Christmas Dinner 2011

Christmas Dinner Menu (from top left, clockwise)
Twice baked potatoes
Yorkshire pudding
Creamed spinach
Cranberry fruit gel
Rib roast
Asparagus
And for dessert, not pictured, Boston cream pie (recipe to come soon)

One of my favorite holiday recipes of all time is my family's cranberry gel. It has oranges in it, which I love. It tastes so much better than the caned stuff. Just know before you make it, it is more like a jell-o salad almost -it is not a cranberry sauce. But boy is it yummy. My sister preferred the cranberry gel over the from-scratch boston cream pie we had for dessert, actually (though everyone else helped themselves to seconds and even thirds of the boston cream pie).

Harvey Cranberry Gel
1 (6oz) raspberry gelatin mix (or two 3oz)
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 can mandarin oranges, drained (or use fresh, sliced/chopped oranges, if you prefer)
1 can (20oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

In a large, pretty bowl that you wish to serve your cranberry gel in*, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, then add cold water. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Fold remaining ingredients into chilled gelatin and chill in fridge until firm (2-3 hours).

*you can always prepare this in a large, normal bowl, then pour into a lightly greased mold or 8x11 dish after folding in the remaining ingredients

Gluten-Free Dinner for a Crowd II

If any of you have gluten-free friends and don't know what to serve them for dinner, I've got you covered. This menu has vegetables, protein, and fun dessert that is perfect for fall. If you want another side, I highly suggest mashed potatoes to mix the chicken into. These dishes will serve roughly 20 people. Also, vanilla ice cream is great with the apple crisp, but I had to keep my meal under $50, so that's the  primary reason why there are no mashed potatoes or ice cream.

If you want to make this for a "normal" gathering, say 4-6 people and not 20, halve the roasted vegetables recipe and quarter the chicken recipe. As for the apple crisp, an 8x4 pan will require 4 apples, 6 tablespoons of margarine and brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour of choice, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of oats.

Roasted Vegetables
 ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

12 medium carrots 1 ½-inch thick circles 

1 ½ cups brussel sprouts (about ½ pound), halved 

6-8 cups red bliss potatoes (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-size cubes

6 medium parsnips (about 2 pounds), cut into 1 ½-inch thick slices 

1 cup sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1 ½-inch thick slices 

1 1/2 lbs of green beans, snapped/cut

3-4 tablespoons herbs de provence

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Grease 2 large baking sheets. Place vegetables in a bowl and add the oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all the vegetables with the seasonings and oil. Add more oil if the vegetables seem dry 

Spread the vegetables evenly on the large baking sheet. Place on middle rack in oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. 

Mom's Rosemary Chicken
2 (40oz) bags of chicken tenders (not breaded, just plain, frozen, raw)
4 large onions, cut into eights
Enough apple juice to cover the chicken or so (1/2 a bottle?)
4 tablespoons of dried rosemary

Divide chicken evenly among two medium crockpots, or place into one extra large crockpot.
Pour apple juice in just enough to leave only a centimeter of chicken showing in each crockpot.
Place onion slices on/around chicken and sprinkle the rosemary on top in each crockpot.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Mom's (Gluten-Free) Apple Crisp
*you can make this regular, non-GF crisp by swapping out GF flour for all purpose flour and the GF oats for regular oats

14 medium apples. I suggest a mixture of gala, golden delicious, and/or granny smith.

3 sticks+3/4 stick margarine, room temperature

2 cups brown sugar

1¼ cup all purpose gluten free flour, or any

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg*optional

2 1/2 cups gluten free oats (old fashioned, plain)

Peel and core apples, slice into eighths or however small you like. Divide evenly among two lightly greased 9x13 metal plans.

Mix remaining ingredients together so they are crumbly. Sprinkle on top of apples.

Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.

Quick, Fairly Healthy Dinner

Every once in a while, I cook dinner for the family who I babysit for. It's rather exciting, since I get to cook, but it's also a challenge to create a meal using a pantry that I didn't stock and, to my knowledge, was not stocked with any particular meal in mind.

Trying to rack my brain for a tasty, nutritional meal that would only require the ingredients that I have on hand, I decided on a broccoli chicken divan and whole wheat dinner muffins. I used my own whole wheat flour in the muffins, which allowed me to eat the left over muffins for breakfast the rest of the week =). I was totally fine with that.

The broccoli chicken divan is good. It's definitely a recipe to keep around due to it's ease, yumminess, and requirement of pretty much no fresh food (yay pantry recipes).

The muffins might be the yummiest complex carbohydrate addition to any dinner. They are also good for you! I think my favorite part about them is that they are just as delicious for a quick snack or breakfast as they are for dinner.

Wheat Dinner Muffins

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour or graham flour

2 Tbs. yellow cornmeal

3 Tbs. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, separated

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted, or sesame oil or olive oil

1 cup buttermilk (or, pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a large measuring, then fill to the 1 cup line with milk)

2 Tbs. sour cream or plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Unsalted butter or jam for serving

Preheat an oven to 375°F. Grease 9 standard muffin cups; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, butter, buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

In a clean bowl, using a mixer with spotlessly clean beaters on medium speed, or a balloon whisk, beat the egg whites just until they form soft peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter until blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one level with the rim of the cup (seriously, fill to the top).

Bake the muffins until they are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and serve warm or at room temperature, with butter. Makes 9 muffins.

Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, Edited by Chuck Williams (Free Press, 2008).

Broccoli Chicken Casserole (serves 4-6)

3 cups frozen broccoli

1 1/2 pounds chicken, raw, cubed

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon wet garlic

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of *whatever* soup

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream or mayo, whatever you have on hand

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Cook broccoli according to decorations on bag (I put mine in a microwave safe bowl with a 1/2 cup of water and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes and then drain). Place the cooked broccoli in a 8x8 inch baking dish.

Place onion and garlic in a sauce pan over medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Season chicken with paprika and oregano, then add to the saucepan and cook about 10 minutes or until white all the way through.

In a bowl, mix the soup, sour cream, and milk, and pour over the chicken. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and then sprinkle bread crumbs over the cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly brown.

A Simple, "Dairy-Free" Half-Birthday Party

I am not sure if you have experienced the sadness of almost always having to go to school on your birthday, but I assure you, there is an equal sadness when one is never able to go see friends for a birthday due to summer vacation.

Personally, I have a birthday so close to Christmas that I only had to go to school once on my birthday and it was the year I was home schooled. However, my dear friend and roommate, Sarah, has a summer birthday and often laments the fact that her friends are usually out-of-state when she turns another year older.

Sarah does her best to remember other people's special days and make sure they are not forgotten. She is the kind of person who throws together an impromptu party or goes the extra four (not just one) miles to ensure that the bridal shower is amazing. Although I am not as proficient at party-throwing as Sarah, I wanted to do something special for her, so I invited her and some of our close friends to a dinner party in honor of her half-birthday.

Despite Sarah's best efforts to force her body into accepting dairy products, she is definitely lactose-intolerant, so I tried [and kinda failed] to plan the menu accordingly: William-Sonoma's Chicken Prosciutto and Balsamic with Ina Garten's Pesto and Pea Pasta, and then my mom's Forgotten Cookies for dessert. The only problems were the Parmesan in the pasta and the chocolate chips in the cookies. But that's why there are lactose pills, I suppose.

Forgotten Cookies

These cookies are somewhere in between a merengue and a no-bake cookie. My mom always made them around Christmas time. Also, because you have left over egg yolks, making these is also the perfect excuse to try your hand at a chocolate pie for the first time, like I did.

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

Dash of salt

Dash of vanilla

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup of corn flakes

1 cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat eggs whites until frothy (not yet peaks).

Add sugar, dash of vanilla, and dash of salt. Beat until stiff peaks.

Fold in pecans, corn flakes, and chocolate.

Drop mixture by spoonfull onto foil covered cookie sheets. Place in oven.

TURN OFF HEAT and leave over night (8-10 hours).

DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR until morning.

My First Try at Chocolate Pie

I will be trying this again, but I think I will try to go for a pie with a thicker consistency next time. The Baked cookbook, the bakery in NYC, looked like it had a fantastic chocolate pie recipe. I'll let you know when I make it.