Good Dinner Mrs. Mellen

Another recipe from my childhood Christmases, Poppy Seed Bread.  My mother was raised in a neighborhood inhabited with many different ethic groups. She learned from her Polish neighbors to make Eastern European style pastries which she incorporated into her holiday baking. Making her old holiday pastries transports me again to a time when I learned the magic of Christmas which still lives with me to this day!    Poppy Seed Bread 2 cups whole milk 2 packages yeast 2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1/2 cup shortening (Crisco) 7 to 7 1/2 cups sifted all purposed flour 4 tablespoon butter 2 cans Poppy seed pastry filling(Solo) 1 cup chopped pecansa 1 cup golden raisins Preheat oven to 375F. Heat milk until tiring bubbles form, 2-3 minutes. Put 1/4 cup of hot milk in small bowl, let cool to lukewarm. Add yeast, let dissolve for 5 minutes. In a large bowl add remaining milk and cool. Stir in salt, sugar,...

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread INGREDIENTS 3 cups sugar 1 cup vegetable oil 3 large eggs 1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin 3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 2 cup fresh cranberries Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin. Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl. Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in cranberries. Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.