By Week 512. Year 10. Tommy is 43. Holiday season. The cottage or the memory of the cottage. The family gathering or planning to gather. Luc (19) graduated LSU, working in petroleum/energy. Colette (17) in college/nursing school. The food is the constant — the roux and the rice and the cayenne that doesn't change even when everything else does.
Made pork backbone stew this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. Encore là — still here.
After a pot of pork backbone stew has done its work — after the house has held that smell all day and the bowls have been scraped clean and everyone has settled in — there’s still something the holiday season asks for, and it’s something sweet and small and easy to pass around. These Callahan Christmas Wreaths have been part of that same table for years, the kind of thing Colette used to help press into shape when she was barely tall enough to reach the counter. Week 512, year 10, and the stew still leads — but the wreaths still follow.
Callahan Christmas Wreaths
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min + 30 min setting | Servings: 24 wreaths
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 4 cups miniature marshmallows
- 1 1/2 teaspoons green food coloring
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups corn flakes cereal
- 1/3 cup red cinnamon candies (such as Red Hots), for decorating
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Prep your surface. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper and lightly grease with butter or nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Melt the butter and marshmallows. In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the marshmallows and a pinch of salt, stirring constantly until fully melted and smooth, about 5–7 minutes. Do not rush this over high heat or the mixture will scorch.
- Add color and flavor. Remove the pan from heat. Stir in the green food coloring and vanilla extract until the color is uniform and bright.
- Fold in the corn flakes. Working quickly, add the corn flakes to the marshmallow mixture and fold gently until every flake is coated. The mixture will begin to set as it cools, so move with purpose.
- Shape the wreaths. Drop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds onto the prepared baking sheets. Using lightly buttered fingers, shape each mound into a ring or wreath form with a small hole in the center. Work while the mixture is still warm and pliable.
- Decorate. Immediately press 3–5 red cinnamon candies onto each wreath to resemble holly berries. Press gently so they adhere before the mixture sets.
- Let set. Allow wreaths to cool and firm at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in a single layer or between sheets of wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 115 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 75mg