A HOLIDAY DINNER TABLE
A HOLIDAY TABLE
some ideas for a Christmas Eve dinner and dessert...broccoli soup, beaf tenderloin or a filet minion , roasted rosemary potatoes, acorn squash halved and roasted with butter, brown sugar and thyme, leeks, fresh sourdough bread with good butter and salt, ginger bread with heavy whipped cream and a white velvet with raspberries
Thoughts on a holiday meal and the winter season. I have always known Christmas Eve as Broccoli Soup and Beef Tenderloin. A fresh loaf of bread and butter always a welcome addition. The dessert is ginger bread, and not of the cookie variation, but instead the rich dark cake of molasses and spice. Topped with the heavy cream a balance of perfection and the epitome of what ginger bread should be. I imagine you could bake it in different pans: a cake tin, loaf pan, square dish. It is up to you as it sinks in the middle and runs moist. And White Velvet, a gelatin cream mold, most often made in spring or summer but finds its way to Christmas by way of color, of snow and red berries. It is festive and decadent as only a holiday dessert should be.
Below I will bombard you with photos, ideas and a few recipes and you do what you will with it. My hope is that it will inspire you with ideas of soup and bread, roasted winter crops and sweets of the season.
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FOR THE SOUP: BROCCOLI SOUP
THIS RECIPE SERVES 3-4 AND CAN BE DOUBLED FOR MORE:
INGREDIENTS:
6 TABLESPOONS BUTTER, 1 LEEK MINCED, 1-2 CARROTS MINCED, 2 CLOVES GARLIC MINCED, 4 CUPS CHICKEN OR VEGGIE STOCK, LARGE BUNCH OF BROCCOLI CUT INTO SMALL FLORETS, 1 CUP HEAVY CREAM, PINCH OF CAYANNE PEPPER OR CHILE FLAKE, 1 TEASPOON CELERY SEED OR ENOUGH TO TASTE, SALT AND PEPPER
PROCESS:
Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add the leek, carrot and garlic. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Try not to brown them. ( but it happens sometimes)
Add the stock. Bring to a simmer and add the broccoli. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
Pour the soup into a food processor and process until the veggies are finely chopped, not pureed. Pour the soup back into the pot. If it seems overly thick add a bit more broth. Stir in the heavy cream, cayenne pepper and celery seed. Salt and pepper to taste. Reheat before serving.
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BEEF TENDERLOIN FILETS, ROSEMARY POTATOES, AND ROASTED ACORN SQUASH
I am not giving a recipe per se but a suggestion.
The meat is simple, with salt and pepper, thyme, rosemary and butter. Sear it in a hot pan on the stove. Add the herbs and butter a cook a few minutes more. Then transfer to the oven to cook the center, but ever so slightly as not to over cook. A tenderloin or filet is best eaten rare or medium rare. Baste it in the herb and melted butter as it cooks to ensure moisture through and through.
The potatoes are roasted. Cut the potatoes in half. A small yellow potato is nice. Place in a pan and sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper, thymes and rosemary and cover with olive oil. Roast in the oven at 400-450 degrees F until tender on the inside and crisp on the outside. Make sure to rotate the potatoes to crisp on the sides and the sliced end as a crisped sliced end is delicious.
The acorn squash is a favorite of mine. It is sliced in half, seeds cleaned out. Place a tablespoon of butter and a scoop of brown sugar in each half. Salt and pepper and thyme if you would like. Place in the same oven as the potatoes at 400-450 degrees F and roast until the squash flesh is tender and the butter and sugar bubbling.
Throw some leeks in the oven too. They go nicely with the meat and make for a lovely texture on any plate.
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GINGER BREAD
WITH A HEAVY WHIPPED CREAM
INGREDIENTS:
1 CUP OF MOLASSES, 1/2 POUND BUTTER, 1 EGG, 1 CUP SUGAR, 2 1/4 CUP FLOUR, 1 1/2 TEASPOONS BAKING SODA, 1 1/2 TEASPOONS GROUND GINGER, 1 TEASPOON CINNAMON, 1/2 TEASPOON GROUND CLOVES, 1/4 TEASPOON GROUND NUTMEG, ZEST OF ONE ORANGE, SALT, 1/2 CUP BOILING WATER, 3 TABLESPOONS SOUR CREAM
PROCESS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Melt together the molasses and butter in a suacepan. Bring it just to a boil, remove from heat and let cool
Combine, in a bowl or a mixer, the sugar and the egg. Beat until blended and pale yellow.
In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Add in the salt and orange zest.
Slowly add the dry mixture to the the sugar/egg mixture. Continue to spoon or slowly pour in the molasses butter mixture until blended. Add the boiling water and finish with the sourcream. Beat until combined.
Pour the batter into a buttered cake pan or square tin roughly 9x13 inches. Bake for 40-50 minutes until done. Keep an eye on it as mine started to burn slightly on the edges around the 35-40 minute mark. When you remove it from the oven the center will sink slightly.
Top with the whipped cream
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white velvet
INGREDIENTS:
1 PINT HEAVY CREAM, 1/2 CUP SUGAR, PINCH OF SALT, 1 TABLESPOON UNFLAVORED GELATIN, 1 PINT SOUR CREAM
PROCESS:
Heat the cream until it bubbles
Add the sugar and the salt
Soften the gelatin in 2 tablespoons water
Add gelatin gelatin to cream
Stir until dissolved
Add sour cream
Mix well
Pour into mold and chill for 2 hours
When removing from mold, flip the pan upside down over plate. If it seems stuck, then flip it right side and set the mold into warm water ever so briefly. Then flip the tin upside down over the plate again and the white velvet should slide right out.
Decorate with raspberries
