WineLovers Discussion Group

It's been kind of quiet around here for the past few days - everybody out shopping until you drop?

Let's preheat the oven and warm things up a little here by asking what you're doing for the holidays, particularly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners. Making anything special, or sticking to old family traditions?

We'll probably go out to dinner one day with friends and take potluck, and I generally make something interesting but not necessarily Yulish at home to have with a particularly nice bottle of wine on Christmas Eve ... possibly Marcella Hazan's hair-dryer duck.

How about you? If you're doing anything unusual, extra credit if you post a recipe!

By the way, I don't mean this to take away from Karen's running thread on our choices for Christmas dinner. I just thought of this topic as more recipe-oriented as opposed to a discussion of turkey, beef, goose or ham.

Very traditional this year....(I voted for grilled ribeyes since the weather is so nice...but the boss put her foot down and opted for tradition since we ate at friends for Thxgiving.)

Brined & Roasted Turkey w/ gravy. Asiago cheese bread dressing. Green beans, garlic mashed potatoes...assorted desserts.

Wine - Beaujolais, Pinot Noir & whatever else shows up
Champagne - got to have something to sip while cooking

Richard

Robin Garr wrote:By the way, I don't mean this to take away from Karen's running thread on our choices for Christmas dinner. I just thought of this topic as more recipe-oriented as opposed to a discussion of turkey, beef, goose or ham.

I'm going to make this for dessert, from Rachael Ray's Holiday Entertaining in 60
Eggnog-Panettone Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show: Food Network Specials
Episode: Rachael Ray's Holiday Entertaining in 60

1 loaf panettone, available in Italian specialty stores, cut in half (enough for about 5 cups, diced)
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
3/4 cups sugar
2 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Vegetable cooking spray
Optional accompaniments: Vanilla ice cream, Whipped cream


Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Place a tea-kettle of water on to boil for a water bath. With a serrated knife, remove the side crusts from the half piece of the panettone. Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch dice. You should have 5 cups. Reserve the cubed panettone in a large mixing bowl.

For the eggnog custard, in another bowl thoroughly whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, half and half, rum, vanilla extract, and a healthy grating of fresh nutmeg. Pour this over the bread cubes.

Spray a 12 hole muffin tin with vegetable cooking spray. Ladle the bread/eggnog mixture gently and evenly into the muffin tins. The big cubes sticking up look nice. Place the filled muffin tin in a tall sided cookie sheet or roasting pan. Transfer to the preheated oven and carefully pour the hot water from kettle onto sheet pan, creating a water bath for the muffin tin to sit in.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are nicely browned, and a toothpick comes clean from the center.

Bread pudding may be served warm or cold. Vanilla Ice cream or whipped cream would be great accompaniments.

Alternately place the muffin tin in a roasting pan on the stove. Pour in up to 1-inch of boiling water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes. The puddings will puff and a toothpick will come out clean from the center. The tops won't brown with this method. Perhaps a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar at serving time would be nice.

Robin Garr wrote:what you're doing for the holidays, particularly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners.

For Christmas Eve, it's over to my nearly 83 year old Mom's house for our annual traditional meal of albondiga soup, pozole soup, tamales, pinto beans, and flour tortillas ...

For Christmas dinner, the family is coming to our house ... freshly picked Yuma grown heart of romaine salad, grilled lamb loin chops, wild rice, freshly picked Yuma grown broccoli, Mom's homemade bread, and everybody is bringing a homemade pie of their choice ... will be "swilling" lots of Tobin James cabernet franc although I may open a Castoro petite verdot that I've been drooling over ...

We will be eating at our youngest son's in-laws home on Christmas Eve. They are Italian and celebrate The Feast of the Seven Fishes. I know she is making Linguine and Clams, plus a cod dish. I am making a very old recipe from my family for a salad made with shrimp, crab, bread, hard boiled eggs, onion, celery, and mayo.

Christmas Eve, the same in-laws will be at our son’s home. The Mr. is doing a prime rib, I am doing the stuffed baked spuds, our daughter-in-law is doing a family green bean recipe (no, not “that” recipe) and I don’t know what else.
Christmas day, we will all have brunch together, lots of fresh fruit, home made breads, and some sort of an overnight egg dish thing.
Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday to all!

Another seven fisher here for Christmas Eve.
Clams on the half shell, as well as baked clams.
Spaghetti with garlic, oil, and anchovy.
Stuffed calamari braised in tomato sauce.
Shrimp parmigiana.
Bacalao salad.
Fried filet of sole.
Fried eel.
Room temp broccoli with garlic, oil and lemon.

Christmas Day we do lasagna, followed by meatballs, sausage and braciole.
We follow up with a roast pork in case anyone is still hungry.
Sides of sauteed mushrooms with vinegar peppers, stuffed artichokes and roasted potatoes.

Fruit, nuts and finocchio.
Pastry and espresso.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Well let's see, I picked up a two-rib prime rib roast, a five-rib prime rib roast and eight pork shanks today, got a ham and a beef tenderloin from Lobel's, and a crown rib roast from Nieman Ranch -- I don't think we're going to go hungry. Now to start thinking about wines....

Randy Buckner wrote:I don't think we're going to go hungry.

So, just out of curiosity, is this just a quiet Christmas at home for you and Carole, or are you going to have another couple over?

So, just out of curiosity, is this just a quiet Christmas at home for you and Carole, or are you going to have another couple over?

That is just for the overly-spoiled dawg.... (and Yaniger if he drops by unexpectedly -- he loves pork you know)

I'll be cooking Indian. Rogan Josh for the main dish, accompanied by a saffron rice pullao, masoor dal and cucumber raita, with a dab of lime pickle and a green salad.

-Paul W.

We'll be BBQ'ing the turkey.