Good Morning.
When my kids were growing up we always did the big meal on Christmas Eve. It was a multi-course affair requiring a couple of hours at an elaborately set table and candlelight. Now that we have added many people to the family who have their own obligations and preferences, we get together when we can and eat whatever we can throw together. We do buffets off the kitchen counter if necessary and the dates are flexible. When my husband passed away just before Christmas in 2012, nobody was in the mood to do anything but we finally decided to get together on Epiphany, January 6th, for an afternoon of coffee, hot chocolate, and a variety of desserts. It was okay under the circumstances.
Herewith, however, is the menu of yore and we begin with The Christmas Eve Seafood Thing.
1 pound bay scallops
1/2 pound pre-cooked medium shrimp
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp. flour
3/4 cup Half and Half
2 tbsp. dry sherry
1/2 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove the tails from the shrimp and chop into small pieces. In a skillet, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for at least a minute to get rid of the flour taste, then whisk in the Half and Half and sherry. Stir to make a smooth sauce and add more cream if it seems too thick. Add just a bit of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, taste, and add more if desired. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook over low heat for a couple of minutes. Spoon this mixture into baking shells or small ramekins and top with grated cheese. Put the shells or dishes on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. This appetizer can be made ahead of time, refrigerated and baked right before serving.
The salad course is next and it can be any salad you prefer. My choice would be Caesar, probably without anchovies if younger guests are present. Then again, they may or may not like the seafood thing. Give them some crackers or Chex-Mix.
Onto the Prime Rib, a costly cut that most people have only at Christmas. There are a gazillion ways to prepare this thing, but mine is simple. Get yourself a 4 to 5 pound boneless prime rib roast and let it come to room temperature on the counter for two hours. Sprinkle with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and garlic powder and let it sit for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 500 degrees. Put the roast, fat side up, on a rack in a metal roasting pan and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Immediately reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast, uncovered, for an hour. Pull the roast from the oven and insert an instant read thermometer into the center of the roast. If it is 120 to 125 degrees take the meat out. If not and it probably won't be, return to oven. Watch that thermometer like a hawk. This is not the time to be diddling around with something else. When the temp says 120 to 125, take the roast out, cover with aluminum foil to rest and keep the thermometer in the meat. The temp will rise over the next 15 minutes to 130 degrees for a rosy medium rare. When the temp starts to fall, slice up the meat. Figure on half a pound per person.
Here are two sauces for the roast. The first is an easy Horseradish Sauce that can also be made ahead of time.
1 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 prepared horseradish in a jar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Just a titch of cayenne pepper
Whip the cream with an electric mixer. Fold in the other ingredients to combine well, cover the bowl, and put in the fridge.
Bring to room temp to serve.
The second sauce is a classic Marchand De Vin.
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup white button mushrooms, wiped with a paper towel dampened with a bit of olive oil and finely chopped
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. each kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic for the last minute. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, wine, broth, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, for half an hour. Remove the bay leaves. Serve warm in a gravy boat. This can also be made ahead and heated gently to serve.
Also part of the tradition are The Tingle Twice Baked Potatoes. This recipe is for 6 but is easily adapted for more people.
6 big baking potatoes
10 slices of bacon, fried crisp and drained
1 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese, mild or sharp
Bake the potatoes, cool, and cut the tops off. Scoop out the insides and put in a bowl. Cut up the bacon into bitty pieces with a scissors. Add the sour cream and 1 cup of the cheese and mix all with an electric mixer. Stuff the potato shells, top with the remaining cheese, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. These can also be fixed up ahead of time and baked just before serving. Increase oven time to 25 minutes if they were in the fridge.
I first had these potatoes in 1966 at Fort Rucker, Alabama. They were served up by a woman named Elaine Tingle from somewhere in Tennessee. Variations include using chives instead of bacon, not a good trade-off in my view. Elaine also
dished them up in mashed form rather than stuffed, but suit yourself. My son-in-law likes these things so much that he once took a dozen as a host/hostess gift to some people he and his family were visiting in the Black Hills.
You don't need a vegetable if you had a salad but have one if you wish. My choice would be buttered peas for nice Christmas color but I have never served them when my children were present. All three of them hate peas but eat broccoli.
The final tradition is French Silk Pie.
An 8 inch baked pie shell
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water and cool slightly. Cream the butter in a bowl with a mixer. Add the sugar gradually. Blend in the melted chocolate and add the vanilla. Now add the eggs, one at a time, beating 5 minutes after each egg. This is tedious and boring but is a necessary step to get the silky quality. Turn the filling into the cooled,
baked shell, cover the entire top with whipped cream, top with chocolate doodads if desired, and and chill for several hours. Be aware that you are eating raw eggs and it that's a problem, make a different dessert. Otherwise, cut into wedges and let your eyes well up with tears of joy. This pie rocks.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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