The Christmas Pickle

Years ago, just for fun, my mother-in-law introduced the tradition of the Christmas Pickle.  The first few years we had a pickle that she had fashioned out of floral tape, but then I bought her a proper glass pickle that she could hang on the tree.  (In fact, I bought her and 10 other people Christmas Pickles that year, as they were cheaper by the dozen.)  She continued to hide the pickle and gave the child who found it a small present.   Sadly, she passed away in 2006, and I found that I kept forgetting to hide the pickle on Christmas morning.  So for the past 3 or 4 years, I have waited until Epiphany,or the Twelfth day of Christmas to hide the pickle.  This year, it was quickly and unceremoniously found by Patrick.  I have to get smarter about hiding it, I need decoy pickles, and ornaments with hiding spots in them.  Even though he shared his treat with his siblings, Griffin was left feeling quite unsatisfied. 

Minutes later, Griffin says,  "Look, I found the pickle."  He had a sly grin on his face as he took me by the hand and pointed at the tree.  (One could follow the trail of pickle juice back to the kitchen counter.)

After he "found" it, he picked the needles off of it and ate it!  I hope he has luck for the rest of the year!

Holiday stuffing recipe

This is my favourite recipe for stuffing for Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys.  It has never failed to produce moist delicious stuffing as long as I've cooked it in the bird.  I once had a relative who was fussy about where his stuffing was cooked and he always ended up with dried out stuffing.  Perhaps we should have read more into that than we did.  Anyway, here is my recipe:

"Moist Bread Stuffing"

1 cup butter\
2 cups diced celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms (OPTIONAL)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (or substitute with about 1/8 cup dried)
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
15 cups bread, cubed (I purchase brown bread for this, but I will also use up any bread that I have in the kitchen)
3-4 eggs, slightly beaten

Begin about 1/2 hour before the turkey is due to go into the oven. 

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Add celery and onions and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.  Add mushrooms if desired, cook for about 2 more minutes.  Remove from heat.  Add parsley, salt, poultry seasoning and pepper; stir well until thoroughly mixed.  Stir in bread cubes and eggs; mix together well until all bread cubes are moistened.

Stuff it into the cavities of the bird.  If you are not stuffing the bird, you can bake it in a covered, greased casserole dish for the last 30 to 45 minutes of roasting time.

Ew, This is a really unappetizing photo of the stuffing next to the cranberries.