Get Your Tastebuds Ready for Fall Holiday Recipes

Diets beware - the holidays are upon us and that means friends, family, and food! Looking to try something a little different at your next holiday feast? Try one of these tasty recipes created by Creative Arts Cooking Competition winners. These recipes won ribbons and we bet they'll win over your tastebuds.

MOM'S HAM SALAD

by Lynda Sanders
from Trophy Club, TX
3rd Place-Ham, Extreme Pork

Ingredients
Smoked cured ham
5 T. mayonnaise
½ doz. hard-boiled eggs, grated
5 T. sweet pickles, minced
1 onion, grated
2 T. mustard
Peppercorns, freshly grated
Salt, to taste

Grind ham in a food grinder. Add grated hard boiled eggs, pickles and onion; mix well. Stir in the mayonnaise and mustard; blend well, incorporating all ingredients completely. Serve with a variety of crackers. When serve this Ham Salad for an appetizer, I make sure ingredients are all chopped or grated finely. This is the secret to mixing the ingredients together well. If I am making Ham Salad for sandwiches I chop all ingredients in larger pieces.

TURKEY AND PECAN SALAD

by Wesley Burress
of Houston, TX
3rd Place-Texas Pecan Challenge

Ingredients
1 c. toasted pecan pieces
½ c. toasted pecan halves, salted & buttered
1 c. sweet pickle relish
1 tsp. salt
1 honey crisp apple
3 T. butter & salt to taste
3/4 c. dried cherries, chopped
6 c. roasted turkey, finely diced
1½ c. mayonnaise
6 eggs, boiled & chopped
1 head of butter lettuce
1 stalk celery, chopped

Preheat oven to 225° and toast pecan pieces and halves on cookie sheet 10 minutes. Add butter and salt to taste for pecans and let cool and set aside. Roast turkey. When cooled, remove turkey from bone and finely dice. Mix in mayonnaise, celery, pickle relish and salt. Stir in apple and cherries. Add chopped eggs. Chill and stir in pecan pieces just before serving. Serve on base of butter lettuce. Decorate edges of turkey salad with toasted pecan halves.

PECAN CRUSTED SHRIMP

by Robert Baker
of Little Elm, TX
2nd Place-Texas Pecan Challenge

Ingredients
1 lb. shrimp (13-16 count), butterflied
Salt & black pepper

Triple dip with flour then egg wash with mixture below. Deep fry at 375° until brown. Goes well with Texas Becker Chardonnay.

1 c. panko
3 c. finely chopped pecans
1 c. Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 T. melted butter
Cayenne pepper to taste

Aioli for Dipping:
3/4 c. mayonnaise
½ tsp. taco seasoning
3 cloves garlic
Salt & pepper to taste
Zest of 1 lemon
2 T. lemon juice

Mix all together.

CRANBERRY RELISH

by Jan Wier
of Dallas, TX
1st Place-Canning

Ingredients
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
½ c. cranberry juice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. fresh grated ginger
16-oz. bag fresh cranberries
Zest of 1 orange

In large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, juice, cinnamon and grated ginger. Cook, stirring often until sugar dissolves, syrup is clear and comes to a rolling boil, about 3 minutes. In colander, rinse and pick over cranberries to remove any mushy ones. Add cranberries to boiling syrup and continue cooking uncovered just until they begin to pop, about 2 5 minutes. Skim foam off surface and discard. Remove from heat, stir in orange zest. Seal and place in hot water bath 10 minutes. Makes 2½ (1/2-pint) jars.

EASY PEEZY PRALINES

by Summer Garmon
of Krum, TX
2nd Place-Youth Cooking, Children

Ingredients
1 c. Imperial brown sugar
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. Imperial powdered sugar
1½ c. chopped, toasted pecans

Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Place brown sugar, whipping cream, butter, salt and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. Immediately whisk in powdered sugar, then gently stir in pecans. Allow mixture to thicken and cool slightly, approximately 1 minute. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of praline mixture onto wax paper and allow it to cool and set up.

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