Family Cookbook and Memories

Our Family P hotos, Recipes, and Memories Christmas 2020

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Introduction Holidays have always been special in our family. Some of my earliest memories were of those early Christmas mornings spent at Grandma and Grandaddy Cox's farm. The fried oysters, the homemade coconut cake (always my favorite). The cedar Christmas tree that Grandaddy cut from the farm. Lots of family and laughter. The holiday season would start for us when we would gather on the farm in late November or early December to draw names for gifts. Through the years family members have passed and our family gatherings have moved to a new locations, and new faces have joined our tribe, the tradition of the food served remains the same with a few additions. Some recipes have been passed down for many generations. You will find that some of the recipes may not have exact measurements because that is just how we cook in this family. You will also find some new favorites that have been added along the way. This little book is my way of passing on those recipes while sharing some of my most precious Holiday memories. The faces around the holiday table may change, but the memories of our loved ones will always be with us as we celebrate together. as a family.

Wanda Tuck Richards Christmas 2020 2

Mom always went all out for Thanksgiving and she would start cooking days in advance. When David and I were first married we would split our Thanksgiving Day between both of our families. As our family grew we started having our own celebration at our home and later Mom and Dad and other family members would join us. My menu was a combination of the foods Mom had prepared and recipes I had gathered along the way. Our family favorite is the dressing. A combination of Mom’s dressing patties and Granddaddy Tuck’s oyster dressing. I hope you will enjoy these recipes and add some of your own to your family tradit ions.

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The Famous Dressing Patties Mom always made her dressing in small patties. She would chop up the giblets and onion for her patties. Granddaddy Tuck would make his dressing in a pan and add oysters. When I started making my own dressing, I modified their recipes and came up wit h my version that I have prepared for many years. This is one of those recipes were I use “a little bit of this and a whole lot of that”.

1 Bag of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Dressing 1 Pound of Browned Sausage

Stick of Melted Butter Turkey Stock (enough to make the mixture well moistened) Mix it all together and form in small patties. Bake at 400 degrees until slightly brown around the edges.

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Mom and Dad Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving 2018 At Jeremiah and Harmony’s Home 6

Nannie’s Mac and Cheese Noodles Cooked As Directed Mild Cheddar Cheese, Cut in Small Squares 1 Egg Beaten Add 2 Cups of Half and Half Cream Salt and Pepper 1/2 Stick of Butter Pour in Baking Dish (make sure the cream mixture covers the noodles, you may need to add more cream) and Bake At 400 Until Done. Add Shredded Cheese to Top During Last 15 Minutes of Baking

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Pumpkin Cake

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Our Day After Thanksgiving Tradit ion As a little girl, I would look forward to the day after Thanksgiving and Mom’s Turkey Hash and Potato Cakes. When I had a family of my own, I started a tradit ion in our family. We would always have Turkey Hash, Buttermilk Biscuits, Potato Cakes, Dressing, and that famous Buttermilk Pie. We would later start decorating the tree the day after Thanksgiving.

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Turkey Hash Melt Butter in Frying Pan Add Chopped Onion and Cook Until Transparent Add Turkey Drippings Add Flour and Brown Slightly Add Cream or Half and Half

Add Your Turkey, Salt and Pepper Simmer Until Done Serve Over Buttermilk Biscuits There are no exact measurement for this recipe just experiment until you have it the way you like it.

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Mom and Dad’s First Christmas

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Christmas On The Farm in Stone Mountain My earliest memories of Christmas are those Christmas mornings at the Farm in Stone Mountain. The family would gather early on Christmas morning for breakfast. I can still smell the cedar Christmas tree wit h its silver tinsel, the wood stove going full blast in the living room, and the fried oysters if I close my eyes. Granddaddy would be in his rocking chair, and Grandma would be in the kitchen cooking when we arrived. Everyone would come wit h an arm full of presents as we would draw names during those early years. If you were running late, you could count on a call from the farm because no one could eat before all had gathered. The men would eat first, and the women and children would eat last. The great thing about eating last is we could take our time. In those early years, I would sit on the "sugar bucket" to reach the table, and I always sat next to Aunt Madeline so she could eat my oysters after I ate the breading dipped in ketchup. After we were finished and the table cleared and dishes washed, the fun would begin as Jackie and Carolyn would hand out the presents. We could always count on something handmade by Grandma. My only regret is that I did not save all of those precious handmade gifts. Today, our family tradit ion continues wit h the fried oysters at Christmas and Grandma's coconut cake. Not a Christmas passes that my mind and heart does not go back to those early Christmas mornings on the farm.

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Christmas At The Farm In Stone Mountain

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This is how I like to remember Grandma and Granddaddy. C ox 14

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History of Fried Oysters For Christmas In The South In our family, we only prepare oysters during the holidays. I think this is a tradit ion held over from the early years when fresh oysters were only available during the colder months and were a delicacy for Christmas in the South. I did a little research, and this is what I found out.

“When English settlers arrived on eastern U.S. shores, they encountered shell mounds created by Indigenous peoples that had been consuming native oysters for thousands of years. Many of the early deeds and treaties that colonists made wit h Native peoples included providing access to oyster beds in their fishing grounds. However, transporting oysters inland and to Southern states was challenging because seafood could not be easily refrigerated in the 1800s. Thus, oysters were most widely available in the winter months (starting in December), when the weather was cool enough to prevent seafood from spoiling while traveling. Enveloped in seaweed and wet straw, oysters could be transported for up to two weeks wit hout decaying. This seasonal window meant that oysters gradually became associated wit h Christmas.”

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Fried Oysters Fried Oysters have been tradition in our family for many generations. Making them is an art form that you develop with lots of practice. Below are my tips for fried oysters.

You will need the following: •

Fresh Oysters

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Cracker Meal

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Eggs with a little milk (beaten)

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Hot oil Peanut oil is good as it does not smoke and can get very hot. (I like to use a little frier so the oil can cover the oysters completely

Drain your oysters, dip them first in the eggs, then the cracker meal and then repeat once. (Double dipping is the key to great oysters). Add salt and pepper. I normally bread my oysters in advance and refrigerate them so they are ready to fry just before my guests are ready to eat.

Layering them on wax paper before refrigerating. Oysters are best served hot and fresh off the stove with lots of ketchup.

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Grandma’s “Famous” Coconut Cake One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the coconut cake. Coconut cakes have been a stable of Southern Christmas tables since the 1800’s. Coconut was another food that was not easy to transport Grandma used fresh coconut . She would drive a hole in the coconut shell with a nail and drain the milk in a glass and set is aside. She would then crack the coconut with a hammer and put it in a hot oven for a few minutes to loosen the meat from the shell. Once she had done that, she would grate the coconut. She would prepare her yellow cake and bake as directed. She normally made a 3 layer cake. Once the cake was cooled she would poke holes in each layer and pour the coconut milk in the holes after she placed the layers on top of each other. The secret to a great coconut cake is the 7 Minute Frosting. My first couple of years I also used fresh coconut but then modified the recipe a little by using frozen coconut instead of dealing with the shell kind. I would make my own “coconut milk” by adding a couple tablespoons of sugar to 1/3 cup of water and simmer until the sugar dissolved. Add a teaspoon of coconut extract and proceed as above. Add a little confectionary sugar to your coconut before adding to the top of your cake. Years ago, I made one of these cakes for a friend that was visiting her son from out West. She flew back home holding her cake on her lap. I shared the recipe with her and she started making it for her family in Colorado at Christmas. She took it to a Christmas party that was attended by the owner of a restaurant in Denver.

She was so impressed with the cake, she asked if she could have the recipe to serve it in her restaurant.

Grandma Cox would be surprised to know that her Coconut Cake is now being served in Denver Colorado.

7 Minute Frosting Recipe •

2 Egg Whites

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1 1/2 Cups of Granulated Sugar

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1/4 Teaspoon of Cream of Tartar

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1/3 Cup of Cold Water

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Dash of Salt

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1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

Place all ingredients except vanilla in the top of a double boiler (or a smaller pot in a larger pot of boiling water). Please over boiling water but not touching the water and beat on high with a mixer for 7 minutes. Remove from boiling water and add vanilla and beat until of spreading consistency.

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Later our Christmas mornings would move to Grandma and Granddaddy's new farm with most of the same tradit ions and more people as the family grew and a few would leave us too.

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Our first home on the hill in Moneta. Dad built this home. Later a large addit ion and a brick exterior would be added. If you look closely at the photo you can see the Christmas decorations. I took this photo with my first camera that I got from Santa that year.

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Our Christmas Eve Tradit ion Our Christmas Eve tradit ion started when Cindy and I were very young. As we would be so excited about Christmas and unable to sleep, Mom and Dad would allow us to open one gift on Christmas Even. I remember getting my first Barbie doll as one of those early Christmas Eve gifts. Our Christmas Eve Dinners in those early days would consist of Ham, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Mac and Cheese and Potato Salad. Dessert would be German Chocolate Cake, Brown Sugar Pie, and the various Christmas Cookies and Candies Mom would make each year. As we got older and the family grew, we would continue this Christmas Eve Tradition and this is when our family would exchange our gifts and Fried Oysters would be added to the menu. The venue would change over the years as Mom and Dad moved, the faces would change and new family members would join us, but the menu would stay the same.

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I substitute French bread or Sour Dough bread when I make this.

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Mom’s Pies

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Christmas 2018 and 2019

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Christmas 2019

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I am purposely leaving this page blank because there are lots more holidays and family memories still to be made.

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