In this new recipe collection, discover hundreds of favorite Christmas dinner and holiday recipes from quilters across North America! From favorite holiday breakfast dishes to Christmas Eve meals and from Christmas cookies and snacks to traditional dinners, A Quilter's Christmas Cookbook overflows with the bounty and generosity of the holiday season. Many quilters are ordinary women and men who love both quilting and cooking. They spend lots of time in their sewing rooms, creating quilts and covers for comfort. Many also spend lots of time in their kitchens, making meals to provide sustenance for themselves and their families. Here are their treasured holiday recipes-the foods they serve and the meals they make during this wondrous season of the year! The recipes range from easy-to-make and homey foods to elegant holiday dishes reserved for that one special meal each year during the time of Christmas. Also includes a collection of stories about Christmas quilts, food as gifts, and other family Christmas memories. Louise Stoltzfus is the editor of Favorite Recipes from Quilters, the well loved quilters' cookbook!

Introduction This marvelous collection of holiday recipes proves once again that many people who quilt are also fine cooks. Here are choice dishes from quilters throughout North America-from Inverness, Florida, to Los Alamos, New Mexico; from Paoli, Indiana, to Pine Grove Mills, Pennsylvania; and from St. Mary's, Ontario, to Gridley, California. We hope these recipes warm your heart, your hearth, and home. We hope you discover new dishes and rediscover old favorites. We hope you and your family find the fellowship and camaraderie which come from gathering around a table laden with good food. A Quilter's Christmas Cookbook is the result of many hours of time given by many different people. Hundreds of you, the people of the quilting community, responded to our call for recipes, and then also agreed to help us test them. To each of you, we offer our sincere thanks. Thank you for hand-copying your treasured holiday recipes and sending them to us. Thank you for graciously testing recipes at the height of summer when "Christmas" ingredients are often difficult to find and the temperature outside is considerably different than at the time of the holidays. Thank you for telling us the name of the quilt you were working with at the time you submitted recipes. Those patterns, listed with your names, provide a kaleidoscope of original patterns, along with familiar and frequently used designs. We also thank Phyllis Pellman Good and Esther Becker for their editorial and organizational assistance without which we could not have completed this project. - Louise Stoltzfus and Dawn J. RanckSample RecipesPotato and Caviar Hors d'oeuvrSusan L. SchwarzN. Bethesda, MarylandAmericana HeartsMakes 24 servings6 medium red potatoes1/3 cup plain yogurt1/4 cup sour cream2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley1 Tbsp. red caviar 1. Do not peel potatoes. Cut into 24 1/4-inch slices. In a vegetable steamer, cover and steam potato slices for 12 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. 2. In a bowl combine yogurt and sour cream, stirring well. Spread this mixture to 1/2" thickness onto several layers of strong paper towels. Cover with additional paper towels and let stand for 10-15 minutes. 3. Carefully scrape yogurt mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a fluted tip. Set aside. 4. Combine the chives and parsley and press 1/2 tsp. herbs onto each potato slice. Pipe 1/2 tsp. yogurt mixture over herbs. Top with 1/8 tsp. caviar. Serve immediately.Glazed BrieNancy Jo MarsdenGlen Mills, PennsylvaniaTumbling Blocks CharmMakes 10-12 servings1/4 cup packed brown sugar1/4 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts1 Tbsp. whiskey or brandy14-oz. round Brie, 5" in diameterlemon juiceapple or pear wedgesseedless grapescrackers 1. Mix together sugar, nuts, and liquor. Cover. Chill up to one week. 2. Place Brie onto 9" pie plate. 3. Bake at 500 degrees for 4-5 minutes until slightly softened. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top. Bake 2-3 minutes until sugar is melted and cheese is heated, but not melted. 4. Brush fruit wedges with lemon juice. Serve Brie with fruit wedges, grapes, and crackers.

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Excerpted from A Quilter's Christmas Cookbook by Louise Stoltzfus, Dawn J. Ranck
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