Christmas Dishes with Christmas Wishes

 

 

 

 

Welcome to Christmas Dishes with Christmas Wishes

This blog post isn’t about elaborate Christmas meals that we make every year, I’ve got other Christmas blogs for that.  This is about simple little dishes that are nice around the Christmas holidays.  They can be made anytime of the year, I suppose.  But they just look so nice and festive at this time. 

Perhaps if you are headed out the door to a Christmas office party?  Or a family reunion and you just need to take ONE dish?  Perhaps we can help you. 

These are more of a ‘casual Christmas’ cooking dishes.   Nothing fancy or elaborate but very pretty and tasty.

Because this is a living website we will be adding to this as we go so we hope you check back now and again.

Thank you for stopping by.

Merry Christmas Wishes for Your Christmas Dishes

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Gordon’s

In No Time, Pear and Thyme Dessert

Doesn’t it look delicious?

The Ingredients:

2 Pears (Sliced in half and cored)

1 Bunch Fresh Thyme sprigs

2 Tbsp Honey

3 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Zest of 1 Lemon

Pomegranate Seeds

4 Sprigs of Mint

4 Heaping Tbsp. Whipped Cream or…

TIP: If you don’t have whipped cream you can substitute it with 4 Tbsp sour cream mixed with about 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.

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Using an oven proof saute pan, drizzle in your honey and top with the fresh Thyme and lemon juice.

Slice your pears in half and core out the seeds using a melon baller, leaving the stem. 

Then either use the whole half pear or slice the pear  into seven or so sections leaving the top of the pear intact. 

For the rest of this recipe we sliced the pear into sections.  As shown in photo below.

Bake the sliced pears at 350’F  for 10 min.

As the pears cook, they will release some juice making a nice syrup.

After 10 minutes remove from the oven and set aside until slightly cool.

Carefully remove the pears from the pan and spread them out from the center on your serving plate.  Using a fork, remove the Thyme from the pan.  Pour your Thyme and Lemon infused syrup over the pears.  Place a dollop of  whipped cream or sweetened sour cream in the center of the pear and garnish with lemon zest, pomegranate seeds, and sprig of mint as shown.

Enjoy!

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Christmas Shaped Pasta Salad

Recipe:

1 20 oz. Package of Tri-Color Christmas Shaped Pasta

Oil and Vinegar Italian Salad Dressing to coat

1/2 Cup Chopped Red Bell Pepper

1 1/2 Cups Black Olives sliced

Crumbled Feta Cheese

Cook your pasts in a large pot of boiling water for about 8 min. or until al dente.  Drain the pasta well in a colander.

In a large bowl, add your pasta and the rest of your ingredients mixing well.  Place the pasta in the refrigerator to let the ingredients combine.

You can use any pasta shapes that you like for this.  We used pretty Christmas shapes.

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Julie’s Christmas Mac N’ Cheese

Ingredients:

12 oz Package of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta

3 Tbsp Butter

3 Tbsp Four

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Half-and-Half

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup Shredded Gruyere Cheese

1/2 Cup Shredded Asiago Cheese

1/2 Cup Shredded White Cheddar Cheese

2 Cups Fresh Spinach

1 Tbsp White Pepper

1/2 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg

4 oz. Sun Dried Tomato and Garlic “Chavrie” Goat Cheese

Whole Pink Pepper Corns

Our Ingredients

The Pretty Pink Peppercorns and the Pretty Pink Goat Cheese

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In a large pot, boil the pasta until al dente… about 8 min.  Drain well in a colander and set aside.

In a large pot, place in the butter, and melt over medium heat…

then add your flour.  Mix well with a whisk and cook for about 2 min.

You have now made what is called a roux!

Add your milk and half-and-half and mix well with your whisk.  Your mixture will start out thin, then get thick as the roux absorbs the milk and half-and-half.

You have now made a Bechamel sauce!

Here are the cheeses we used.

White Cheeses Look Beautiful Here

A picture of the thickened Bechamel sauce.  Now, add your shredded cheeses to the Bechamel sauce.

Let Them Melt into the Pot

Mix the sauce well with a whisk until smooth, and place the mixture over a lower heat to keep the mixture warm.

You have now made a Mornay sauce!

TIP: A Mornay sauce is also a Fondue sauce with a little white wine added and is great for dipping in crusty breads, cooked sausages, or cooked vegetables, and even raw fruits such as apple and pear.

Crush your white pepper corns using a knife or the bottom of a dish as shown.

Add as much or as little to the Mornay sauce.

Now, grate in your fresh nutmeg.

Stir well, then add your drained pasta to the still warm Mornay sauce.

Combine well with a large spoon.

Add in your fresh spinach leaves and stir to combine.

Add the mixture to a casserole dish…

We used a non-stick casserole dish but if you don’t have one, then spray a non-stick cooking spray.

Bake at 350’F for about 20 – 25 min. until bubbling hot.

Crumble the goat cheese over the casserole and add the pink pepper corns when the casserole is removed from the oven.

Place back in the oven for another 5 min. or until the goat cheese starts to melt.

Enjoy!

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The Look of Christmas, Salad

This is Going to be a GREEN Christmas!

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Kale and Collards

Radicchio

Our Ingredients:

4 Cups Kale – washed and chopped

4 Cups Collard Greens – washed and chopped

2-3 Heads of Radicchio – torn into bite sized pieces

1 Cup Pecans – toasted

1/4 Red Onion – thinly sliced

1/4 Vidalia Onion – thinly sliced

1 Cup each Broccoli and Cauliflower florets – we used a bag of these which were already prepared

Pomegranate Seeds – from one half a pomegranate

3/4 Cup Dried Cranberry – Ocean Spray Craisins

1 Bag Chestnuts – halved

~7 oz. of Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese

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Place your kale and collard greens into a large bowl, removing any large stems.

Now, tear your radicchio into bite sized portions and place them into the bowl.

Place your chopped pecans onto a pan and preheat your oven to 350’F.

While the oven is preheating, add your onions, broccoli and cauliflower florets to the bowl

When the oven is at temperature, place the pecans in the oven for about 10 min. or until you can smell them.  When you smell them is a good indication they are properly roasted.

Slice your pomegranate in half just through the thin skin so as not to touch the inner seeds.

Pull the pomegranate apart and begin to remove the inner seeds.  Place the seeds into a colander to be washed.  Washing them will remove the white pith which will remain attached to some of the seeds.

Let the pecans cool for about 10 min.

Add your cooled pecans and washed pomegranate seeds to the bowl.

Looks Beautiful Just Like That

Then add your cranberry craisins to the bowl.

Chop your roasted chestnuts into quarters ….

and place them in the bowl.

Slice your cranberry cinnamon goat cheese into half then place the dollops of cheese into the bowl.

Using your hands, toss the salad well.

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The Vinaigrette

Making a vinaigrette is easy and fun to do.  You can use almost any combination of mustard, vinegar, and olive oil to create your vinaigrette and it will be delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Tequila Mustard – used to combine or emulsify the oil and vinegar

1 Tbsp. Honey Mustard – same as above

2 Tbsp. Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning

2 Tbsp. Organic Agave in the raw

2 Tbsp. White Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

2 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar

18 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 3 times as much oil as you did the vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

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In a medium sized bowl add your mustard’s…

then sweet cooking seasoning, and agave….

then your white balsamic, and red wine vinegar….

then your white wine vinegar…

and lastly your oil. 

Be sure to use a good tasting olive oil for this as it will have a huge effect on the taste of your vinaigrette. 

I am using a Middle Eastern brand from Jordan.

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Whisk all the ingredients well.

Add your salt and pepper to taste.

Taste your vinaigrette.  It should have a slightly more vinegar taste and tingle the back of your throat as my culinary teacher taught us.  Even if it means breaking the rules of a ratio of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil.  Add any of the ingredients to suit your taste.

Pour your vinaigrette into a container for later use.

Here we are placing the salad into a nicer looking bowl.

Tip:  Do not just pour your vinaigrette over the salad in the main bowl as it will wilt the greens.  Let each of your guests pour the vinaigrette over their own salad when they are ready to eat.  In restaurants, they place a single portion of the salad in a bowl, then pour the vinaigrette over the salad.  Mix all the ingredients together, then shake the salad dry and place it on the plate or bowl and serve it to the customer.  My teacher stated this is why you need to have that bite in the dressing as there is so little vinaigrette on the salad.

Be creative with your vinaigrette and use various combinations of mustard and vinegar for best results.

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Merry Christmas!

Julie and Gordon