Special Recipes for the Winter Holidays You Celebrate

How's that for a politically correct title?! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Ok, on to the business at hand. No matter which holidays you celebrate this time of year, what are some of the key recipes of your holiday season?

Here's one of mine:

EGGNOG!!

Get This Stuff:

32 ounce can of Borden Eggnog
1/4 of a carton of vanilla ice cream
Freshly ground Nutmeg to taste
Freshly ground Cinnamon to taste

Do This:

Break out the blender and mix all ingredients until well combined. I suppose you could top it with whipped cream and a sprig of mint, that would be way over the top for me. Need an adult version? Add dark rum and a splash of kirsch and/or peppermint schnapps. How much booze? Fine tune it to your own taste but also keep in mind some folks might be driving later. Consume with caution! This is a very rich drink, depending on how high you set the "octane level" the booze might sneak up on you, one or two mugs is plenty!

[emoticons MMT needs] :christmas tree: :festivus pole: :uncle who had a little too much eggnog: [/emoticons MMT needs]

Living in Alaska,with the abundance of new fallen snow, we always made SNOW ICE CREAM
thru the holidays (or really all thru the winter).

BIG kettle of fresh fallen snow.....add evaporated milk then pick ANY or all....cinnamon, vanilla,
blueberries,strawberries and little bit of sugar (as you wish) and VIOLA....ice cream, ALASKAN
style.....

Glühwein, my family makes this concoction on Christmas Eve and there's a steady flow of if through New Years Day. There are thousands of variations and it seems like every family with German heritage has their own spin on it. Great when you're coming back into the house after a long romp in the snow with kids and dog on a cold day!

Glühwein

Get This Stuff:

1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine, cheap Merlot is perfect for this
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 whole cloves
4 whole nutmeg pods
1/2 cup rum

Do This:

1) In a medium size saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, then reduce heat and continue to simmer.

2) Cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice into the pot. Poke the cloves into the orange peel and drop into the mixture. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken like syrup.

3) Pour in the wine and rum and stir, heating gradually until steaming. DO NOT BOIL. Strain the mixture into a second pot, retain the spices because they're usually good for a third and maybe a fourth run but use a new orange every time.

Variations? Make it your own, I've seen pulverized candy canes used in place of sugar, lemons and limes instead of oranges, no rum and kirsch instead. Make a couple of small batches while the weather is cold and tune it up the way you like it.

Some time way back when, Great Grandma met Great Grandpa and the Toadwater family line was corrupted with Finnish and French blood... One of the consequences, Great Grandma insisted on preparing:

LUTEFISK

One of the most disgusting horrible holiday "foods" I can think of next to fruitcake and bugs! Lutefisk is an unfortunate result of extreme processes used to preserve food in the traditions of Northern European people from a very long time ago. Way back when they had to do this because there just wasn't any other way to make foods gathered in the summer an dfall last the entire winter.

Things are better now, we have much better ways of preserving foods and they don't involve the use of chemicals like lye; our preservatives don't taste as yucky and they work really well. I refuse to eat this stuff and I have never made it in my own home but every year a plate full of this "schtuff" appears on the Christmas dinner buffet table... No one ever owns up to bringing it, no one who knows what it is ever eats it, and many a child has been tricked into trying it. We are a cruel lot! Wonder what could be so horrible about this dish? Think about how a nice big fork full of really salty hot fish flavored jello would taste (then try not to yak!). It smells as good as it tastes too...

Still have some twisted curiosity driving you to want to try making Lutefisk? Here you go, but don't blame me later, I warned you up front!

In years past, the homemaker had to go through the complicated task of treating dried fish with lye, but now, even in America, frozen Lutefisk is readily available at selected fish markets and at Scandinavian delicatessens. There are several ways to prepare the pre-made Lutefisk (and not one of them makes it taste good or edible):

Cooking Lutefisk the old fashioned way: Do not cook in aluminum vessels as it will darken the kettle (is that some sort of clue about why you shouldn't be eating Lutefisk?). Use three level tablespoons salt to each quart of water. Bring water to boil, add salt and return to boil. Add fish which has been sliced into serving pieces and again return to boil, then remove from the heat. Skim, and let fish steep for 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness. Serve at once.

Without adding water: Put the serving pieces of lutefisk in a kettle, season each pound of fish with 1/2 tablespoon of salt and place over low heat. This allows the water to be "drawn" out. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let steep 5 to 10 minutes. Serve at once.

Baking in foil: Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Skin side down, arrange Lutefisk on a sheet of double aluminum foil and season with salt. Wrap foil tightly around fish and place on rack in a large pan and bake 20 minutes. Cut corner from foil and drain out excess water. Serve at once.

Lutefisk with a firm texture can be obtained by first sprinkling with coarse salt and allowing to stand several hours. Rinse well in cold running water, and soak in unsalted water. Then cook or bake as desired.

Lutefisk must be served hot on piping hot plates. Accompaniments vary from bacon or pork drippings, white sauce, mustard sauce, or melted butter which seems to remain a favorite. Boiled and steamed potatoes, stewed whole, dry green peas are a must as a vegetable accompaniment. The only other necessary additions are freshly ground pepper, lefse, or flatbread. In some parts of Northern Norway, lutefisk is served with melted goat cheese.

All of the extra trimmings are nice on their own so I suppose if you had to you could try and find the right ratio of Lutefisk to actual food; a 0 percent Lutefisk to real food ratio seems right to me.

Need an over the top appetizer or heavy horse-doover? Here's one that is super rich, not too hard to make, and the taste is out of this world!

STUFFED MUSHROOMS NEPTUNE

What you need:

35-40 Large fresh mushrooms, I use large Oyster mushrooms
1 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (6 oz) can tiny shrimp
1 (6 oz) can crab meat
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
green onion, finely chopped
ground black pepper

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Clean mushrooms and remove stems (but make sure you use the stems in something else, why let em go to waste?) and set aside.

Drain the shrimp and crab then combine all ingredients for the stuffing in a bowl using a spoon or spatula. Fill each mushroom cap with the stuffing. Bake at 375F on a baking sheet for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes about 35 to 40 depending on the size of the mushrooms. If you are like me you will try to eat most of them on your own, go easy on these! Three or four is enough, but you'll probably eat a few extra just because you can...

Drinks and sweets are always a big part of the season! How about the big meals? My family would almost always roast a goose for dinner on Christmas day and Dad would normally make a prime rib roast on New Years eve.

Sometimes a meal is all about the quality of the ingredients and simple preparation, this is one of those. Without question the star of this meal is the roast and it is expensive so it may be one of those meals you only make once a year.

PRIME RIB ROAST

Get This Stuff:

8-10 pound prime rib roast
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
Medium yellow onion, diced fine
2 cups beef broth or water

Do This:

Place the roast in a roasting pan with the fatty side up. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread the mixture over the fatty layer of the roast, and let the roast sit out until it is at room temperature, no longer than 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Cook the roast for 20 minutes at 500 degrees F, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F and continue roasting for an additional hour to hour and fifteen minutes. The internal temperature of the roast should be at 145 degrees F for medium rare.

Let the roast rest for 10 or 15 minutes before carving so the meat can retain its juices. While the roast rests put the roasting pan on the stove, add fine diced onion and 2 cups of beef broth or water. Bring the au jus up to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Slice the roast into half to three quarter inch thick slices, serve by ladling au jus over each slice and with horseradish on the side. Makes for an impressive presentation when you can carve it up table side and serve each person individually.

10 pounds of prime rib make you worried about too many leftovers? Your mileage may vary but eight adults in my family can normally polish off ten pounds of prime rib, someone (not always me...) goes back for seconds! Ended up with leftovers? Save them for the next morning and make roast beef hash for breakfast or brunch (hell, make it for dinner or MIDRATS too!).

The single item I crave all year long?

CHRISTMAS GOOSE

Get This:

1 fresh goose (a 12 pounder is enough for 8 adults, remember a lot of the weight is water and fat that cook off)
salt to taste
4 cups wild rice, cooked
2/3 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons ground savory
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups water

Do This:

Mix the cooked wild rice, nuts, apples, onion, and herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the neck, heart, and gizzard from the goose. Wash the bird inside and out. Pat dry then fill the cavity of the goose with the wild rice stuffing. Use skewers to close the cavity, and lace butchers twine around the skewers to keep them in place then truss the bird.

Roast on a roasting rack in a deep roasting pan at 325 degree F, breast side down for 1 1/2 hours. Draw off the fat as it accumulates. Turn, and roast another 1 1/2 hours. When done, the juices should run clear when the bird is pricked where the thigh attaches to the body. Remove butchers twine and skewers and allow to rest on a platter for 15 minutes before carving.

While the goose is roasting, place the neck, heart, and gizzard in a saucepan with water. Simmer gently, partially covered for two hours or until reduced to slightly less than 2 cups of liquid. Season the broth to taste with salt.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the roasting pan. Sprinkle a little flour over the bottom of the roasting pan, 1 to 2 tablespoons, depending on how thick you like your gravy. Set the pan over low heat. Stir for 2 minutes, scraping up all the browned bits. Add the reserved goose broth to the pan, and whisk until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve in a gravy boat alongside the bird.

We do Prime Rib every Christmas Eve and can't have it without Yorkshire Pudding!!!

For those of you who remember Platte Canyon Grill they have an appetizer the name was Crabmeat St. Helens. Luck for us Cajun Girl shared the recipe with us so here it is and it is just YUMMY!!!

First, boil a fresh artichoke in water with crab boil, lemon juice, and sea salt. Take out the heart and place it on a bed of wilted spinach.

Lightly saute lump crabmeat in butter, fresh lemon, cayenne, sea salt and capers. (Cook only to warm so the crabmeat doesn't fall apart.) Spoon the crabmeat on top of the artichoke heart and top with homemade hollandaise (recipe follows). Hope you and your guests enjoy it!

Hollandaise Sauce
Source: Bennett - Yield is ~2 cups
4 egg yolks
¼ lb. melted butter
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
4 tsp. water
- Put the egg yolks, water, salt, and cayenne pepper into a stainless steel mixing
bowl and mix throughly with a wire whip.
- You need to cook the egg mixture, stirring constantly with a wire whip. The eggs
are done when they thicken and form ribbons when you roll the whip up and out. You
must be careful not to scramble the eggs.
- There are two ways to cook the eggs; directly over but about 6 inches above the
heat (gas stove only) or on a pot of boiling water (double boiler style). The latter is
better if you have never done this before.
- When eggs are done remove from heat.
- Whisk in the butter slowly (1 tsp. at a time) stirring the mixture constantly.
- Whisk in the lemon juice.

Best cranberry sauce/relish ever.... And easy

Mix in a saucepan
4 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1/2 teasp all spice
1/2 teasp ground cloves

Cover with white or rose wine. When using cranberries in a bag use however much wine as the instructions on the package call for in water.

Cook uncovered over medium heat until the cranberries break, it will thicken as it cools.

archer wrote: Best cranberry sauce/relish ever.... And easy

Mix in a saucepan
4 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
1/2 teasp cinnamon
1/2 teasp all spice
1/2 teasp ground cloves

Cover with white or rose wine. When using cranberries in a bag use however much wine as the instructions on the package call for in water.

Cook uncovered over medium heat until the cranberries break, it will thicken as it cools.

Nice departure from "can-berry-sauce" that my little brother insists is just as good as real Cranberry sauce made from scratch! Why is it so hard for some people to understand that the stuff that comes in a can is nasty?!