us.

Outsiders tend to think of the South as all one thing, when of course, we know that our extraordinary diversity is one of our most attractive features. I am fascinated by the great variety of cooking styles representing many different traditions and national origins. Some recipes remain pretty much as they were when great-grandma was finally persuaded to write them down or when counsin Jessica spied on some selfish and secretive cook and wrote down each step she took, each pinch of salt, each wave of the hand in the direction of the pot.

Others have evolved through experiments or happy accidents. A few of them traveled South with the earliest settlers, moving along the Natchez Trace from Virginia, the Carolinas or Kentucky, personally watched over by the woman of the family, along with a treasured set of china, an ancestral portrait, a silver candlestick, or some other heirloom.

From Watt Cooper's
"Of Food and Fellowship"

"Hot Spiced Cranberry Punch"

3 pints cranberry juice
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnmon
12 whole cloves
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
Combine cranberry juice, water and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and heat to boiling. Tie spices in a bag and add. Simmer 20 minutes and remove spice bag. Just before serving, add fruit juices. Serve steaming hot. Serves 18.

"Prune Cake and Sauce"

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup cooked, chopped prunes
1 cups chopped pecans
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup plus 1 tbs. butter or margarine
1 tbs. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine sugar, oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl; beat on medium speed 1 minute. Dissolve soda in buttermilk mixture; set aside.
Combine flour and spices; add to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, add the prunes and pecans.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean; cool.
Combine remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute or until sugar dissolves. Pour over cake while sauce is hot.

"Poinsetta Balls"

1 cup butter
2/3 cup honey
2 eggs yolks
2 Tbsp. grated orange peel
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
3 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 slightly beaten egg whites
6 oz. red candied cherries
Cream butter and honey. Add egg yolks; mix well. Stir in orange peel and juice. Stir together flour, soda, salt, and ground nutmeg. Stir into creamed mixture. Chill thoroughly for 1 hour. Form into 1-ince balls. Dip in egg whites; roll in nuts. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Cut each cherry into 6-8 petals. Place 4 or 5 petals on top of each ball. Bake at 325 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

"Holiday Eggnog"

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. each cinnamon, ginger, cloves
6 well beated eggs
2 qts. orange juice, chilled
1/2 cup lemon juice, chilled
1 qt. vanilla ice cream
1 qt. ginger ale, chilled

Beat sugar and spices into beated eggs. Stir in chilled juices. Cut ice cream in chunks and put in punch bowl. Pour ginger ale over ice cream. Stir in egg mixture. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Serves 20

"Berry Mallow Yam Bake"

Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup old fashioned or quick oats, uncooked, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in 1/3 cup margarine 'til mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Note: I like to melt the margarine just a few seconds in the microwave to soften.

Toss 1 cup crumb mixture with two 17oz. cans of yams (or sweet potatoes), drained, and 2 cups of fresh cranberries; place in a 1 and 1/2 qt. casserole. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 degree, for 35 minutes.

Sprinkle with 1 and 1/2 cups minature marshmallows. Broil until lightly brown. Makes approximately 8 servings.

Yam yummy with turkey, ham or roast pork!

"Southern Cornbread Dressing"

5 cups crumbled corn bread
*4 cups Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mixture
1 1/2 cups turkey (or chicken) stock
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/3 cups chopped celery
10 Tbsp. margarine (divided)
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten

*Substitute 4 cups toasted bread pieces
*Optional~~ Giblets from cooked turkey (chopped)

Soak corn bread and bread pieces in stock. Cook onion and celery in 2 Tbsp. margarine until tender. Mix together the breads and remaining margarine and remaining ingredients, using cooked giblets from turkey or chicken (if desired. Use dressing to stuff turkey/chicken or pour mixture into greased baking pan and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for about an hour or until done.

"Christmas Porpurri"

1 fresh ginger root, split
3 pieces stick cinnamon
16 whole cloves
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 to 2 Tbsp. pickling spice
Place ingredients in a piece of cloth and tie securely. Place bag in 1 quart water and simmer. This fills the kitchen with a wonderful ordor.

"Old-Fashioned Pull Taffy"

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light Karo
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Food coloring, if desired
Flavoring, if desired

Combine sugar, Karo, water and cream of tartar. Place over heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Cook, without stirring, to 265 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat; add coloring and flavoring if desired. Pour on greased platter or pie pan. Cool until easily handled. Pull into ropes until chalky and porous. Break or cut into bite-size pieces with scissors.

(Note)This makes a mess but is a lot of fun for everyone involved. Greased hands makes pulling easier.

"Snow Ice Cream"

1(14 oz.) can condensed milk
1(5 1/4 oz.) can evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Snow

Mix milks and vanilla. Gradually beat in snow until ice cream is of desired consistency. Serves 5

Since in the deep South it snows only enough to have snow ice creme about once a generation, the recipe must be handed down from parent to child anticipating the time when it will snow again.