Tracey

Although my family doesn't really care for mincemeat pie, they really like it when I roll sugar cookie dough, cut into squares or rounds, then fold the dough around a tsp or so full of mincemeat, like a tiny cookie turnover.

12 granny smith apples-peeled and cored
1 box raisins
1 box currents
1/2 lb beef suet-skin removed
2 tsp cinnomon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1 cup sugar

Grind apples,raisins, and suet through the hand grinder. Stir in currents,spices, and sugar. Mix well. Cover and place in refridgerator for at least two weeks, stirring occasionally to mix flavors.
Preheat oven to 350. Make your favorite 2 pie crust recipe. Place bottom crust in pie pan add filling,place other crust on top and seal edges. Make one or two steam vents.You can either make whole pies or as our family does make small (3 inch diameter)individual pies. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if you like. Enjoy, NancyLouise

Green Tomato mincement
3 pounds green tom.thinly sliced. (about 2 quarts sliced)
1/4cup salt
2 large apples,cored and chopped but unpeeled
1 large orange,seeded and chopped but unpeeled
15- ounce package seedles raisins about 2 1/2 cups
1 cup susar
1 pint dark corn syrup
2 tablespoones pumpkin-pie spice

Sprinkle tom. with salt as you layer themin a bowl; cover
and let stand at room temperature overnight.Rinse with cold waterand drin well. Chop fine. Into a 4- quart sauce pan turn thetom., apples; orange.raisins,sugar,corn syrup and spice's.Cover and simmer45 min.uncoverand boil gently stirringoccasionally.For 11/4 hours. Store tightly covered
in the refrigeratoror store in approprite containers in the
freezer. Makes 21/2 pints-enouth for two 9 inch pies. To make pies stir 1/4 cup light or goldon rum into 21/2 cups green tom. mincement; cover and let stand at room temperture; over night.Turn into a unbaked 9- inch pastry, shell. Cover with vented top crust. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven 45 to 50 min.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

11/2 teaspoon jinger
11/2 teaspoom cinnamon
11/2 teaspoonnutmeg
11/2 teaspoon allspice

I no this is late but i just notice it maybe you can make it this year if you think that you would like it.

Sounds like the basis of the Christmas cake I make (gagging throughout, because I detest anything with little black dead flies in it, and the smell of dried fruit cooking - it's Christmas gift-giving at its most sacrificial). I use a combination of currants, sultanas, raisins, figs, dates, prunes, crytallised cherries and citrus peel, boil them up together with some butter and a little water and the spices. Flour and nuts etc are added later, when the mixture has cooled.

I also have a recipe for Mock Mincemeat, using green tomatoes, very much more complicated than Ilene's, if anyone wants it.

Ingredients:
****************

1 lb. apples, peeled and cored
1/2 lb (227 grams) sultanas
1 lb. (454 grams) seeded dark raisins
1 lb. " currants
1 lb beef suet lightly chopped
1/2 lb (227 grams)sugar - demerara or soft brown
1 cup (170 grams) mixed peel (purchased candied lemon & orange peel)
2 TBS mixed spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)
1 TBS ground cloves
1 lemon - grated rind and half the juice
1 orange - grated rind and half the juice
1 1/2 cups brandy

Method:
**************
I used the old-fashioned hand cranked mincer - it clamped onto the edge of the table. Put through the mincer: suet, apples, raisins and mixed peel, catching it in a large basin. Add to the basin the currants, sultanas, sugar, spices, cloves, rind and juice of orange and lemon. Mix all well and add brandy - mix again.

Cover the basin with a cloth - put into a dark, cool and dry place and stir every day for a week. Put into jars and seal down. Tastes best if made a few weeks in advance - the flavour improves with time.

Recipe adapted from The Margaret Powell Cookery Book
(C) Margaret Powell and Leigh Crutchley 1970

Beth

2 1/3 cups currants
2 1/3 cups raisins
1 1/3 cup chopped beef suet
7 cups chopped & peeled apples
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 tsp. each salt, cinnamon, allspice & nutmeg

Add juice of 1 lemon and enough orange juice to make mixture juicy. Store in fridge and stir daily for 2 weeks until flavors are blended.

I have an old crock that I use every year. I also like to add some dark rum - just for extra flavor of course!

Sue

hmmm...that was a good while ago.

-d.

Here's a recipe I got from Sara the Brit, she frequents the Garden Party. I wish I could say I had made it, but alas, the ease of the Crosswell jar beckoned...

Dear Sylvia
Here's the recipe I've been using for the last couple of years. it's fairly variable - you can leave out
the nuts, add different ones, change the proportions of the fruit, to suit your own tastes. It really
benefits from at least 2 weeks maturing, so you don't have to make it now if you don't feel like it.
alternatively, the first year I made far too much, and it kept superbly until the following Christmas!
(although it depends on how hot your summer is, I suspect).

half pound, peeled finely chopped apples (I use Granny Smiths)
4 oz shredded suet or melted butter (I use butter - suet is traditional, but not used in the UK these
days)
4 oz golden raisins (probably about 2/3 cup?)
6 oz raisins
4 oz chopped mixed peel (the lemon and citron stuff is best)
6 oz soft dark brown sugar (3/4 cup)
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
quarter teaspoon cinnamon
quarter teaspoon allspice
quarter teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons brandy

Mix everything, except the brandy, together and stir well. Leave it covered for 12 hours or overnight.
To prevent fermentaiton, leave it in a cool oven 225F/120C for 3 hours. Allow to cool completely and add
the brandy. Spoon into clean dry jars and seal. Don't worry if the butter separates slightly on the top
- just stir it again before baking it into pastry.

Makes approx. 3lbs - about 1 large mason jar.

Happy cooking - and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Best wishes
Sara

Sylvia wrote:

> [This message originated at GardenWeb]
> > Hi Sara - I would *love* a copy of your mincemeat recipe! And - how far in advance do you prepare it?
> thanks so much - Sylvia