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Christmas Bride…

‘In her soul- a woman never forgets a man who has occupied her heart so many years’                                                                                                                Author Unknown

I met him when I was a freshman at the University of Alabama. His date was beautiful, mine wasn’t exactly Prince Charming. I looked across the room and saw him, there was a knowing. I went back to my dorm and told my roommate and two other friends that I believed I had met the man I was going to marry.  It was a turbulent time, my cousin had died in Vietnam the previous summer just three days after his arrival;  yet on that beautiful Tuscaloosa campus there were protests against the Viet Nam war. And I had met a brown eyed handsome man, who was a gentleman, clean cut and the most decent person I had ever met. He still is. I felt calm when I was with him. I still do. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day, 1970. He loaded his old car with my friends and took us anywhere we wanted to go. He still prefers old cars to new ones, gets sentimental amount them. I appreciate this now that I’m an older model myself. He was athletic, had been All County in Football and Baseball, he was in a Tank Unit in the Alabama National Guard and went on to become a paratrooper Special Forces Green Beret. He was unpretentious, and even after a lifetime of achievements- he still is. His favorite TV Show was Andy Griffith, it still is. He liked Country and Classical, I liked Motown and Soul music. His Chet Atkins’ style guitar-playing won me over. I still love the songs he played back then- Silver Wings, Long Black Limousine, Miller’s Cave and Windy and Warm. When he finally got that Country Gentleman Gretsch™ Guitar, like Chet’s it sounded even better!

He made me laugh with his  dry sense of humor, like the time I asked him-

  • ‘Do these shoes look funny?’
  • ‘Well, they’re not hilarious.’

We married ten months after we met. I was a Christmas Bride.2014-12-11 16.50.53

We were told we would never have children, for eight years we didn’t. Then just 21 months apart, we had two delightful baby girls. This Christmas Bride found out we were expecting, not once but twice, just days before Christmas! We would never get over our miracle babies. We’ve enjoyed every minute of being their parents. Given the chance we would do it all over again. Our children are the joy of our lives. They have made us better people. During these many years, we have known-

  • better and worse,
  • richer and poorer,
  • sickness and health–
  • yet we have never forsaken each other.

Those vows I made as a Christmas Bride were easy to keep because of the man I married. He has made my life richer in so many ways and through so many folks we have known. Our life has been full of rich experiences. Everyday he still makes me laugh and every single day he brings music into our home. img_0512

I have embraced his deepest beliefs as my own- Don’t Mistreat People. Do What You Can to Help. Pay your respects. Never forget the folks who helped us. Be there. He’s better at it than I am-but I know this to be true:

We honor our vows when we honor those beliefs.

This man has occupied my heart for  many years; I became his Christmas Bride on the twelfth day of December. Dare I say it? Young Love is sweet but Old Love is best.

Take it away Chet! And Happy Anniversary Darlin’, Camellia

 

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Christmas Rolls…

img_1852Whether you can make them or not- give the gift of Christmas Rolls. One of the most thoughtful things you can do is provide good rolls. Southerners love yeast rolls, especially during the holidays. Old Holiday Menus set our mouths watering with visions of  hot yeast rolls and melted butter dancing in our heads. We cut our teeth on yeast rolls made for special occasions. The best memories are conjured up when we smell fresh baked rolls.

  • We remember yeasty rolls made in school lunchrooms, we can still smell them.
  • Tiny soft rolls were made for teas, luncheons, bereavement tables or bridge parties.
  • Ladies went to Cobb Lane for the tiny Orange Rolls.
  • Even big men delighted in the basket of Orange Rolls brought out in Bogue’s Restaurant while they waited for their Meat and Three lunches.
  • Cinnamon rolls from The Electric Maid were a special treat.
  • Hand rolled to order, someone was assigned to pick up the rolls at Savage’s Bakery.img_1858

Some ladies had household help or a family member who always made the yeast rolls. Cookbooks abound with recipes for them, with notations:

  • These make a soft tender dinner roll. 
  • These can be made ahead, just allow 2-3 hours for them to rise. 
  • Can be shaped as desired but cloverleaf is best.
  • Allow several rolls for each dinner guest, be prepared with extra to run in the oven, if needed.

There were recipes for Bride’s Rolls, which were said to be easy- though most have so many steps I can imagine a young bride being reduced to tears.  Ice Box Rolls for the busy housewife who could make yeast rolls days in advance or even the night before. Then there are the full-on – you-better-know-what-you’re-doing recipes for Parker House Rolls, which came di-rect from Boston. Only the most experienced baker would attempt these!

I am always amazed at how many men can artfully discuss their memories of yeast rolls from days gone by. I’ve always had an uneasy relationship with yeast. As a bride I could not figure out for the life of me, how to make a decent dinner roll! The shame of serving Brown and Serve rolls that came in plastic bags from the grocery store. Apparently I was not alone. Along came Sister Schubert® rolls, busy Southern cooks breathed a sigh of relief. The holiday menus began to add her rolls – ‘Are you going to bring the rolls? get Sister Schubert’s®. Even Julia Reed, the famous southern journalist served them at her swank dinner parties in New York City. They still rule the holiday dinner tables. I now have another favorite. img_1850

A lady named Millie Ray began making wonderful rolls for her bridge parties in the late 1970’s, they became so famous in the Birmingham area and beyond that in 2010, Millie Ray’s® went commercial. I love her rolls! Instead of Sister’s round pan, Millie Ray’s come in a square tin. Her rolls are still hand rolled and cut for the homemade look. Busy ladies simply do not have or take the time to make homemade rolls often, but we want them! I once gave a busy lady with a large family a stack of these delicious rolls- she still says it was one of the best gifts she ever received. Are you looking for a last minute gift for the one who has everything but time on her hands? Make her Christmas morning easier! Whether you buy Sister’s or Millie Ray’s- buy at least three types.  I buy Orange Rolls which can be served any time, Yeast or Dinner Rolls and Cinnamon Rolls. Stacked and tied with a red bow- add a Christmas Card with a personal greeting- ‘Don’t worry about the rolls Darlin’.  img_1854

For Christmas morning- all three can be used on a Breakfast Buffet, Orange and Cinnamon Rolls and Yeast Rolls filled with a sliver or two of Ham, truly an entire meal from just a stack of rolls!  Christmas Rolls may be the perfect gift- delicious, consumed and well remembered, a welcome addition to any meal. Give the gift of Christmas Rolls!

Love y’all, Camellia

* This post is not a paid advertisement for either Sister Schubert’s® or Millie Ray’s® I just happen to love them! And they are made right here in Alabama! As are Marshall’s Biscuits® which wouldn’t be a shabby addition to the stack of yeast rolls! That makes them extra good in my book.  Look for them online or if you are extra blessed, in your local grocery store’s frozen food section. All photographs are obviously mine.

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Give me some Sugah!

img_1839What the South lacks in snowy white winters, we more than make up for in Sugar! After all, how many regions can boast sugar plantations, big copper pots bubbling with molten  sugar for Pralines right on the streets, and Sugar Cane chopped and ready to make Sorghum Syrup? One of the joys of my childhood was getting a sliver of sugar cane and chewing on it at county fairs or farmers markets. Long jointed fat sugar canes stripped and chopped into three inch pieces were a special treat for adults and children alike. In the South,

  • Most of us are born with a Sweet Tooth.
  • Sugar is a pet name- pronounced- ‘Sugah’ even shortened to ‘Shug’ .
  • To say ‘Give me some Sugar.’ is to ask for a peck on the cheek or a Sweet Southern Kiss.

I admit to believing Sugar had it’s own special magical qualities. Cooks I knew would say: ‘Now, Betty Jo, you know we can’t make Divinity this week- it’s raining, we’ll have to wait until a good dry day or that Divinity will be as hard as a rock!’ The same was true for Pralines or Chocolate Fudge- make it on a rainy day and it would be grainy, they said- ‘Not fit to eat.’  And, horror of all horrors-  ‘Can you believe she put out that grainy Fudge and that hard Divinity? I almost died’.Sugar syrup is a staple in the Southern Pantry- a must have for iced tea or added with confectioner’s sugar to make Icing for cakes. Now, remember, we don’t say Frosting. For holiday candy making, making a sugar syrup with a candy thermometer is a must- it has to be bubbled to just the right temperature, for the type of candy you are making-img_1805

I have yet to per-fect even the first batch of Southern Pralines or Divinity- however they are on the culinary bucket list! I can make Snow White Marshmallows, a fairly decent caramel and if the weather conditions and the candy thermometer are just right, ButterToffee is one of my favorites! Topped with Chocolate and Chopped Pecans, I have to say- it is a little bite of heaven. img_1839

The mystery of sugar, the science of sugar, the timing, the weather conditions, the culinary art of candy making is daunting, yet somehow irresistible to me. I drag home five pound bags of sugar, dreaming of the perfect batch of Butter Toffee, Caramels or homemade Snow White Marshmallows, sugary visions dancing in my head. Give me some Sugar, a big pot and a candy thermometer and I’m transformed into a combination of Meteorologist, Mad Scientist and Cauldron Watcher. I feel very mysterious and sticky! If the candy doesn’t turn out- I throw it out and start all over! I never failed to be amazed how- cooking sugar to one temperature can result in an amber colored Butter Toffee and another temperature results in a perfect batch of Snow White Marshmallows- image

Here’s a photo journey- Butter Toffee first:

And Snow White Matshmallows:

Oh yes, Give me some Sugar! Pure Cane Sugar. Like I said, what we lack in Sugar White Snowfalls- we more than make it up in Granulated Sugar!  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Give me some Sugar and the Magic begins!

Love y’all, Camellia

*All photographs are mine.

 

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Christmas Cards!

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Even if the wreath is on the door, the gift buying has commenced and the Christmas Shortbread dough is in the freezer waiting to be baked- the season really begins for me when the first Christmas Card arrives! One of life’s sweetest gifts are those family photographs taken months before and made into Family Christmas Cards! Over the years they’ve become cherished memories. We are blessed to be on the Christmas Card list of surely the World’s Most Beautiful Families. Sometimes the cards come with a winter scene of a nice young couple,  a beautiful baby, tiny sisters or even a poignant photograph of a young girl with red shoes that is worthy of it’s own portrait.

Sometimes the cards come with gold foil lined envelopes and heavy beautiful card stock. Some cards are of a vintage scene. Some have a photograph of the cute family pets or of a child sitting with Santa Claus. Some are whimsical beribboned and hand painted.

I love them all! It’s been a tradition for years, to save up the Christmas Cards. On Christmas Day, we look at them, exclaim about how nice it was to get them; then, I enjoy making a call or writing a thank you note that we’ve been kept on the list for the beautiful Family Christmas Cards.   I have to admit for various reasons- as much as I thoroughly enjoy receiving Christmas Cards and am forever grateful to receive these wonderful cards;  except for One Rare Occasion I’ve never gotten my own act together to send out Christmas Cards. image

Why? because- Our Family Photograph Christmas Card was never a reality. We simply never came up with a decent card worthy family photograph– there is always-

  • one who is the deer in the headlights
  • or blinked at the inopportune moment
  • or who wore the wrong thing
  • stood the wrong way
  • or was the odd one out-
  • was the only one who had on sunglasses or didn’t
  • always statements like –‘You can’t send that one!’
  • It’s sort of horrifying actually.

Now, Southerners are big on heritage and lineage- it’s almost biblical to keep the family tree going with at the very least a church directory photograph! And here we are without a decent Family Photograph, for posterity. Several years ago, we had received an inordinate amount of the World’s Most Beautiful Family Christmas Cards! I came up with a plan- I would send out our very own Family Photograph Christmas Card. We had been to Colorado Springs over Thanksgiving, stayed at the beautiful Broadmoor Hotel, even met Reba McIntyre, and had fun on a Sleigh Ice Sculpture! Very Scenic, lots of fun.

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We took a trip up the Broadmoor’s Cog Railway to Pike’s Peak, where a kind soul took a Family Photograph. We all had one thing in common- we all looked awful.   I found the kind of photo cards you insert beautiful family photographs in; I had a dozen photographs done up in black and white to make the World’s Ugliest Family Photograph look even worse and hoped folks who received them would  get a good laugh. Lively Holiday Greetings were written on each -ending with ‘This is the Best Family Photograph we could come up with!’

pikes-peak-bw

I hate to inflict this awful photograph on you- it actually did evoke a good bit of laughter! So,  if you are struggling with all of the Christmas Card, Gift buying and Holiday rush- Inject some laughter into it! I think the new term is to have a Scruffy Christmas! 

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Unlike all Southern tales- which are part truth, part myth and part outright lies- this one is the whole truth– after all, Santa is keeping that list!

Love y’all, Camellia

* All photographs are from our personal collection, either loaned to Camellia’s Cottage or sadly taken by me- and should not be used without permission.

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Bighearted Cornbread…

2016-03-23 13.50.11Bighearted Cornbread is a staple of Southern food culture. Over the years we’ve taken some abuse about lovin’ our Cornbread- you know songs like ‘Jimmy Crack Corn and I don’t Care’ and ‘Just a Bowl of Butterbeans’ don’t exactly conjure up fine dining.  And Yankees have gotten hold of the Southern recipe and tried to improve on perfection by adding sugar- which is sacrilegious  where I’m from. Southern Cornbread is made with self rising cornmeal. I will say it again, my grandmother had rules when it came to cornbread. There are two basic types of Plain Southern Cornbread-

  • Egg bread is made with self rising cornmeal, sweet milk and eggs.  Egg Bread is higher and lighter, is more tender and has a mild flavor. Mimi’s rule was- Cornbread made with eggs paired well with any egg laying meat– chicken, turkey or fish.
  • Buttermilk Cornbread. Eggs aren’t added to Buttermilk Cornbread, it is leavened with self rising cornmeal and buttermilk. Buttermilk Cornbread is thinner, crisper and tangier than Egg Bread- therefore it can stand up to the big boys like pork, ham or beef.

Beyond the rules for Plain Cornbread, you will find out just how Bighearted Cornbread is! It takes to having stuff added to it like Cracklin’ Cornbread which is so amazing I’m surprised it hasn’t won top notch culinary prizes! (For the unitiated, cracklins are rendered pieces of pork fat) Cracklins are not smoked like bacon but little chewy bits of pork which are stirred into the batter before it’s baked right into Bighearted Cornbread. Eat Cracklin’ Cornbread and you’ll be happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. Just remember Cracklins’ aren’t Bacon- I’m not sure you can even get them outside of the South. Bighearted Cornbread will accept Crumbled Bacon too!IMG_1387

Now, darlin’ let’s just get this out of the way- Bighearted Cornbread Batter is stirred up either thicker for Hushpuppies, best with chopped onions added, or a more cake batter consistency for Corn Sticks and Corn Muffins. Cornmeal Patties (little fried corn meal cakes- similar to pancakes in shape, form) call for a thinner batter. Bighearted Cornbread will satisfy you no matter what shape it’s in! Old Timers are fond of teaching the Mathematical Equation-telling children, ‘Pie are square, Cornbread are round’– referring to square Fruit Cobblers and Iron-Skillet-Made Cornbread. I am the Third Generation Owner of the Family Iron Skillet. Blessed is the Southern girl who inherits an iron skillet! Cornbread is the Bighearted accompaniment to Spicy Chili, Hearty Soups, Beef Stews and of course Chicken and Dumplings. img_1842-edited

Cornbread is Bighearted enough to be made into Mexican Cornbread; a half recipe works well as a Topper to all manner of Mexican Casseroles. Adding weight to a Southern Vegetable Plate, Cornbread is a hearty addition. One of my favorite combinations is Bighearted Cornbread topped with Pepper Jelly; and for a special breakfast treat- Bighearted Cornbread, hot from the oven, is delicious slathered with Butter and Orange Marmalade! You’ll be grinnin’ like a possum! Cornbread is Bighearted enough to be made into a Summer Cornbread Salad- it’s so good and colorful -Crumbled Cornbread is added to Diced Purple Onion, Summer Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Bell Peppers with nothing more than salt, pepper and Sour Cream stirred in, then chilled. Cornbread Salad is a refreshing side to barbeque, fried chicken or even fried catfish!IMG_1276

Recently in one of my old Family Cookbooks I found a recipe for a Bighearted Breakfast Cornbread made with lots of Caramelized Onions, browned Hot Breakfast Sausage, Shredded Cheese, then topped with a half recipe of cornbread batter- baked in a hot oven until golden brown. I topped it with a Fried Egg with fresh cracked pepper and a Baked Apple on the side. It was to die for.

These are just a few examples of how Bighearted Cornbread can accept all manner of ingredients, adapt to the seasons and made into satisfying low cost meals. Bighearted Cornbread might not be the prettiest Belle at the Ball, but she’ll wrap her arms around you and say – ‘Welcome Home, Darlin’…

Love y’all, Camellia

The Cornbread Rules were expounded upon and the Basic Cornbread Recipe was featured in an earlier post entitled- Cornbread Rules, Sugah!

all photographs are mine for better or worse…