2019 Holiday Cooking and Baking

[Smithy]

David, what a fun book! Many thanks for sharing it with us!

[Smithy]

We've been completely out of communication for the past week, and our Christmas plans more or less fell apart due to poor weather preventing my sister from being able to get to us. It was just the two of us, with a slightly abbreviated dinner that still gave us way too much food and too much post-dinner dish cleanup. It was delicious, but overkill.

 

 

Because I had planned for company, I allowed for many decadent breakfasts and dinners that still haven't come to pass! @Shelby, that broccoli and sausage strata looks like one of them. Is that perhaps a recent recipe from King Arthur Flour? That was my intent. Yours looks wonderful.

 

@Okanagancook, I'm sorry your Christmas was so badly disrupted! That's one for the books! Glad you're on the mend now.

[kayb]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

I'd put them in both the pot pie and the soup.

 

I contemplated the pot pie; wasn't certain how the sprouts would pair with beef and gravy, but one serves them as a side to beef, I guess, so...OK. Not in my Brunswick stew, though; I'm a purist on that, just lima beans and corn and that's it.

 

1 hour ago, heidih said:

 

I like them with pasta and some goat or feta cheese; lots of black pepper.  referring to @kayb leftover b-sprouts

 

 Now there's a thought. Thanks!

 

[David Ross]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

LOVE this book, David---"the gin punch is a pleasant innocent beverage which is potent" 😂

 

And the cheese spread on potato chips.  

And lots of anchovies in the canapes.

[David Ross]

Another Dungeness Crab recipe that is linked to that little cocktail book.  Mother and Father always had a cocktail party during the holidays, and sometimes made a punch recipe from the book.  Father didn't do a lot of cooking, but every year he always made his hot crab dip for the holidays.  I've never forgotten that crab dip and every year it tastes just like it did some 40 years ago.  It's a simple recipe of crab, milk and cream cheese.  They used a lot of Worcestershire and dried mustard back in the 60's and 70's, so that's the "deviled" part of the recipe.  I actually think it's better after it's chilled in the fridge overnight.  It's really over the top, but we used to spread it on toast and have it for breakfast.  

 

 

Hot Deviled Dungeness Crab Dip-

Ingredients

1 cup fresh crab meat

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. cayenne red pepper

3 tbsp. chopped green onions

3 tbsp. toasted slivered almonds

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. paprika

 

Instructions

Toast the slivered almonds-

Heat the oven to 350. Spread toasted almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes.

 

Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the milk and cream cheese and stir while the cream cheese melts. Add the Worcestershire, Old Bay, dry mustard, and cayenne and stir to combine. Add the greens onions and the toasted almonds. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick.

Gently fold in the crab and mix to combine with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and turn the hot crab dip into ramekins or a serving dish. Sprinkle with paprika and serve hot.

 

[David Ross]

On 12/27/2019 at 1:19 AM, &roid said:

Boxing Day good for us involved a roast sirloin of beef and a pain surprise. This latter is a new one for me but something I think I’ll make many more times in the future. 
 

Essentially it’s a loaf of bread which is cut like a hassleback potato then stuffed with the following:

 

sautéed mushrooms

caramelised onions (done ridiculously slowly a la thomas Keller)

slices of baked potato flesh

gruyere cheese

a savoury custard made with creme fraiche and a couple of eggs with some thyme leaves

 

The whole thing is wrapped in paper and baked for 30 minutes before unwrapping and giving it another 10 minutes to gratinate. 
 

It’s delicious, not exactly light, but delicious!

 

That beef is just perfect.  I didn't buy beef for the Holidays this year, but I've seen it on sale right now so you've gotten me excited to cook beef this week! 

[Shelby]

4 hours ago, Smithy said:

that broccoli and sausage strata looks like one of them. Is that perhaps a recent recipe from King Arthur Flour? That was my intent. Yours looks wonderful.

Aw, thank you!  It was pretty good.  No, it was just one of those "look in the fridge and see what I have" type of things.  I had some stale bread, some Jimmy Dean and some mushrooms and broccoli that needed to be used.  I normally don't make one of those for just the two of us, but it  sounded good so I did  .  I think we are still eating on it lol.

[Kim Shook]

@David Ross – all of your seafood dishes sound so incredibly good.  Crab and shrimp are my favorites.  We can get Dungeness crab at Costco.  Not sure of the quality, but it’s worth a try, I think! And I love your booklet!  It reminds me so much of the Rooster Eat, Drink and Be Merry plaques that one of my grandmothers had in her kitchen.  She cooked a fabulous dinner once a year (Christmas) and the rest of the time the only thing found in her refrigerator was vodka, gin, olives, cocktail onions, and Metrical.  LOL.  I’d give anything to have those plaques now. 

 

@liamsaunt  - your baking is as delicious looking at your savory cooking!

 

@chromedome – please do post pictures of the gingerbread village, if you get a chance!  I’d love to see it.

 

@CantCookStillTry – on the bottom picture, bottom left item.  Are those sausage rolls?  If so, I’m liking that they are flattened.  As you’ll see, mine are very rounded and I think the sausage to pastry distribution would be better on yours.  Do you just roll and then flatten before cutting? 

 

@&roid – I like the sound of that bread.  I’d leave out the mushrooms, but I’d love the recipe, if you’d care to share it.

 

@Shelby – your prime rib is absolutely gorgeous and perfect.

 

@Okanagancook– best wishes for a swift and easy recovery!!!

 

@kayb – glad you got advice from others on your leftover sprouts.  Honestly, I’ve got nothing.  I just don’t save sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, etc.  I think they get too stinky and are just irredeemable. 

 

I’m honestly not sure where to put everything.  I’ve got Christmas Eve food, sweets, and Christmas morning breakfast!  I’ll see where it seems to fit as I go along!  And I’ll probably break it up a little – I did a LOT of cooking in just a few days. 

 

Our main thing for our Christmas Eve party was, by request of Mr. Kim, Brunswick stew.  I don’t claim to be authentic to either VA or GA, but it is good and very popular.  Mr. Kim and Jessica adore it.  Started with two Costco rotisserie chickens:

 

My mise:

 

 

(the chicken is in the big bag)

 

 

The scraps made my stock in the IP (LOVE my IP for stock):

 

This le Crueset stock pot is FULL of everything but the meats (the 1/2 gallon pitcher is there for scale):

 

The contents of the stockpot were put into 2 large slow cookers and cooked on HIGH for 4 hours:

 

At this point the chicken and 2 lbs. of Mr. Kim’s BBQ are added to the stew:

 

Which results in BOTH of these vessels being full of stew:

 

 

Then it gets whirred up a little with an immersion blender:

 

Tasted and seasonings adjusted.  I find that Brunswick stew takes a LOT of pepper.  I finished up with about 14 quarts.  Mr. Kim insisted on my doubling my regular recipe because we’d invited about 60 people.  I knew that we’d only get about half that, but humored him.  We took about 4 quarts to his mother’s for her gathering Boxing Day and I have 5 quarts in my freezer. 🙄  It was very good and seemingly enjoyed by all.

 

[&roid]

2 hours ago, David Ross said:

That beef is just perfect.  I didn't buy beef for the Holidays this year, but I've seen it on sale right now so you've gotten me excited to cook beef this week! 

thank you 😊

 

it’s my go to recipe for roast beef from Neil Rankin’s low and slow book. The truth is it’s stupidly easy and almost completely foolproof:

 

Salt the meat a few hours before then get a pan as hot as possible and brown the outside of the roasting joint. Get all of the meat nice and brown but turn it often and spend no more than ten minutes doing it. Fridge cold is best to protect the meat inside. 
 

once that’s done it just goes into a 120°C oven until the internal temp gets to where you want it. I pulled this one out at 54°C IIRC. Leave it for 20 minutes to rest and you’re good to go. 

[CantCookStillTry]

@Kim Shook Yes they are my sausage rolls. I'm used to Srolls being rectangular or little squares. I use sausage meat without casing (or 'undress' pre existing sausages) add my flavours and shape a flatish portion of the meat mix on the pastry then fold and seal 🙂. I prefer the pastry to have an edge on the meat tbh 

[NadyaDuke]

Catching up because I always enjoy this thread.

 

Christmas  breakfast for four was lemon cornmeal waffles and asparagus frittata.  We call  the waffles “7 bowl waffles” because the many steps in the recipe meant we used 7 bowls the first time we made them. I think we’ve sharpened it down to 5 now with some planning. For the frittata I used the technique from this recipe to slow bake the frittata, but swapped out the oven roasted broccoli for pan roasted asparagus and the Parmesan for Fontina. I’d never used this technique before and was really pleased as you get a very creamy set on the eggs despite no cream or milk. 
 

Dinner for five was bone in pork loin, butternut squash/leek/goat cheese gratin which is a Thanksgiving staple for me but didn’t make it on the menu this year,  cherry chutney, asparagus, and homemade Parkerhouse rolls. (Poor me, my husband has recently taken up bread baking!) I used another new to me technique for the roast from Serious Eats: you slow roast the pork then do a reverse sear in a 500 degree oven. The meat turned out deliciously tender. Next time I’d use convection on the reverse sear. I used a different rub with fresh garlic and fennel. My husband insisted we get an 8 rib roast so there would be leftovers. Smart man.

[David Ross]

I didn't get the Sticky Toffee Pudding made in time for Christmas dinner, but did this weekend and it's always delicious, but always really decadent and sweet.  I figure I've made this recipe for about 20 years now. You can change the fruit and nuts, but the basics of the cake and the dates always stay the same  The rum raisin sauce is good over ice cream and even sweet rolls.  I usually just make it at Christmas, but I think it would be appropriate to also make it on one of our cold, snowy nights.

 

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Rum Raisin Sauce-

 

Ingredients-

For the Rum Raisin Sauce-makes 4 cups of sauce

4 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup butter 1 stick of butter

1/2 cup currants substitute golden raisins

1/3 cup dark rum

 

For the Sticky Toffee Pudding-

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup chopped, pitted dates

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter, softened 2 sticks of butter

2/3 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup brandy substitute dark rum

2 tbsp. dark molasses

2/3 cup chopped candied pineapple substitute regular raisins

1 cup golden raisins

2 tbsp. chopped candied ginger

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

whipped cream for garnish

 

Instructions-

Make the Rum Raisin Sauce-

Pour the whipping cream into a saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and butter and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the sauce is reduced and thickens about 10 minutes. Stir in the rum.

 

Pour half of the sauce into a bowl. This is the sauce we'll pour over the sticky toffee pudding. In the other half of the sauce, stir in the raisins. This is the sauce we'll use to pour over the baked sticky toffee pudding and serve on the side. Cover and refrigerate the two sauces until ready to use.

 

Make the Sticky Toffee Pudding and Serve-

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray the mold pan or bundt pan with non-stick spray. Place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.

 

Pour the water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir in the chopped dates and baking soda. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir the mixture. The dates will start to melt and thicken, creating a sticky date paste.

 

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until it's creamed and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, brandy, and molasses and continue to beat until the mixture is combined. Add the pineapple, raisins, candied ginger and walnuts to the batter and mix again until the batter is combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture and then the date mixture. Continue to mix until all the ingredients are combined.

 

Spoon 1/2 cup of the rum sauce (without the currants), in the bottom of the mold pan. Then pour the batter on top of the rum sauce. Leave about 1" from the top of the pan for the cake to rise. Jiggle the pan so that the batter is evenly distributed.

 

Bake the sticky toffee pudding for 30 minutes. At this point, the pudding is only partially baked. Carefully pour 1 cup of the rum sauce (without the currants), on top of the pudding. Continue to bake the sticky toffee pudding for another 20 minutes, or until it's dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the pudding from the oven and let it rest on a cookie rack for 5 minutes.

 

Gently run the point of a paring knife around the edge of the mold. Place a cookie rack over the top of the mold and invert, turning the sticky toffee pudding over on top of another cookie rack. Tap the mold and gently release the sticky toffee pudding. Let the pudding cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Place the warm sticky toffee pudding on a serving plate. Pour some of the rum raisin sauce (with the currants), over the top of the sticky toffee pudding and around the sides. Serve additional rum raisin sauce on the side. Serve whipped cream on the side.

 

[David Ross]

I used two small vintage molds that were my Great Grandmother's.  I estimate they date to about 1910. They might have been used for a pudding, but there isn't a lid so I think she used them for molded salads. The one in the lower right is a newer non-stick bundt cake pan.  It works ok for sticky toffee pudding, but honestly, the 1910 one works better and the pudding pops right out.  The big one on top is interesting.  I had never looked at it too closely until this year.  It is large with a locking lid and has a little Williams-Sonoma sticker on it.  It's got some age on it, so someone in my family bought it at Williams-Sonoma a long time ago.

 

[Smithy]

18 hours ago, &roid said:

thank you 😊

 

it’s my go to recipe for roast beef from Neil Rankin’s low and slow book. The truth is it’s stupidly easy and almost completely foolproof:

 

Salt the meat a few hours before then get a pan as hot as possible and brown the outside of the roasting joint. Get all of the meat nice and brown but turn it often and spend no more than ten minutes doing it. Fridge cold is best to protect the meat inside. 
 

once that’s done it just goes into a 120°C oven until the internal temp gets to where you want it. I pulled this one out at 54°C IIRC. Leave it for 20 minutes to rest and you’re good to go. 

 

I didn't do a prime rib this year for Christmas or for Thanksgiving, but this is essentially the same technique I use. I think it gives great results; your photos are a testament to that. Maybe next year I'll do it in degrees C and see if it's any better that way.  

[Kim Shook]

2 hours ago, David Ross said:

I used two small vintage molds that were my Great Grandmother's.  I estimate they date to about 1910. They might have been used for a pudding, but there isn't a lid so I think she used them for molded salads. The one in the lower right is a newer non-stick bundt cake pan.  It works ok for sticky toffee pudding, but honestly, the 1910 one works better and the pudding pops right out.  The big one on top is interesting.  I had never looked at it too closely until this year.  It is large with a locking lid and has a little Williams-Sonoma sticker on it.  It's got some age on it, so someone in my family bought it at Williams-Sonoma a long time ago.

 

Those are very cool and I love the towel, too!  Is that vintage or retro (meaning: could I hope to find it somewhere? - LOL).  And your pudding is just gorgeous!  I wish @Ted Fairhead were alive to see it!  He would be making reservations for a flight to WA!

[chromedome]

A few belated photos of the doings:

 

Cookies drying on the racks:

 

Ready to make up some baskets. Lots of different types of cookies, and the little tissue-wrapped bundles in the middle are mini-loaves of various kinds.

 

 

A basket, with loaves beneath and cookies above, naked and then wrapped. This particular one went to my daughter's best friends/bridesmaids, hence the David's Tea gift card. The Christmas tree cookie covered in Skittles that you'll see in behind was decorated for us by a neighbour's little guy.

 

 

 

Multiple views of the village. My plans for the surface itself were much more detailed, but ran afoul of time constraints. The decorating itself is not at all up to professional standards (again, time constraints...final touches went on in the last hour before everyone arrived for Christmas dinner), but this year was primarily a "proof of concept" as I learned how to work with the materials. Lots of lessons to keep in mind for next year....

 

 

 

 

It's better when illuminated, though the camera in my elderly Nexus 4 struggles in low light conditions. Just FYI, strings of LED mini Christmas lights make it look like there's a party going on inside. The little battery-operated faux tealights have a gentle flicker that nicely simulates a fire on the hearth inside the cottage.

 

 

The little cottages were made with a cookie-cutter template from the dollar store. Two cuts equals one cottage. For the little church I just cut out a template from corrugated cardboard and ran with it. FYI, a microplane zester works marvels when it comes to straightening and squaring the pieces, or beveling them for a neater fit.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2020 by chromedome
Edited to remove some redundant photos that snuck in. (log)

[Shelby]

WOW!!!  What incredible work!  Your basket goodies look delicious and that village!  I love it!

 

 Almost makes me wish it was still the holidays and I'd make one.......I said almost......

[ElsieD]

@chromedome  Wow, I'm impressed.  That must have been a lot of work.

[chromedome]

It was spread out over a period of weeks, just whenever I had the time to tackle some of it. The last bit was rather rushed, as it always seems to be. 

[kayb]

Very cool. My gingerbread house kit from Target is still in the pantry.

[IowaDee]

Oooh I wish I could "like" each picture by itself.  Just an amazing bunch of goodies and your village is wonderful.  I love the wee little church especially.

[chromedome]

I was shooting for the look of the little country churches you'll see up and down the coast here. The brushwork on the walls was an attempt at making royal icing look like shingled siding. It wasn't entirely successful, but it was an interesting effect.

[SusieQ]

On 11/9/2019 at 12:31 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I try to keep a tradition from my husband's family alive.    I seem to be the last woman (alive) in his family who makes this bread, which I learned from his Austrian mother: poteca, walnut roll.

  

 

Oh gosh, this really brings back memories! Very clear memories from the 1950s of watching my mom, grandma, and several aunts around the kitchen table (with floured tablecloth on it) rolling out the dough for potica and then spreading the filling across the whole thing and rolling it up. The finished bread was so yummy! A special holiday treat. I sure wish I could taste it again. 

[Kim Shook]

Imaginary "WOW" button pushed!  I, like everyone else, am seriously impressed, @chromedome!