Good Morning.
On Christmas day in 1965, my aunt, a woman who never married and a faculty member at the University of Florida, prepared a huge dinner from the time of Charles Dickens. She had seen the recipes in a magazine and thought she'd dive right in. She also was what some people call deliberate, i.e. she took her sweet time doing almost anything, and tackling the Dickens repast proved to be the crowning moment in her deliberateness. She was determined to pull off the formidable task by herself and declined the offers of help from everyone as the day wore on and on and on. If I recall correctly, we finally ate at around seven that night when the original dinner hour was probably two in the afternoon.
I was going to offer up some recipes for goose and cabbage and plum pudding but decided to take the Chunnel to France.
French cooking is still my absolute favorite, so here is Christmas dinner that I would have in a heartbeat.
We begin with a Chestnut Soup that sounds British but is actually from the Auvergne region of France.
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 24 oz. bottle peeled, cooked chestnuts, drained
1/3 cup creme fraiche
2 tbsp. dry sherry
In a pot heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about twenty minutes. Add six cups of water and the chestnuts and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a blender and return to the pot. Whisk in the creme fraiche and sherry. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve
with good French bread.
Note: Creme fraiche can be hard to find. To make it at home,
put two cups of heavy cream and three tablespoons of cultured
buttermilk in a glass bowl and let it sit on your counter for
24 hours until it thickens. Place in the fridge for 24 hours before
using. Be sure to use cultured buttermilk or it won't work.
We move on to Duck a l'Orange. This recipe will serve four.
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 5 to 6 pound duckling
4 fresh thyme sprigs
4 fresh marjoram sprigs
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 medium white onion, cut into chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
Use a sharp knife to pierce the skin of the duck in several places but don't pierce the meat itself. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle the birds inside and out with salt and pepper. Put the thyme, marjoram, parsley, and half the chunks of onion in the duck cavity. Throw the rest of the onion in a roasting pan with the carrot. Place the duck on top and roast for seventy-five minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and increase the heat to 425 degrees. Put the ducks back in the oven and roast for another fifteen to twenty minutes until the skin is crispy.
Meanwhile start the sauce:
3 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups beef broth
4 navel oranges
1 tbsp. corn starch
3 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/4 tsp. Angostura bitters
2 tbsp. butter at room temp.
Boil the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan until it turns brown. Add the beef broth gradually, stirring constantly. Set aside. Zest the oranges. Squeeze the juice from two oranges and cut the other two into segments. When the duck is done, remove from the oven and let it rest on a cutting board. To finish the sauce, bring it to a simmer, then add half a cup of orange juice and half the zest and simmer for five minutes. Add a little of the sauce to the corn starch and then whisk it into the sauce in the pan to thicken. Add the Grand Marnier and bitters. Whisk in the butter a bit at a time. Carve the duck and pour sauce over each serving. Garnish with the rest of the orange zest and a couple of orange segments.
I have a family member who would rather have this duck than any other food on the face of the earth. His name is Stephen.
Serve Stephen's duck with Potatoes Au Gratin.
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
Dash of kosher salt and pepper
Thyme from a jar
1 1/4 cups Gruyere cheese, grated
Place the butter, cream, and garlic in a bowl and stir to combine well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel the potatoes and slice them nice and thin. Spread a third of them in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Pour a third of the cream over this layer and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. Sprinkle with some of the cheese. Layer in this manner until the top but don't finish with cheese, saving some for the final step. Cover the dish with foil and bake for an hour and fifteen minutes. Remove the foil, top with the remaining cheese and bake for another fifteen minutes until the top is golden. Let it rest on the counter for a few minutes before serving. Do not even think of substituting milk for the cream. Half and Half maybe, but not milk.
For a green vegetable, we suggest Haricots Verts with Roasted Fennel and Shallots.
2 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed
3/4 pound shallots, peeled and rough chopped
5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 pound haricots verts - fresh green beans
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Trim the ends of the beans. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut the fennel bulbs lengthwise in half. Now cut the halves in half lengthwise. Combine the fennel and shallots in a bowl, add three tablespoons of olive oil, and mix well. Arrange the fennel and shallots in a single layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast until tender and golden for about 35 minutes. Stir them around about every ten minutes. Cook the beans in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for about three minutes and drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Pat them dry with paper towel. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the roasted vegetables and beans and stir until heated through, about three minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
The traditional Christmas dessert in France is Buche de Noel, that gorgeous rolled up cake shaped like a log and often garnished with mushrooms made of meringue. It's a royal pain to make so I am opting for a Pear Tarte Tatin that's a whole bunch easier but looks like it came straight out of a patisserie.
2 cups dry red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut in half lengthwise
One 14 oz. sheet puff pastry, thawed but still chilled
Whipping Cream
In a saucepan, gently boil the wine with the cinnamon sticks until reduced. This will take about 15 minutes. Discard the cinnamon sticks. In an oven-proof skillet combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat until you have a light caramel, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and add the red wine syrup along with the butter. Cook to dissolve the caramel about a minute. Add the pear halves to the skillet and cook over low heat until the pears are tender, about 20 minutes. Arrange the pears cut side up in the skillet with the thinner ends pointing toward the center. Cool the pears for half an hour. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to a 13 inch square. Using the skillet as a guide, cut out a 12 inch round. Cut four 2 inch long steam vents in the pastry and lay it over the pears. Tuck the edge into the skillet. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour and ten minutes until the pastry is golden and risen. Remove the skillet from the oven and let it cool for fifteen minutes. Now carefully, carefully invert the tarte onto a large plate. Whip up the cream with some sugar and a bit of vanilla and top each slice with a nice dollop.
Unfortunately a lot of French dishes cannot be made ahead. This is because these people regard their cuisine as an art form
that shouldn't be rushed or made particularly convenient. You could perhaps make the sauce for the duck ahead of time and warm it up for serving, you could whip up the cream, and you can do a lot of stuff while the duck is roasting, but other than that, you will be creating your masterpiece until you sit down with your guests rather than sipping wine with them by the fire. Such is the lot of all great artists.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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