A Christmas Menu | With Recipes

The holiday baking dishes have been purchased in anticipation of my first holiday hosting event. Porcelain with holly designs, berries, red tartan, and Christmas trees, adorn most of my holiday dishes. A borrowed crock-pot from my mother’s 1989 bridal shower sits on the petite counter of my tiny apartment kitchen. My red checkered apron is folded in a cabinet and my old favorite nutcracker oven mitt rests by the stove, ready for our Christmas meal. Five wooden glittery painted nutcracker ornaments stand guard on my kitchen counter, awaiting their fate as my napkin ring holders to decorate my holiday table. 

Our lit Christmas tree is glowing from the living room and illuminates our Ikea folding table, which will be opened for our guests and will seat a modest party of five. Our red and green plaid linen tablecloth and napkins, steamed to remove the wrinkles, are an exact match for the skirt beneath our tree. For Christmas it will be set with our simple everyday plates and silverware while Christmas carols play from our wooden Crosley record player. 

I feel much like Elizabeth Lane in the 1944 film Christmas in Connecticut, elegant yet suffering from impostor syndrome. My holiday plans are far from perfect, yet I am doing my best to create a memorable and delightful holiday for our guests, starting with the evening meal. Many a holiday memory has started and ended with food. Holiday traditions can take the form of a family recipe and an annual dish, which is why creating a festive Christmas menu has been on my mind for weeks. 

Hosting my first holiday is a major milestone for me. For the most part, I have already had several of the appetizers, side dishes and desserts planned, many of which have been traditionally on my family’s table since my childhood. Being my first time hosting a holiday meal, I am happy to say that I am not stressed nor am I striving for perfection, however, I am excited about preparing a family meal for the holidays and hosting my family for the very first time. I want to do my very best and it is something I have been looking forward to. Most of all, I want my family to have a good time. It is looking up to being a very beautiful and memorable Christmas, perhaps one of the happiest in my life. I want our menu to reflect that holiday joy. 

Cooking for five is a pleasant change of pace as my family is actually quite large. By keeping the dinner guest list intimate, I have the ability, budget, and time to be more elaborate with my menu choices and spend more valuable time with my guests. This Christmas meal is to be four courses. 

Our guests will start the evening with conversation and appetizers; a bowl of mixed holiday nuts to crack (just as I remember my grandfather enjoying every Christmas Eve), a classic and simple shrimp cocktail, my mother’s famous crab stuffed mushrooms, a bowl of black olives as has been a tradition of my grandparents since before I was born (as I child I used to stick them on all of my fingers), and a grazing tray. The grazing tray is my favorite part; a collection of my favorite cheeses, including a creamy brie, organic fig spread, a selection of crackers, dried fruits, salami, and prosciutto. One guest is bringing a shrimp cocktail. 

The first course is a simple side salad for starters, full of organic baby spinach and dark leafy greens. I will top the salad with local sliced apples from my favorite Connecticut farm, dried cranberries, and crunchy glazed walnuts. The salads will be drizzled with a cranberry balsamic vinaigrette; a festive starter to begin our meal. 

The second course is a creamy lobster bisque with generous lumps of lobster meat in each bowl. This creamy bisque will be simmering all afternoon in the borrowed crock-pot on my counter top. Each steaming bowl is topped with a sprig of fresh parsley. As none of these dishes have been prepared just yet, I do not have photographs to share, but I do have the descriptions of how I hope they will turn out and make people feel. Food gives us feelings of comfort, time, place, and joy. 

The main dish is as classic as Christmas meals come, with a few delicious twists. The main course consists of roasted green beans with sliced almonds, garlic and herb mashed potatoes (at my husband’s special request), and filet mignon. Originally, my first entree selection was to be salmon, but as my husband does not prefer fish, I wanted to choose a meal that everyone would enjoy, even if I rarely eat red meat. Anyone replicating this holiday menu can replace the steak with salmon, cod, or a favorite fish. Vegan and vegetarian options such as cauliflower steak also make a wonderful and festive substitute.

The filet mignon will be pan-seared with garlic, salt, and ghee then wrapped in foil and baked until nearly medium-rare. The final step is to open the aluminum foil and place crumbled Gorgonzola cheese on top and bake until melted to perfection without liquefying the cheese. 

The menu is classic and refined, but not so difficult that it takes away from time spent with loved ones. The salad takes moments to prepare, the bisque practically cooks itself in the crock-pot, and the steak is made rather quickly. The only time consuming project is the homemade mashed potatoes, which can be prepared the day before to save time as well as the pies for dessert. Beverages offered throughout the evening for this holiday fiesta include non-alcoholic classics such as sparkling water, sparkling cider and eggnog. Hot coffees, holiday inspired teas, and cocoa will be offered with dessert. 

This meal is designed to be enjoyed by candlelight and conversation over the background music of Christmas carols. It is an exquisite meal that is affordable to prepare for intimate gatherings, but is not recommended for parties larger than six as a large party would make this meal much more expensive and time consuming. 

Long after dinner has been enjoyed, the final course is a festive collection of desserts. My step-father is bringing a homemade apple pie and I will prepare a small pumpkin pie for our holiday the day before. Individual holiday ramekins will be baking with a warm peach and cranberry cobbler topped with orange zest and served fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream. This particular dessert is my personal favorite, inspired by a local restaurant by the name of At The Corner in Litchfield Connecticut. 

Memories are often made around food and there are several notable occasions that I recall the very special menu, this Christmas is looking up to being one of them. Scroll down for some of my Christmas menu recipes, including my creamy lobster bisque and the peach and cranberry Christmas cobbler that I recreated myself. 

Recipes:

Creamy Lobster Bisque

Ingredients:

• 2 Lobsters (you can buy pre-prepared lobsters if you’re not a fan of cooking them yourself)
• 2 tsp. pink salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 2 ribs of celery chopped
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 3 cups clam broth
• 1 stick of butter (salted)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 4 tbsp. tomato paste
• Sprigs of fresh parsley

Instructions:

1. Steam the lobster meat in a pot with an inch of water and salt. Remove any lobster meat from the shells, break the meat into bite sized chunks, and set aside. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Then add the vegetables and herbs, finely chopped. Sautee for about five minutes. 
3. Add the lobster shells (for flavor, to be removed later) and the white wine. Cook for about six minutes. 
4. Add the tomato paste and clam juice and bring to a simmer, cooking for about a half hour.
5. Use a sieve/ colander to remove the solids and the shells from the mixture then transfer into a crock pot.  
6. Add the heavy cream and stick of butter to the pot and stir. Bring to a low simmer and add about a quarter of the lobster meat, very finely chopped. Keep warm, but don’t cook, until ready to serve. 
7. Five minutes before serving add the remaining chunks of lobster meat and let them warm with the bisque. Serve into bowls and top with a sprig of parsley. 

Roasted Green Beans With Sliced Almonds

Ingredients:

• Fresh green beans
• Sliced almonds
• Butter

Instructions:

1. Steam the green beans in a pot with a little bit of water on the stove for five minutes. 
2. Transfer the green beans to an oven safe baking dish.
3. Put butter slices evenly around the green beans (1/2 stick of butter sliced into smaller slices). sprinkle sliced almonds on top and cover the dish with aluminum foil. 
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cooked. 

Gorgonzola Crusted Filet Mignon

Ingredients:

• 1.5″ thick filet mignon or steaks. (enough for the number of people you are cooking for)
• 1/2 tsp. pink salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/2 tsp. clarified butter
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
•  

Instructions:

1. Mix your spices (salt, pepper, and garlic powder) then evenly spread the mix onto your filets. Place the steaks in a large reusable zip block bag and let them sit in the fridge until ready to cook. (Let sit for at least a half hour to soak up the spices.)
2. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
3. Make sure your meat is at room temperature before you sear them in a pan on the stove. To sear the meat, use clarified butter (known as ghee) as sear each side on medium heat until just right. 
4. When both sides are seared, spread a little bit of butter and sprinkle a tiny dash of salt on top of each filet. Put a thick covering of Gorgonzola cheese crumbles on top of each piece and wrap gently in aluminum foil before placing in the over for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked. 
5. Cut into the center of one piece to make sure it is cooked to your preference (medium/rare/well done). remember that for approximately twenty minutes after you remove the meat from the oven, it will continue to cook further on its own. Let sit before serving. 

Peach and Cranberry Christmas Cobbler 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of fresh cranberries 
• 2 cups of sliced (and peeled if you prefer) fresh peaches (frozen if you cannot find fresh)
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 box of yellow cake mix (Jiffy preferred)
• 1/2 cup of milk or almond milk
• 1 orange 

Instructions:

1. Mix your cranberries, sliced peaches, and sugar together in a bowl and let it sit.
2. Pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. You can spread your fruit mix in a baking dish or in individualized ramekins (my preference for small gatherings). 
4. Melt your stick of butter and mix it with the cake mix (just enough yellow cake mix to fill each ramekin or to cover your dish). To make the mixture less thick you can add a little bit of milk or almond milk to the mix. You want the consistency to be smooth like pancake mix. 
5. Pour your creamy cake mix over the fruit evenly and bake in the over (approximately 40-60 minutes for large baking dishes and 25-45 minutes for small ramekins. You will know that the cobblers are ready when the cake mix has a light to medium golden color on top. 
6. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle orange zest (tiny slivers of a fresh orange peel -you can make the zest by rubbing an orange against a cheese grater) on top of the ice cream. Your cobblers are ready to serve.