The holidays are a fun time for family, friends, and loved ones to gather and spend time together. Not only is this the season for good times and happy memories, but it is also the season for amazing meals. For me and my family, food is essential to any family get-together. On both sides of my family, I was always told to make sure that you cook with good intentions because every emotion you feel when you are cooking is put into your food. Every emotion makes a difference in your food, so I think food around the holidays tastes much better than any other time of the year. 

All the food made is almost as important, if not equally important, as the memories made and shared. For this reason, the recipes in this article are not the exact recipes used by the people interviewed, to preserve the. I asked these beloved Hazen faculty members about any dishes they or their family make, along with any of their favorite memories and traditions that surround their dinner table during the last few months of the year. Now, it’s time to jump into what the holidays taste like for some of the staff at Hazen.

Ms.Panerio is one of the APES and Environmental Science teachers here at Hazen. She loves all the food that is shared this time of year and in her interview, she decided share to the dishes with us. One highlights an earlier moment in her life, while the other is a tradition carried on from her childhood that she has passed to her daughters.

Ms.Panerio – “When I was in fourth grade I moved to England and lived there for one year. We had a lot of different foods and when we moved back from England we took Yorkshire pudding with us and added it to our Christmas menu. We always add gravy to it and it is amazing to eat with roast beef and my aunty’s homemade mashed potatoes.

Yorkshire Pudding Recipe:

• Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup milk, room temperature
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ cup beef drippings

Directions:

1. First, mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl. After the dry ingredients are mixed, create a well in the center of the mixture, and then add the milk. Add the eggs and beat them until they are well incorporated with the rest of the mixed ingredients. Then, cover the bowl and let it set for 1 hour at room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Add just enough beef drippings into a 12-hole Yorkshire pudding tin or muffin tin to cover the hole. Then insert the tin with the drippings into the oven until the beef drippings are sizzling.
4. Once the beef drippings are properly heated up, add the Yorkshire batter to each hole. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they are puffy and golden brown.
5. It is best eaten right away and right out of the oven to keep it from deflating.

Notes: It is recommended to heat the oil/beef drippings in a separate pan on the stove until it is sizzling for around 15 min. This just ensures that the drippings are thoroughly heated up. Also, your batter should be somewhat warm or room temp for a better rise when cooking.

Our kind and heartwarming ASB administrator, Ms.Dodson, shares how she stays warm during holidays. Not by bundling up for the weather, but by being surrounded by family and delicious food. In a world where things seem to dissipate, she shares her recipes passed down from her loved ones, something that will truly last. Let’s see how her dining table 

Ms.Dodson – “One special dish my mother makes that I’ve taken over is her dressing which is different from Stuffing. Black Americans eat cornbread dressing. Stuffing is used with croutons, dressing is used with cornbread and smoked turkey neck wings and butts, and I add 7 different spices.My mother always told me cooking is an art, and you pour lots of love into it. It makes the food taste way better and makes a difference. The holidays are a very special time for our family. We gather every Sunday but spend the week with each other during the holidays.”

Dressing Recipes:

• Ingredients
  • Cornbread
    • 1 cup of self-rising cornmeal
    • ½ cup self-rising flour
    • ¾ cup buttermilk
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • Dressing
    • 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)
    • 3 medium onions cubed
    • 4 celery stalks diced into cubes
    • 1 ½ teaspoons of dried sage
    • 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
    • ¾ teaspoon of salt
    • ½ teaspoon pepper
    • ½ cup milk
    • 3 eggs
    • 2-2 ½ cups of chicken stock or broth
    • 2 tablespoons of butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to warm up while we prep the cornbread
2. Starting with the cornbread, in a medium bowl add 1 cup of the self-rising cornmeal and ½ cup of flour.
3. Then add all the wet ingredients including the ¾ cup of buttermilk, 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
4. Thoroughly incorporate the ingredients together into a batter.
5. Then, lightly grease a 9-inch baking pan, pour the batter in the pan, then bake for 20-25min
6. Once the cornbread is cooked, take out of the oven and let it cool. Once cooled crumble the bread using your hands wearing gloves, or by using a fork. Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees 
7. Moving on to the Dressing, heat up butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the celery and onion into the pan and cook until soft. Set aside once done to add into the mixture.
8. Then add the sage, poultry seasonings, salt and pepper, into the pan with the onions and celery.
9. In a large bowl add the cornbread crumble into the bowl.
10. In a separate bowl, mix ½  cup milk and 3 eggs (lightly beaten) until incorporated well.
11. Once mixed, add into the large bread with the cornbread, and add 2 cups of chicken broth (add another ½ cup of broth if needed. Mixture should be moist)
12. To mix better it is recommended to mix with your hands but you can use a large spoon.
13. Then stir in the cooked onion and celery mixture into the bowl.
14. Add the Dressing mixture into a large greased pan. Then cut small slices of butter and spread throughout the top of the batter.
15. Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown.

Notes : It is recommended that you start on this earlier in the day since you have to make the cornbread and then the dressing. 

Conclusion: 

Now you have a taste of what the holidays are like for some of the staff at Hazen. This is your chance to start new traditions and bring something new to the family. We encourage you to share your memories and your traditional recipes with friends and teachers at schools and give Hazen a hint of what holidays taste like at your home.

[Notes : I know that it isn’t fully complete, I am still getting tips and finding similar recipes to the staff’s recipes. Also, recipes are still being adjusted and changed. Let me know if you have any questions or any recommendations]