Christmas Dinner/Christmas Eve Dinner

Parent Cafe
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<p>I used to do tenderloin, which is easy, but I think prime rib is just as easy and tastes better. Both are on the pricey end, but as kgos says, the sides can be simple. Lately I’ve been making rack of lamb from Julia Child’s *The Way to Cook <a href=“great%20book”>/i</a> because it’s my yougest’s favorite. <a href=“Not Your Mother’s® Cookbooks”>Not Your Mother’s® Cookbooks; </p>

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<p>Do you have two ovens? If so, a beef tenderloin in one and roasted red potatoes in the other. (I cook the beef at 475 so nothing else can go in the oven at the same time.) Green salad, brussels sprouts?</p>

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<p>Christmas Eve: Up to 50 people…lots of appetizers, honey baked ham and turkey, vegetables., 4 different kinds of lasagne…wine and dessert. Christmas dinner…(12 to 18 people)…prime rib, vegetables, mashed potatoes and yorkshire pudding…champagne and dessert. No presents for either…Dress code: comfortable.</p>

<p>…and I can hear puzzelment…isn’t Ellebud Jewish? Yes, but Mr. Ellebud isn’t…</p>

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<p>That is a great way to make prime rib - works really, really well. That horseradish sounds really delicious as well. </p>

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<p>We do prime rib for Chrismas too along with Yorkshire pudding and green beans. It’s an easy meal. Sometimes we’ll have Potatoes Anna, which are really decadent. Wine with dinner and then Buche de Noel (basically chocolate cake).</p>

<p>On Christmas Eve we used to do the feast of the Seven Fishes–which my folks always did. Now, we simplify and just do one dish–baccala (a fish stew with salted cod and potatoes). We have that with greens and then go to a Christmas Eve gathering that two friends have been hosting for the last 20 years. There’s tons of food there but my favorite is eggnog, which they make using a recipe from Joy of Cooking. It’s all heavy cream and egg yolks and sugar and alcohol.</p>

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<p>We are having turkey for Christmas Eve and prime roast for Christmas day. There will be 14 of us for xmas eve and 4 of us for xmas day. My ex is cooking both meals. My whole family kind of freaked out when they thought the ex may not be coming because they were wondering what we were going to eat.</p>

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<p>I’m drooling. Great suggestions.</p>

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<p>I’ve got to ask … </p>

<p>What is the connection between that dutch oven and the oven door? Something is bizarre! </p>

<ol>
<li>Pre-heat oven as high as it will go. Usually 500 degrees, but NOT broil.</li>
<li>Stick the roast in a dutch oven preferably on a small rack that will lift it off the bottom. Bone side down (fat side up). Get a meat thermometer and stick it in the middle of the roast.</li>
<li>Cook the roast UNCOVERED in the oven for 5-6 minutes per pound and then shut the oven off.
DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR FOR TWO HOURS UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH.</li>
</ol>

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<p>H is cooking beef wellington on Christmas Eve. We go out for Chinese food on Christmas Day.</p>

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<p>Ok, got an insight here: </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-no-peek-prime-rib-26927”>http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-no-peek-prime-rib-26927&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Smaller roast than I envisioned. Still not sure what the use of an uncovered dutch oven accomplishes here. </p>

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<p>I think it’s just something most home cooks have, xiggi. Something that will hold up well to the high heat in the beginning. </p>

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<p>^^ I can see that part but what was surprising was the use of an uncovered dutch oven, the fact that the roast does not adhere to the bottom of the DO, and perhaps the size of the roast (that I envisioned larger for a party.) Fwiw, we have quite a few dutch ovens (and none are huge) but we tend to use the dutch oven in the oven for baking breads or slow cooking with closed lids. I also think that DO works well for browning meats, and that was not the case here. </p>

<p>I was trying to connect the dots. I am always happy to learn new tricks. This year, I am trying my luck with a 200 lbs pig in an underground pit. Not for Christmas Eve! :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>The dutch oven I am asking for for Christmas is much larger than any of the other standard pots/pans I own that came in a set; therefore, would likely fit a larger cut of meat. I correlate dutch ovens with size in my mind, so maybe that is what the blogger was trying to convey? </p>

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<p>I am using mine right now - beef barbacoa! I’ve never made bread in mine - I have a hard time getting breads to rise. It sure does the trick with the prime rib though, and with something that pricey I’m not going to experiment. </p>

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<p>Dutch ovens on sale at Williams-Sonoma until midnight, especially the yellow color. Then, more than 40% off. </p>

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<p>It’s surprisingly easy to obtain pretty decent results – albeit short of perfection. Well, surprisingly easy when I am looking at the bakers in my family, and not being the actual baker. You might want to google around no-knead breads and dutch oven, but you might get an overdose. </p>

<p><a href=“No Knead Bread Recipe | Steamy Kitchen”>http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Many were inspired by Tartine and Chad. They are entire groups of amateurs who have developed a cult-like following on the path to the perfect crumb and airpocket. I think you can get very good without becoming prisoner of a starter. </p>

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<p>I am going to try that. It looks quite like bread I have paid big bucks for. Thanks for the tip! Sorry for the digression - back to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner! </p>

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<p>My sister always hosts Christmas Eve, its when the whole family gets together, so there’s about 20 of us and then another 5 or 6 friends that show up. My two brothers grill sirloin steaks off the deck, I bring caesar salad for everyone, my sister in law brings asparagus and another vegetable, Mom and Dad bring Mom’s famous ice cream pie with all kinds of stuff in it (resees, M&Ms, with coffee ice cream layered on oreos?) and my sister does the twice-baked potatoes and rolls. Feast! And we do a yankee swap.</p>

<p>I have the parents for Christmas breakfast (and anyone else that shows up but usually its less than 10 altogether) and then my brother does Christmas dinner late afternoon and cooks a prime rib with oyster rockafeller, shrimp cocktail and scallop with bacon apps. Sometimes we go, sometimes we don’t. They only ask for two days’ notice so…</p>

<p>We like to go out for chinese on Christmas late day to meet friends. All the cousins that are drinking age (that’s all but my hs senior and my junior nephew) go out to party together. My D goes to visit her Dad and his family. We’re usually on the couch by 7 pm lol.</p>

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<p>Here’s something that could get you started as well. <a href=“http://www.lecreuset.com/content_cooking-techniques-ruhlman-bread”>http://www.lecreuset.com/content_cooking-techniques-ruhlman-bread&lt;/a&gt; The overnight fermentation works very well and it really does not take much effort with that stretch and fold method. Fwiw, it helps to buy good flour and yeast. And the cost of messing up is very low! </p>

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<p>No problem spending money on good flour, yeast and butter. So much for the low carb diet! I guess that’s why running isn’t so stupid. I’m feeling a weekend project coming on. </p>