Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I just have appies and dessert this year. My sister is making the dinner -- crown roast of lamb. I'm making an antipasto platter with crostini, stuffed dates, marinated mushrooms, and some other stuff I don't really recall right now. Oh yeah, prosciutto and goat cheese roulades. For dessert I'm making the gingerbread and poached pear trifle that CC had on its back page a few years back.

And, of course, cookies.

Dinner for clients.

Amy

That's strange, so am I...

Chicken fried venison backstrap, mashed taters, cream gravy, Green beans, etc.

By request, I'm repeating the Beef Wellington from last year. Roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta & balsamic, garlic mash.

Also by request, sticky toffee pudding. I've never made it, and only had it once. It just seemed so sweet to me. Anyone have a good (not so sweet) recipe?

SS,

Sticky Chewey Messy Gooey's version in their book was pretty good. This one from Food.com claims to be the same recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/sticky-toffee-pudding-422740

All,

We're doing a swap this year; Tuesday night I'm cooking for some of the IL's Christian friends after they conduct the Christmas Eve service for their church. So we'll be having dinner around 9pm. It'll be:

• Spinach & pomegranate salad
• Mixed potato, carrot, and turnip gratin.
• Locally made ham for the meat-eaters.
• Roasted broccoli with some kind of sauce.

Christmas morning is bagels, as always. Christmas day we go over to the friends who we hosted the evening before, and they host us. Not sure what's on offer, but it'll probably involve the smoker he just got this summer.

I am doing Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) this year - sous vide butter poached lobster, steamed harcort verts, and potatoes. I keep wavering between duck fat new potatoes and the sideways scalloped potatoes that were posted earlier in the month. I also made Ruhlman's aged eggnog about a month ago to try while opening gifts. I has so much booze I am almost afraid to try it.

--Lisa

In Los Angeles (which is supposed to be 82 tomorrow!!!) and not involved with the mains. Making a Sweet Potato Pie with my niece and the triple citrus bars with my nephew. Getting my 14 y/o nephew involved is a huge deal so I feel wonderful! It will be fantastic.

Amy, I first read that as clients for dinner - that's one way to deal with difficult clientele, but perhaps not in keeping with the season....

Lisa,

All the more reason to sample it!

I did faux Christmas for DH and myself on Sunday as we are not hosting this year. Tried one of the PC pre-stuffed butter basted turkeys that you cook from frozen as I was curious. You cook it covered with 1 cup of water in the pan, and take the lid off for the last hour to let it brown. It was not without incident. The timing chart on the package was waaaay off (like 2 hours off). Good thing I checked on its progress an hour before the lid was due to come off to start browning, as it was done! So I put it in on convection roast at 450 for about 10 minutes to brown. It was ok, but not as good as the same brand of turkey, defrosted and cooked unstuffed in the usual way. The stuffing was just average too. There was also a LOT of it, so the turkey was much smaller than the size of the package would lead you to believe. Might have contributed to the timing issue.

For sides I did mashed potato casserole, roasted baby carrots (the last of my stash from the farmers market), peas that I had put up at the end of summer also from the farmers market, gravy, and the stuffing from the bird. I made oatmeal, dried sour cherry, walnut, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Plus lots of wine.

Not sure what's on the menu yet for tonight.