According to the book “Christmas In American in the 1700′s and 1800′s” (World Book, Inc), which is where George Washington’s Egg Nog recipe is published, Christmas in Texas was primarily celebrated with a dance. Since there were few women in the area until the 1800′s ranchers would sometimes ride up to 200 miles to go to a dance where there were women. Cowhands stayed home and had “heifer brand” dances where a few of the cowboys would ties bandanas around their arms and dance the ladies parts. There is a wonderful story about Andrew Jackson–Old Hickory. His wife died soon after his election and his neice, Emily Donelson, acted as the White House hostess. One Christmas week a number of his young relatiives pestered the staff to find out if there really was a Santa Claus. 6-year-old Johnny Donelson asked the president himself who replied they would have to wait to find out. The children insisted President Jackson hang a stocking too. The next morning it is reported, the President wept as he pulled out small gifts from his own stocking. Why? As it turns out, Jackson’s mother died when he was quite young. Growing up he never knew there was a Santa Claus and never had received any gifts.
1 pint brandy
1/2 pint rye whiskey
4 ounces sherry
4 ounces rum
12 eggs, seperated
3/4 cups sugar
1 quart milk
1 quart cream
Combine liquors. Beat egg yolks until think, then beat in sugar. Slowly add liquor, then milk and cream while beating. Beat eggs whites to stiff peaks, fold into liquid mixture. cover and refridgerate for at least 5 days before serving. Makes 3 quarts.
E.D. Hill hosted several programs with Dr. Manny Alvarez. Everyone who watches Fox News Channel knows Dr. Manny. I’ve known him since he saved my life and the life of my then unborn third child. He is a medical miracle man. Now he’s written a great diet book. If you like Latin food and want a hot body this is the book to get.
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From E.D. Hill and her family – We are shocked more people don’t go to Block Island and that it isn’t at the top of every family travel guide. We stayed at the only resort on the island, Champlin’s. It was terrific. Clean, large rooms. Don’t pay extra for a room with a view because you’re never in the room anyway. They had a terrific playground, pool, beach, watersports, restaurant, snack bar and one of the two movie theaters on the island. If you prefer to rent a home you need to plan ahead. They book up very quickly. Casual is the best way to descirbe the island. They don’t recommend bringing cars since there is only one gas station. If you do bring a car make car ferry reservations early. The vast majority of people bike, walk or use mopeds to get around. Rentals are easy and relatively inexpensive. Think Bermuda in America minus the long shorts and men wearing knee high socks and you’ve got the picture of Block Island. The fast ferry from either New London, CT or Galilee, RI is about a half hour. Fins has the freshest seafood. Skip Aldo’s pizza unless you like it doughy. Do not skip the dessert at Aldo’s! Yum. Candy and home made ice cream shops are plentiful. You can get weekly licenses for shelling. Nothing tastes better than freshly made clam chowder! We have visited Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket several times and think Block Island is the way they used to be 50 years ago. A lovely slice of old fashioned America.
E.D. Hill survived this and you can too! Five kids and the dog in a car for days. That may sound like your worst nightmare but it became one of our best family “vacations”. It was actually intended to be the way we got to the vacation but it turned out being the favorite part. Airfares were so high that we decided to drive from Connecticut to Texas. We rented a minivan. I recommend the Town and Country Flex fuel which got 21 mpg. We hit 11 states and numerous sites including the World’s Largest Guitar, Dollywood, Appomattox, Vicksburg, and more. Sadly, we missed the gravesite of Shorty the Squirrel. (www.roadsideamerica.com has the strangest sites listed) We did not let the kids bring any electronic device which meant…..they had to talk, play cards or play board games. Shockingly, they came through it alive!! In fact, the kids loved it so much they want to do it again. They say the drive to the vacation was the best part!