So what is Christmas dinner?

Dinner:
-Lobster Bisque
-Prime Rib Roast
-Mashed Potatoes
-Brussel Sprout Hash
-Dill baby carrots
-Yorkshire Pudding
-To Drink: Grand Cru Burgundy and St. Julien Bordeaux

Dessert:
-Assortment of Cheese, with Grapes and Balsamic braised Figs
-English Chocolate Pudding (cake)
-To Drink: Port

Got room for two more?

Of course Larry!! Maybe you can play some Carols for us on the piano afterward !

Carrie - I don't use special pans. I used to use a square pyrex dish to do it, but I have found that regular muffin tins work great for individual puddings.

Sheesh. I was just getting around to putting a pitch together for them! Guess I should have picked up this month's issue...But the way they work, they wrote it at least a year ago, so I shouldn't worry...I didn't know it existed a year ago!

B

Maybe you can play some Carols for us on the piano afterward !

Deck the halls with Boston Charlie,
Norah's freezin' on the trolley.

(apologies to Pogo)

-Paul W.

Good King Sauerkraut looked out
on his feets uneven.
As the snow lay round about
all ker-choo achievin'.

Good King Sauerkraut looked out
on his feets uneven.
As the snow lay round about
all ker-choo achievin'.

I like Robert Earl Keen's carols -

Brother Ken brought his kids with him
The three from his first wife Lynn
And the two identical twins from his second wife Mary Nell
Of course he brought his new wife Kay
Who talks all about AA
Chain smoking while the stereo plays Noel, Noel
The First Noel

The whole song is here.

Our Christmas schedule is modified this year due to our daughter's first job taking her to the Gulf of Mexico area and allowing very little time off at the holidays. So Christmas dinner replaces our normal Christmas Eve celebration because she has to fly out mid-afternoon on the 25th. Christmas Eve menu:

Shrimp Cocktail
Egg Nog
Champagne

Prime rib roast w/ horseradish sauce
Mashed potatoes
Julienned carrots and zucchini sauteed with dill
Sea foam salad (a concoction of lime jello, cream cheese, KoolWhip, pineapple, and walnuts)
Unbelievable dinner rolls....from the local ice cream parlor and called "Butter Bits"

Looks like we will taste our first 1989 Lynch-Bages with this

Even without our daughter, we will continue to have a lot of neighbors in for dessert on Christmas day. Dessert will be:

Pumpkin pie, from scratch.....starting with pie pumpkins
Cranberry bliss bars
Chocolate mousse made from the recipe of the famed La Maisonette
Various cookies, heavy on the chocolate

Assorted wines available with dessert including our first taste of Banyuls

Today will be:

'96 Salon Blanc de Blancs
ripe french goat cheese
rosemary-gorgonzola cheese puffs

'93 Borgogno Barolo
Tenderloin roast
Savory bread pudding
Roasted parsnips
Sauteed kale

'89 Suduirat
Epoisses

Tomorrow I'll be doing a boeuf bourguignon. I'm not sure what I'll be drinking with it yet.

Cheers,
Michael

Melted Brie with Sourdough

Mixed Greens with choice of dressing
Boneless Rib Roast
Roasted Vegetable Melange

St Innocent 2005 Shea Vineyards Pinot Gris
Chimney Rock 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon

Pumpkin Pie
Strawberry Cheesecake

Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Mushroom Red Wine Demi-Glace

Wine Poached Pears for dessert.

I'll figure out the rest of it tomorrow.

rwj

After a whirlwind two days with the in-laws in OKC, Gail and I are going to relax on Christmas Day and not have an elaborate dinner. We are dinnered out already! Wine of some sort will be in order, though.

Tonight ended up being a bit of an hommage to Stupid-style cooking. Simple stuff with first-rate ingredients. I did a basic roasted chicken, but it was a good bird and I (for once) nailed it. Perfect skin, white meat, and dark meat. Nothing on it but S&P and a lemon in the cavity. Delicious. Along with that we had risotto made with fresh porcini. I hadn't made this before, so I Googled up "fresh porcini risotto" and the third hit was a post by Bernard Roth to the old FLDG. That gave me everything I needed to know. Just some onion-shallot mirepoix, the porcini, and a little fresh thyme to finish. Isabella said it was the best risotto I've made (and I make a lot of risotto). Some baby carrots sauteed in butter and then steamed with a little brandy and sugar rounded it out. Self-saucing chocolate pudding to finish.

Tomorrow it's gougeres, prime rib with a madeira sauce and a horseradish sauce, truffled chestnut-potato puree, hashed brussels sprouts ala Bob Ross (IIRC). Apple compote over clove ice cream to finish.

The day after that, I quit eating for a week.

Fresh porcini risotto is also on the menu here for today- Jimmy found some while we were hiking.

Fresh porcini risotto is also on the menu here for today- Jimmy found some while we were hiking.

The Hunter-Gatherers dine on Christmas Day. That sounds really good Stuart. I hope that you had a good Hanukkah (did I spell that right?).

rwj

Barb, I am still sorry that the Twin Cities thing didn't work out. If it had you would looking out at 6 inches of the white stuff.

Christmas Dinner-
This year Pat and I are staying home by ourselves. I just had three rotator cuff tendons repaired 9 days ago. That being the case, my arm is in a sling and Pat. my non-cooking wife is doing the cooking. This has affected the menu.

We are having Prime Rib, Spinach-Chanterelle Risotto, Brussel Sprouts with a marjoram, thyme butter, and Caesar Salad. There will be chimichurri, creme fraiche horseradish sauce and au jus to go with the roast. Dessert will be the stocking stuffer chocolates.

We will start with champagne, then go to an aged Bordeaux or CA Bordeaux grape wine. We shall end the meal with dark chocolate and a Brachetto d'acqui spumante.

RJ, honestly, I didn't pay much attention to it. St. Thorlak's Day is a much bigger deal here.

Side note- In your honor, Xmas breakfast was fruitcake with coffee. French roast, French press, extra strong. You done good!

Barb, I am still sorry that the Twin Cities thing didn't work out. If it had you would looking out at 6 inches of the white stuff.

Christmas Dinner-
This year Pat and I are staying home by ourselves. I just had three rotator cuff tendons repaired 9 days ago. That being the case, my arm is in a sling and Pat. my non-cooking wife is doing the cooking. This has affected the menu.

We are having Prime Rib, Spinach-Chanterelle Risotto, Brussel Sprouts with a marjoram, thyme butter, and Caesar Salad. There will be chimichurri, creme fraiche horseradish sauce and au jus to go with the roast. Dessert will be the stocking stuffer chocolates.

We will start with champagne, then go to an aged Bordeaux or CA Bordeaux grape wine. We shall end the meal with dark chocolate and a Brachetto d'acqui spumante.

Wow - for a non-cooking wife, she's doing well!!

RJ, honestly, I didn't pay much attention to it. St. Thorlak's Day is a much bigger deal here.

Side note- In your honor, Xmas breakfast was fruitcake with coffee. French roast, French press, extra strong. You done good!

I figured as much for you but just wanted to be polite.

That breakfast makes me want to drink some coffee again. I'd say YOU done good! Thanks, though. The best Christmas gift I could get is when people enjoy what I share.

rwj

So here it is:

The Wine:


The Table:


The Dinner:


The Dessert:


rwj

When all was said and done, I still had to cook a dinner...I did a nice Christmas morning breakfast, but hey, 6 o'clock rolls around and you have to eat something!

So I cleaned the tenderloin I'd bought at Costco, got 4 beautiful steaks out of it (and froze two big roasts for future dinners). I made roasted sweet potato wedges, red cabbage sliced and sauteed with a touch of bacon and balsamic, then I seared the steaks, finished them in the oven and made a mustard cream sauce that started with shallots in the pan, then I hit it with bourbon, almost cooked that away, then topped it with cream and stirred in a heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard into it at the end.

It was a huge hit. I know we've said it before, but Costco meats are really good..I was impressed with the taste of the steak (Filet mignon is DH's fave, so that's the special meal...)

I threw it all together in about an hour. Dessert was a cookie (or two) from all the cookie plates that have come through the door.

It was a nice, easy dinner...if a bit quiet!

b