Christmas

Well, it's Christmas again, y'all

I'm going to be visited by the spirits of Christmas. Past, you are so cute

Present, I don't know about you else. And future. Oh, my goodness

And they're going to help me make some of my family's favorite Christmas dishes

Starting with my husband, Michael's shrimp stuffed potatoes. A slow-cooked beef roast with a creamy herb sauce

The most jacket-it, ooey-gooey butter layer cake. And popcorn balls. a fun Christmas craft

Welcome to my very own Christmas carol, y'all. Christmas, it's kind of about the food

but like not really. What it's really about is being with my family

and you being with your family. Oh, honey

Ah! Oh, God! Elvis is in the house. Elvis! What are you doing here, Elvis

I am the ghost of Christmas past. One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and I'll go, cat go

But don't you. Step on them blue-sweigh shoes. Let's go. Let's go. Yeah

All right, Elvis. I'm going to make you my husband, Michael's twice-baked potatoes

The first thing we're going to do is cut the tops off of our potatoes, y'all

And Michael prepares these every Christmas Eve for me. I love them because you can do them ahead, and that's great

Okay, can I have that bowl over here? Yes, you may. I would give you..

I'll go over this one. How about that? I would give you anything, Elvis

You look so much like my husband, Michael. Well, that's what everybody says

And you know, I came to see you, Elvis, in 1973. I made me a hot pants outfit

You did. Couldn't afford to go buy anything. And I went and got me some pleather white knee-high boots

But when I got there, I found myself in the nosebleed seats

Oh, no. And I couldn't see you without binoculars, so I know that you weren't able to see me

No wonder I didn't see you. I went home and took that hot pants outfit home, and I burned it

I was so angry. Well, if I would have seen you, you know what I would have done

What? I would have said, little lady, would you marry me? Yes, I will

That's what I'd have said. Thank you very much. And how did you know that cherry was my favorite

Elvis knows that kind of stuff. And I'm going to show you a video

You're going to show me a video? Yes, the highlights of some past Christmases. Okay, here we go

My favorite things about Christmas are being with my family and all the food and the festivities

and the fun, the laughter. That looks just... Look, y'all, it looks just like Michael

It does look like me. Mom used to make every cake and sweet that you can imagine

She used to make wonderful divinity. The smells, you know, the way the house would smell at Christmastime

We like to roast one another a little bit around Christmastime. All right

I want a big and fat one. Push and pull. Push and pull

I'm going to push and pull. This is the first Christmas that Michael and I will have spent together as man and wife

I don't think you're going to need the bad, Paul Paul. You know, I know Michael's saying

Holly, you're the prettiest girl in the whole world. You look good enough to eat

Your hand's not stuck, is it? No. Too bad he can't open gifts with just one hand

At least I know we got some butter. This is gonna be a blast

Okay, y'all, it's time for the Christmas auction, and I'm gonna start with $100 for the coconut cake

Do I hear $100? Anybody got $100? You're looking like a cheapskate

Honey, get rid of him. He's cheapo. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you

Like a card. I am taking you to Paris. Wow. To eat, laugh, and have fun

Love, Michael. Bonjour, y'all. That surprise! Of course, all of my favorite Christmas memories

are spent with my family, but nothing can top that special Christmas morning

Michael proposed. That was a Christmas I'll never forget. Oh, you're so sweet

All right, now you've got a stick of butter in here at room temperature, so let me beat this up

Okay. Now, why don't you add the sour cream? Let's just do a cup, okay

Okay, now I'm going to add some cheese. Okay, and if you'll take over the beating, I'll add some salt

Then I'll come over here and grate some cheese to just add to the top

You are so cute. Well, thank you. You ain't bad yourself. You know, the women out there just love Michael

I do a lot of live shows. And when Michael's not there with me, women get so upset

I mean, they're crazy about him. So now that they've seen you as Elphys, I'm not going to be able to hold them back

I don't think so. Now, I'm going to take our shrimp that we've cooked off, and I'm going to give them a very rough chop

You don't want to chop these too fine because you want to know that you're eating shrimp

Right, Alf? Yeah. And leave a couple for the top. Oh, I am. I've got those

All right. So we have used six potatoes, y'all. Six bacon potatoes

And those work out the best because they're very hearty. Now, the thing I love about this is you can do your own take on it

But this happens to be Michael and my family's very favorite potato

Michael prides himself on making the best shrimp stuffed potatoes and it was something that he used to make for his children It was not unusual for him to work 120 hours a week on the river and raise these children So when he had a day off he would make these shrimp stuffed potatoes

and wrap them up real good and put them in the freezer. And then he could stop by the grocery store and pick up a roasted chicken

and he would have his children a delicious hot meal. All right, I'm going to sprinkle these with a little paprika

which will help them brown. Then we're going to top them with our whole shrimp

But make sure you save some grated cheese until the very end of the baking

Paula, you want to put them in the oven? Yes. Let's go. Go in the oven 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees

We'll be back in a minute. Oh, Paula, I've got to tell you something

Before this day is through, you'll be visited by two more Christmas ghosts

Oh, gosh, y'all, please stay with me and find out who these ghosts are

Coming up, it's our Christmas dinner centerpiece, a slow-cooked roast, and then a fabulous dessert

ooey-gooey butter layer cake, and I get a surprise by a few extra helpers, y'all

So stick around. Boy, hottie, what a Christmas

This has started out pretty good, y'all. In case you just are finding us, let me tell you what happened

I was visited by a Christmas ghost from the past. That's right, girls

El Fist came in my kitchen and visited me from the past

this Christmas cannot get any better. Ow! Oh, my leader hoses! Oh, no

Maybe it can get better! Oh, my goodness! Pulled me to Elvis

He said to give you this. Oh, my gosh. Is it really mine

It's really yours. He didn't know if you had enough butter. Oh, and butter! My mama's always loved Elvis

And my mom has always loved butter. I suppose what better than Elvis full of butter

That is a limited edition Elvis Presley cookie jar. And it's one of like 2,000 that was made

I want to make sure that I take great care of it, no chips, because it will be a collector's item one day

Merry Christmas! My two favorite elves! I'm Jeff, and this is Belle

And we're the elves of Christmas presents. And here's your Christmas present

Oh, my gracious. Me and Belf had a mix-up, though. I had put on Belf's onesie, and Belf got Jelfs on

Somehow it didn't work out. You all got y'all's outfits mixed up

Which makes the moment even more comfortable. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my gosh

I don't know if my whole heart can take many more surprises. Well, I'm going to have to exhale at some point

so I think we should get cooking. Well, come on down. We're ready for some beef, aren't we

Right? So we're going to be making a slow-cooked beef roast with a creamy herb sauce

I always do beef at Christmas because, you know, we're kind of turkeyed and hammed out by the time December rolls around

The center of our plate at Christmastime is definitely beef. Look at that piece of beef

It's beautiful. Isn't that beautiful? This is an eye of round roast

And we're going to season it with a little salt, pepper, and crushed rosemary mixture

Do you want me to just roll it around and make sure it's completely cooked? Yes, yes. You know to rub it, rub it, rub it, rub it in

What can I do down here, Paula? All right. What I want you to do is we're making a creamy herb sauce

Yum. So we've got a half a cup of mayonnaise, half a cup of sour cream

Then we've got a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. And finally, y'all, two teaspoons of chopped rosemary

Now, I'm going to put a little olive oil into our pan, and we're going to brown our roast

Okay. Now, I'm just going to put this into our pan. My sons really like beef

Handsome gents. Handsome. Smart. Handsome, sweet, smart. Smart, yes. Sons love beef for Christmas

They do, I know. I've met Bobby. Oh, you have? I have

Where did you meet him? At the club. We were out drinking last night

We were at the Slay Club in Atlanta. The Slay Club? He's certainly got a very attractive girlfriend

Yes, he does. All right. You liking it? I do like that

Are you loving it? It looks really good. It smells really good. Doesn't it smell delicious, that rosemary

We'll move your pan up here. Okay. And it looks like that sauce is about done, Jill

Grab your foal. My what? Your foal. That thing. Foal. Your foal

Foal. Isn't that a small horse? Foal. Foal. Foal. Oh, ten foal

All right, here we go. There's your meat. And we're covering it to keep all of that moisture in the meat

Perfect! All right, so here's the scoop on the Ive Round, y'all

We are going to cook it to an internal temperature of 125 degrees

So we're going to cook this at 250 degrees. And it's probably..

Yeah, y'all dance. And that's probably going to take maybe an hour and a half

So, the meat's in the oven. Let's let the party begin. I'll meet y'all right back here in the kitchen

Coming up, this Christmas is only going to be getting better, y'all

with an out-of-this-world dessert. Can't wait for y'all to try this. And then we find out how many elves my kitchen can hold when Bubba Elf shows up

So y'all stay tuned. Y'all, we are celebrating Christmas

And I have wound up in the kitchen today with two elves

This is Belf. This is Jelf. Hey, y'all. Y'all, we're having such a good time today

And our Christmas is just what it's really all about, and that's family

You know, I would eat a hot dog happily as long as I'm surrounded by my family

Well, where are they? They're taking a nap. Well let get rolling on one of my favorite desserts an ooey gooey butter cake The gooey butter layer cake is really a special cake

And it's perfect for your Christmas dessert. And it does take a little while to make because you've got your filling

and then you've got your frosting and, of course, you have your cake

I think people are going to love it. Can't wait for y'all to try this

It's incredibly out of this world. Well, call us when you get it done. No, you're the helpers

All right. I need three and a half cups of all-purpose flour

one tablespoon of baking powder, a fourth of a teaspoon of salt

and a half a teaspoon of baking soda. All right. Now, Bobby, I need... Belf

Belf. Thank you. Bobby's at the golf course. Ah! I hear he's pretty good

You're probably right. He probably is there. So Jamie is working and Bobby is at the golf course

Rest assured, most likely. All right, Belle. He's the athletic one. All right, Belle

So I'm going to need five eggs cracked, y'all. Well, gooey butter cakes have been around for a long time with us

and my Aunt Glennis would always do a variation of that gooey butter cake

And we do it at the restaurant and have for a long time, And my mom is pretty creative, and she found a way to sort of shake it up

And this is a different variation on the gooey butter cake. So while the elves are working, y'all, I'm going to cream our butter

Okay, Jelf, I need two and a quarter cups of sugar in here with the butter

Have you ever noticed how a vest makes you just want to stand presidential? Yes

Good one, Belf. Belf, you beat. Okay. You'll never make president wearing that get up

All right, now we're going to add the eggs one at a time. So what we're going to do is we're going to add our flour along with our dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, with the one and a fourth cups of buttermilk

And we're going to start with flour and end with flour. All right, Jell

If you would add... Okay, whoa! No, Jell! You should see him when we're trying to make the toys

Drops me crazy. Three-legged chairs, rocking horses that don't rock. Just walk in and find him playing with the dolls all the time

Dressed up in his little costumes. All right. Last of the flour

All right. Jell, if you would eyeball about a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring, please

And then we're almost finished. What do you think? Is that beat enough

Yes. Are we moving on to Jamie now? Jell? All right. Now, what we're going to do, guys, is fold in..

Oh, got something on my shorts. Folded in one cup of sour cream

And after that's all folded in, I've got three greased cake pans right over here

And we just measure out our mixture equally into each of the cake pans

And last, we're going to bang the pans on the counter to let it get rid of all those bubbles

Take your pans and drop them. because this is a very thick..

Okay, good. Good. That's good, Belle. See how you brought the air pockets to the top? Yes

That was so good

Very good. Thank you. You must play the drums, Belf. All right, so guys

Can we put them in on the pans or just like this? You can. It doesn't matter. That's fine

just straight on the... Hey! Hey! Hey

Hey! Fixed my lay drug. Nice. Hey! I can't hardly wait to see what they've got

playing next for me. I'm sure it'll be good. Y'all, these elves are getting silly

Will we ever finish this creamy filling for our butter layer cake

Delicious. Then it's a decadent icing for our layer cake. And later, I don't know how Santa's getting any work done with all these elves stopping by my kitchen, y'all

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Welcome back

Paula's going to finish our gooey butter cake layer cake now. To the lady

This is exactly what you see if you come to the North Pole, too. Always laying around

I don't know about you else. All right, we're going to make this filling for this gooey butter layer cake

Now we're going to start by adding a third of a cup of orange juice into half a cup of butter

We're going to need three-fourths of a cup of sugar. And that's a fourth, and this is a half

There we go. All right, Jeff, if you would beat up the eggs and add back

And these are three large eggs, y'all. We're going to return this to the heat

You don't think I need to temper this, Paula? No, because that was cold orange juice gel

Now we're going to put that back on top of the boiling water

And we are going to cook and beat this continuously for about 15 or 20 minutes

Now you're going to find that this is going to get thin before it gets thick

and when it's through thickening, we're going to add an eight ounce package of cream cheese

I knew we would. Yes. So after it thickens back up, you can take it off the heat

So now we're going to take our cream cheese. Let me. And we're going to beat that in

These elves are so helpful. I almost don't have to do a thing

So Jeff Yes ma I fixing to take that whisk if you don beat it Listen I think it time for us to do the whisking because you are not doing so well

Jill. That's how you beat it. All right, guys

Our cake layers are cool and they're looking great, y'all. All righty, here we go

Look at our beautiful filling, y'all. Look at this filling. Oh. All right

Here we go. Look at that. Look at that. That's a good-looking cake

Is that not a beautiful cake? All right, here we go. A stick, a stack

A little belly whack. Good judgment. That's the way to eyeball it

I took down the measure of tape. I only measured about two inches

Into the fridge? No, we're going to put it in the freezer, y'all, for one hour

But next, we're going to make the icing that goes on the outside of our cake

As exciting as this is... And it's exciting. This is not the most exciting thing that's ever happened in this kitchen

We have a special present for y'all. And for you too, Paula Deen. Y'all check out our bloopers from years past

What's the name of the show? What am I doing? You know, Rachel Ray has a garbage bowl

You better shut your mouth. And there's yours. I love pork. Every element of the pork has got its own je ne sais quoi

Oh, it's just the syrup that's going to stick our balls together

Oh, yeah, I know what you're going to say. You can't say that on TV

Sweet chater chow. Food can be a very exciting thing

Oh. You have to come roll them out. Open up. I'm sorry

What is that? Here, let's try it again. Oh. That was so lame

That son Bobby, he'll tell you, he kills me. He's gonna. That's very, very funny

It was very funny. All right, let's make our icing. We've got a stick of butter, an eight-ounce package of cream cheese

and slowly blend in six cups of confectioner's sugar. This is not the most low-calorie cake you can eat

So here you go, Elle. Mm-hmm. Belle. This is one of those cakes that you really want to save it for a special occasion

All right, now I'm going to add about a tablespoon of vanilla slavery

You know what? Y'all really do remind me of my sons. Hmm

Y'all look like the cutest damn elves I've ever seen. Hmm. All righty

That's perfect. So we got our frosting now for our gooey butter layer cake

So I've got a surprise for everybody. When we come back, we're going to take a quick break

I'm going to show y'all some crafts, some of my favorite crafts to do at Christmas time

We'd be great at that. That's what we do is build stuff. Yes. So if y'all would dance us out, boys, we'll be right back

Dance us out, elves. I'm getting away from wherever it is that I got to make crafts

Coming up, we got the perfect Christmas craft, popcorn balls that the whole family can make

Just maybe not my family, y'all. Whoa! Then the whole gang's here, y'all, to finish up this wondrous Christmas day

Merry Christmas! Ho, ho, ho, dig in. Hey, y'all, welcome back to Christmas at my house

We're having so much fun today. I am actually fixing to make popcorn nut balls, y'all

And they're not only edible, but they're great for decoration. And I need some help

Now, where is everybody? Mary, Mary, Crema. Oh, my goodness. It's my Katie

Oh, my love. Oh, my goodness. I was very surprised to see Katie dressed as an elf

This is Bobby's girlfriend. Yes. She is a wonderful addition to the Dean family

So you're going to be my ball roller. I'm going to be your ball roller. Yes, what a perfect ball roller

I can't wait. Now let's show everyone how we can make these easy and fun popcorn balls

You ready to get started? I'm ready. All right, baby, come on over here. Okay

We've got 16 cups of popped corn, y'all. We have got some candied nuts

And I, oh, these are wonderful. The best nuts. They come from Georgia

Have a nut. I will. They're fantastic. Best pecan around, y'all. You sure do look cute

Thank you. I feel cute. You matched your boyfriend today. I know I did. That elf

The elf. Um, Belf, I think his name is. Really? His name's Belf

Okay. And Jelf. What's my name? Kelf

Okay. Amazing. Kelf. Nice to meet y'all. What you need to do, put your 16 cups of popcorn right here. Okay

Measure out two cups of these wonderful candied nuts. Okay. Stir that all together

Mm-hmm. And over here, I'm going to start making our syrup. And I'm putting in to make our syrup two cups of sugar

a half a teaspoon of salt, a half a cup of white syrup

just a white table syrup. There we go. Pour it in right now

Pour it in right now. Two cups. Two cups. You don't have to contain yourself another second

Okay, amazing. All right. One teaspoon of vinegar. And then I'm gonna need one and one-third cup of water

So, I know that you know Katie and Bobby. Oh, I do

How are they doing? How are they getting along? You know what? I think they are so in love

Oh, get out! Yeah. I really believe. Well, tell Mommy all about it

I will. Perfect. I think that they love each other so much, and it's a love like no other

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Kelsey? Yes, ma'am? Guess what? Tell me. Our syrup is to 260

Now, I'm going to add a teaspoon of vanilla flavoring. Okay. And we are going to start making balls

I'm ready. Do you know what I think you need? Why? More help

Definitely, because ball rolling is hard. Okay, I know exactly where to find them

They're over by the Christmas tree. One second, I'm gonna go get them. Okay. Oh, there they are

Here they are, our friends and our elves! Hello, hello. Hello. Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. You look like you have a lot of experience in ball rolling

I do. And y'all, it was just so great for my brother Bubba to join us in the kitchen as well

I was surprised to see everybody dressed as an elf. My family are really, really good sports

So, Kelsey, let's let the elfies roll the balls. Okay. And you and I will wrap them

I love it. All right, now I'm going to show y'all a little trick about your ball rolling

Dip your hands in here. Get them moist. Come over here and get your big old handful

And squeeze your popcorn balls now until it sticks just tightly together

Look at that beautiful ball. Perfect. Perfect

Yes. So easy. So easy. I have my own personal little bags and our little tags

So what a cute idea is this? It just couldn't be cuter

It couldn't be cuter. Okay. We've got our pens here. We're going to put everybody's name on a ball

So look, Katie, isn't that cute? Yes. All right with somebody To use them as place settings I love it Yes So we got a special treat for everybody y And it also serves as a name tag

All right. Need us to set the table, Paul? Yes, Elphilis. Grab the ball

Okay. And skip to the table. Here you go, Elphilis. There we go

Toss it. No! What a dog! Whoa! Whoa! Oh, no! No! No! No! No

Bubba went down like a sack of bricks. I tripped over my boots

Ha ha ha ha! Got his feet caught up. And down he go

If I remember correctly, he said nice toss. Nice catch. Ha ha ha ha ha

Come on! Y'all, it's finally time to sit down and eat. But no Christmas would be complete without one extra surprise

Hello, Merry Christmas! Don't go anywhere. Thank you

Merry Christmas, my sweetheart. Listen, I've got to get over here and frost this cake

So y'all behave. Y'all all look right cleaned up. What happened to the elves

Y'all, I couldn't believe how many more friends and family showed up for our feast

My friend Donna Foltz, Bubba's lady, Sandy. Bubba, Bubba's daughter, Kari. So it was a pretty, pretty good feast

Now I'm going to put the frosting on it. and I'm going to start icing this cake

I put the icing at the edge of it and then I just bring it down

until I've got the whole cake covered. And you can see I put my parchment paper on my plate

so that when I get my cake frosted, My cake plate is nice and clean

Wow. Beautiful. And I love having plenty of icing, y'all

Even if I have to double it, I don't like no skimpy cake icing

What do you think about that keg right there, peeps? Oh, I can't wait. You like him

Calm down, Maya. You like him at peace? Can I taste it

Katie, now, are you watching this, sweetie? Yes ma Every move So you can make your honey bunny off Yes You better go home and ice me a cake Yes sir All right Now I just going to decorate our cake with a little holly and some other holiday plants

Look how gorgeous. This is worth the wait. You know, before I bring this to the table, I have to make sure it's good enough for my loved ones

Y'all ready? Looks delicious, doesn't it, y'all? Merry Christmas, y'all

It's good enough for my family. Merry Christmas, y'all

Merry Christmas, y'all! Beautiful. I could see you the whole time over there eating this cake

Isn't it beautiful, y'all? It's beautiful. Thank you. All right, now listen, guys

I'm going to bring the rest of the food over, and y'all just start fixing your plate, okay

Oh, my gosh. These potatoes are beautiful. Oh, my goodness

Look at this potato, y'all. Yum, yum. A little parsley. A little parsley for our roast

All right, y'all. You know, there's some things you don't mess with

and Christmas is one of them. I don't pull out new recipes to try on my family

That looks delicious. Thank you. They know what they want. They know what they can expect

And they know that they're going to get it. We had a spinach salad

We had a garden pea salad. I had a ham. I had my eye of round roast

I had the stuffed potatoes, biscuits, and the gooey butter cake. It looked pretty good, didn't it

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Ho, ho, ho. Dig in. Yum, yum, yum

Is anybody missing anything? We'll get to that one later. Oh, okay. I'm missing a big funnel

Yum. Is it good? Michael, every year your shrimp stuffed potatoes get better

Are they delicious? Mmm. good and in this Christmas I decided to do an I brown roast rather than a

standing rib because it just easier to slice you know and easier to handle Uh It delicious Mm

Oh, the carolers are here. What is that? Don't they know we're eating

Open the bar. Open the window. Mm-hmm. Hello, Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Oh my goodness, it's Bethesda! It's the choir from Bethesda

Well, Michael and I were married in the Bethesda Chapel. Bethesda is the oldest working orphanage in the United States

Y'all come with me, quit eating! It's a wonderful home for young men

And, you know, I've always kind of been partial to the boys, being the mother of two boys

And the Bethesda Home for Boys, y'all, helps to provide a future for these young men

And it's one of my favorite programs here in Savannah. Oh, my goodness

Good tidies to you, wherever you are. Good tidies for Christmas and a happy new year

They were adorable. They were adorable. Merry Christmas

Thank y'all so much. Can I get a hug from my favorite boys

Bethesda Home for Boys. Oh, y'all rock! Thank y'all so much. I had no idea what had been cooked up, but I tell you what, from start to finish, the day I was surprised

And these boys from Bethesda represented Christmas Future. It was a fabulous ending to a fabulous day

You guys mean a lot to us. And I don't ask but one thing, and that is you do your very, very best

Thank you so much. Dancing through the snow in a white horse open sleigh

Over the hills we go, laughing all the way. We're the Elps now

Making spirits bright. What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song to my sleigh. Yes

Bye, y'all. Merry Christmas. Love and best dishes from our kitchen to yours

Merry Christmas. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh

Yay