Christmas Eve Dinner

Last year was the first time that I went all out for our Christmas eve dinner and I really enjoyed it. So of course we had a repeat this year. As usual, I always have the desert figured out first; I didn't actually decide on the main course until just a couple days before.

I was very happy with the way it all turned out, I really out did myself this time. Here's the menu:

Shrimp and Cocktail sauce

Spring Mix salad with Cranberry dressing

Sparkling Raspberry Jell-o

The Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs

Spiced Honey Semifreddo with Dried Fruit and Almonds

Spiced Honey Semifreddo with Dried Fruit and Almonds

We saw this on Food Network one night and I was dying to make it. Christmas Eve dinner seemed like the right occasion to give a whirl. I loved it! April and everyone else was just okay with it, so I guess it isn't an instant hit with everyone. I'm gonna experiment with this base a little bit, I bet I can find a variation everyone will be all over. Thanks Tyler Florence.

Spiced Honey Semifreddo with Dried Fruit and Almonds

Base

2 1/2 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur (or almond extract)
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Spiced Honey:
6 figs, fresh or dried, cut into quarters
6 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1 lemon , juiced
1 cinnamon stick
Amaretto cookies, for garnish

Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar until the sugar starts to dissolve and the yolks turn light yellow, about 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the hot milk, adding it in a thin stream at first so as not to cook the yolks, and then more quickly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, without boiling, until the mixture thickly coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and amaretto. Refrigerate until cool (or chill in a water bath).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes.


When the custard is cold, whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold into the custard along with the toasted almonds. Scrape the mixture into a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, cover and freeze until firm.


Meanwhile, put the figs, dates, honey, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the fruit is soft. Let cool slightly, then remove the cinnamon stick.


To serve, dip the bottom of the loaf pan in a bowl of hot water for 5 seconds. Put a platter on top and then invert quickly; lift off the loaf pan. Cut the semifreddo into slices and put the slices on plates. Spoon the spiced honey and dried fruit over and crumble amaretto cookies over the top for crunch.

Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs

We were stumped on what to make as the main dish for our Christmas Eve dinner so we turned to Food Network and Bobby Deen and we weren't disappointed. I was a little rushed so I couldn't let them sit with the spices for 2 hours and I wish I had cooked them a little longer, but they were still amazing.

Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pounds baby back ribs, cut into 2-rib portions

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients except the ribs. Rub spice mixture all over the ribs. Cover and refrigerate ribs for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the ribs in a roasting pan. Bake for 1 to 2 hours, until meat easily pulls off the bones.

The best ever green bean casserole

This is the very best version of the classic green bean casserole I have ever tried. The fresh green beans and the toasted onions were the best part. I had a hard time keeping April out of the onions while I made the rest. It may seem like a lot of work, but it is definitely worth it. Thanks Alton Brown on the Food Network.

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

Topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Cranberry Dressing

I got this recipe from a friend and it was a great compliment to our Christmas eve dinner. I forgot the onions, but it was still amazing. The blue cheese and the almonds really add a lot to it.

Green Salad with Cranberry Dressing

1 cup sliced almonds

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons water

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

1 pound mixed salad greens (Spring Mix works well)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 5 minutes, or until nuts begin to brown.

In a blender or food processor, combine the vinegar, oil, cranberries, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and water. Process until smooth.

In a large bowl, toss the almonds, onion, blue cheese, and greens with the vinegar mixture until evenly coated.

Christmas Morning Casserole

For as long as I can remember, every Christmas morning my mom would disappear into the kitchen after opened presents and whip up this tasty casserole. It's perfect because it is easy to make and hearty enough she could feed all of us hungry boys without turning into a short-order cook.

Christmas Morning Casserole

2 Doz Large Eggs

1/3 C Milk

1 1/2 C Stuffing Cubes

1lb Sausage (Italian or Hot adds extra flavor)

1 1/2 C Cheddar Cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the sausage thoroughly. Put all the eggs in a 9x13 cake pan, mix with a fork until well combined. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I love cheesecake, last year I had an obsession with pumpkin chessecake and this year I wanted to try something new. For years I have loved the White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake at Olive Garden and I finally got brave enough it try it. I couldn't find a single recipe that I liked so I combined the parts I did like from two:

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust:

20 Oreo Cookies

1/4 cup Butter, melted

Raspberry Sauce:

12 oz bag Frozen Raspberries

2 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tsp Corn Starch

1/2 C Water

Filling:

4 - 8oz Cream Cheese

1/2 C Sugar

4 Whole Large Eggs

2 Large Egg Yolks

1 Tsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp Flour

2 C White Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350.

Crust:

Crush the Oreo cookies and butter in a food processor. Press into the bottom of a 10" springform pan.

Sauce:

Bring the raspberries, water, sugar and corn starch to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce is thick. Strain the sauce through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Filling:

Mix the cream cheese until light and fluffy, scraping the sides often. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time mixing until well incorporated, scrape the sides of the bowl after each one. While the eggs are being mixed, melt the chocolate chips and set aside. Add the flour and vanilla. Add the chocolate to the batter and mix well.

Pour half of the filling into the springform pan. Drizzle 3 Tbsp of the raspberry sauce over the filling. Pour the remaining filling into the pan and drizzle with another 3 Tbsp of raspberry sauce. With a knife, swirl the batter to create a marble effect.

Bake for 55-60 minutes, until the filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours then remove from the pan. Serve with the remaining raspberry sauce.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

My friends wife contributes to a cooking blog and I found this recipe there. The kids thought it was pretty cool to cook dinner in the pumpkin and it turned out really well. I changed the recipe slightly because I can never leave well enough alone.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 Medium Pumpkin (or Amber Cup squash)

1 lb Sausage (hot or sage)

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. chopped green onion

1 tsp. salt

Dash of pepper

2 c. cooked rice

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 c. chopped or sliced mushrooms

1/4 c. roasted pine nuts

2 tbsp brown sugar

2-4 tbsp soy sauce

Brown the sausage then add celery, onions, green onion, salt and pepper and cook until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Put the entire casserole into the cleaned out pumpkin and bake at 400 until the pumpkin is tender. Scoop out the casserole, scraping some of the pumpkin with it.

Tweaks: The original recipe called for hamburger, which sounded fine, but the sausage really added some spicyness. We tried this in an Amber Cup squash and a Turban squash too. We preferred the sweetness and smooth texture of the Amber Cup over the Turban squash. Slivered almonds may also be good instead of pine nuts.

Cranberry Salsa

Last night at our family Christmas party my cousin Julie made this amazing salsa. She shared the recipe with me and I made it this afternoon.

Cranberry Salsa

12oz bag fresh Cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 med Jalapeno

2tbsp Cilantro

1tsp Cumin

2 Green onions

8oz Cream Cheese

Blend all of the ingredients, except the cream cheese, in a food processor.

Pour the salsa over the cream cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

Tweaks: I noticed at the party it was a little difficult to scoop the cream cheese and salsa without breaking the tortilla chips, so I thought whipping the cream cheese first would help. I put the cream cheese and a little salsa (about 1tbsp) into the Kitchenaid and whipped it until it was creamy. This made it so much easier to eat.

Let me about any of your own tweaks.

-Brad