Last night I made ‘easy stroganoff’ (Angus beef, yellow onion, sliced mushrooms, salt, pepper, sour cream, Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Worcestershire, served over egg noodles).
This morning found me rubbing the pork and we’ll be pulling pork for sandwiches with BBQ sauce, and cole slaw for dinner tonight. The roast is in the oven now at 235º.
Christmas dinner will be ‘prime rib’. I can’t afford USDA Prime this year, but Costco has USDA Choice that’s almost as good. I’ll make baked potatoes and some sort of veg to go with it, and I’ll make escargots for appies.
New Year’s Day I’m making ham hocks and black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread. Mrs. L.A. has requested oxtails. I’ve never made them. In fact, I can’t remember ever eating them. But I’ll braise them in wine. Looks like a real feast to welcome in the new year.
A couple of weeks ago I made Greek-style poached cod. Mrs. L.A. always likes that one, even though I only make enough fish for one night. She likes the sauce and pasta on its own just fine.
Office holiday party today. Last night I separated 2 racks of ribs, chucked them in the slow cooker with some hoisin, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, honey, and 5 spice, let it cook 8 hours overnight. Got up early, fished them out of the slow cooker, tossed them on a cookie sheet and under the broiler for 5 minutes, then wrapped up in foil, stuffed back into the (cleaned) slow cooker, and brought in to work. My colleagues are eating them right now.
I’d never made them this way before; turned out good, but not great. Definitely checked the fall-off-the-bone box.
I’ve never eaten an ox tail as an item on my plate, but I make ox tail soup from time to time, and fish out the meat to return to the broth after cooking. It’s pretty hard picking the meat off the tails, I would think it would be frustrating to eat as a “thing” on its own. Ox tail soup is fabulous, though.
I’m roasting a goose for new years. I usually also make an Indian grilled lamb dish, chick peas, and rice cooked with whole spice. I expect I will also make blueberry pie, scones, and chocolate chip meringue cookies. Yes, I’m hosting a party, my immediate family won’t be eating all of that.
Our office Christmas party is Friday. (So I’ll be going to Seattle on Friday instead of Thursday.) It’s always a secret. After the Secret Santa gift exchange, we board a party bus (complete with dance poles ) and are driven to a very expensive restaurant. We find out where we’re going when we get there.
I made pork lumpia a few days ago. Also baked some mince tarts for the first time. Christmas will be seafood paella with a chocoflan desert. New Year’s Eve will be a fondue, and NYD breakfast will be biscuits and gravy. Then we’re back on the dietary wagon.
I made a couple of pork wellingtons this weekend (following Alton Brown’s recipe). I used real apples instead of dry ones, though I baked them for a few minutes in an attempt to drive off some of the moisture. I don’t think that step was necessary (now), but I was worried that the extra moisture wouldn’t play well with the puff pastry. I don’t think it had any effect, really.
Though it all came out good, I let it cook a just a wee, few minutes too long. Also, the prosciutto was wafer-thin, and didn’t add a lot of flavor to the dish. I’ll be making this again, but I’ll add some personal touches next time.
I’m trying to figure out what else my Christmas Day menu needs. We’re having about 20 people over, although some of those are kids and they don’t really eat anything.
My husband is going to smoke a turkey and two ducks, all stuffed with an apple-jalapeno dressing. Besides that, I’ll make a broccoli salad, coleslaw, uh…mashed potatoes?
Also plates of cheese and olives, and dessert.
If anyone has suggestions, I’m open. Especially if it can be done ahead or isn’t too time-consuming!
The way my family accommodates my wife, who is vegetarian, is to make as much of everything else meat-free. These are usually “big” holiday family dinners with a spread of a dozen or so dishes, but even for smaller dinners she’s never gone hungry.
I’ve been in full-on candy making mode. Peanut brittle, chocolate nougat, caramels, mint meltaways, dark & milk chocolate hazelnut praline meltaways, peanut butter meltaways…all sitting on the desk next to me. I used real chocolate and made the hazelnut praline myself. I still have to make marshmallows, for sure. I need another go at chocolate nougat because what I’ve made isn’t as soft as I’d like it to be. And whatever else strikes my fancy and I have the ingredients for from this cookbook. Also, my brisket in wine sauce. Must find a brisket today or tomorrow.
Unless she will be really upset to be at a table with people eating meat, this is what I would do. Make the rib roast. Before you cook the beef, or after, or in a second oven, roast some root vegetables (beets, carrots, rutabaga) with a little vegetable oil. Cook a nice vegan rice pilaf. Serve a vegan quinoa salad with cranberries and nuts. Have a side salad. Maybe do a bean salad or a chick pea disk.
For dessert make fruit pie, using palm oil for the crust. (Substitute palm oil for lard in any recipe calling for lard. Use the white fluffy stuff, like Spectrum vegetable shortening, not the reddish liquid oil.)
Strangely, nobody has said in response to the thread title, ‘It’s the practice or skill of preparing food by combining, mixing, and heating ingredients. But that’s not important right now.’
Got a pot of chili simmering on the stove as I type this. And I’ll probably make some oatmeal raisin cookies to take to my curling team on Wednesday. Nothing special planned for Christmas or New Year’s.
I am doing a fresh ham for Christmas day. It’s a special request from Mr.Wrekkers old bachelor Uncle. He has supplied the recipe. From grandmas cook book. I hope it turns out okay. We will fry a wild turkey on Christmas eve. And all the sides. My stuffing will be cooked separately from the turkey, of course. I have alot of work to do, it seems.
What I would love is to have smoked duck. My Daddy used to smoke meat. I am gonna learn how to do it, soon. Mr.Wrekker would love a reason to hunt another species.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s all that stuffing vs dressing horseshit. It’s kind of regional. I use the word stuffing in general, because, around here, “dressing” will confuse the crap out of people. That word is reserved for stuff you put on salad. But there is a foodie contingent that insists on making the difference. Fuck 'em. Use whatever word you want.
+1, I use the 2 words interchangeably. I have never had stuffing/dressing actually in the bird. Too scary. It has a special large pan in my kitchen. So there, dear!
) and are driven to a very expensive restaurant. We find out where we’re going when we get there.