Let the Holiday Food Olympics Commence!
The real prep starts in November as you saw in last months post;
I was elbow deep in meat pie makings, a favorite dish with our family during
the holidays. I also started the process of making some Limoncello, which needs
time to macerate.
I’m currently in the thick of it, planning dishes for
Christmas Eve, breakfast, and dinner. I want it all to be special. I’m hosting
a cocktail party Christmas Eve and have a lengthy menu. It’s made mostly up of
classics (deviled eggs, clam dip, spinach and artichoke dip, shrimp cocktail,
Chex mix) but a few new recipes are making appearances as well, including a
spice rubbed pork tenderloin that will be served with spicy mustard and pickled
red onions on toasts and I’m attempting some rosemary Hasselback potatoes
(recipe below).
Christmas Dinner is at my Mom and Dad’s house so I’ve
offered to take care of dessert, which is funny since I usually hate to bake,
but during the cooking Olympics it’s a challenge I look forward to taking on. I
will be making two desserts; the main event is a Tiramisu Yule Log it's no throw away dessert, requiring lots of effort (and potentially tears). The other dessert is targeted at my brother’s gf Val who has some food allergies that make Tiramisu Yule Log
her kryptonite so I’m also making a Coffee and Coconut Milk Ice Cream, which I think will be delicious whether you can tolerate dairy or no!
Of course during all of this special occasion cooking, I’m
still making dinner nightly. And I’m not one to make it easy on myself so
December saw homemade spaghetti and meatballs, chili, Jamaican Jerk chicken
wings, pan roasted lamb with carrot salad, warm squid and potato
salad, Roasted-Garlic Beef Stew (recipe below) and pork schnitzel (recipe below).
Admittedly, I do a heck of a lot of cooking this time of year, and I love it! However, my plans for Boxing Day consist of heavy use of my microwave and a call to a pizza delivery service. Happy Holidays!
Roasted-Garlic Beef Stew
Ingredients
Directions
Pork Schnitzel
Coming next month: We do the annual 'food cleanse a la Abby' (spoiler alert: this is a gentle kind of cleanse, built for those of us who live to indulge)
Admittedly, I do a heck of a lot of cooking this time of year, and I love it! However, my plans for Boxing Day consist of heavy use of my microwave and a call to a pizza delivery service. Happy Holidays!
Rosemary Hasselback Potatoes
Serves 8
Ingredients
3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes
1/3 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (divided)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Slice the bottom off each potato and cut crosswise at
1/8-inch intervals, cutting to within 1/4 inch of the bottom. (You can place
the potato on a large spoon so the edges of the spoon prevent you from slicing
completely through the potato.)
Place the potatoes in a large bowl, add the olive oil, salt
and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary and toss well, working the salt
mixture in between the slices. Arrange the potatoes on a sheet pan cut side up.
Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, until they are tender and
golden and crisp on top.
2010, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved
Serves 4
12 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tablespoon butter, melted
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 pound beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 large parsnips, peeled, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 large potato, peeled, chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can beef broth
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss garlic with 1 tablespoon melted
butter on small baking sheet. Bake until garlic is tender and beginning to
brown, about 15 minutes. Cool garlic 5 minutes. Peel and set aside.
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large pot over high heat.
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper; dust with 1 tablespoon flour. Add beef to
pot. Sauté until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Transfer beef to bowl. Add
vegetables, broth, wine, herbs and roasted garlic to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce
heat to medium-low. Return beef and any juices to pot. Cover; simmer until beef and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour.
Mix remaining 1
tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Whisk flour paste into
stew. Simmer uncovered until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Season with salt
and pepper and serve.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 boneless pork loin chops (about 5 to 6 ounces each)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 cups plain dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons capers, drained
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.
Place each pork chop between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and
gently pound them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are an
even 1/4-inch thick.
Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and
pepper. Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt
and pepper. Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and
pepper. Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg and finally
into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they
have a nice even coating.
Lay the breaded pork cutlets in a single layer on a plate
lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes to allow
the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork.
Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over
medium-high heat. Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden
brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to platter and keep warm in
oven while you prepare the sauce.
Add shallot to schnitzel pan and cook until starting to
soften, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and lemon juice and allow to come
to a boil, cook until reduced by about half.
Sprinkle the cubed butter into the boiling sauce. Swirl and shake the
pan vigorously to dissolve the butter, thus thickening the sauce. The butter
must never come to rest, or the sauce will separate and become oily. Once the
butter has completely incorporated, remove from heat and stir in capers. To
serve pour sauce over pork and garnish with lemon wedges.
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