Christmas Finale

Merry Christmas to all!

Dinner last night turned out delicious. The roast had a nice crust and was medium rare with the initial high-temperature roast and rest-in-the-oven method.

While it rested we had the first course, Lobster Bisque. I used red pepper instead of green pepper for Christmas color.

Next up was our favorite Caesar Salad.

The main course was mouth-watering.

I almost forgot to put out the horseradish sauce, but it probably wouldn’t have been long before it was missed. This is a very simple recipe that I found in a Frugal Gourmet cookbook years ago and has only 3 ingredients. It’s one of the few recipes I can make from memory.

Horseradish Sauce for Prime Rib

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup horseradish

In a small bowl whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. Cover and chill until serving time.

We wrapped up the meal with a slice of Eggnog Pie then were off to church at 10:15 p.m. When we got home we opened gifts and went to bed after midnight. There is nothing happier than waking up on Christmas morning with your family all under the same roof. I got up first and put the glaze on the coffee cake and decorated it with Maraschino cherries and chopped pecans. We had bacon and eggs with slices of the coffeecake along with juice and coffee. I won’t be cooking any more today because we are going to my Mom and Dad’s house for the extended family Christmas. Yesterday afternoon I put an antipasto plate together with slices of salami, mortadella, mild cappacola, some Asiago cheese cubes and a bowl of olive salad that we’ll bring to nibble on while everyone arrives.

Celebrate the day!!!

Christmas Eve Dinner

The (second) Open House saw many visitors who were not able to make it to the first one because of the inclement weather. Tuesday evening was mild, warmer and dry. Some who made it the first time came again since there was the opportunity to visit with our son, who arrived home on Monday evening. Most of the leftovers were consumed, and that was our hope.
The rest of the week flew by and now it’s Christmas Eve. I started working on a coffee cake last night because the dough needed to be refrigerated overnight. The recipe comes from the Junior League of Rockford. It used dried apricots, but I substituted mixed fruit instead. Here is the recipe with that substitution. This recipe makes 2 10-inch coffeecakes. We are going to have one on Christmas morning and freeze the second one (unglazed) for another day.

Christmas Coffeecake

Dough:
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk, heated to 110 degrees F.
2 pkgs. yeast
5 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt

Filling:
1-7 oz. pkg. dried mixed fruit (pears, prunes, apricots)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
melted butter, about 4 tbsps.
1 cup chopped pecans, more for garnish if desired.

Glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2-3 tbsps. hot milk

In a stand mixer using the dough hook, beat together melted butter, eggs and sour cream. Heat the milk to 110 degrees F. I used the probe on my microwave to heat the milk in a glass measuring cup to the correct temperature. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and add to the egg mixture. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl and blend in yeast mixture. Mix well. The dough will be sticky, but will be easier to handle when it’s chilled. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
To make filling, simmer the dried fruit with 1 cup sugar and water, for about 15 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool. When cooled, place in blender with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Spray two 10-inch pans with no-stick spray with flour and set aside.
Remove dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each ball into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and spread with the filling mixture. An offset spatula works well. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Starting from the long edge, roll like a jelly roll into a cylinder. Coil into the prepared pan like a snail shell. Repeat with the second ball of dough. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes until browned. Remove from the pans and cool completely on wire racks. When cooled, combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle evenly over the two cakes. Sprinkle additional chopped pecans over the tops for garnish if desired. These freeze well.

The menu for tonight:

Lobster Bisque
Caesar Salad
Roasted Prime Rib
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli
Peas
Popovers
Eggnog Pie

I did the prep for the roast first and put it back in the refrigerator to chill. The recipe was posted by a friend on Facebook and it looks delicious so I thought I’d give it a try.

Prime Rib with Garlic Herb Butter
Serves 7-9

1 cup butter, softened
7 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
5-7 pounds boneless ribeye roast, trimmed
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef stock

1. Preheat oven to 500°F/260°C.
2. Mix together the butter, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl until evenly combined.
3. Rub the herb butter all over the rib roast, then place on a roasting tray with a rack.
4. Bake for 5 minutes per pound of meat — so a 5-pound roast would bake for 25 minutes and a 7-pound roast would bake for 35 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and let the rib roast sit in the oven for 2 hours, making sure you do not open the oven door or else the residual heat will escape.
6. Once the 2 hours are up, remove the roast from the pan and pour the pan drippings into a saucepan over medium heat.
7. Add the flour, whisking until there are no lumps, then add the beef stock, stirring and bringing the sauce to a boil.
8. Remove from heat and strain the sauce into a gravy dish.
9. Carve the prime rib into ¾-inch slices, serve sauce on the side

I followed the directions and it’s so tempting to open the door, but i’m restraining myself. Here’s what it looked like before it went in the oven.

Early this morning I baked the Eggnog Pie. I love the custard and what can be more Christmasy than Eggnog?

Eggnog Custard Pie

Only half of us like peas, so we’re having two vegetables. The broccoli and peas are going to be simply prepared; the broccoli steamed and seasoned with salt, pepper and butter and the peas boiled and seasoned the same. I’m going to do basic mashed potatoes, but will add a couple of ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese and heavy cream to make them more rich to pair with the pan dripping gravy. I’ve posted the Caesar salad dressing and Lobster bisque before, but we are having popovers tonight instead of dinner rolls or other bread. We saw an episode of Nancy Fuller’s Farmhouse Rules where she prepared her family Christmas meal and added these because my husband thought they looked very appetizing. She used a muffing tin to bake hers, but I do have a popover pan so we’ll use it tonight.

Yorkshire Pudding Popovers

The roast has less than hour left standing in the oven so it’s time to start making the bisque. My husband set the dining room with the Christmas china while I’ve been cooking today. The table is ready for this special meal to be served with our family celebrating together for the first time since 2012..

Merry Christmas Eve to all!

The Countdown Begins……Again

Wait a minute! Wasn’t the party last Friday? Why is there a countdown ticking? Well, it’s because Friday evening arrived and an unexpected ice storm glazed the roads with 1/16th of an inch of precipitation creating slippery snarled creeping traffic jams and numerous accidents. Many of our friends and family were already on their way when it hit. Trips that normally take 15-30 minutes took 1-2 hours and more. Thanks to all the brave souls who still ventured out into this treacherous weather, we still had about 1/3 or the visitors we would usually see. One guest proclaimed that she was like a mailman, neither ran nor snow nor sleet would keep her from coming to this event! There is always a risk this time of year that weather may keep some away, but we have been very fortunate that this is only the second year that we have been affected in the many years that we have been throwing the party.
The pace was a little slower and we were able to visit more with our guests and there were shorter lines at the buffet!

Because we had so many fewer people attending, this is what we now have left……………

Yesterday we sent out emails and messages to family and friends who were not able to make it Friday night to invite them to a Re-Do Open House Tuesday evening to help us “dispose” of the surplus. Our son arrives home on leave tomorrow so we will have the added bonus of him being able to go to the party on its second round that he had to miss on the original date. The weather is supposed to be cooperative, so we are looking forward to this opportunity for a the second chance!

24-Hour Countdown Begins

Less than 24 hours to go until party time and I think I am on track. I’ve been roasting beef brisket (Gourmet Beef Brisket recipe previously posted) all day and it smells wonderful.

Since it was going to be hogging up the oven all day, I baked the crescent-dough crust for the Veggies squares and the Pecan-Crusted Tenderloin early this morning at the same time since they used the same oven temperature. I used Panko crumbs with the ground pecans on the pork tenderloin and the texture is better than plain breadcrumbs. These are chilling now so that they’ll be easier to slice thinly later for the Pecan-Crusted Tenderloin Crostini with Balsamic Strawberry Sauce.

I just finished stuffing 3 dozen deviled eggs and the refrigerator is beginning to get crowded.

I cut out little rounds of thin-sliced white bread and found that if I cut out a Mickey-ear pattern from each piece I can get 1/3 more sandwiches and less waste. Great! These are another favorite and there will be more to go around this year. The Roma tomatoes are also sliced and layered on paper towels to drain over night. Final assembly will be tomorrow morning. Next I’m going to work on dips and sauces so that they will be ready to go. Finally, the frozen shrimp are moved to the refrigerator to thaw. Here’s the new recipe I’ll be using. Now, it’s back to work!
Ree Drummond’s Shrimp Cocktail Bar

Day 5 – Helping Hands

Reinforcements arrived today. My old friend Mibs, my sister-in-law, Linda, and my niece, Chelsea, came over to lend assistance. Mibs and Chelsea were skewering tortellini in this picture, but Linda didn’t get in the photo because she was holding Chelsea’s 10-week-old baby. It’s a tough job, but somebody had to do it! Actually, we all had a turn at holding her. She is so sweet!

We got so much accomplished today and tackled those tasks that are more easily done with two sets of hands. We worked hard but we also had a lot of fun, stopping to share a lunch of home made Chicken and Tortellini Soup and to share a bottle of wine, courtesy of Mibs.
We stuffed about 100 Medjool dates with a goat cheese,Mascarpone cheese and basil filling and wrapped each with a strip of prosciutto and secured them with toothpicks. While we had the toothpicks at hand we wrapped stacks of water chestnut slices with 1/3 strips of bacon and pierced them with toothpicks as well and baked them until crisp. The sauce will be made tomorrow and they will be reheated on Friday. We also dipped the traditional cherries in melted chocolate, stuck a Hershey Kiss to it and applied sliced almond ears to make Chocolate Cherry Mice.

The biggest job was making Empanaditas. I rolled and cut a double batch of dough to make about 8 dozen pastries. I repeated the Beef and Chicken fillings I’ve made year after year because these can’t be missed. The monogram C’s of course mark the chicken pies so that guests can tell which is which.

Everyone went home about dinner time and then my daughter arrived after work. We rolled the centers for our Melting Snowmen and let them chill in the freezer while we went out for supper and picked up the last of the fresh groceries. When we got home we dipped them in white chocolate and Amanda applied the faces with decorator icing.

Next I put the Country Pate together and put it in the oven to roast. While it was baking I made Tapenade that I’ll use for the 8-Layer Mediterranean Dip. Here’s Ina Garten’s recipe that is easy and so delicious.
Ina Garten’s Tapenade

The Country Pate rolls roasted into a nice round loaf shape and I am chilling them so they will be easier to slice. They will be part of the new addition to the menu, the Charcuterie Board. Now it’s time to call it quits. Lots more to do tomorrow!

Day 4 – Still more candy?!

I thought I would knock out the rest of the candy today, but really struggled with the milk chocolate candy coating. It seized up and I couldn’t tell if the double boiler was simmering at too high or too low of a temperature. In the end I tried adding a little vegetable oil (trick I learned from running a chocolate fountain one year) and when that was not working, adding a tablespoon of Crisco. The latter seemed to work better, but it took me about three times longer than usual to dip the Buckeyes and Duff’s Toffee, Orange and Chocolate Cookies. By the way, here is the link to his recipe:
Duff Goldman’s Toffe Orange and Chocloate Cookies

These are so rich that I cut them into about 1-inch squares instead of 1×3″ rectangles. It probably would have been easier to dip the larger size, but my goal is to have bite-sized portions so our guests can try a larger variety of items.

I switched over to savory items after lunch and made the Corn Dog Mini Muffins first. They were a breeze after a morning of chocolate coating frustration, I am Dymo labeling the containers so we can easily identify what’s in the fridge for replenishing the serving dishes Friday night.
Next up were the fillings for the Empanaditas, beef and chicken. The beef filling is so fragrant it makes the kitchen smell wonderful. This is a combination of sweet and spicy ingredients that work very well together.

I followed that with the chicken/apple/white cheddar filling and both went into the fridge for assembly and baking tomorrow. I had to call it quits early this evening because we had tickets to see Finding Neverland at the Fox. It was excellent! A couple of the songs are now stuck in my head. I’ll be searching it out on Spotify! To quote a line from the play, “Time is ticking, tic tock, tic tock”. I think I am still pretty much on track even with taking the evening off. Tomorrow is another day and I do have some extra hands coming over to help out. More to come in the morning!

Day 3 – Baking and Candy Making

This day went by super fast! I did most of the baking and continued on with candy making. I rolled all of the Buckeye Centers and plan to do all the chocolate dipping tomorrow. I baked the Snickerdoodles, the chocolate wafers for the Cannoli cookies, the Christmas Tree graduated-size star-shaped cookies that will become a towering tree, the coconut Macaroons, and the Pecan Tassies.
I added the second and third layers to Duff’s Toffee, Chocolate and Orange cookies, but will do the final stages tomorrow. Here’s the cookie base with the raspberry jam layer, and the second photo is the butterscotch marshmallow nougat layer. For now, it’s resting in the freezer. I’ll cut it into 1-inch squares tomorrow then dip it in chocolate and top it with candied orange zest.

I hand-rolled the Cream Cheese mints and pressed them into red,green, and clear sugar crystals for decoration.

I tried this new cookie recipe for French Macarons and used my new silicone mat successfully. These cookies are so different and have a great chewy texture and almond taste. I always wanted to try to make them, and with a little bit of effort, they are not that difficult and look and taste very impressive. I went with the vanilla flavoring and plan to fill them with a pistachio paste and may use some Peach Lavender Jam and Strawberry Rhubarb Jam to fill them. I only ended up with enough cookies to make 40 sandwiches so I may be making a second batch before the week is out. There is a little bit of a learning curve with piping the right amount onto the mat. Too much makes an oversize cookie that bleeds over into the cookies next to it. With a little practice, I got the right amount measured out. This may be the new favorite this year!!

French Macarons

I bought a new 48-cup mini muffin pan and tried it out for the first time tonight on the Pecan Tassies. I should have bought this years ago!! The tarts popped out smooth as silk. I do need to adjust the baking time to a few minutes shorter due to the dark non-stick coating. I also baked the shells for the Pomegranate Tarts while the oven was hot. These will be filled the day of the party with a white chocolate pudding and topped with fresh Pomegranate seeds. I am all in for the night and will start back up with the chocolate-dipping process then hopefully switch over to some of the savory items.

Day 2 – Candy Day

Today was my day to sleep in a little bit, then I was off to church. When I got home I found that my new silicone macaron mat had arrived. It occurred to me that there could be many uses for this sheet and I planned to inaugurate it with the Pretzel Turtles. We had brunch – fried eggs and bacon with Everything Bagels. Kevin cooked up some of the Burger’s end pieces, which are thick-cut and delicious. After we ate, the candy making commenced. Our daughter, Amanda, came over while I was working on the first batch and lent a hand. The macaron mat turn out to be excellent for making candy, too. (note to self – buy a second one). I think it could be reversible since the back side is smooth and could be applied to other baking projects. I filled the raised molded circle rings with the melted semi-sweet chocolate for each Pretzel Turtle base. I chilled them for about 30 minutes and easily popped them off the sheet looking uniform and perfectly shaped!

I made the White Christmas next. The recipe makes a large portion and this is a very munchable Chex cereal treat that I have blogged about the last several years. It is a perennial favorite that I always repeat.

White Chunky Chocolates (previously posted) were next up. I use silicone oval ice cube trays to shape these treats. After chilling for about 30 minutes I popped them out and put them in storage containers in the refrigerator.

Amanda put together the Peanut Butter Chews in no time. They are quick and easy to make and have a sweet and salty crunch. The cooled off and set up on wax paper then went into a covered container for storage at room temperature. The next candy was a new recipe I’m trying. Since we visited the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky this Summer I wanted to use some of the foods we picked up on our travels throughout the year. These are really delectable and the recipe made about 6 dozen. I shaped them into balls and put them into Christmas print miniature muffin pan liners. For decoration we added a Georgia pecan half on top, slightly pressing it into the candy.

Bourbon Truffles

8 ozs. butter, softened
2 lbs. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup Evan Williams Bourbon
2 cups finely chopped pecans
14 ozs. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and 1 pound of sugar with the mixer on high speed. Add the Bourobn, remaining sugar, pecans and the melted chocolate. Mix well. Cool the mixture in the refrigerator, covered, until firm enough to handle, approximately 2 hours. With a teaspoon, roll into balls, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I bought a 7-lb. bag of Confectioners’ sugar and I think my calculation may have been off on the measurement because I was able to roll these right away without chilling. Math has never been my strong suit, but I don’t think it was detrimental in this instance. This is a LOT of Bourbon candy!

We had some quick sandwiches for supper then I made 2 types of cookie dough and two batches of Empanada dough. I think that about does it for today. Tomorrow cookie baking is on the agenda, including the much-anticipated new recipe for macarons!

Countdown Begins – Day 1

I set an alarm of sorts today, although I usually don’t on Saturday mornings. The high-pitched notes were coming from my stove timer signaling that the Summer Sausage I put in the oven last night had finished its 8-hour baking time. I padded into the kitchen and pulled it out to cool then got ready to get on the road. First item done!

We had a lot to do today. We’ve rented a booth at the Antique Mall in St. Mary, Missouri and needed to make the 1 1/2 -hour trip down to do an inventory and restock with some new items. On the way back we stopped at Oberle Meats. On a trip there last month we ate at a local restaurant and they offered a charcuterie board. That appealed to me as a light lunch with a soup and salad. The server told us the meats were from Oberle’s. We happened to drive by the store on the way out of town and stopped in to pick up some of their Krakow. The texture and flavor is wonderful! This inspired me to put out a charcuterie board for our Open House.

http://oberlemeats.com

With the Krakow sticks in the cooler we headed north to St. Louis We did some shopping at Costco (first time members) for bulk items, then on to the Hill for some Italian specialty items, then to Randell’s Liquors and finally over to the Global Market. After a quick supper we headed home to unpack our purchases and get a few items started. I’ve changed the menu up a bit this year putting some items on hiatus and adding a few others. We watched an episode of the Pioneer Woman where Ree Drummond made some Pretzel Turtles and they have been added to the Sweets category. This is her recipe – I am doubling the quantities she used to feed the crowd we anticipate.

Pretzel Turtles

24 pecan halves
24 mini pretzel twists
24 individually wrapped soft caramel squares, unwrapped
8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Put the pecan halves on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake, shaking the sheet once halfway through, until lightly toasted, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a plate to cool.
Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Arrange the pretzels neatly on the baking sheet, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped caramel. Bake until the caramels soften (but are definitely not melting), 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently press a pecan half onto each caramel, just enough for the caramel to fill the pretzel. Set aside to cool completely.
Remove the cooled pretzel/caramels from the baking sheet. Spoon 24 small dollops (1 1/2-teaspoon helpings) of the melted chocolate all over the baking sheet, then lightly drop a pretzel onto the middle of each dollop, making sure the pretzel is centered. Allow them to cool completely before serving (you can hasten this along in the fridge).
Ree Drummond

It took a little while to unwrap 75 caramels, but with Kevin retired now, he is helping me out. I had two different brands of caramels and it was interesting to see the difference in how they softened in the oven. It looks like Kraft caramels are better suited to this recipe. They are cooling on the counter now and we’ll do the chocolate bases tomorrow. I also made a batch of Snickerdoodle dough and mixed the Buckeye centers. More on that in the morning. I have set a goal to get most of the candies done tomorrow so it’s time to turn in!

‘Tis the Season

December has arrived and the date has been set for the annual Holiday Open House. Invitations have been sent, the menu is drafted, and the grocery lists are written. Shopping has begun and a macaron pan is on order from Amazon for a new recipe to be added. Two of three trees are up. The “Family Tree” is in our bedroom and the “Big Tree” is in the great room. The wreaths are hung and garland strung on the bannister.

Now I’m up to my elbows in hamburger, making Summer Sausage!

This recipe is so good and such a perennial favorite that it bears repeating.

Summer Sausage

5 lbs. lean hamburger (I used 90% lean 10% fat)
5 rounded teaspoons Morton’s Tender Quick Curing Salt
2 heaping teaspoons mustard seeds
2 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
4 tablespoons Colgin’s Natural Hickory Liquid Smoke
2 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground tri-color peppercorns

In a large bowl mix all ingredients well. Roll up your sleeves and get in there with your hands It’s the best way to really incorporate the ingredients evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Take out and remix once a day for 3 days. On the third day, form into rolls (about 3 to 5 rolls 8 to 12 inches long). Take care to compress the meat to make firm and solid rolls. Air bubbles will leave your slices looking like baby Swiss cheese. This diameter makes nice cracker-size slices. Put on a broiler rack and bake at 175 degrees F. for 8 hours. What little fat there is will collect in the pan. It roasts low and slow. I’ve varied the spices from the original recipe and you can adjust these to your own taste as well. I put this in the oven at bedtime to bake while I sleep and set the timer to remove it early the next morning. If you bake it during the day you can turn it after 5 to 6 hours. Mine always end up with some slight indentations, but nobody really cares about this cosmetic detail. They taste great! It’s ready to slice and eat when it comes out of the oven. You should always try a piece or two for quality control. Never serve something you haven’t tasted yourself. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 to 3 weeks. I usually slice it all at the same time and wrap it with Glad Press ‘n Seal Wrap, twisting the ends like giant Tootsie Rolls. It’s easy to pull them out of the fridge, unwrap, and plate them to serve.
Last Saturday we took a road trip to Burger’s Smokehouse and the Dutch Market. I love this place! It’s a foodie’s dream. It just wouldn’t seem like the holidays if we didn’t take this ride. We had lunch at Lehman’s Restaurant in Versailles and picked up the bulk foods on the list.

Only three more days of work with two days in a row on call after hours, then I’m off for a week for the cooking marathon!! I am ready and can’t wait to start! There are many favorites to prepare, but I’ve updated the menu to freshen it up and add a few new exciting dishes. Follow along next week to find out what’s in store!