OK – here’s the deal. I’m having the entire family over to our new (for us) house for Christmas dinner. I’ll be making a prime rib beef roast with a really good dish of oven roasted vegetables (onions, carrots, celery and potatoes). I’ll also be serving a sauce of demi-glace, currants and cracked pepper with the beef.
The problem is that I’m afraid the plate will look lonely with only 2 items. I kind of picture Christmas with an overflowing bounty of goodie for dinner. Since the vegetables already have potatoes in them I don’t think I need another potato dish, but maybe another vegetable dish?
So what are your thoughts? What else should I serve to liven this up?
How bout roasted sweet potatoes? My mother in law makes them like this:
She bakes them whole in the oven for about an hour. Then she takes them out, mashes them, puts them in a baking dish, and tops them with sliced apples and brown sugar. Then she bakes them again for 20 minutes, just enough to carmelize the apples and sugar. They are super yummy!
You could also make some steamed brocoli, or some steamed spinach.
You could make some dinner rolls to soak up that gravy.
But really, you’ll need big yeasty dinner rolls to begin with. No dinner is complete without em, IMHO.
Also, maybe a fruit dish? Cranberries are a holiday staple, but with prime rib mabye you’d rather go with some baked apples or even a nice fruit salad as a starter?
If you’re thinking of doing another veggie dish, I’d either go with something creamy–like greenbeans in a mushroom sauce/broccoli in cheese–or something very “green”, like a spinach based salad.
And don’t forget dessert! Any plans in that area yet?
Another option in the world of vegetables. Try roasting (open glass pan) Parsnips sliced in chunky spears drizzled with Olive Oil until browned then topped off with a few good cranks of fresh pepper. The sweet/sharp flavour is a great compliment to Spuds and carrots and seems to get along well with both beef and poultry.
Break the carrots out of your roasted vegetable pan.
Julienne 'em, then glaze 'em. (Which you cando by frying in a pan onlow heat in 1/2 C of wine or cider, some brown sugar, and some mustard powder.
Stephi’s idea sound like what my wife does, but she tops the sweet potatoes with mini-marshmallows, then bakes until they’re browned.
It’s an easy dish either way.
Another easy one, which can be experimented with, is dumping a bag of baby carrots into a pan with a small can of frozen concentrated apple juice and saute for until the carrots are tender to the bite (which doesn’t take long). You can top this with brown sugar and cinnamon, which is pretty good. But you might think of something else. I’ve even added a little butter during the sauteing stage to give it a creamier texture.
Throw some root veggies into your roast veg melange (parsnips, baby turnips, even chioggia beets, which won’t stain everything red) and you are good to go. I wouldn’t worry about a naked plate. What are you using for demi? Did you make your own?
Fruit salad for an appetizer is nice. My family puts it in little goblets and puts a little 7-up on top, but then we also have green Jello salad; we’re stuck in the 50’s, maybe.
But hey, green Jello salad is great stuff.
Howbout something with an orangey squash? Baked acorn squash with apple-cranberry-etc. stuffing, or steamed squash with something…
We put a tablespoon of OJ concentrate on the mashed yams. Yummy, not too sweet.
I should add, with a slice of prosciutto (Italian style ham) on top. It tastes great and is not very heavy, leaving room for the rest of the yummy things you are serving. It’s called “prosciutto e melone” IIRC.
We usually have some sort of Roast Beast for Christmas. And with it, mashed potatoes and other somewhat heavy stuff.
With this heavy duty dinner, a nice refreshing salad goes down well. I make something called Splendid Raspberry Spinach.
It’s made up of baby spinach leaves, cut-up starfruit, a few kiwis, raspberries, and the dressing is a light oil with raspberry vinegar.
Chopped macadamia nuts on top are optional.
Great suggestions - thanks!
You guys are on the ball, I was thinking about a fruit dish as many of you suggested and the salads sound like a great idea as well. I’m definitely taking your advice and including some kind of rolls/bread.
essvee,
I’m making the demi-glace. It’s a long process but it brings a rich quality to the sauce I really like.
I 'm thinking of using it thus:
Roast the beef on top of some mirepoix (diced onion, carrot, and celery) so the veggies get nice and caramelized.
Deglaze pan with a good port (gives a nice sweet flavor)
Add demi-glace for richness and to thicken
Add a tablespoon or two of currant preserves
Reduce
Add cracked pepper
Result (hopefully): A very rich beefy sweet fruity glaze with just a bit of bite from the cracked pepper. At least that’s what I’m shooting for.
Dissolve a box of strawberry jello with the boiling water (don’t do the cold water part). Once dissolved add a frozen package of strawberries and stir for a bit (it will thicken). Add a can of crushed pineapples, and two sliced bananas, stir and put in fridge to set. You can put it in a jelly mold and unmold onto a fancy plate for the meal if you want to. This goes really well with turkey but adds a nice touch to any meal.
I once attended a holiday dinner that started with a broiled half-grapefruit that had been brushed with some kind of liqueur. Whatever flavor you like would probably work. Another holiday dinner started with a first course of homemade squash soup.
The entree you’ve described sounds fine on its own, though I would concur about adding parsnips to the vegetables and rolls of some kind.
If you want to get fancy you can add Yorkshire Pudding, made in muffin cups so everyone gets a mini non-soggy one.
Dessert will be a Fuji apple tart (got the recipe from Gourmet magazine), ice cream from the local independent shop which makes their own (Peterson’s is AWESOME if you’re near Oak Park, IL), And I’m thinking of picking up a French-Silk chocolate pie from Bakers Square just because I love it and I really don’t think I could duplicate it.
I would suggest popovers instead of the yeasty rolls. You can use the drippings from the beast for the fat. Some steamed brussel sprouts would be nice too. What time should I show up?
That goes well with what you are serving. You could do a waldorf salad as a first course.
French onion soup is great.
You could also do some make a head hors d’ouvres they are lost that simple. You could do veggies and an Itlian dipping oil. Fresh bread and cheese.
Stuffed onions are simple.
Stuffed articokes are not hard but look impressive.
I would also think about having a dessert buffet already set up. Some cookies on a tray, eggnog, english triffal and then a choclate cake or ginger cake or an apple tort. let me know if you want recipes.
