Christmas is quickly approaching and the time has come to soon send our invitations to the Christmas Eve or Day dinner.
Special occasions are a great time for friends and family and, in order to please our guests, we have to be creative when it comes the time to create our menu. But... if the Christmas turkey is a delicious meal, we would sometimes change our habits and eat something else.
Here is a Christmas menu idea including four different dishes from soup to dessert; which are simple to make special occasion cooking recipes but include a nice alternative to the Christmas turkey.
The portions are calculated for 8 guests.
Tomato Cream
Ingredients:
2.2 lb peeled and chopped matured tomatoes
200 g chopped carrots
250 g chopped celery
120 g chopped onions
Chopped garlic (to taste)
1 small box of canned tomatoes
200 ml cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Thyme, bay
Oil
2 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
200 ml water
Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt sugar with a little water and pour vinegar until reducing
Add the vegetables
Cover and simmer 20 minutes
Mash the canned tomatoes and add them in the saucepan
Simmer 30 minutes
Salt and pepper to taste
Add 200 ml water and then the cream
Blend the soup
Serve hot
Avocado cream
Ingredients:
2 chopped avocados
2 lemons (juiced)
2 chopped shallots
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Use a fork to mash the avocado
Stir in lemon juice
Add the chopped shallots
Blend all the ingredients
Serve cold in small glasses
Decorate with lemon zest
Christmas Goose
Ingredients:
8 to 10 lb. whole goose
1 chopped onion
1 chopped apples
1 tablespoon dried grapes
Oil
100 ml red wine
500 ml chicken broth
Thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F
Put the oil coated goose in a shallow roasting pan
Tuck the wings and tie the legs together with kitchen string
Put the apples, onions and dried grapes around it
Cook for 3 hours, basting regularly with the cooking juices
Remove the goose from the oven
Pass the cooking juices through a strainer
In a saucepan, combine the fat from the roasting pan, the red wine, the Chicken broth and the red wine
Let cook until boiling and then add floor, stir constantly, until the gravy thickens
Serve with steamed potatoes.
Baked Apples
Ingredients:
10 mashed speculaas
120 g almond paste
40 g dried grapes
2 tablespoon rum
4 tablespoon grounded hazelnuts
1 tablespoon honey
8 apples, washed, cored and halved
Sugar glace
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F
Combine the mashed speculaas, the almond paste, the dried grapes, rum, hazelnuts and the honey
Put the apples in a baking dish
Garnish with the mixture
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes
Serve warm with ice cream and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
