Readers share yule recipes that are family favorites

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Dec 24, 2003

Here are some more of our readers' favorite holiday recipes. We hope to publish more in the weeks to come.

CRAB AND SHRIMP THING

This is a recipe that my mother always made as an appetizer for our Christmas meal. It is VERY easy to prepare and is elegant. It is legendary in our family for being a dish that kids don't like much until they get older. Most of the "grown-ups" LOVE it.

We don't have a name for it; we call it "the crab and shrimp thing!" -- Jackie Mitchell, Gurnee Illinois

2 cans crab meat

2 cans small deveined shrimp

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup celery, chopped fine

1 medium white onion, diced

1 green pepper, chopped fine

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt to taste (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1-2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix ingredients and spoon into scallop shells, small ramekins or custard cups. It could also be made as a casserole. Sprinkle buttered bread crumbs over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve immediately.

HOLIDAY PORK

Because our small family is scattered and we are seldom together, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the correct day and celebrate Christmas the next day so we can all be together for both occasions. This year, we all traveled to Southern California to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at the home of my oldest daughter. For "Christmas" dinner on Friday, she served this very delicious pork tenderloin. -- Carolyn Carpenter, Salt Lake City

2 pounds pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup dry white wine or chicken stock

1 cup (35 percent fat) whipping cream

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

A few hours before cooking, pat pork tenderloin dry. Combine mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub into pork. Wrap in waxed paper and then plastic wrap and put back in refrigerator until ready to brown. Heat oil in roasting pan or skillet that can be used on direct heat as well as in the oven. Brown pork on all sides.

Add wine or stock to the pan and roast in preheated 350-degree oven 45-50 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove meat from pan and reserve. Add cream to juices remaining in pan and scrape up any bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Bring sauce to a boil and simmer gently until slightly thickened. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Meanwhile, slice pork and return it to the sauce. Heat gently before serving. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve sauce in separate dish. Serves 10-12.

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING

This is a recipe, passed to me by my Grandmother Elma Evans (born 1882), came from "The White House Cookbook" by Hugo Ziemann and Mrs. F.L. Gillette, published in 1899. My own married daughters now make this Christmas pudding in their homes, so we are in the fourth generation of Christmas pudding! We adapted the recipe to modern measures, but it is basically unchanged from 100 years ago. -- Rochelle Enderton, Salt Lake City

1 cup seedless raisins

1 cup currants

1/2 cup citron (sliced thin)

2 cups flour

4 beaten eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 cup chopped, blanched almonds

2 cups fine bread crumbs

1 cup finely chopped beef suet (or butter)

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water

Coat the fruit (raisins, currants, citron) thoroughly with some of the flour. Mix beaten eggs, sugar, spices, salt and milk. Add the floured fruit, then stir in the nuts, bread crumbs and suet, one after another, until all are used. Add soda dissolved in water. Then add the rest of the flour until everything sticks together. Transfer to double-boiler and boil or steam for four hours. Serve warm with sauce. (Pudding can also be cooked in a crock pot, but you have to add some water once or twice during cooking.)

Sauce:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 well-beaten egg yolks

1 pinch salt

1 to 1 1/4 cup hot heavy cream

1 cup warm milk

1 teaspoon brandy, vanilla or rum extract

Cream butter and sugar. Add the other ingredients in order. Beat until everything is well-mixed and just a little bit frothy. Cook at medium to low-medium heat in a double boiler until thick. Stir often. Keep it hot, but do NOT boil. This takes 30-45 minutes. Add extract just as mixture begins to thicken.

RICE KRISPIE DESSERT

This is a very simple but tasty recipe that adds a little red to your holiday. -- Jillyn Abel, Kaysville

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup coconut

3 cups Rice Krispies (slightly crushed)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

1 package Danish dessert, any flavor

6 ounces frozen berries, any flavor

Mix butter and brown sugar. Add coconut, cereal and walnuts. Spread half of mixture in 9-by-13-inch pan. Spread ice cream over crumb mixture. Then spread other half of mixture over ice cream. Freeze. Prepare Danish dessert and add berries. Serve at room temperature over ice cream squares.