My Christmas food memories are a wonderful and flavorful mix of cultures. We had all the good traditional Scandinavian foods like Kottbullar (Swedish meatballs), herring, lefse, fattiman (Danish for Poor Man’s Cookies) and rosettes. My English Grandfather was born on Christmas Eve and we always had oyster stew and fresh-baked bread for his birthday. Of course, the English and Scandinavian drink of choice is beer. That is probably one significant influence that has led me to have 17 craft beers on tap at the Rocky Hill Inn.
Probably the most enduring Christmas food memory I have is of eating ‘White Christmas’ Pie. The legend says if you eat ‘White Christmas’ Pie on Christmas Eve it will snow on Christmas Day. Sometimes it even works!
‘White Christmas’ Pie
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk (I use whole milk for this but 1% or 2% could be used.)
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract (no imitation vanilla allowed)
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 egg whites (For the sake of food safety, I use pasteurized egg whites. You could try powdered egg whites as well but I’m not sure the texture would be the same.)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
½ cup whipping cream, whipped
1 cup moist flaked coconut
1 baked 9-inch pastry shell
Flaked coconut for garnishing
Red and Green cherries for garnishing
Soften the gelatin in cold water, and set aside.
Combine ½ cup sugar, flour, and salt in a saucepan; gradually add milk and stir until blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in softened gelatin and vanilla and almond extracts. Cool.
Beat egg whites (at room temperature) and cream of tartar until foamy; gradually add ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a thime, beating until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites, whipped cream, and 1 cup of coconut into gelatin mixture. Pour into the prepared crust. Sprinkle with additional coconut if desired and decorate with red and green poinsettias made from the cut-up cherries.
Keep refrigerated until served.