Christmas Eve 2015

 


* Christmas Eve has been a long tradition in our household. The Eve was always the celebration night. Whether in Philadelphia having cocktail dinner at the Streibigs, followed by late night presents in front of the fire, or in Spokane having ribeye and creamed corn in anticipation of the gift choas and utimate Pictionary contest at Grandmas (yes, Tonya and I still hold the championship cup!!), this was the night that made us all feel special. Christmas Day is the day for football, parades, hangovers from food and alcohol, and genuine pajama time with the fam. Thus, dinner is planned at our house for 7PM.  On the menu:

For the prep time:
Champs!
Rosemary roasted cashews
Salami & cheese rollups

For the Dinner:
Glazed ham
Corn w/butter sauce
Mashed potatoes & gravy for the boyz
Mrs. Kerr's Delmonico potatoes for the chef
Black Olives
Grands Biscuits

For the dessert:
Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Pumpkin Creme Pie


I haven't made Mrs. Kerr's potatoes in ages, but it is traditional McCann fare, attributable to the mother-in-law of Mr. Quill of Chesnut Hill, Pennsylvania. Anyway, it's a version of Delmonico Potatoes, so you preboil the potatoes to just done, let them cool overnight, then shred them.  You mix heavy cream, white pepper, and I'm going to throw in some sour cream this time, then pour 2 pints of this mix over 5# shredded potatoes and top with fresh grated parmesan (yes, the real thing) and then sprinkle with buttered panko and dot with butter, then bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until brown.  They are decadent and delicious, and a once a year thing only!  I believe that Mrs. Kerr, who was from New England, adapted this from the Providence, RI restaurant version. These are not my pictures, but this does show you what they look like:

I also am doing two new appetizers this year.  The roast cashews are an Ina Garten recipe: ROSEMARY ROASTED CASHEWS , and they are yummy!  They have just a little kick, and I
dig it!

The TODAY show actually introduced me to the salami rollups.  I had to take the pepperoncinis out, because they are too hot for my son, but I used Dietz & Watson Genoa Salami slices and whipped cream cheese and they are SO good! The original recipe was:

1. Salami Bundles with Cream Cheese and Pepperoncini

These salami-wrapped cones make an irresistible party snack.

Ingredients

• Thinly-sliced salami

• Cream cheese

• Pepperoncini

Directions: Just spread softened cream cheese on thinly sliced salami and sprinkle with thinly sliced pepperoncini (yes, those cheap pickled peppers often used on sandwiches). Roll up the salami and transfer to a platter.

Springfield Twp Sugar Cookies

Butter cookies is more appropriate. My high school made these from scratch, served them daily for like 25 cents. (Remember the days when schools actually made food??) I bought and ate one every day for four years, and was still 114 pounds.  I wish that were true today!  These are decadent and delicious!!

I've adjusted the recipe from a full lunch crowd to a normal family below.

                            

 

SHHS Butter Cookies

FAMILY SIZE                          SCHOOL SIZE

(2 sticks)  butter                         1# butter

(1 cup) sugar                              1# sugar (2 cups)

(2 1/6 cups) AP Flour                4-1/3 C all purpose flour

(1) egg                                        2 eggs

(1/8 cup) water                          ¼ C water

(1/2 T) vanilla                           1 T vanilla

1/2 pinch salt                             Pinch salt

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add eggs, water, vanilla.  Combine. 

Stir in half of the flour and pinch salt.

Add the remaining flour.  Chill dough for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375.  Spoon by ice cream scoop onto cookie sheets.

(Optional:  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon).

Bake for 15 min until edges are golden brown.

Artichoke (Spinach) Dip Baguette

I saw this recipe on Facebook recently, and thought it looked good. But I had artichoke dip at happy hour yesterday I was reminded I hadn't tried it yet. So today, on this wonderfully beautiful lazy Saturday, I did. Unfortunately, I forgot the spinach, so we're going artichoke only. And I'm using mascarpone instead of cream cheese simply because I was at the Italian market and didn't want to make two trips. Here is the recipe: http://hostthetoast.com/spinach-and-artichoke-dip-stuffed-garlic-bread/

Bake potato chips

INGREDIENTS

2 medium Yukon Gold or Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8-inch slices on a mandoline or other handheld slicer

3 tablespoons olive, canola, or peanut oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Top slices in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, lay out on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Honey-Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken

•   INGREDIENTS

4 skinless, boneless breasts or thighs

1/2 c soy sauce

1/2 c ketchup

1/3 c honey

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp dried basil

• RECIPE
Lay chicken on bottom of crock pot. Mix other ingredients in a bowl, pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 hours. 
Aidan said this was like Teriyaki sauce. He enjoyed it.

Cookies that MUST be obtained.

No lie, these are like the most delicious cookies you've ever had, and I thank my cousins Jeff and Kathleen Korn for introducing us to these tasties from the Hamptons.  Or maybe "thanks" is not correct, because now that I know they are available locally, I'm addicted.

                                  

In the absence of Tate's, (truthfully, I saw them on the shelf at Cost Plus World Market, but I thought "I can't buy those AGAIN!"),  I highly recommend Salem Bakery's Moravian Cookies, specifically Pumpkin Spice.  All the way from Winston-Salem, they are the greatest export from North Carolina since Michael Jordan entered the NBA.

Tortellini Soup? Or dinner? Or crockpot mess? Not sure...

Followed this set of directions, but mine looks like this:

which is a lot more pink, clumpy with cream cheese that didn't melt,

and does not look very appetizing. It tastes alright, but I think there is

something missing from the original recipe, like maybe some actual real cheese.

 Gonna use it as a "soup" rather than a "dinner".