Hi Everyone,
I am taking a break from the holiday baking to post our Christmas Menu this year. Actually, I am enjoying baking the basket treats this year as I listen to holiday music and enjoy the warmth of the hearth fire...I usually do not enjoy baking cookies as I find it tedious opening and closing the oven and you know the rest...
Christmas 2000 Holiday Dinner
Mulled Christmas Apple Cider
Spinach Dip in Hawaiian Round Bread
Spicy Sugared Pecans
Walnut-Cranberry Stuffed Brie in Puff Pastry
Scottish Highlands McChutney Glazed Ham
Red Potato, Bell Pepper & Pimiento Salad
Candied Spiced Holiday Sweet Potato Casserole
Spinach Noodle Pudding
Southern Fresh Green Beans
Cold Coriander Carrot Salad
Sister Schubert's Yeast Rolls
Chocolate Glazed Brownie Almond Bundt Cake
Pineapple Nut Upside Down Cake
Mulled Christmas Apple Cider
serves 8
2 quarts apple cider
10 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
1/2 tsp. allspice
peel of half an orange
pinch of nutmeg
Simmer all ingredients in a large pot. Strain out and pour into mugs with a cinnamon stick.
Spinach Dip in Hawaiian Round Bread
This is the one dip everyone asks for the recipe....
Makes 4 cups
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup mayo
1 phg. KNORR Vegetable Soup and Recipe Mix or Leek
1 can (8 oz.) chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1 Hawaiian Bread Round, scoop out middle to make a bowl and reserve
In a med. bowl, stir the spinach, sour cream, mayo, soup mix, water chestnuts and green onions until well mixed. Cover and chill 2 hours to blend flavors.
Stir before serving. Pour into a prepared round of Hawaiian Bread, serve with crackers and the scooped out bread pieces.
Spicy Sugared Pecans
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 lb. pecan halves
Beat egg white and water til foamy. Add salt, cinnamon and sugar and mix well. Add pecans and stir til well coated. Spread on cookie sheet. Bake at 200 for 45 mts. Stir every 15 minutes. Let cool. Store in glass canning jar, when ready to serve tie a festive plaid ribbon around the neck and let the guests help themselves.
Walnut-Cranberry Stuffed Brie Round
serves 8
serve on a platter with red and green apple slices and crackers.
1/2 cup Williams-Sonoma Apple Orange Cranberry Relish or any cranberry preserves or jam you can find
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
1 (17 1/4 oz.) pkg. frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 (8 oz.) 4 1/4-inch diameter round brie
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. water
1 egg
Oven at 400. Combine preserves, nuts and raisins and set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, place the pastry sheets one on top of the other and roll into a 13-inch square. Cut into a 13-inch circle. Place the circle on a greased jelly-roll pan. With a sharp paring knife, proceed to remove the center of the brie as large as possible, leaving a 1/4-inch shell.
Press the cranberry mixture into the whole and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Put the cut-out center back on gently and place the cheese on top of the pastry round. Gather the edges bringing them up and twisting. Decorate the top with pastry cut-out stars.
Beat the milk, the water and the egg together and brush over the pastry. Bake for 38-42 minutes and let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting.
Scottish Highlands Chutney Glazed Ham
The aroma from the glaze and ham are simply, positively Christmas.
serves 12
8-10 lb. fully cooked smoked ham, shank portion
6 garlic cloves
12 oz. jar Spicy Apricot-Orange Chutney*
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 cups packed brown sugar
zest of one orange
1/4 cup orange juice
1 can pineapple slices, drained (save juice to make yourself a rum drink!)
cloves to pierce ham
cherries, cut in half
Oven at 325. In a food processor, mince the garlic, add the chutney, mustard, brown sugar, zest and orange juice. Process till it is a smooth paste. Set aside.
If ham has fat on it, take off as much as you want and score it into a diamond pattern. Stick a clove in each intersection. Arrange the pineapple slices all over with toothpicks and put a cherry half in each pineapple center securing it with half a toothpick. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Take out and glaze with half of glaze and bake another 1/2 hour. Glaze with remaining glaze, raise up heat to 350 and finish baking for another 30 minutes.
*I found this chutney at TJMaxx in their food aisle. It is handmade in Scotland by Edinburgh Preserves.
Red Potato, Bell Pepper and Pimiento Salad
serves 12
5 lb. bag of red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
1/2 of a small bottle of Newman's Own Oil & Vinegar
1/2 cup Hellman's mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
12hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/3 cup chopped gherkin pickles
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup chopped sweet red pimientos
Cook the potatoes in boiling water til crisp tender. Drain and place in a large bowl to cool off. When cool enough, add 1/2 a bottle of Newman's Oil and Vinegar dressing and toss gently to blend in. In a small bowl, mix the mayo, sour cream, salt and pepper and sugar together to form a sauce. Also blend this in to the potatoes. Add all the cut - up vegetables and chopped eggs and toss gently. With a fork, break up some of the potatoes. If too dry, add a bit of sour cream.
Cover and chill.
Candied Spiced Holiday Sweet Potatoes Casserole
serves 10
6 large sweet potatoes (4 lbs.)
1 package of Wiley's Sweet Potato & Spice*
small can of pineapple tidbits, drained, save juice
3/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup orange juice
juice of pineapple tidbits
1/4 cup cream sherry
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp. vanilla
Peel and slice raw potatoes. Layer potatoes and pineapple tidbits in a well buttered casserole dish. Combine the butter, sugar, orange juice, pineapple juice, sherry and cinnamon stick. Add vanilla and stir well. Bring to a boil. Pour over potatoes, and sprinkle on the chopped pecans. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.
* Wiley's can be found in the produce dept. of your local grocer.
Spinach Noodle Pudding
This recipe easily doubles to serve 16
1 (8 oz.) pkg. noodles (fine or medium)
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, pressed
8 oz. sour cream
2 pkg Birds Eye Creamed Spinach
2 eggs, beaten
bread crumbs to sprinkle on top
1 stick (1 cup) butter
salt and pepper to taste
Saute your onions until golden in 1/2 stick (1/4 cup butter. Toss in garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Cook noodles according to directions on pkg. Drain noodles and toss with the other 1/2 stick of butter, blend with the spinach, sour cream, sauteed onions and eggs. Salt and pepper to your taste. Blend well. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake 350 for 45-60 minutes. YUMMY!!!
Southern Green Beans
1 lb. fresh green beans, ends snapped off
2 large onion slices, chopped
1 garlic clove
2 bacon strips
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
pepper
salt
1-2 drops of hot sauce
splash of red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
Cook bacon pieces with onion in a med. pot. After 3 min. add the oil and stir. Add seasonings and garlic clove. Add vinegar and beans, stir to coat. Cover and lower heat to med-low. Check after 5 min., stir, and lower heat to low. Cook for about 25 min or tender. You should have a delicious brown sauce coating the beans when they are ready.
Cold Coriander Carrot Salad
(This is one of my cousin's Sephardic recipes from Venezuela and it is absolutely delicious!!)
serves 8
1 lb. bag of carrots, washed, scraped and sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of two lemons
zest of two lemons
3 fresh garlic cloves, pressed
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp. ground coriander
Steam carrots til fork tender. Drain and place in serving bowl. In a flass jar, pour in the oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic and salt and pepper. Shake jar till well incorporated. Drizzle dressing on cold carrots and sprinkle parsley and coriander over. Delicious and refreshing!!
Chocolate Glazed Brownie Almond Bundt Cake
serves 8
1/4 cup cocoa
1 (7.25 oz.) box chocolate fudge dry icing mix (Jiffy)
1/2 of 18.25 oz. box devil's food cake mix
1/2 (19.8 oz.) box of brownie mix
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup half and half
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. almond extract
2/3 cup chopped almonds
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. half and half
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. almond extract
Oven at 350. Grease a bundt pan and set aside. Combine all the cake ingredients in order together in a bowl except the nuts. Blend well. Stir in the nuts by hand. Pour into pan and bake 55-70 minutes. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Invert carefully on serving platter and cool completely before glazing.
Glaze:
Cook all the ingredients together except the almond extract til melted down. Stir in the extract, drizzle over the cake. You can sprinkle sliced almonds or chopped pecans over the glaze.
Pineapple Nut Upside Down Cake
serves 12
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices, drained, save juice
marachino cherries
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350. Melt stick of butter in a 13x9x2-inch pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over, place pineapple slices with a half of marachino cherry in center. Sprinkle all over with chopped pecans.
Mix cake mix as directed substituting the water for the pineapple juice. Pour batter over prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes. Let stand exactly 5 minutes for the hot topping to set, then invert carefully over serving platter.
