Christmas Party...

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Kathy Morse Parham for once again having our group at her house for Christmas!  She has one of the most beautiful trees, fully decorated. 

We started arriving around 6 p.m., and the table began filling up.  There is always a great variety of goodies, and it doesn't take long for all of us to fill our plate and enjoy!  Martha Ward Duane enjoyed Ben Hunter's Blackberry Cake and Grape Pie so much, she went to visit Ben and his wife Cotton, and she has brought us the recipes. 

BLACKBERRY CAKE

A recipe from Hilda King of Church Hill, TN

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil and flour a rectangular cake pan if you intend to turn the
cake out after baking. You might also line the pan with parchment paper. Ben served the cake iced, in
the pan, which was wonderfully convenient for carrying to a party.

Mix together:

1 box yellow cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 boxes of blackberry Jell-O (Ingles grocery in Colonial Heights carries Royal brand blackberry Jell-O.
Ben has never found it anywhere else in Kingsport.)

Stir into the batter:

1 quart blackberries, fresh or frozen (If frozen, let the berries thaw, drain any liquid, reduce it to syrup
and add it to the cake. In either case, mash the berries lightly with a fork.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and dry.

Caramel Icing

Melt together, and then bring to a boil for one minute:

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup regular milk

Allow the caramel to cool a bit, and then add:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (or Jack Daniels whiskey!)

Pour the icing over the cake.







GRAPE PIE

This is a recipe by Alton Brown, the entertaining and highly scientific Food Network star. Ben Hunter wowed the Christmas party
with this rich, sweet dessert.

I. Split 1 pound of seedless grapes.

Marinate them overnight in

4 oz. honey

1 oz. brandy

1 oz. lime juice

II. Make the crust.

Grind together:

4 oz. walnuts (optional)

80 vanilla wafers (This is almost one full box, but count them out.)

Blend 4 tablespoons of melted butter into the mix and smooth it into the bottom of a
rectangular cake pan.

III. Drain the grapes.

Add:

4 oz. brown sugar

16 oz. sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla (or 1 T. Jack Daniels whiskey)

Mix, and then assemble the pie.

IV. Make the icing.

12 T. butter

1 ½ cups brown sugar

4 oz. regular milk

Boil this mixture for one minute, and then pour it over the cake. Refrigerate for at least one hour
before serving.


Now see if you can impress people at your party as much as Ben Hunter impressed the DBHS alums of
1960 at the annual Christmas party at Kathy Parham’s house this year!