ROUSES.COM
35
All I want for
christmas
CHRISTMAS
Tommy Rouse,
2nd Generation
— Is it
wrong to say I make my favorite? Every
year, I make the turkey and I carve it. (By
the way, that’s my turkey on the cover of
the magazine!) My wife, Karen, likes sweet
potatoes or yams, and everyone loves her
dressing and crab dip.
(For Karen Rouse’s
crab dip recipe, go to
)
Rachel Rouse Bergeron,
3rd Generation
— My favorite is my Granny Barrilleaux’s
apple cake. She uses fresh apples and
cinnamon and bakes it in a Bundt cake pan.
It’s great for dessert or breakfast.My husband,
Brian, likes peanut butter fudge. Mandy is
right, Aunt Sue makes the best. I can’t believe
she shared her recipe in the magazine! We’ve
been trying to get it for years.
Kara Rouse
— My grandmother makes
fettuccini with crawfish and cheese. She’s
been cooking it since I was a little kid, and
you can taste the love in it. She knows it’s my
favorite, so she always serves me first. Donny’s
favorite is canned cranberry sauce. He would
eat it straight out of the can if he could.
Steve Galtier,
Parrain
— My mom makes
the best dirty rice with chicken livers, gizzards
and ground beef. I mix it with canned
cranberry sauce.
(The apple does not fall far from
the cranberry tree. Donny likes to mix cranberry
sauce into everything on his Christmas plate. You
can see exactly why we made Steve our daughter’s
Parrain! —Kara Rouse)
Cindy Rouse Acosta,
2nd Generation
— We host four generations at our house
on Christmas Eve. I make a big batch of
my spaghetti with meatballs because it’s
tradition (and delicious). Growing up, we
always had some sort of
antipasti
before
dinner — cheese, charcuterie, stuffed or
marinated artichokes, homemade dips. We
Mandy Rouse Martinolich,
3rd Generation
— When the holidays come around,
there is only one thing on my mind — not turkey, not dressing, but dessert! More
specifically, my mom’s peanut butter fudge. It’s all I want for Christmas. Growing up,
whenever she made her fudge, I was right there watching her, waiting for her to finish
with the pot so I could lick it. Then after she poured it in the pan to harden, I would
wait for her to leave the room so I could steal some while it was still warm.
That’s
probably why she started making the fudge when I wasn’t around.
If I knew my mommade
fudge, I would beg her to tell me where she was hiding it. I finally got her recipe this
year, but I haven’t made the fudge with my boys yet. I just know they’ll want to lick the
pot, and well, I’m not sure if I’m ready to share!
keep that tradition alive, too. My favorite is
my sister-in-law Karen’s crab dip.
Cody Acosta,
3rd Generation
— My
grandfather’s oyster dressing. It’s the best.
Chris Acosta,
3rd Generation
— My
mom’s cornbread dressing, and my dad’s
oyster dressing, which is grandfather’s
original recipe. It’s so good, Chef John
Folse published it in one of his cookbooks.
Nick Acosta,
3rd Generation
— My
Granny Acosta’s deviled eggs. She puts
pimento-stuffed olives on top.
Blake Richard,
3rd Generation
— I like
my grandfather’s oyster dressing (my Uncle
Donald and Uncle Tim both make it), my
Aunt Karen’s cornbread dressing, and mom’s
cheesecake. She makes it every Christmas
Eve. I’m a Christmas Eve baby, and my
sister Caroline was born on Christmas Day.
When we were little, my grandfather would
always have a chocolate birthday cake on
Christmas morning just for us.
photo by
Romney Caruso
Sue Rouse’s
Peanut Butter Fudge
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
3
cups sugar
⅔
cup Pet condensed milk
2
tablespoons white corn syrup
1
tablespoon butter
1
7-ounce jar marshmallow cream
1
12-ounce jar smooth peanut butter
HOW TO PREP
In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, milk, corn syrup,
and butter together. Cook over a medium heat until
mixture reaches the softball stage. Remove from heat,
add marshmallow cream and peanut butter, and stir
well to blend. Pour into a buttered 13 x 9-inch pan.
Let cool and cut into squares before serving.
RECIPE,
try me!
