Christmas Dinner Menu Appetizer Shrimp Cocktail with Tangy Dipping Sauce Wine: an oaky Chardonnay Main Course Standing Rib Roast Roasted Potato Fans Broccoli with Buttered Almond Sauce Dinner Rolls Wine: a peppery Syrah Dessert Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Wine: Muscat

Shrimp Cocktail with Tangy Dipping Sauce

4 cups water
1teaspoon salt
1 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
6 lettuce leaves
Lemon twists for garnish

Tangy Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons horseradish
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

In small bowl, combine chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish and lemon juice. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Makes cup. In 3-quart sauce pan over high heat, heat water and salt to boiling; add shrimp and cook over low heat until shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes; drain. Cover and refrigerate.To serve, line plates with lettuce leaves; arrange shrimp on lettuce, spoon on tangy dip. Garnish with lemon twists.

Back to the Top

Standing Rib Roast

one 2 to 3 rib beef rib roast, small end (4 to 6 lbs)
fresh ground salt and pepper
Horseradish sauce

Yorkshire Pudding
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Place roast on rib bones in open roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Insert meat thermometer into thickest part, making sure it is center of roast and not resting on bone or fat

Roast in 325f degrees oven until internal temperature reaches 140f. For rare (1to 2 hours) or until of desired doneness.

When roast is done, rest a room temperature 15 minutes for easier carving. If serving with Yorkshire Pudding, begin preparation about 5 minutes before end of roast time.

Transfer roast to warm platter and garnish. If you like, serve alone with horseradish sauce or Yorkshire Pudding. For Yorkshire Pudding, in medium bowl with wire whisk, beat eggs until foamy; beat in milk and salt. Gradually beat in flour until batter is smooth. When roast is done, spoon of 2 tablespoons drippings and divide into twelve 3 inch muffin cups; tilt to coat evenly; turn oven to 400f heat muffin pan each greased muffin cup. Bake 30 minutes. Loosen Yorkshire pudding; transfer to platter and serve immediately. Makes 12 individual puddings.

Back to the Top

Roasted Potato Fans

6 medium potatoes
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon marjoram leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

 

Peel potatoes. With sharp knife, cut each potato crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices, being careful to cut each slice only three quarters of the way through the potato

In 13" x 9" baking pan in 400f oven, melt butter. Arrange potatoes, cut side up, in pan. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with salt basil marjoram and pepper. Bake one hour or until potatoes are golden and slices fan out, occasionally brushing potatoes with butter in pan. Serve immediately.

Back to the Top

Broccoli with Buttered Almond Sauce

2 pounds fresh broccoli
Water
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon sugar

Remove any large leaves and cut off any woody stalk ends from broccoli. Split stalks lengthwise 2 or 3 times to speed cooking. Rinse well. In large skillet over medium heat, in 1 inch boiling water, heat broccoli to boiling; cover and cook 10 minutes; drain, set aside

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, in hot butter, cook almonds 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in lemon juice and remaining ingredients. To serve, arrange broccoli in bowl; pour sauce over broccoli.

Back to the Top

2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups water lukewarm
1/2 cup butter or shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar or honey
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour and
2 cups unbleached white bread flour
1 cup white flour-added while kneading

Heat oven to 425°F. Dissolve yeast packages in lukewarm water. Cream together butter or shortening, sugar or honey, salt and eggs. Slowly add flour. Mix well and then turn out onto floured board and add 1 cup of flour while kneading on the board.

In a large bowel, let rise for one hour by placing dough in a warm place with a thin towel over bowel, then punch down. Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to two days.

Roll into 1 inch balls and put three in each muffin tin, or roll dough out, cut into triangles, then roll into crescents. Bake 425°F for 15 minutes.

Back to the Top

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

5 eggs
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
Water
1 medium orange
four 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sugar
1 3/4 cups cranberries
1 1/2 cups finely crushed vanilla wafers (about 40 cookies)
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened Small holly leaves or other non toxic leaves for garnish
Sugar frosted cranberries (see below)

Separate the eggs, placing egg yolks in large mixing bowl and whites in a small bowl

In 1-quart saucepan, evenly sprinkle the unflavored gelatin over 2 cups cold water. Gently cook over medium heat until gelatin is completely dissolved and no granules remain, stirring frequently with a spoon. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then set aside for gelatin to cool slightly

From orange, grate 1 tablespoon peel; cut in half and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. To large bowl with egg yolks, add cream cheese, vanilla, orange juice and peel, and 1-cup sugar, at low speed, beat until blended, gradually beat in 1/4 cups gelatin. Increase speed to medium; beat until smooth scraping bowl

With mixer at high speed, beat egg whites in bowl until stiff peaks form. With rubber spatula, fold whites into cheese mixture. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.

Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan over high heat, cook 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons water and the cranberries 5 minutes or until cranberry skins pop, stirring occasionally with a long-handled-wooden spoon; stir in remaining cup gelatin mixture. In an electric blender at medium speed, blend the cranberry mixture until smooth; pour mixture into small bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the cranberry mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a metal spoon into the bowl.

In 10" x 3" springform pan with hand, mix crushed vanilla wafers and butter or margarine; firmly press onto the bottom of the panAlternately spoon cheese and cranberry mixtures into pan. With knife, cut through to make swirl. Cover; refrigerate until set.

Carefully remove side of pan from cheesecake. Garnish with sugar frosted cranberries (optional).

Sugar frosted cranberries To frost cranberries, strawberries, grapes, oranges, apples, pears, kumquats, dates or any whole fruit follow these simple directions Dip fruit of choice into egg whites that have been beaten until frothy. Then dip into granulated sugar, and place on wire rack to dry. For extra sparkle, dip into sugar again just before they are completely dry.

Back to the Top