Bitterballen Sometimes I find recipes that are historically associated with particular feast days and sometimes I make the association myself. This is the latter. Bitterballen are a popular Dutch pub snack, and seem unique without being overly complicated. Even...
Hot Mulled Cider Another option for a warm spiced beverage on a cool day is mulled cider. Putting it together at home is simple and tastes so much better than pre-made! One spice bag will flavor up to 8 quarts of mulled cider in one batch. Just keep the ratio of one...
Hot Mulled Wine - Bisschopswijn Hot mulled wine is also known as Bishop’s wine or Bisschopswijn after Saint Nicholas, third century bishop of Myra. It’s deliciously warming, and perfect for a December evening with family and friends. One spice bag will flavor up to 8...
Speculaas Cookies Dutch speculaas cookies are unusually perfect for this feast day, in that they are traditionally made in the shape of St. Nicholas using very beautiful, very intricate hand-carved wooden molds that range in size from a few inches to a couple feet...
Peanut Butter Kiss the Cross Cookies St. John of the Cross lived in Spain in the sixteenth century. As we can tell by his name, he had a love for austerity and a great devotion to the crucifixion. While praying one day, he was granted a vision of Christ crucified, in...
St. Lucy Eyeball Punch The stories say that the tortures suffered by St. Lucy included having her eyeballs poked out, and she is often depicted in art holding her own eyes. So, we like to make this punch in her honor on her feast day. (It’s also fun for Halloween)....
Mexican Wedding Cookies a.k.a. Snowballs Growing up in Southern California, Our Lady of Guadalupe has always been familiar to me, as are many other Mexican foods and traditions. As a sweet treat on her feast day, we like to have cookies and champurrada or Mexican hot...
Ensalada de Nochebuena “Christmas Eve Salad” in English, Mexican Ensalada de Nochebuena (ehn-sah-LAH-dah de NO-chay BWAY-nah) is a cool/sweet/tart addition to any feast day table. It can also be made in a fruit salad-style without lettuce, but this recipe is how my...
Easy Beer Bread It doesn’t get any easier than this. 3 cups self-rising flour2 tablespoons sugarPinch salt12 oz beer (1 can or bottle, any type room temperature) Preheat the oven to 350° F. Combine the dry ingredients then gently mix in the beer with a rubber spatula,...
Spätzle Kartoffelsuppe (Potato Dumpling Soup) This rustic soup is a real family favorite. We have it on Christmas Eve and sometimes also for our “all white dinner” on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and it’s perfect for a German saint day. It’s always in the...