The story below is from our November/December 2018 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
These Southern recipe favorites are a sure way to impress and entertain your guests during the busy holiday season.
Every southern lady has a dog-eared notebook full of holiday recipes that have been passed down through the generations. My notebook contains treasured recipes for cheese wafers, country ham biscuits and dipping sauces for cocktail shrimp. Gather round now and I’ll share my grandma’s recipes that have been part of my holiday recipe repertoire over the years. To make these goodies even more festive, I’ve paired them with my favorite champagnes and sparkling wines.
Becky Ellis
Pecan cheddar wafers
Pecan Cheddar Wafers
Treat yourself to a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé Brut Champagne ($65 range, available at Barrel Chest). Or you can opt for the more affordable Chandon Rosé sparkling wine ($20 range, available at Kroger) to pair with these mouthwatering cheddar wafers.
This recipe requires the dough to be chilled overnight.
Yield: 42 wafers
- 2 cups finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, cut into little pieces
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra to dust cutting board)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon if you don’t like spicy)
- 42 pecan halves
Place cheese, butter, flour, salt and cayenne pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the dough just begins to form a ball, about 10–15 seconds. (Add more flour to the dough if needed to make a smooth, not sticky, dough.)
Put the dough onto a floured cutting board. Divide into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 1½ inch thick log. Wrap each log with waxed paper and then wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the dough and cut into wafer thin slices (approximately ¼” wide).
Place slices on baking sheets and press a pecan half lightly onto each slice. Bake until crisp, approximately 10 minutes. Let cool briefly and then use a metal spatula to move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Becky Ellis
Chesapeake Bay Cheddar Cheese Biscuits filled with Baked Prosciutto
Charles de Cazanove Stradivarius Brut Champagne harmonizes perfectly with these cheddar prosciutto biscuits. ($65 range, available at Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar) Gloria Ferrer, my “house sparkling wine” is also an excellent choice. ($25 range, available at Kroger.)
Yield: 48 (1½ inch) biscuits
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Chesapeake Bay or Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (to brush the top of the biscuits)
- 12 oz. prosciutto
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil spray; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, Chesapeake Bay or Old Bay seasoning, salt and cayenne pepper.
In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Gently fold in cheese.
Roll out dough on a floured surface. Incorporate more flour as needed so the dough will not be sticky. Cut with a 1½ inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on prepared baking sheet, brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
When biscuits are cooled, split them, brush with a little melted butter and fill with baked prosciutto.(Shaved Smithfield Ham may be substituted).
To bake prosciutto, simply preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Lay slices of prosciutto flat on baking sheets and bake until it starts to crisp about 15 minutes. Place baked prosciutto on paper towels to cool.
Becky Ellis
Green Goddess Shrimp Sauce
Serve with peeled, deveined jumbo shrimp (tails on). Boil shrimp with Old Bay or Chesapeake Bay seasoning, sprinkle with extra seasoning and chill. Place a bowl of spicy cocktail sauce on the serving platter with the Green Goddess sauce for a festive holiday presentation.
Pair these delicious shrimp with a delightful Cava. Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad Brut Cava is an excellent choice ($30 range, available at Mr. Bill’s Wine Cellar). This pretty bottle with its pewter label makes a very nice hostess gift, too.
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, stems cut off
- 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
- 3 tablespoons minced chives
- 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
- 2 anchovy filets in oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- ½ cup canola oil
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place parsley, spinach, tarragon, chives, garlic, anchovy filets, lemon juice and red wine vinegar in a blender container. Drizzle the canola oil into the parsley mixture while blending at low speed. Once the oil is incorporated into the mixture, blend at high speed until the mixture is smooth, about one minute or less. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Blend at low speed to incorporate the sour cream and mayonnaise. Chill until service.
Becky Ellis
Popcorn with White Truffle Oil and Parmesan Cheese
A classic pairing to serve at home on movie date night or New Year’s Eve. Celebrate in style with a 2011 Roland Champion Special Club Blanc de Blancs Champagne. ($65 range, available at Tinnell’s Finer Foods.) The classic Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne is another excellent choice to pair with Truffle Popcorn ($60 range, available at many retail outlets during the holidays).
Begin the New Year with Blood Orange Mimosas made with Alberto Nani Extra Dry Prosecco–equal parts chilled freshly squeezed blood orange juice and Prosecco served in champagne flutes. ($20 range, available at Earth Fare.)
Truffle oil is available at Oliveto in the Shoppes at West Village.
- 3 Tbsp canola oil
- 1/3 cup of high quality popcorn kernels
- 1 Tbsp or more (to taste) of melted butter
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon white truffle oil
- Salt to taste
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Finely chopped fresh parsley
Heat the oil in a 3-quart thick-bottomed saucepan on medium high heat.
Put 3 or 4 popcorn kernels into the oil. Wait for the popcorn kernels to pop. When the kernels pop, add the rest of the 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels in an even layer.
Cover the pot, remove from heat and count 30 seconds.
Return the pan to the heat. Once the popping starts popping, gently shake the pan by moving it back and forth over the burner. As the popcorn pops keep the lid slightly ajar to let the steam from the popcorn release.
Once the popping slows to several seconds between pops, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid and put the popcorn into a large bowl.
Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn. Sprinkle the popcorn with salt to taste. Drizzle with white truffle oil and toss to coat the popcorn with oil.
Add a generous grating of good quality parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with a little finely chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper. (Wash the parsley and thoroughly dry with paper towels before chopping to make the parsley easier to sprinkle.) Toss and enjoy!
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