Food

[resonant]

You know, I vaguely remember a time when I used to write smut. Some of y'all may recall it, way back in the misty past. One day I will write smut again. This is not that day.

This is the day when I invite you to help me plan my Christmas dinner.



We need lots o' food. We have somewhere between ten and thirteen people: the three of us, the Tech Goddess and her family and both her sons' girlfriends, the spouse's elderly scientist friend, and possibly the Spaniards and their third-grade daughter. Even if the little girls sit on the floor and eat off the coffee table, some of these people are still going to have to bring their own chairs. It would be helpful if some of them could bring along an extra dining room. I don't know what i was thinking.

I'm making roast beef because, unlike turkey, it's really easy, it's acceptable at a wide range of doneness values, and there are many, many delicious things to make with the leftovers, if we could just manage to have leftovers.

I'm making mashed potatoes by popular demand. I'm making Yorkshire pudding (a sort of puffy, custardy breadlike thing, not unlike the inside of a popover, only big) because it goes with roast beef and the Tech Goddess expressed curiosity about it; I expect to spend a lot of time on the phone with my mom about it, because I've never made it before. I'm making Key lime pie because it's easy and can be made in advance and the Tech Goddess's husband makes pleasing noises when he eats it.

The Tech Goddess is bringing a broccoli and cheese casserole.

Now. I need some vegetables. I want them to be more fresh and less heavy, since we've already got heavy in that casserole, but on the other hand, they need to be able to be made while other things are cooking, not boiled up quickly at the last minute, because I need the last minute for gravy. And I need another dessert, because one pie won't feed thirteen, even with the addition of the piles of Christmas cookies that will undoubtedly be lying around.

Here's the lineup:

roast beef
gravy
cranberry chutney with garlic
possibly I might ask someone to bring some horseradish sauce; I don't eat it, but others might

mashed potatoes
Yorkshire pudding

broccoli-cheese casserole
__________________

Key lime pie
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[Poll #1105510]

Comments

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

I'd have voted for the pecan pie if you hadn't proposed cluttering it up with maple.

If you can't find asparagus, I vote for the carrots.

Yorkshire pudding (exactly like the inside and outside of a popover; in fact, my mother's cookbook has one recipe for both, and just calls for different tins) is really very easy. It will collapse like a ruined souffle when you take it out of the oven. Don't worry about it. It's supposed to do that.

Oh, yum. I shouldn't have read this so near lunch time (eastern), but it's okay, because there will be roast beef and Yorkshire pudding at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. :-)

[reginagiraffe]

I voted for the carrots since you already have one green vegetable dish and a little color variety would be nice.

[andeincascade.livejournal.com]

Res, if you can't find decent asparagus roasted green beans are great. This is recipe is easy, elegant to serve and addictingly good

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_34660,00.html

[jenna-thorn.livejournal.com]

Not so much a better idea as a different one for the dessert. Since you have cookies and a pie, why not a cake? Rich and dense to balance the light/fresh of the pie, cake for those who aren't fond of pies. And the nice thing about cakes is they get made and frosted and then set aside and don't require any work at all on the day itself, unlike creme brulee and the sort.

Can I come to your house? I like your menu much more than the one I'm contributing to.

[myalexandria.livejournal.com]

I think yorkshire pudding is pretty easy, actually.

Here is a fabulous recipe for a beautifully dense pound cake which is great if made in advance. (If you don't own a bundt pan, you can probably bake for less time in two loaf pans.) I use vanilla instead of lemon extract, and I think it's great.

Preheat oven to 325
Grease bundt pan

3 sticks butter
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. lemon extract (optional)
3/4 c. 7-Up (or you can use lemon-lime seltzer, etc.)

Cream butter and sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, and continue beating.
Add flour slowly; mix in extract.
Fold in 7-Up.
Pour into bundt pan and bake 60-75 minutes (test for done-ness with a
toothpick or knife).
Cool for about 30 minutes.
Loosen edges and invert on plate.

[nudaydreamer.livejournal.com]

Yorkshire pudding is so awesome!!! I'm always sad that more people haven't heard of it.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

When I moved from North Carolina to Illinois, I discovered that there was something unusual about having roast beef with Yorkshire pudding one night and black-eyed peas with collard greens the next. It just seemed normal to me!

[sage]

I voted for the carrots (yum!), but my first thought was fresh green beans, steamed whole, with a butter sauce (or else with a cornstarch gravy made of cornstarch, water, and a splash of sesame oil). Maybe both carrots and green beans, assuming the produce section has any that look good? (In Texas we have fresh produce year-round, so I don't know if this is possible for where you are.)

Are you doing a salad? If you need a fast one (to delegate to someone else to make :P): combine a bag of baby spinach, a large handful of walnut pieces, a chopped apple or two, and some shredded or cubed cheese. Grape/cherub/cherry tomatoes are optional, but avoid sliced tomato bc the juice fights with the apple.

It sounds like a great feast! :D

[teneagles.livejournal.com]

I voted for carrots, since they're fairly universally liked, and all the other options have a good chance of offending at least one picky eater. Another nice choice might be some haricots verts, roasted with olive oil and garlic.

Yorkshire pudding is dead easy. Don't be alarmed when they collapse; they're supposed to do that.

For dessert, why not a plum pudding? A nice plum pudding, soaked in brandy, with a hard sauce: very Christmasy. Plus, something a little more substantial to offset the key-lime pie might be nice.

[sciwitch.livejournal.com]

Cheesecakes are easy and can be made in advance and frozen until needed. Visit my blog and click on the cheesecake tag for some recipes. Feel free to brows the cakes, and cookies, and any other recipes that catch your attention. For our Xmas dinner, I made a White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake and stuck it in the freezer last night (I'll be posting the recipe tonight).

[janet-carter.livejournal.com]

My aunt started making Yorkshire pudding a couple of years ago - yummy and easy.

And I second green beans as an option - you can also make something like this (http://www.elais.gr/exports/recipes/beans.html) in advance (the version I've had is better if it sits for a day), served cold but still more like a vegetable than a salad.

[celandineb.livejournal.com]

Pumpkin pie is really very easy. The only even moderately tricky part is the crust. I have a recipe for it posted here (http://community.livejournal.com/cook_with_cel/10759.html), both filling and crust, but obviously you can use any crust recipe you like.

[catmoran.livejournal.com]

I don't have a specific desert to recommend, just that it be something cake-like instead of another pie. Pumpkin cake is yummy and easy to make.

[bravecows.livejournal.com]

I'm making Yorkshire pudding (a sort of puffy, custardy breadlike thing, not unlike the inside of a popover, only big)

I didn't know Americans didn't do Yorkshire pudding! I find it interesting that you have to explain what Yorkshire pudding is, whereas it's the popover I'm having trouble with.

[starfishchick]

For the second dessert, is there something you HAVE made before that you know you can do without stress? Like cake or cookies?

[florahart]

I vote a dessert that certainly even kids like. I mean. I dunno how old the sons and girlfriends are and whatnot, but I think I think key lime pie, while very yummy, may cause children and nonadventurous teen-to-college+ types to go ...mmmmno, that's scary. Especially if you are already alarming them with broccoli and asparagus, heh (okay, this is a broad generalization; both my boys are good with broccoli, and one thinks asparagus is the Best Idea Ever).

Anyway. I mean, I know, there are always the mountains of cookies, so that probably covers the unadventurous anyway, but it's not hard to make something like apple crisp or cobbler of some sort or ...something, you know?

[she-obstipui.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much a lurker, but I can't resist...you've got a lot of the traditional British roast dinner going on. Why not further the theme with trifle or custard? They're insanely easy, and they're a change from pie. Also, kids love them. And adults. At least those who share my genetic makeup.
No matter what you do, though, this sounds like it'll be grand.

[taselby.livejournal.com]

For the other dessert I'd make something in chocolate -- a cake or another pie. Chocolate pie goes well with Key lime, even. We took a Key lime and a sour cream dark chocolate pie to Thanksgiving this year.

Veggies... carrots AND asparagus?? Kids like carrots better, but I'm a big veggie fan and would make both because I have no sense of restraint in these matters. *g*

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

Individual-sized Yorkshire pudding, probably cooked a shade longer because it's a shade drier. Eaten with butter (although the butter is not strictly necessary if the popover is hot), like a bread roll. :-)

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

[thinks sticky toffee pudding][falls down and dies]

[schemingreader.livejournal.com]

I just copied a dozen recipes out of the Kosher by Design series, and I'm going to share some that looked pretty for vegetables:

This one I'm making for Shabbat, so I can post about whether it's good after the weekend:

Cauliflower Popcorn

Kosher by Design Entertains p.225

2 heads cauliflower, cut into medium florets (don't use too much of the stems)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
6-8 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 450. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and coat cauliflower. Place in a single layer on sheet. Roast 30-35 minutes, until largest pieces can be pierced with a fork. 8 servings.

This one had a gorgeous photo:

Cherry Tomato Crisp

Kosher by Design Short on Time p. 206

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pints cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Coat shallow baking dish with olive oil. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer. Combine everything else and spread over tomatoes. Roast for 20-25 minutes until crumbs are browned and serve hot.

I found panko crumbs at Whole Foods. Kikoman makes them, among others.

[bravecows.livejournal.com]

I've only ever had Yorkshire pudding in dining hall sort of situations, so they've all been individual-sized. Is the degree of dryness the only difference between popovers and individual-sized Yorkshire puddings, or is there no difference?

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Why not go in a totally different direction for dessert and make single-serving things, like brownies (which can be a la mode). Or perhaps an apple or raspberry crumble or cobbler, just to shake things up a bit?

[elbomac.livejournal.com]

I love brussels sprouts, as does my entire family. Roasted is awesome, but I also like sauteed with chicken stock, white wine and thyme.

Dessert - do you have something you've made already?

Your dinner sounds yummy!

[100wordspermin.livejournal.com]

My family celebrates almost every occasion with my grandmother's excellent, amazing pound cake. I'd be glad to share the recipe--just let me know if you'd like it.