Christmas Foods

Did your family have any traditional dishes for the holidays? Was there one dish that you thought was unusual?

Turkey and dressing and ham were usually on the menu. Pies were usually pecan and chocolate. Mom always made candies, especially fudge.

While we are on the subject of fudge, I should tell a story. On one of Mom and Dad's trips after they retired, they found some wonderful cranberry fudge somewhere on the coast of Oregon. For several years, Mom would always order a box from them at Christmas. Later, the place went out of business, but she found out about another place nearby which supposedly had that place's recipe. Let's just say that the box of fudge was rather disappointing. Mom then proceeded the next year to devise her own cranberry fudge recipe. She got that recipe tweaked, and it's a family favorite now. I dare not share that recipe with you all though without asking Mom's permission.

Mom always made an “Amalgamation Cake” at Christmas. This was a very popular cake in northeast Mississippi as you can see by a recent mention at Itawamba History Review and Terry's description of it in today's Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi . When I was little, I thought it was awful. Later on, I developed a taste for it. It's very rich. If you are watching your cholesterol, don’t even bother to look at the recipe!

Amalgamation Cake

2 cups sugar
2 cups butter
10 egg whites
1 ½ cups milk
3 Tablespoons baking powder
3 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream together sugar and butter. Sift together baking powder and flour and gradually add to sugar, butter. Add milk as needed while mixing. Add vanilla. Fold in egg whites last. Divide mixture into two 9 x 13 inch pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven until inserted toothpick comes clean.

Filling/Icing:

3 cups sugar
1 pound butter
2 cups raisins
2 cups chopped pecans
10 egg yolks
2 cups grated coconut
1 cup coconut water (or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, butter, egg yolks, and coconut water (or milk). Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and frost.