Many thanks to everybody who helped making the OCA Christmas Party 2009 a huge success. The food was awesome, and you can see in the photos that everyone had a blast!

Each year in December we have the OCA Christmas Party instead of our regular monthly meeting. There is a gift exchange and a potluck dinner instead of a speaker. Bring something from your fish room for the gift exchange (less than $10 value), and a dish for our potluck dinner. Turkey and ham are provided by the OCA – thanks to Rhonda and Eric! Don’t miss it. This is the perfect meeting to bring the kids along as well!

Photos of the OCA Christmas Party 2009

Photos of the OCA Christmas Party 2008

Recipes

Every year people ask about recipes for some of the food they had at the OCA Christmas Party. I’ll share the recipes I have here. If you brought any food, and would like to have the recipe published here, please email it to me, OCA Webmaster Frank Mueller. Also, if you tried something at the OCA Christmas party and would like the recipe, please email me and I try to hunt it down for you!

Baked Cranberries and Apples

This is one of our family favorites and we got it from friends who come from South Carolina, so I always regarded it as southern – until I served it to a Bostonian who declared it the quintessential All American Dish, because it combines southern and northern ingredients, namely pecans and cranberries, respectively! I made only one change to the original recipe, and that’s drastically increasing the amount of topping. I believe the nuts are supposed to be sprinkled sparsely over the apple/cranberry mixture, but I like to have a solid layer of topping.

1 packet (2 cups) whole cranberries (use fresh or frozen)
3 cups chopped, unpeeled green apples (eg. Granny Smith)
The amount of apples can be adjusted so the dish fills your casserole dish.
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 stick butter
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups of pecans

1. Mix white sugar, flour, apples and cranberries in an oven proof dish.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients and spread over the apple/berry mixture.
3. Cover with tin foil and bake at 380F for about 1h.

Initially you want to cover the dish with aluminum wrap so the nuts don’t get too dark. The topping might brown enough that way, but if it doesn’t the aluminum can later be removed. Space permitting, this dish can share the over with your turkey and be baked at whatever temperature you are using for it. Simply adjust the baking time accordingly.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Gratin

This is is based on a recipe by Martha Stewart (eg here), but was significantly improved by myself

1 clove garlic
1 can of pumpkin
2 tablespoons thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
1/2 cup fresh chives (chopped)
1 small carton cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
Topping:
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Peal garlic and squeeze through garlic press or cut up very fine.
2. Combine pumpkin, garlic, thyme, and chives in an oven proof dish.
3. Pour cream and nutmeg over pumpkin mixture, but don’t yet mix in!
4. Cover with tin foil and bake at 380F for about 30min.
5. Melt butter in a small skillet, add bread crumbs and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Roast over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir cream and nutmeg into the pumpkin mixture and cover with breadcrumb/parsley topping.
7. Bake at 380F for another 20min or until topping is golden brown.

Space permitting, this dish can share the oven with your turkey, and be baked at whatever temperature you are using for it. Simply adjust the baking time accordingly.

Enjoy!

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