Thursday, December 8, 2011

Reflections of Christmas with George Talbot-Turn On The Heat!

When we asked George Talbot to share some Christmas memories, we knew they would be filled with humor. George lives in Justin, Texas and is an Assistant Organizer for  Greater Fort Worth Writers critique group who writes humorous short stories. George was formerly in the field of Communications and was a TV weatherman and sportscaster. He says he is the better part of retired with 2 dogs, 2 horses, and 2 daughters who are grownup. He clains he is the only one still trying to become a mature adult.

If you love Christmas, can you say why?

It’s seeing Christmas through the eyes of children, believing a jolly fellow (no doubt with high LDL cholesterol) in a red suit and a sleigh pulled by reindeer, can enter their home via a chimney to deliver presents, and then eat cookies washed down with a glass of rancid room temperature milk.

What’s one thing you’d like to get rid of during the holiday season?
Alvin and the Chipmunks.

What are your favorite childhood memories of Christmas?
Dad wouldn’t turn on heat until December 24th, regardless of how cold the fall . Finally. Warm toilet seats, peanut butter that didn’t have to be shaved out of the jar with an ice scraper, and my nose warmer than the dog’s.

What’s your idea of a perfect Christmas meal?
Corn pudding cockaigne, scalloped oysters, asparagus (asparaguses?...nobody agrees on the plural of asparagus) with hollandaise, baked butternut squash purèe, plenty of ketchup, and roast turkey with a breaded sausage-vegetable stuffing.

Do you have a dish that has become a tradition with your family?
The dish with pounds of M&Ms on the coffee table -- how many could we eat Christmas morning with toothpaste residue still on our teeth and before the blueberry pancake breakfast?

What’s the best Christmas present you ever received?
My dingbat tyke daughters would wrap tools in aluminum foil they’d swiped from my workshop, topped with bows ripped off other presents. They gave me my hammer four years in a row. Best pre-owned hammer I’d been given numerous times.

What’s the best Christmas present you ever gave?
Christmas 1976. Three months married to my French wife, I give her an Italian black Fiat 124 Spider sports car. Je vous aime M. Dingue. I love you Mr. Goofy.

What are your favorite Christmas movies?
White Christmas, A Christmas Story, Jaws (...that’s a daughter and me thing,) and the 1951 version of Scrooge with Alastair Sim.

What’s your favorite Christmas carol?
Irving Berlin’s “Sisters.” My daughters sing it every Christmas, and after twenty years neither of the numb-nuts has a complete-handle on the lyrics.

What’s your idea of a perfect holiday season?
Giving more than getting. Keep the spirit of the holiday revved year long --try to make one somebody ho-ho jolly everyday year long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recipes...My dad used a hybrid recipe coupled with cooking intuition. This recipe is the closest to the one I remember due to the addition of an egg. I was the one who started using red pepper and or diced chillies, this recipe is more of a souffle...if the darned thing rises.
Last but not least is the one I use today. It's off  of a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix. It's the quickest and most reliable.

The eggs help a lot. The first recipe can end more as a soup because of the water content in the corn. (although it tastes good.)

The Jiffy Casserole is foolproof and definitely the easiest, 1- it's canned corn with a defined water content, and 2- the sour cream.If you use the Rotel, drain the paJesus out of it.
If you use fresh corn, either use a corn stripper or use a knife and cut the kernels quite close to the cob. Do not scrape any remains from the cob. The kernels are meant to be more or less intact.

Corn Pudding Cockaigne


Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).

To 2-3 cups fresh corn or frozen corn thawed.

Add:
1/4 c.  sugar 
2 Tb. flour
1 cup heavy cream + 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp white pepper

Beat
4eggs and add to mix
Melt 1/2 stick of butter in baking dish, tilt and add to corn mixture. Then pour corn mixture back into baking dish.
Bake the pudding for about 1 hour.

Yield: 4 servings

photo courtesy of circle-b-kitchen.com


JIFFY CORN CASSEROLE

1 can whole kernel yellow corn, undrained

1 can cream style yellow corn

1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream

2 eggs, beaten

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 stick butter, melted

Add  1 can drained chilies if desired.

Mix all together and pour into large, lightly oiled casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm not an expert when it comes to this. Didn't even know this was possible. Useful read, appreciate your posting this.
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thorneanderson@hotmail.com said...

George:
You sound like you'd be lots of fun to be around. Liked your sense of humor. Great blog and good recipes.

Ruby Johnson said...

George:
Thanks for sharing the memories and the recipes. I can believe your father wouldn't turn on the heat. I grew up in a house with a fireplace in every room and the fires were going constantly in cold weather. Of course,most of the heat went up the chimney.
Aren't memories funny, they bring back days of simpler times.

SusieSheehey said...

Priceless! Using a scraper for peanut butter! As always, George, you know how to make people laugh.
Thanks for sharing!

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