Christmas is the feast commemorating the birth of Christ. It is fixed in the liturgical year as December 25th and is preceded by four week of fasting called Advent.Mincemeat
- 2½ lbs. beef stew meat
- 5 lbs. Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped but not peeled
- ¾ lb. beef suet, coarsely ground
- 1½ lbs. dark raisin
- ½ lb. mixed candied peel, chopped
- 1 lb. brown sugar
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 lb. currants
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1½ tsp. ground cloves
- 1½ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1½ tsp. ground allspice
- 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Place the stew meat in a 4-quart pot and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Drain the meat and grind coarse.
Place the ground meat in an 8-quart pot along with the remaining ingredients. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour, stirring the mixture occasionally. Allow to cool. The filling is ready to use, or pack it into 1-quart canning jars and freeze for later use.
Mincemeat Pie
- 1 qt. mincemeat
- 1 granny smith apple, cored and chopped but not peeled
- Pie crust
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg, beaten with 3 tablespoons of water
Combine the mincemeat pie filling with the apple and place in the bottom of the pie crust. Spread out evenly.
Cut ½ inch strips out of the remaining dough and lay over the filling in a lattice design. Brush lattice strips with the egg wash. Bake in a preheated 375ºF oven for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly.
Easy Basic Crust
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ cup margarine
- ½ cup Crisco
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 3 to 4 tbsp. ice water
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the margarine and shortening. Keep working the flour and shortening until the mixture is rather grainy, like coarse cornmeal. Mix the egg and vinegar together and, using a wooden fork, stir the mixture into the flour. Add enough of the ice water so that the dough barely holds together. Place on a marble pastry board or a plastic countertop and knead for just a few turns, enough so that the dough holds together and becomes roll able. If using a wooden rolling pin makes sure to dust it with some flour, otherwise your dough will end up sticking to the it.
