Memories of Christmas Past

What I remember about Christmas Dinner as a child was having a Stuffed Turkey, mash potatoes and turkey gravy, and cranberry sauce.  Desserts were usually pumping pie, mincemeat pie, and a steamed pudding.

My mother had a metal mold that she used in her pressure cooker to make the steamed pudding.


source

Christmas pudding is a type of pudding traditionally served as part of the Christmas dinner ... It has its origins in medieval England, and is sometimes known as plum pudding

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding

After I married, it was a tradition to rotate Christmas Dinner with my father in law's family and the families of his brothers.  My husband and I had only been married 3 or four years when it was our turn.

I don't remember any of the Christmas Dinner except the one we had at our house that first year.  I baked a turkey and had a venison roast smoked at a local barbecue restaurant. It was the tradition that the other guests brought a dish to complete the meal. This was usually a side dish or dessert.

I thought I would include two of the recipes my mother used to prepare the steamed pudding and the sauces that went with it.

The steamed pudding I remember most was the Hunter's Pudding since it has raisins.

I posted these recipes and some other of Fannie Farmers Recipes here


Suet Pudding

1 cup finely chopped suet
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup molasses
Ginger, Clove  1/2 teaspoon each
1 cup milk
3 cups flour Nutmeg
1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix and sift dry ingredients. Add molasses and milk to suet; combine mixtures. Turn into buttered mould, cover, and steam three hours; serve with Sterling Sauce. Raisins and currants may be added.

Hunters’ Pudding

1 cup finely chopped suet
Clove, Mace, Allspice  1/2 teaspoon each
1 cup molasses
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon soda
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons flour

Mix same as Suet Pudding. Stone, cut, and flour raisins, and add to mixture. Then steam.

Hard Sauce. Cream one-third cup butter; add gradually one cup brown sugar and two tablespoons brandy, drop by drop. Force through a pastry bag with rose tube, and garnish with green leaves and candied cherries.

Liquid Sauce. Mix one-half cup sugar, one-half tablespoon corn-starch, and a few grains salt. Add gradually, while stirring constantly, one cup boiling water, and boil five minutes. Remove from fire, add one tablespoon lemon juice and two tablespoons brandy; then color with fruit red.

How lovely!  I have always wanted to make a steamed pudding!  Could you please tell me how you do it exactly? The steaming part...

My favorite Christmas memory was taking the train to waaaaay North Alberta when I was very very small.  My Baba (grandma) and my mom put me in a sled with a box on it to drag me home.  

We ate traditional foods too..cabbage rolls and perogies and meats.  Lots of pretty desserts and breads.  The kitchen smelled of the warm water in the wood stove.  The pantry smelled of yeast and all the good things were on the shelves.

So the world has changed.

Janet Reed wrote:My favorite Christmas memory was taking the train to waaaaay North Alberta when I was very very small.  My Baba (grandma) and my mom put me in a sled with a box on it to drag me home.  

We ate traditional foods too..cabbage rolls and perogies and meats.  Lots of pretty desserts and breads.  The kitchen smelled of the warm water in the wood stove.  The pantry smelled of yeast and all the good things were on the shelves.

I would love some cabbage rolls and perogies!  

My parents had a sled when I was a kid, I can still picture it in my mind.

Janet Reed wrote:How lovely!  I have always wanted to make a steamed pudding!  Could you please tell me how you do it exactly? The steaming part...

Since my mom used her pressure cooker that is the only way I have seen it done.

If I were going to make one without a steamer, I would place the pudding mold in a large saucepan. There would need to be enough boiling water in the bottom of the pan to last through the cooking time. The pan would need to be covered with a tight-fitting lid. Then allow the water in the pan to simmer gently for the required cooking time.

If you decide to make one, I would love to hear how it turns out.

I don't know about steamed pudding, but here's how to make a traditional boiled plum pudding of Christmas long past. Hoping to try this next year!

In my childhood, the traditional Christmas Eve dinner was bite-size chunks of chicken meat in a spicy brown gravy, placed in onion soup bowls and baked with biscuits on top. It was so cool to each have our own special bowl with crispy biscuits hiding the spicy goodness below. An accompaniment was raspberry jello loaded with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. The jello became a sort of running joke over the years because mom always tried to mold it in a bundt cake pan. It never came out of the mold without a fight, so it ended up as a quivering giant red Matterhorn mound.

My grandmother decided to change things up one year and cooked rabbit my uncle had raised. I don’t know how she did it but I wish I’d have paid more attention. She fried all parts and made a thick brown gravy. It all went in a crockpot for the rest of the day. She then made her homemade biscuits with more lard than usual. I couldn’t stop eating and regretted it later. That was 38 years ago and if I had the chance I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Steamed cranberry pudding with rum sauce is a favorite with my family. Someone, I don't remember who, gave me the recipe years ago. It's not too difficult but I have to remind myself every year about how to steam it.

Mix together:
2 cups cranberries
1 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water

Pour into a well buttered mold or bowl. Fasten mold lid or tightly cover bowl with foil and a string tied around the top. Place in a pot with water that comes up at least an inch on the mold or bowl. Cover pot and gently boil to steam one hour. Cool before turning out.

Rum sauce:
Heat together until sugar is
disolved
1 cup half and half
1 cup sugar
Add 1/4 cup butter and rum to taste.

You need the rum sauce to balance the tart cranberries. Yum.

roberta mccanse wrote:Steamed cranberry pudding with rum sauce is a favorite with my family. Someone, I don't remember who, gave me the recipe years ago. It's not too difficult but I have to remind myself every year about how to steam it.

Mix together:
2 cups cranberries
1 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup molasses
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water

Pour into a well buttered mold or bowl. Fasten mold lid or tightly cover bowl with foil and a string tied around the top. Place in a pot with water that comes up at least an inch on the mold or bowl. Cover pot and gently boil to steam one hour. Cool before turning out.

Rum sauce:
Heat together until sugar is
disolved
1 cup half and half
1 cup sugar
Add 1/4 cup butter and rum to taste.

You need the rum sauce to balance the tart cranberries. Yum.

I’m making this first thing tomorrow!

Anne Miller wrote:

Janet Reed wrote:My favorite Christmas memory was taking the train to waaaaay North Alberta when I was very very small.  My Baba (grandma) and my mom put me in a sled with a box on it to drag me home.  

We ate traditional foods too..cabbage rolls and perogies and meats.  Lots of pretty desserts and breads.  The kitchen smelled of the warm water in the wood stove.  The pantry smelled of yeast and all the good things were on the shelves.

I would love some cabbage rolls and perogies!  

My parents had a sled when I was a kid, I can still picture it in my mind.

Janet Reed wrote:How lovely!  I have always wanted to make a steamed pudding!  Could you please tell me how you do it exactly? The steaming part...

Since my mom used her pressure cooker that is the only way I have seen it done.

If I were going to make one without a steamer, I would place the pudding mold in a large saucepan. There would need to be enough boiling water in the bottom of the pan to last through the cooking time. The pan would need to be covered with a tight-fitting lid. Then allow the water in the pan to simmer gently for the required cooking time.

If you decide to make one, I would love to hear how it turns out.

I am going to try one!  I’ll let you know..And you can make cabbage rolls easily!  Perogies are a bit more work but so good!