The Giving Program
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Tell us how Wilbur-Ellis can continue growing, innovating, giving and evolving
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Help grow our contribution by answering new questions every month
November's Question
At Wilbur-Ellis, we innovate to help customers be more productive – on the farm and in their businesses. Much of what we do is focused on food – feeding people and animals, and providing ingredients through Connell for many food products around the world.
With that in mind, in November, as the weather gets colder in many parts of the world, we’re asking:
“What are your favorite comfort foods or beverages – those foods or drinks that always make you feel good … and what makes them your favorites!
As an added bonus, we’re asking the adults to please share your recipes for your favorite foods or drinks with us. At the end of the month, we’ll gather all the recipes and post them on our 100th anniversary website for all to enjoy!
If you’d like to submit more recipes than the submission form will allow, please email them to corporatecommunications@wilburellis.com and we’ll include them in the collection.
Submission Deadline: November 30, 2020
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November Submission Highlights
“What are your favorite comfort foods or beverages – those foods or drinks that always make you feel good … and what makes them your favorites!
As an added bonus, we’re asking the adults to please share your recipes for your favorite foods or drinks with us. At the end of the month, we’ll gather all the recipes and post them on our 100th anniversary website for all to enjoy!
Linda Meyer, United States (Corporate)
Here is the recipe for my favorite holiday drink, and my favorite dessert – my Irish Great-Grandmother’s Bread Pudding recipe, which can also be made without the whiskey.
Every time I serve this at the holidays, as much as I hope there will be leftovers, somehow it always disappears. It also brings back fond memories of my childhood at my grandparents’ home. I hope employees try this and love it as much as I do – warning …. it’s very rich.
Irish Bread Pudding with Caramel Whiskey Sauce
1 (2 pound) loaf sliced white bread, crusts removed
½ stick butter, softened
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup Irish Whiskey
2 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 vanilla bean, slit
8 eggs
1 cup sugar
Cinnamon-sugar (about 1/4 cup)
Caramel Whisky Sauce (recipe below)
Spread bread slices with some soft butter. Toast lightly on 1 side. Cut bread in 1/2-inch squares. Set aside.
Plump raisins in Irish Whiskey. Set aside.
Heat milk and cream with vanilla bean, scraping out seeds from bean. Cool. Discard bean. Set milk aside.
Beat eggs with sugar. Add to mixture. Stir in bread cubes and raisin mixture. Let stand 15 min.
Pour bread mixture into well-buttered 13 x 9 inch glass baking pan. Dot with remaining butter, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar to taste. Bake at 350 degrees 45-60 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Serve with Caramel Whiskey Sauce (recipe below). Makes 8 servings.
Caramel-Whiskey Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Irish Whiskey
Melt sugar in water over low heat until caramelized. Add butter and 1 1/2 cups whipping cream and cook to desired consistency.
Cool, then add whiskey and more cream for desired consistency if necessary. Makes about 2 cups.
Pomegranate Martini
Servings: Serves 2
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• 2 ounces Absolute Citron vodka or white tequila
• 1 ounce Cointreau liquor
• Cup of ice
• Splash of sparkling water (optional)
• Squeeze of lemon (optional)
Directions:
Shake ingredients in a shaker and put in chilled martini glasses. Put pomegranate fruit into glass as garnish. Yummy!!
Michael Hunter, United States (Corporate)
This recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara is not only delicious (and a bit decadent) but also brings back very fond memories. It is the first meal my then fiancée (now wife) and I made for our collective families when they met for the first time 28 years ago. It pairs well with a nice old vine Zinfandel.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves 4 to 6
The ultimate creamy carbonara sauce, this rich variation on a classic staple of every trattoria in Rome. Best served as the centerpiece of a meal, followed by a simple tart green salad.
¼ pound pancetta, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 and ½ teaspoons red chile pepper flakes
1 pound imported spaghetti
4 egg yolks
¼ cup cream
¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped Italian Parsley
Cut the pancetta into thin strips. Combine the extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic, red chile pepper, and pancetta, and sauté over low heat until the pancetta renders its fat. Take off heat and remove the garlic cloves. Cook the spaghetti in abundant boiling salted water until al dente. While the spaghetti is cooking, lightly beat the egg yolks and combine them with the cream, grated cheeses, pancetta and its fat. Drain the spaghetti and add to a heated serving dish. Season with plenty of black pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Toss and serve immediately.
Josh Becker, United States (Nutrition)
Mostly Southern Foods, Biscuits and Gravy with eggs, beef and noodles, sloppy joes and beef stews, basically anything around the basis of meat and potatoes. When I was very young, about two years old, my family moved to Texas from Colorado, which is where I lived most of my childhood, before we moved to Illinois. I grew up on the meat and potato philosophy and it holds true to today. I love all kinds of food from sushi to Cajun to Italian and even Indian, but I always want or am craving the meat and potato dishes. The good hearty dishes that you know are going to fill you up and give you the energy you need for the day.
Rachel Turner, United States (Agribusiness)
By far my number one comfort food is my grandmother’s homemade chicken and noodles. Shredded chicken, homemade chicken broth with a thick homemade egg noodle cooked to perfection with the love she has for her family. To me, this meal is a warm hug in a pot. It was the meal I would request growing up to have as my birthday meal. I have tried to recreate it and can get a pretty good result, but there is something missing. We have a family chocolate cake that is to die for. Put some warm applesauce over it or cold ice cream on the side and you will be in heaven.
Chocolate Crazy Cake
2 C Sugar
3 C Flour
6 TBS Cocoa
2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Vanilla
3 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
3/4 C Oil
2 C Cold Water
Mix all ingredients until combined, Bake @ 350 degrees for 40 min
Once cooled top with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting:
2-3 C Powdered Sugar
3 Heaping TBS Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 C Water
Mix all ingredients together, add or take away water amount to reach desired consistency.
Michael Knepp, United States (Agribusiness)
When things cool down, I love fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. The best time to make them is when I’m gone, that way my family can enjoy them too.
When things are extremely hot, I love an ice-cold Dr. Pepper with a cheeseburger. It reminds me of my grandfather and their refrigerator full of glass bottles.
Finally, after traveling or being away from home, just the comfort of sitting with my family over some rice, chicken and vegetables is all I need.
Fall brings upland bird hunting and one really good way to use pheasant is in a good tortilla soup. Our family has seen four generations of upland bird hunting, from my grandfather to our son, and we enjoy the togetherness over an outdoor activity. Soups are a great way to feed hungry hunters and even if you come home empty handed, just substitute your game birds for chicken.
Soup Pot
Under medium heat, add to pot:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Onion (Chopped)
4 Oregon grown garlic cloves (Minced)
2 Jalapeno peppers (Minced)
1 Red Pepper (Chopped)
Sauté until tender, about 2 minutes
Add
4 pints or 4 cans of chicken broth
2 pint or 2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine (optional)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup lime juice
2/3 cup cilantro
1 small can green chiles
1 tsp cumin.
In a skillet:
2 tablespoons Olive oil
3 chicken breasts (chopped), 6 pheasant breasts works too!
salt and pepper to taste
Brown Chicken and add to pot to simmer.
Add tortilla chips to the bottom of the bowl and garnish with cheese, sour cream and avocados.
Anne Cleary, United States (Corporate)
My parents were married in 1944, and so happily married for 75 years and 11 months. This butter cookie recipe was in a cookbook they received as a wedding present and it has been part of our holidays ever since. This tradition has been shared in our family and my mother thinks her great-grandchildren actually make the best batches! Here’s the very, very simple recipe:
Best Butter Cookies!
• 1 cup soft butter
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar, add flour and mix well. Make into balls, flatten down (the back of a spoon with a dusting of flour works best). Sprinkle with baker’s decorating sugar and bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 min.
Helping the Red Cross in the U.S., Canada and Globally
United States: Through our 100th Anniversary Giving Program, Wilbur-Ellis is supporting the American Red Cross in the United States.
Globally: To assist those in Asia-Pacific, Giving Program donations will benefit the International Services division of the American Red Cross, which helps victims of countless crises around the world through immediate and long-term support, including supplies, technical assistance and other assistance.
Canada: Our Giving Program also will assist the Canadian Red Cross with the work they do throughout that country.