Appealing and Appetizing Covered Dishes

The Christmas tree is an affair of the heart—all bedecked with ribbons, bells, pinecones, bright berries, stars, tinsel, twinkling lights, homemade trinkets, old-fashioned balls and glittery, it is so alive and appealing.

And so can be our winter vegetable dishes, whether one is cooking a holiday meal at home or in an RV, or taking a covered dish to a potluck. Having traveled all over the United States and Canada in an RV, I have collected regional cookbooks from all over, and it is this time of year that I like to bring them out, and let memories come alive again.

From my Colonial Williamsburg cookbook come these recipes:

CREAMED CELERY WITH PECANS
4 cups celery, cut diagonally in half-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecan halves
Buttered breadcrumbs

Boil celery until tender in enough water to cover; drain. Melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour and add milk slowly to make cream sauce, stirring until thick and smooth. Add salt and well-drained celery. Spoon into greased one and one-half-quart casserole; top with pecans, and cover with buttered breadcrumbs. Bake in preheated 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. Makes six servings.

CREAMED ONIONS WITH PEANUTS
16 whole small white onions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup whole salted peanuts
1/2 cup buttered breadcrumbs
1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Cook onions in boiling salted water until tender; drain. Melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour and salt. Add milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and slightly thickened. Put onions in a greased one-quart casserole and pour cream sauce over them. Serves four or five.

From the soul-food cookbook I got in Georgia comes:

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
Mix all ingredients together well; pour into casserole dish. Top with 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and 1/3 cup butter that have been mixed together. Sprinkle with chopped nuts; place in preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 35 minutes.

And from my Northwest cookbook is this Oregon recipe:

CAULIFLOWER WITH TILLAMOOK CHEDDAR CHEESE
1 small head cauliflower
1 cup grated Tillamook cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons soft butter
Pepper

Trim cauliflower but leave head whole. Plunge into boiling water, cover, and cook 10-12 minutes, until a knife inserts easily into the center of the head. Drain well. Break head into pieces over a warm serving bowl. Spread with soft butter and add a few grinds of coarse pepper. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Serves six.

Here’s a California dish:

GREEN BEAN BAKE WITH ONION
2 9-oz. pkg. frozen or 2 16-oz. cans French-style green beans
10-oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 of a 3-ounce can of French-fried onions

Cook frozen green beans according to package directions, drain. (Or, drain canned beans.) Combine the cooked frozen or the canned beans, mushroom soup, pimiento, and lemon juice. Turn mixture into a one-quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, in 350-degree oven for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with French-fried onions. Continue baking, uncovered, till onions are heated through, about 5 minutes longer. Serves six.

Whether out on the road in your RV or at home for the holidays, decorate to your heart’s content. We always put a big green wreath with a bright red velvet ribbon on the front of our pickup when traveling during the holidays. It is a warm and wonderful time of the year—enjoy it to the fullest.

Hint of the Month: The more stark and unadorned a vegetable is, the more it needs to be perfectly cooked. It must be cooked until just done and no more. The most common mistakes are to use too much water or to cook the vegetables to within an inch of their lives.