My husband and I were excited to host Christmas Eve Dinner this year; we had my parents over for a wonderful holiday dinner.

We made a delicious meal of roasted pork, potatoes gratin, and roasted asparagus – everything came out fantastic I just had to share the recipes! This menu would be great for any winter dinner party, the recipes are all relatively simple (stuffing the pork is a little tricky) and will please most guests.

And note, I of course had to create a festive table setting with red and green accents with my usual black and white china.
Closer-up of the place setting: I used an unfolded paper red napkin to add a hint of red to the mostly green and black table setting.

 

Pork Loin Stuffed with Fuji Apples
from epicurious.com

1/4 C golden raisins
3/4 C Riesling wine
1 1/2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, peel and core reserved
Pinch of cinnamon
2 lb center-cut boneless pork loin (ask butcher to make a 1-inch incision in the center all the way through)
Sea salt
Vegetable-oil cooking spray
1 medium onion, diced large
1 carrot, diced large
1 celery stalk, diced large
4 stems fresh rosemary
1/2 C balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 375°F. Soak raisins in cup wine for 10 minutes. Combine raisins (including wine not absorbed), apples and cinnamon in a bowl. Fill pork-loin cavity with apple-raisin mixture. Season pork with sea salt and pepper; set aside 15 minutes at room temperature. (If loin splits, tie with kitchen twine.) Meanwhile, coat a roasting pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Sear pork on all sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes total, turning frequently so it doesn’t stick. Place onion, carrot, celery, rosemary and apple peels and cores in pan; place pork on top. Cook 25 minutes or until pork reaches 150°. While meat cooks, reduce vinegar and remaining 1/2 cup wine in a small saucepan 15 to 20 minutes on high heat until thick and syrupy. Remove pork from pan; let rest 10 minutes. Slice pork and divide among plates. Drizzle reduction over pork.

 

Potatoes Gratin
from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine

1 garlic clove, smashed
Butter, room temperature, for baking dish
3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick(we used our mandolin to get a perfect uniform cut for each potato slice)
2 1/2 C heavy cream
s&p
Ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub a 2-quart baking dish with garlic, then lightly butter. Layer potatoes in dish, overlapping slightly.

In a medium saucepan, combine cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and pinch of nutmeg; bring to a simmer. Pour enough cream mixture into dish to just cover potatoes; cover dish with foil. Bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with grated cheese and continue to bake until top of gratin is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before serving

Roasted Asparagus:

No recipe, we just cut off the end of each asparagus, drizzled olive oil and s&p on top and roasted on a sheet pan for about 15 mins or until desired tenderness is reached.

*note – we made a Panettone Bread Pudding for dessert that was so amazing, it disappeared before I could take a picture! I included the recipe below.

1/2 C golden raisins
1/4 C brandy, heated
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 lb panettone, sliced 1 inch thick
3/4 C sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 C half-and-half
2 Tbs pure vanilla extract

Soak raisins in hot brandy 15 minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, butter panettone on both sides and cook in batches in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.

Whisk together remaining ingredients.

Tear panettone into bite-size pieces and spread evenly in a buttered 13-by 9-inch baking dish. Scatter raisins over top, then pour in egg mixture. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.Bake until pudding is golden and just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. We served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

My husband and I are constantly searching for new, delicious, and easy side dishes to eat for dinner. Well, we made these Zucchini Pancakes last night to eat with marinated steak tips and they were really tasty and surprisingly simple to make. We made a half batch of the recipe below and it made plenty for 2 people.
Zucchini Pancakes
from Barefoot Contessa at Home

2 medium zucchini
2 Tbs grated red onion
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 8 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1 Tsp kosher salt
1/2 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
Unsalted butter and vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater. Immediately stir in the onion and eggs. Stir in 6 tablespoons of the flour, the baking powder, salt, and pepper. (If the batter gets too think from the liquid in the zucchini, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour.)

Heat a large saute pan over medium hear and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium-low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes each side, until browned. Place the pancakes on a sheet pan and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry the pancakes until all the batter is used. The pancakes can stay warm in the oven for up to 30 mins. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Have you ever noticed the recipes in the Williams-Sonoma catalog? I always notice them while flipping through the pages but haven’t ever made one. Well, we got a new holiday catalog last week and when I saw this recipe, I knew we had to try it. It’s a great version of a butternut squash soup with added depth of flavor from the carrot and apple in it along with the butternut squash. We went “all in” with the recipe and even made the pork belly “croutons” but they were so fatty, I think next time we’ll just go with pieces of bacon as garnish.

Butternut Squash-Carrot Soup with Pork “Croutons”
from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen

1 large butternut squash, about 3 lb., peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbs plus 1 tsp. olive oil
s&p
10-oz. slab pork belly, cut into batons about 1/2 by 1/2 by 1 inch
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6C chicken stock
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 C heavy cream
2 Tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Preheat an oven to 450°F.

In a large bowl, stir together the squash, carrots, the 2 Tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a baking sheet. Roast, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are browned and tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

In a 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the 1 tsp. olive oil. Add the pork belly and cook, stirring occasionally, until rendered and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard the fat in the pot and wipe out the pot with paper towels.

In the same pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and apple and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock, thyme sprigs and bay leaf, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Working in batches, puree the apple-stock mixture with the roasted vegetables in a blender until smooth (or, just use your immersion blender right in the pot like we did!). Return the soup to the pot and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper.

Garnish with the parsley and pork belly croutons and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Enjoy!

Happy (day after) Thanksgiving – hope everyone had a great day of eating and giving thanks, I sure did!

We made a little brie en croute to nosh on before our Thanksgiving meal, so I thought I would share the recipe. This is one of the easiest appetizers to make for a holiday party that make your guests go wild because it’s that delicious!
Brie en Croute

1 sheet of puff pastry (we love the puff pastry from Trader Joe’s)
1/2 C fruit preserves (this time we used fig preserves, but use whatever flavor you like – apricot, raspberry, etc…)
1 (13.2 oz) wheel of brie

Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix egg and water to create egg wash.

Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14 inch square. Cut off corners to make a circle. Spread preserves to within 1 inch of pastry edge, lay brie on top. Brush edge of circle with egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides over cheese. Trim remaining two sides to 2 inch from edge of cheese. Fold these two sides onto the round. Press edges to seal. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry scraps if desired. I used my mini fall cookie cutters and extra puff pastry to decorate the top and make it more “Thanksgiving-ish.” Brush with egg mixture and bake 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 1 hour. Serve with crackers.

Enjoy!

Who doesn’t love dipping bread into melted cheese?

We had a block of Jarlsberg cheese that came in a great gift basket we received as a “congratulations on your baby” gift so we decided to make a traditional cheese fondue for dinner this weekend. Jarlsberg cheese is a mild, buttery, nutty, cheese from Norway, we mixed in a little Swiss cheese as well. We pulled the recipe from this great fondue recipe book we have: Fondue by Rick Rodgers. It has all sorts of traditional cheese fondue recipes as well as fried fondue (cooking ingredients in hot oil), Asian hot pot (cooking ingredients in hot broth), and of course dessert fondue! I highly recommend it for all fondue enthusiasts – you will make great use of your fondue pot!

Classic Swiss Fondue
from Fondue by Rick Rodgers

1 garlic clove, peeled
1 C dry white wine
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
5 ½ C, shredded.Suggested Gruyere, Emmentaler, Appenzeller
4 Tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs kirsch
A few gratings of fresh nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Rub the inside of a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan with the garlic; discard the garlic. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a bare simmer over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, toss the cheeses with the cornstarch. A handful at a time, stir the cheese mixture into the wine, stirring the first batch until it is almost completely melted before adding another. The fondue can bubble gently, but do not boil. Stir in the kirsch and season with the nutmeg and pepper.

Transfer to a cheese fondue pot and keep warm over a fondue burner. Serve immediately with dipping ingredients.

Suggested items to dip:
French bread
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Baby carrots
Chicken

Enjoy!