Planning my Christmas dinner menu has been harder than I anticipated. Now I’m down to planning just the big Christmas Eve dinner. My family, being of Asian decent and having lived in Europe, we make a bigger deal about Christmas Eve than Christmas morning. We would eat and go to midnight mass and then come home and open presents. Luckily, my husband’s family and he follow the Christmas Day tradition. So it’ll work out just wonderfully! We’ll spend Christmas Eve at our house, have my parents and siblings come over. We’ll head out to midnight mass and then come home and open presents. Christmas Day we’ll head up to the mountains to spend time with his family. Sounds pretty simple, but it isn’t. Some of you probably can relate to how I feel. Unless we have access to and can afford a personal shopper, a maid, a chauffeur, and a chef, things just get away from us. My ambitions of throwing a get-together for our friends and then Christmas Eve dinner for my family was great, but now looking at our work schedule and some of the things we have to do (not food related at all), it just doesn’t seem realistic anymore.

If I find time to have a small gathering with friends, I’ll go with hors d’oeuvres only and drinks. I have a few drink recipes up my sleeve as well. I can always whip up a pretty mean Long Island Iced Tea that’s really yummy and of course my wide array of martinis. (I learned these from my days of working my part-time job at Tabouleh Mediterranean Restaurant in Gaithersburg, MD) I think that would be fun!

I am planning on something really scrumptious for a main course for my Christmas Eve dinner. I’m going to prepare a Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding. Here’s a recipe:

Roast Beef
Serves 8

1 Prime Rib of Beef Joint (6 lbs / 2.7 k)

2 Tsp Dry English Mustard

3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour

1 1/4 Cups Red Wine

1 1/4 Cups Beef Stock

2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce (Optional)

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F / 230 degrees C.
2. Season the meat to taste with salt and pepper. Rub in the mustard and 1 tablespoon of the flour.
3. Place te meat in a roasting pan large enough to hold it comfortably and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C and cook for 15 minutes per 1 lb / 450 g, plus 15 minutes (1 3/4 hours for this joint) for rare beef or 20 minutes per 1 lb / 450 g, plus 20 minutes (2 hours 20 minutes) for medium beef. Baste the meat from time to time to keep it moist, and if the pan becomes too dry, add a little stock or red wine.
4. Remove the meat from the oven and place on a warmed serving plate, cover with foil, and let stand in a warm for 10-15 minutes.
5. To make the gravy, pour off most of the fat from the pan (reserve it for cooking the Yorkshire pudding), leaving behind the meat juices and the sediment. Place the pan on the stove over medium heat and scrape all the sediment from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle in the remaining flour and quickly mix it into the juices with a small whisk. When you have a smooth paste, gradually add the wine and most of the stock, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, then reduce to heat a gentle simmer and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the remaining stock, if needed, and a little Worcestershire sauce, if you like.
6. When ready to serve, carve the meat into slices and serve on warmed plates. Pour the gravy into a warmed pitcher and take direct to the table. Serve wit Yorkshire pudding.

Yorkshire Pudding
Serves 4

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F / 220 degrees C.
2. Make a batter with 3 1/2 oz / 100 g plain flour, a pinch of salt, 1 beaten egg and 10 fl / 300 ml milk and water mixed. Allow to stand for half an hour.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp roast beef dripping or olive oil in an 8-inch square roasting tin in the top of the oven.
4. Remove the tin from the oven, pour in the batter and bake for 25-30 minutes until it is puffed up and golden brown.

***Recipe taken from ‘Steaks, Chops, Roasts, & Ribs’ by Parragon Publishing

]]> http://www.asamatteroffood.com/2007/12/planning-your-menu-christmas-2007-part-ii/feed/ 0 http://www.asamatteroffood.com/2007/11/recipe-maple-glazed-yams-with-pecan-topping/ http://www.asamatteroffood.com/2007/11/recipe-maple-glazed-yams-with-pecan-topping/#comments Fri, 23 Nov 2007 07:05:07 +0000 jpham http://asamatteroffood.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/recipe-maple-glazed-yams-with-pecan-topping/

Maple-Glazed Yams with Pecan Topping

4 lbs of yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes), peeled, cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

8 Tbsp (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (don’t chop it up too fine, you’ll lose the crunch)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Butter a 13×9x2 inch glass baking dish.*

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add yams.  Cook until water returns to a simmer, about 4 minutes.  Drain; rinse in cold water.

3. Arrange yams in baking dish, overlapping pieces.  Sprinkle with salt.  Pour maple syrup over yams.  Dot with 3 Tbsp of butter.**  Cover with aluminum foil and bake until yams are almost tender, about 25 minutes.

4. Mix flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl.  Add remaining 5 Tbsp of butter.  Rub in with fingers until mixture resembles a coarse meal.  Mix in pecans.

5. Sprinkle pecan mixture over yams.  Bake yams until tender, about 20 minutes.

Serves 12

*  Buttering your baking dish in this instance means to let the butter melt in the dish while it is preheating.  You can also put the dish in once the oven has been heated.  Let the butter melt only for a minutes.  Then take the dish out and swirl the butter around in the dish to cover the bottom.  Be careful to not burn the butter.

**  How I ”dot” the butter is to divide the butter portion into smaller pieces and spread them over the the yams.

Recipe taken from Simply Recipes

EXTRA BONUS TIP: 

If you want this dish to be sweeter (I like the way I described above because the sweetness was just right) you can spread small marshmallow puffs over the yams after you pour the maple syrup in.  Then add the flour mix with the brown sugar and pecans.  This was suggested at the dinner table on Thanksgiving for people who have a bigger sweet tooth.

First, I have to determine how big of a bird I want to buy.  Then I have to find the recipe I want to use for my turkey.  Then I have to determine which sides to serve in addition to the regular mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry relish, and stuffing.  Do I go the traditional route or do I go with some flare?  What is considered traditional anyway?  I also need to get a big pan to cook this big bird in.  Oh just the thought of it all is making my head spin with excitement and then with fear of having a flop.

While I’m planning all this I wanted to share some recipes I’ve relied on in the past.  I was successful in following the recipe and achieving a delicious outcome.

Herb-Butter-Roasted Turkey

Prep:  20 min

Cook:  3 hr 50 min

Servings:  14

Ingredients:

• 1 14-pound turkey
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 2 – 3 Tbs. snipped fresh thyme, tarragon, marjoram, and/or rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Remove giblets and neck from interior cavity of turkey; reserve for gravy stock. Rinse bird; pat dry. Cut off wing tips; reserve for gravy stock. Season cavity with salt and pepper.
3. For Herb-Butter Seasoning, combine butter, the fresh herbs, and garlic. Starting at the neck end of the turkey, loosen skin by sliding your fingers underneath it, being careful not to tear it. Slide your hand as far as you can toward the other end of the turkey, separating the skin from the meat. Rub about two-thirds of the herb butter seasoning over the entire breast.
4. Spoon some of the stuffing into the neck cavity. Skewer neck skin to back. Spoon more of the stuffing loosely into the body cavity. (If you pack stuffing too tightly, it will not get hot enough by the time the turkey is cooked.) Tuck drumsticks under tail skin, or tie to tail. Transfer any remaining stuffing to a 2-quart casserole; cover and chill in the refrigerator.
5. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer into the center of one of the inside thigh muscles. The bulb should not touch the bone.
6. Rub remaining herb-butter season over the entire turkey. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue roasting turkey for about 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until thermometer registers 180 degrees F. Cut band of skin between legs after 2-1/2 hours so the thighs will cook evenly. Bake casserole of stuffing alongside turkey during the last 40 minutes of roasting. During the last 30 minutes of roasting, uncover turkey.
7. When done remove turkey from oven; cover. Let turkey stand for 20 minutes before carving. To serve, remove stuffing from turkey; transfer to a serving bowl. Carve turkey and serve warm. Makes 14 servings.

Recipe source:  Better Homes and Gardens®.  Copyright 2002.  Meredith Corporation.

My quick tip:

Wing tip is the section from the tip of the wing to the first bend.  Don’t make the mistake of cutting off to much of the wing or the entire wing.  I’ve done it!  I read to “Cut of wing…” and cut off the wing then saw “tip”.  :-p

Here is another recipe I have tried in the past which yielded a great delicious turkey as well.

Brined Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy

Ingredients:

Brine:

• 1 gallon water
• ½ ounce ground cloves
• ½ ounce ground ginger
• 4 ounces cracked black peppercorns
• 12 bay leaves
• 1 pound kosher salt
• 24 ounces honey
• 24 ounces maple syrup

Additional Ingredients:

• 1 (10-pound) whole fresh turkey, giblets and neck removed and reserved for stock
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
• 2 apples quartered and cored
• 1 onion, peeled and cored
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 3 sprigs sage
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 cup cubed carrots
• 1 cup cubed celery
• 1 cup cubed onions
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup Madeira wine
• 4 cups turkey stock, recipe follows
• 1 sprig thyme
• 2 sprigs parsley
• Beurre manie (2 ounces butter mixed with 2 ounces flour until it forms a soft dough)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. In a large stockpot, bring the water, cloves, ginger, black peppercorn, bay leaves and salt to a boil. Lower to simmer and stir in the honey and maple syrup until well blended. Turn off heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold tap water. Reserve the neck and specialty meats for pan gravy. Set the turkey in the brine, making sure that the turkey is fully immersed in the brine. Place a weight on top of the turkey to make sure it is always covered with brine. Marinate for at least 4 hours to overnight, depending on the weight of the turkey, in the refrigerator.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
4. In a shallow roasting pan, place the carrots, celery and onions. Remove turkey from brine.
5. Mix together the butter, garlic, chopped rosemary, and sage to make a compound butter. Using your hands, loosen the skin from the breast by gently inserting your fingers between the skin and the flesh. Rub the compound butter underneath the skin. Insert the apples, onions, and whole rosemary and sage into the cavity of the turkey.
6. Place the turkey over the vegetables, breast-side up, in the roasting pan. Tuck the wings back and under the turkey. Using kitchen twine, tie the legs together. This will make a compact shape and will create a great presentation. Drizzle the turkey with olive oil and rub it into the skin. Roast the turkey to at least 165 degrees F in the breast, about 2 ½ hours. If the skin gets too dark during roasting, tent with foil.
7. Transfer turkey to a platter and allow to cool. Meanwhile, prepare pan gravy.
8. Tilt the pan and skim as much fat as possible off the juice with a spoon. Set the pan on 2 burners set on medium heat. Deglaze roasting pan with white wine and Madeira. Scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any brown bits. Reduce until only a quarter remains. Add the turkey stock, thyme and parsley. Bring to a boil and strain into saucepan. Bring back to a boil, skim and lower to a simmer. Whisk in the beurre manie until well incorporated and continue to cook until gravy has thickened. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Turkey stock:

• Giblets and neck from 1 turkey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ cup port wine
• 1 cup roughly chopped onions
• ½ cup roughly chopped carrots
• ½ cup roughly chopped celery
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 5 peppercorns
• Water, to cover

Instructions:

1. Heat a saucepan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil and heat. Ad the neck and giblets and cook until browned all over, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and deglaze with the port. Return the pan to the heat and cook until the port is almost completely evaporated, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, onions, celery, rosemary and peppercorns. Cover with cold water by 4-inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for 2 hours, adding a little more water, if necessary. Skim any scum that rises to the surface of the stock and discard.
3. Strain the stock. Use immediately, or cool an refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Recipe courtesy of Wolfgang Puck, 2003.  Copyright 2002 Television food network G.P.

My quick tip:

If you decide to use this last recipe, please be ready for some WORK!  I suggest you do all the prep work the day before.  The brine definitely, and have your turkey soak in that overnight.  Measure all your dry ingredients and set them aside.  Cut up all the vegetables and refrigerate them.  If you’re like me, I start early in the morning.  If you have everything prepped all you have to do Thanksgiving morning is to assemble and stick the bird in the oven and have it cook.

Let me know if you decide to try any of these recipes and how it turns out!  It’d be great to get some feedback!  Just email me at GotFood13@gmail.com or post in the comments section.  Enjoy!

What I liked about the Supper Clubs idea:

• Meeting new people and socialization
• Something for you and your friends to do to get together
• A variety of menu ideas
• Don’t have to put together an entire meal by yourself
• Cost effective

What I didn’t like about the Supper Clubs idea (which ultimately made me lose interest) was my fear of dependency and the fear of the mundane.  Let me explain.  Perhaps this is just me.  I was afraid of meeting strangers, even if they had the same interests, and not hitting it off with them.  Now I would have committed to this club and I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t follow through on.  So I shied away from the idea.  Now my close friends, at the time and at the age I was at, none of the friends who lived close enough to entertain this idea were really into cooking.  The ones that would be into cooking and trying this idea out, lived too far to do this even on a weekly basis.  So for this to work out and be somewhat convenient for all parties involved, I’d say that you couldn’t live outside a 5 mile radius from one another.  This all becoming too much of a chore, was the last thought which held me back at the time.

From what I read on www.cookinglight.com this concept has been a hit since its inception in 1999.  Supper Clubs have really taken off all over the world.  It is like that with anything, it takes a certain person.  Everything is sparked by an interest.  :-)  I would definitely be interested in starting a supper club with my friends if we all lived within a 10 to 15 mintue drive from one another.  The most I’d probably do is 20 minutes.  Still that still doesn’t take care of my fear of it becoming a chore.

My personal experience:

I once did what I called a “Lunch Pool” with a former co-worker.  She and I would take turns cooking and bringing lunch.  We started with taking weekly turns.  At first it was great, I thought.  She cooked a different ethnic cuisine and so did I.  So the “new” and the “different” definitely impressed me.  Then I realized that while I was making my exotic and healthful meals, she was cooking a lot of one dish meals which used a lot of starchy vegetables and a very cheap cut of meat.  I was very disappointed and felt that it wasn’t fair.  Without jumping the gun and getting too upset, I asked her where she shopped.  What the indgredients were, and what kind of cut it was if it were beef.  So when I confirmed my suspicions I had to start making excuses as to why I couldn’t continue anymore.  Yes, yes it was very cowardly of me!  How do you confront someone and tell them “I’m not cooking anymore because I’m spending money on really fresh and healthy ingredients.  You’re being a cheapskate and you’re going to turn us both fat and give us a heart attack.”  I felt horrible for even thinking that, but that was how I felt and it was the truth.  I’m not a splurger by any means.  I’m very frugal.  Frugal still doesn’t mean you have to eat in an unhealthy way. 

Stay tuned and I’ll show you how to make food stretch in my future posts!  Plus we’re gonna keep it as healthy as we can. 

It’s really really yummy and I guarrantee you it has a lot less fat & sodium than what you get at the restaurant. Serving it with some Spanish rice and we’re off to another great meal.