Part of the joy of the holiday is the appearance of snackable goodies well-suited to the spirit and mood and well-matched to small cravings outside of mealtime. Above is pictured a sampling from the second batch of pimento cheese, using my own contrived version of this Southern goodness popularized by and associated with South Carolina. Below is a tortilla chip with a fine dollop of the simple spiced Southwestern dip that’s been a forever favorite here:
Next up is the Christmastime staple of sugared peanuts, something my mother always had on hand for the family at Yuletide and also was part of the grand spread on the dining room table for her famous Christmas Eve ham biscuit get-together.
While they are not my thing, there was a special request made for date nut balls, and I obliged with a standard batch adorned with plenty of powdered sugar.
We can round it out with another of my own contrivances, my best attempt to bring home the enticing and irresistible white dipping sauce often found in the Mexican restaurants of Virginia when I used to do so much work up there.
That’s what I was “giving” in the season of joy. But I also had a pretty big get. More on that in tomorrow's blog post.
"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.
"Southwestern Dip," in Betty Crocker Monthly Recipes, December 2001.
"Sugar Peanuts," long a staple of holiday gatherings in the Jones Family household. Recipe from my mother.
"Date Nut Balls," from Allison M. Jones. Similar to "Mama Rosa's Date Nut Balls," from Debbie Spivey of TheMountainKitchen.com.
"Mexican Restaurant White Dipping Sauce," a recipe worked out by me, sampled by Spring Street, and approved of by all.
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