Category: Entertaining

Kettle Corn (Sweet Popcorn)

This is best prepared in a stovetop popcorn popper; if you don’t have one, you can use a light saucepot with a snug lid and a handle that allows you to shake it vigorously while heating. Ingredients: • 1/4 cup vegetable oil • 1/4 cup popcorn • Scant 1/4 cup sugar (3-4 oz) • 1

Mulled Wine (or Cider)

A traditional cozy warm drink for winter. Ingredients: A bottle of red wine — to your taste, but not expensive — or replace this with a quart of traditional apple cider, or home-brewed hard cider. An orange. A handful of fresh cranberries, blackberries, or similar if available (optional garnish). Mulling spices: you can use an off-the-shelf

Shortbread

1 lb. butter 2 c. superfine sugar 2 c. rice flour 2 c. flour Cream butter & sugar together, mix in flours well. Turn dough out onto a baking sheet or press into a baking dish, 3/4” to 1/2” thick. Prick with fork. Chill at least 30 min. Bake in moderate oven (375ºF) for 5

Red Velvet punch

Half-sized, which fits in less than a gallon pitcher with room for ice, and is drinkable by the (deserving) few. 32 oz. cranberry juice 4 oz. lemon juice 16 oz. orange juice 16 oz. pineapple juice 1 cup brandy 1 bottle champagne Recipe from Gladys Poe of Dandrige, TN, in the ’89 “Southern Living” collected

Cheese straws

1 lb. shredded cheese 1/4 lb. butter 2 cups (240 g.) flour 3/4 tsp. cayenne 3/4 tsp. turmeric 3/4 tsp. paprika 3/4 tsp. salt Makes several dozen. Sprinkle with salt after extruding. Bake 7.5 min. at 325ºF (convection oven; more like 8 minutes at 400ºF in a regular oven). Extruding tip: use a cookie press