Collard Greens

Some of you may not think of collard greens as a culinary delight, but I love collard greens! I made a ham for Christmas and saved all of the tasty drippings from the bottom of the pan to use in this. I put the drippings in the refrigerator and then skimmed off the fat. What was left is the base for a stock. This could be on the salty side, so you may only want to use a few tablespoons. This is not a traditional collard green recipe. Many traditional recipes use ham hocks or bacon. I've also added diced turnips to this because I had some on hand and like the flavor of them.

• Ingredients
• 1 large bunch of collard greens
• 2 medium turnips
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1 large sweet onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 dried red peppers (you could substitute red pepper flakes or omit if you don't like it spicy.)
• ham stock
• water
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil or butter for sauteing
• vinegar of your choice for garnish if desired (I like apple cider vinegar for this)
• a large pot or dutch oven. I used a 5 quart cast iron dutch oven.

First you need to clean the collards and take out the rib that runs down the center of them. I rinsed the the collards individually then soaked them in a sink full of cold water. I drained the water and refilled several times. If your collards are very sandy you will want to take care to wash the individual leaves very well before soaking.

Next, dice the onion. Saute the onion in a little bit of oil or butter until translucent. I added a little of the stock towards the end of sauting to add some flavor. Dice the turnips and add to the onions.  Dice the ham and add to the pot. Dice the garlic cloves and add. Add the hot peppers or pepper flakes. Add some more stock or water, and simmer on low while you cut up the collards.


You will have a huge pile of collards. It looks like they won't fit in the pot. They will. They shrink as they cook. to cut the collards stack about a dozen leaves together. Roll them into a tube shape then cut them with a sharp knife into strips. add the first bunch to the pot and stir it into the hot mixture. That helps shrink them for the next batch. Continue to stack, roll, and cut leaves adding them to the pot and stirring until all of them are in the pot. Add a couple of turns of fresh cracked pepper. Cook 2-3 hours until they reach the desired tenderness. I like mine very tender. After they are cooked you may need to adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. I add a dash of vinegar to mine after I dish them up. I love to serve them with a pan of cornbread. I also had some leftover homemade macaroni and cheese that went great with these.

collards right after I put them in the pot. Notice the bright green color.

After they cook they will turn a darker green color.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Danish Puff Pastry

When I was growing up every Christmas my Mom would make a danish puff coffee cake. That recipe was the inspiration for this. I tasted something the other day that reminded me of it, but had a filling that made it taste even better. I decided to play with the recipe and came up with the pecan, cinnamon and cherry filling. I love how this turned out. I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas from my house to yours.

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• BASE
• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 2 tablespoons water

 Preheat oven to 350*. Line a large cookie sheet with Parchment paper. Measure flour into bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender, sprinkle with water and mix with a fork. Form into a ball, then divide in half. Press each half out side by side on the cookie tray leaving several inches between.

• FILLING
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 4 T melted butter
• 1 10 oz jar maraschino cherries, drained and lightly patted almost dry

Mix everything except the cherries together. Divide the filling in half then spread evenly over base. Next arrange the cherries evenly over filling mixture. 

• TOP:
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour
• 3 eggs

In a medium pot, bring the water and butter to a boil. Make sure butter is melted. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Add flour and stir with a whisk until smooth. It will be thick! Next, using a heavy spoon, stir in one egg at a time, getting a smooth consistency between each egg. Plop spoonfuls of dough on top of the filling layer, dividing between the two evenly. Carefully spread the dough all the way to the edge of the base covering the filling completely. I used a knife sprayed with cooking spray to make this easier. I sprayed the knife several times throughout the process because the dough is pretty sticky. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour until golden brown.

• GLAZE
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 T softened butter
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1-2 T half and half (or milk or water)

Stir together butter, sugar, and almond extract, then add the liquid a little at a time until the glaze is thin enough to pour and spread easily. Spread on both pastries dividing evenly then garnish with sliced almonds.

• GARNISH
• Sliced almonds