AwesomeBites

Category: Christmas Dinner

Always I have loved Christmas. The joy of watching others open gifts. I preplan which gift should be opened first, second, etc. I find that the right order heightens a child’s. I try to have at least one thing for each person to open, even guests so they participate in the fun. Gifts range from a jar of homemade jellly or cookies to a beautiful red Christmas robe for grandma. I cook and serve a formal dinner buffet on Christmas Eve for my family. This is my gift from my heart to them. The tables have been decorated, the china and glassware is all used, and we sit down to enjoy our family.

Usually before dessert, we retire to the living room in front of a roaring fire and everyone crowds in to find a spot. The younger children gather near the tree on the floor. An older child is assigned the task of playing Santa, handing out the christmas gifts – finding the name tag, and distributing to the proper person. As soon as a few of the presents are distributed the unwrapping begins. It has been called chaotic, it does seem like the living room talking and chatting becomes noisy with laughter and “Thank Yous, kisses are blow across the room, and the next present is attacked. It doesn’t take long and the gift craze is over. With five children, two of which have children, and usually a couple of in-laws, and grandparents joining in, the air is filled with happiness. At this time, I usually ask someone to make coffee, and remind them of the pie and goodies on the sidebar.

It works. We started this tradition from the beginning because the two oldest children needed to be with their mother on Christmas Day. And now, with families of their own, they leave our home and ready their home for their morning celebration. This tradition works for us.
At times, we may save our personal gifts to open in the morning, and then we have the day to relax and enjoy.

Each year Dennis always asks me, “Are you sure you want to go through all that trouble?” I think of it as my gift to myself, and at the end of the day when we are hugging each person as they leave, I think to myself – “I love Christmas!”

  • Veggie Wellington – Mushrooms, Spinach, Roasted Butternut Squash

    This has great eye appeal and it tastes great.
    Basically, you cook each of the ingredients independently and cool, then assemble and bake.
    Serves 8-10

    1 sheet of Puff Pastry – Keep frozen until all your ingredients are cooked.
    1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash.

    1 cup of chopped butternut squash.
    Rosemary Sprig
    Olive oil – 3 Tablespoons
    1 tsp of nutmeg sprinkled on squash
    Salt & Pepper

    Mushrooms – 4 Cups Cremini Mushrooms
    3 T butter
    1 tsp Italian Seasoning

    Spinach
    1 small diced onion
    4 cloves of minced garlic
    1/4 cup cream
    1 Tsp Nutmeg
    6 oz of mixed grated cheeses – parmesan and romano
    Salt & Pepper to taste.
    1/2 pound of frozen chopped spinach

    Chicken or Duck Pate 3 ounces – Bottom layer.

    Oven 400 degrees, on a baking sheet, season the butternut squash with sprigs of rosemary and drizzle olive oil. 40 minutes in the oven or until the edges start to turn brown.
    While that is cooking, prepare your mushrooms by slicing and saute in butter and italian seasoning. You want the juice to release from the mushrooms. Continue sauteing until and pour off the juices.
    Save for the spinach. Once they are cooked through, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
    Spinach. Thaw and squeeze as much water from the spinach as possible.
    Dice 1 small onion and saute. Add minced garlic cloves to onions and saute. Add 1/4 cup of cream. Once the cream is hot, add salt and pepper, and the cheese so it melts.
    Add chopped spinach and saute. You want this to be a dry creamed spinach. Moisture will make your puff pastry soggy.
    Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

    Take your puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and allow to come to room temperature.
    When it is thawed enough to rollout, take a rolling pin and roll out to remove any creases. It will be a couple of inches longer that when it was frozen.

    Pre-Heat oven to 375
    Assemble on parchment paper.
    Bottom layer – spread the pate on the middle of the puff pastry leaving 3 inches on each side and 2 inches on top and bottom.
    2nd Layer – sliced mushrooms on top of the pate.
    3rd Layer – place spinach on top of the mushrooms
    4th Layer – place the chopped squash on top of the mushrooms.

    Using egg wash, brush the area not filled with filling.
    Cut the sides 9 or 10 1/2 inch strips.
    Fold the top and bottom edges up over the filling. The middles section that is cut, take each strip and pull over to the other side. Fill in all the gaps.
    Brush the outside with egg wash and
    Place into oven on parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes until very golden brown.

    I served this a two holiday parties and they loved it!

  • Abby’s Posole – Pork and Hominy Stew

    Abby’s Posole – Pork and Hominy Stew

    Christmas Eve, family and friends get together to have dinner and exchange a few love notes and gifts.

    Abby made Posole for the buffet table.  Even though she was a bit late, the stew is completely gone since everyone wanted to take some home.  Excellent. 

     Ingredients

    • 2 pounds boneless pork loin or pork roast, cubed
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • 2 (15 ounce) cans white hominy, drained
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
    • 2 tablespoons chopped onion
    • 4 dried hot red chile pepper pods, seeded and diced or use red enchilada sauce 

    Directions

    1. Place meat in a large kettle and add about 5 quarts of water and the enchilada sauce, enough to cover meat. (Abby says she cubes the meat after it has cooked, but you can start by cubing it first.)  Add approximately 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for about 1 1/2 hours.
    2. Remove excess grease and set aside. Reserve liquid.
    3. Wash the posole very carefully until the water is clear so as to remove lime from kernels. Put in large kettle and cover with water. Boil until posole has popped.
    4. Mix meat, posole. Add oregano, garlic, onion, and chile pods. Let simmer for about 1/2 hour.

    Serve with garnishes:  sliced radishes, lemon slice, shredded cabbage, fried tortilla chips

    I think you should make the day ahead so the flavors blend. Delicious.

    Abby's Christmas Posole Soup

  • Table Decorations – Christmas

    A special snowman cupcake for each place setting adds to the theme.I use decorations and wrapping paper as a table runner.
    Christmas moose and pomegranites. A woodsy Christmas.
    These chorus ladies are made out of bottles.
    Christmas Dinner Table

  • German Hot Potato Salad

    German Hot Potato Salad

    My mother-in-law’s favorite “Company’s coming dinner” was German Hot Potato Salad and Roast Beef served with a green side salad.  Jacque loved bacon probably since it was rationed or hard to come by during World War II.  When she died at age 83, she had about 20 pounds of bacon in her freezer. She never wanted to run out!  This is her recipe, and as simple as it is, it is always delicious. Chunk potatoes, bacon bits, scallions.  Perfect combination. 

    6 Cups boiled potatoes, then either dice or slice potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes)

    2 T chopped chives or parsley

    2 T finely chopped scallions

    4 slices of bacon, fried crispy and crumbled

    2/3 cup mayonnaise

    2/3 cup french salad dressing (Kraft is the type she used)

    1/4 cup cider or wine vinegar or white balsalmic vinegar

    Mix potatoes, chives, scallions, and bacon. Combine mayonnaise, dressing and vinegar: blend.  Pour over potato mixture.  Reheat in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 225 degree oven.

    Serve hot or chilled, although my preference is straight from the oven.  Makes 8 servings.

    Bacon lovers – Another great dish!
  • Roast Beef – Beef Tenderloin, Sirloin, Ribeye, or New York Strip

    Roast Beef – Beef Tenderloin, Sirloin, Ribeye, or New York Strip

    I love prime rib, but you can easily use sirloin.  I remember reading in one of my cookbooks, if you want to cook better, start out by buying better quality food.   That holds true for a wonderful roast.  So, if you want to splurg, go with Beef Tenderloin.  Meat should be out of the refrigerator for 1 hour so it can be at room temperature before roasting.  Rinse it and trim as necessary.  Pat it dry with paper towels. 

    Trim of all fat and silverskin.

    Heat your oven to 500 degrees for 30 minutes. 

    Season the Prime Rib Roast with your favorite salt and pepper and garlic rub. I use a little olive oil and rub it on the meat, then use pat on your rub of salt pepper and garlic or use the mustard rub that follows. 

    LOW HEAT METHOD: Sear the meat on the stovetop prior to roasting in the oven.  Smear mustard rub over the meat and place on rack of roasting pan.  Reduce the heat in oven to 225 degrees.  Bake until temperature probe reads 135 degrees.  Turn down your oven to it’s lowest setting 140-200 degrees and keep warm until ready to serve.

    Slice into 1/4 inch slices or serve from the buffet line.

    Ribeye Roast

    HIGH HEAT METHOD:  Place the beef on rack of roasting pan in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes per pound at high heat.  For instance, after preheating your oven, a 3 pound roast should be at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  Then, shut the oven off.  DON’T OPEN THE DOOR.  Let the oven slowly cool down for the next 90 minutes.  You meat should turn out medium rare in the middle and perfect to eat

    Mustard Rub:

    1/4 cup whole-grain mustard
    3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
    1 Tbs. dried savory, finely crumbled
    1 Tbs. dried thyme, finely crumbled
    1 whole filet of beef (7 to 8 lb. untrimmed or 5 to 6 lb. trimmed)
    Vegetable oil for sautéing
    Coarse salt
    Freshly ground black pepper

    In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, olive oil, savory, and thyme. 

    Cut the filet in half to make two equal pieces about 7 inches long. You’ll have one piece with the broad double-pieced butt portion and a thinner piece that tapers to a small tip. Tuck the tapered tip under and tie with twine to fashion two equally thick roasts. Tie each roast at 2-inch intervals.Heat the oven to 450°F. Heat a heavy-duty roasting pan or large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in enough vegetable oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Pat the filets dry, salt them generously, and lay them in the pan; cook without disturbing them until the bottoms are a rich brown. Turn the beef and sear the other sides. It will take about 4 min. per side (there are three or four sides per roast) to get a good sear.

    When the filets are seared, transfer them to a cutting board, brush them with the mustard and herb mix, and then generously grind fresh pepper over them. Put a rack in the roasting pan, lay the meat on the rack, and roast until the internal temperature reaches 120°F for medium rare, about 20 min. (Check after 15 min.; roasting time will vary depending on searing time.) Remove the filets from the oven and let them rest in a warm spot for at least 15 min. before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

  • Tamale Bites! Feel the love.

    Tamale Bites! Feel the love.

    Abby was up at 2:00 am this morning making the chile colorado that would become magnificent tamales.  She was at my house at 4:00 and she was ready to show me how to make tamales.   (Her beautiful Chili Colorado was made with three different chili – another cooking adventure for another day.)

    I had my filling ideas, I had asked Abby to help me make some tamales, and specifically sweet tamales, I was craving them when I was having my detoxgreen smoothie.  She said she would come to my house early.  She ordered me to “Get corn husks and have them soaking in water overnight, and also be ready with fillings you want to try.”  She would bring everything else.  Abby purchased 15 pounds of premade masa.  She said it was not complete – we would need to “play with it”. 

    And play with it we did.  She melted 1 pound of lard and kneaded it into the masa, added about 3 Tablespoons of Baking Powder.  She also revealed her secret incredient in making the masa lighter – she added rice she had steamed, about 3 cups.  By the way, she measures nothing, it is all about this much, about that much.  The masa was right when it resembled the feel of mashed potatoes.   “Are you feeling the love?”

    For sweet or dessert tamales, we added brown sugar, to about 5 pounds of the masa.

    In another 5 pound batch, we added chopped spinach and about 1 Tablespoon of salt.

    In another 5 pound batch, we just added salt. 

    The masas were ready! 

    My fillings were ready. I wanted to try.

    Onion marmalade with pulled pork (Both recipes are on this site.)

    Apricot Jam with Pepper Jack Cheese

    1/2 cup Chardonnay, Diced apples (2), currants (1 cup), brown sugar (1/4 cup) cooked on the stovetop until the apples are fork tender. Then when cool, add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.  (This is my take on mincemeat.)

    Chocolate chips with Pecans

    Chocolate chips with Chipolte Adobe Sauce

    Sort thru the corn husks and the real thick one, are great to use as the stings to tie.

    The largest are great for standard meat tamales.  The small and lighter weight husks are perfect for dessert tamales. The lighter thinner husks allow you to shape the tamale easier – better for beginners.

    We spread a big spoonful of masa on the corn husk and then added the filling to the center, and then rolled the tamale.

    The top half, the small end, should not have masa, and is used to fold and close the tamale.

    For the small dessert tamales we used ties made from the ugly husks, and tied them together like candy kisses, or you can also tie them on both ends, a bit of work if you ask me, so they look like a candy.  I do like quick and easy. 

    This is pulled pork and onion marmalade on spinach masa.

    Abby’s hands were moving so fast, I had to have her slow down so I could take a quick snap shot.

    For Abby this is an endeavor of love.  Kneading the masa, she kept saying, “Do you feel the love?”  Of course I feel the love.  I get it.  This is what women have been giving to their families for years.  This is their labor of love. 

    Once we had the tamales packaged up, we ensured the tamales were tilted and standing tops up and loaded them into a steamer for about 45 minutes. You can take a few out and let them cool to check for doneness.  You will see that the masa has the perfect texture, and will pull away from the husk.  

     What’s for dinner?  You guessed it.  Lots of love.  

    Try your favorite combinations of ingredients! 

    I haven’t been able to try all the flavors, and already, I do know the diced apple mincemeat may be my favorite. 

    Can’t wait to try the Chocolate Chipolte.  

    Go ahead, feel the love, play with your food!

  • Southern Style Lemon Meringue Pie – My Dad’s favorite!

    Southern Style Lemon Meringue Pie – My Dad’s favorite!

    Depending upon how tart you like your lemon pie to be, choose the appropriate lemons. Meyers Lemons are sweeter as they are hybrid lemon mixed with a mandarine orange.  Whereas the standard lemon is much tarter – which I like!  I love the contrast between the sweet creamy meringue and that slight pucker in the lemon curd.  Oh, I get tingly just thinking about it.
    3 tablespoons butter
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

    Plus make pie crust.  I used a Crisco recipe that includes egg and vinegar.  Tastes like shortbread.

    Meringue – Double this if you want a big cloud!
    Beat 4 egg whites, add 1/4 c white sugar, and 1/8 tsp cream of tarter.
    Spinkle with lemon zest for that old fashioned look.
    Bake at 375 for 8-12 minutes until brown.

  • Chocolate Pecan Pie

    Chocolate Pecan Pie

    Well, we are planning for Christmas Eve dinner and this pie is on the menu.  If you don’t have something chocolately, most will feel something is missing. So, this is going to be our Chocolate fix.  So exciting! 

    Chocolate Pecan Pie

    4 eggs, lightly beaten

    1 cup light corn syrup

    1/4 cup granulated sugar

    1/4 cup brown sugar

    2 T butter

    2 Ounces unsweetened Chocolate cut into pieces

    1 T Bourbon

    1 tsp Vanilla

    1/2 tsp Salt

    1 cup chopped Pecans

    1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

    1 9-inch unbaked pastry shell

    Honey-Pecan Topping

    1. Prepare your pie crust.

    2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine eggs, granulated and brown sugars, corn syrup, bourbon, vanilla and salt. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate pieces in microwave for 15 seconds or until melted (just barely – do not over do it.).  Mix well, stir in semi-sweet chocolate pieces and chopped pecans.

    3. Carefully pour the pie filling into the pie shell. Bake for 25 minutes. Use foil to cover pie edges to prevent overbrowning. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

    4. Make the Honey Pecan topping:  In a small saucepan combine 2/3 cup brown sugar,  6 T of butter, 6 T of honey. Bring to a boil stirring constantly; reduce heat.  Simmer 2 minutes uncovered stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups Pecan halves.

    5.  Carefully spoon the Honey Pecan topping onto the pie.   Continue to bake for 10 minutes more or until the topping is bubbly.  Cool completely.

    This is a beautiful pie.  Can be made 24 hours in advance.

  • Green Bean Casserole a la Matthew

    Green Bean Casserole a la Matthew

    1 pound of bacons fried crisp and crumbled or cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

    4 cans regular green beans or steam fresh green beans until tender. 

    2 cups mushrooms sauted in butter

    3/4 cup parmesan grated cheese

    1/4 cup cheddar grated cheese

    1 large can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup

    1/4 cup heavy cream

    Cheddar Cheese Fried Onions (1 large can)

    Nephew Matt's Green Bean Casserole

    In a casserole dish, place the green beans and bacon, add the cheeses and sauted mushrooms including the butter sauce. Add the cream to the cream of mushroom soup and pour over the top of the green bean mixture.

    Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees with foil over the casserole.  Top with Cheddar Onions, remove foil, and heat for another 10 minutes. Serve hot.

  • Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Butternut Squash or Beets

    Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Butternut Squash or Beets

    My daughter needed a pot luck item for a Thankgiving dinner tonight with about 19 friends.  She loves sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed them, roasted in a 400 degree oven on a cookie sheet.  I find that about 3 sweet potatoes will fit per cookie sheet.  Keep them in a single layer, they will brown nicely and not get mushy.  (I also love Butternut Squash and/or Beets roasted in this same way.)

    Roasted Sweet Potatoes with a dash of nutmeg

    Make sure you use a little olive oil so they do not stick.  After 45 minutes, they will be perfect.  Salt and pepper to taste and I always like to add a bit of freshly grated nutmeg.

    Perfectly yummy!

    Simple Sweet Potatoes – Oven Roasted