I am about to commit the ultimate holiday heresy. I am going to suggest to you three different holiday dinners without mentioning the words fruit-cake and eggnog. I know, I know -holiday dining and drinking without fruitcake and eggnog is sort of like a Christmas tree without presents and all that.
But sentimentality aside -to say nothing of the 14 pounds of leftover fruitcake you have stored in your freezer – there are pleasurable alternatives. Fun, easy-to-throw-together, economical alternatives.
There are as many kinds of holiday dinners as there are holidays. I’m going to deal with three of the basics here: the sit-down dinner, the drop-in Sunday brunch and the Christmas Eve buffet. (Incidentally, if you’re determined, fruitcake and eggnog can be slipped unobtrusively into any of the following menus.)
Christmas Eve Buffet
The traditional Christmas Eve dinner for family and/or friends can always stand a little modernizing. With prices up, no help to polish the silver and the rhythm of the holiday season geared to football, an easy-to-prepare Christmas Eve buffet is the only sane answer.
Kahlua Punch
Cold Roasted Turkey
Glazed Ham Loaf
Dirty Rice
Cold Vegetables in Sour Cream
Cranberry and Mincemeat Peaches
Assorted Buttered Breads
Lane Layer Cake
This kind of menu, which can be done before the last minute rush, is inexpensive in today’s market and the leftovers can be utilized Christmas day for a sandwich lunch along with an oyster stew. All the flavors of Christmas, without the last minute hassle.
You can make your own Kahlua and no one will guess – 1 quart of water, 2 1/2 cups sugar, 9 teaspoons instant coffee. Simmer for 3 hours (while you are roasting the turkey and making the ham loaf). It will be dark and syrupy. Let it cool, then add 3 teaspoons vanilla and 2 1/2 cups vodka. Whip 1 pint vanilla ice cream with the 4 ounces of Kahlua. Pour over ice and ladle into punch cups.
Glazed Ham Loaf
2 eggs
1 quart ground ham
1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup light cream
Beat eggs, add ham and rest of ingredients; mix thoroughly. Butter a 2-quart loaf pan and line with waxed paper. Fill and spread with:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon flour
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Vinegar enough to moisten Set pan in hot water and bake at 375° for about an hour.
Dirty Rice
1 cup rice, not instant
1 pound ground beef
1 pound giblets, ground
1/2 pound margarine
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
Pinch of poultry seasoning
1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped
1 tablespoon finely minced parsley
Chicken broth or water Sauté beef and giblets in half of the margarine until brown. Set aside and sauté onion, pepper, celery and seasonings in remaining butter. Cook the rice and mix with all the ingredients. Moisten with a little chicken broth or water. Pour into a buttered 3-quart casserole and bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
Cold cooked or canned vegetables in sour cream are a nice change from the usual. Combine 4 cups of vegetables with 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon chopped mint, 2 tablespoons sliced green onions, and 1 unpeeled apple finely chopped. Refrigerate several hours so they are very cold.
Remember that cranberries do not help the enjoyment of wine, so if you do serve wine it is best to temper the cranberry sauce by mixing with mincemeat, dribble with butter and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
Lane Cake
3 1/4 cups sifted flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
8 egg whites, stiffly beaten Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until very light and fluffy; add vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk. Gently fold batter into egg whites. Pour into four 9-inch layer pans, greased and lined on bottoms with waxed paper. Batter should be about 1-inch deep in each pan. Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
Filling
8 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup grated fresh coconut
1 cup cut up candied cherries
1/3 cup whiskey or wine
1 cup finely chopped seeded raisins
Combine egg yolks, sugar and butter in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and let cool. Spread between cake layers.
Frosting
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dark corn syrup
2/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine sugar, salt, corn syrup and water in saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil without stirring. Beat egg whites until foamy; add 3 tablespoons syrup mixture, beating until stiff, but not dry. Boil remaining syrup to 240 degrees or until it spins a thread. Pour slowly over egg whites, beating until frosting begins to lose gloss and hold shape. Add vanilla. Spread over top and sides of cake. This frosting does not form a crust. A drop or two of hot water may be added if frosting gets too thick to spread.
Lane Cake, a traditional Southern cake, is rich. A small slice goes a long way.
Sunday Brunch
Liberated or not, single or married, the working girl rarely has the time or energy to entertain. However, a Sunday brunch any time during the holiday season affords time to prepare. A buffet brunch, based on one hot dish and jazzed up with some cheese, fruits and sweets, is the most practical and fun route to take.
Start with Vin brule if the day is cold or Sparkling Champagne Punch. A help-yourself soup table away from the buffet with a clear tomato soup, spiced with a bit of curry and slivers of ham.
THE BUFFET
King Ranch Chicken
Creole Corn Muffins
Thin Slices of Melon and
Papaya with Feta Cheese
Christmas Cookies
Coffee
Vin brule is made by mixing a bottle of Red Burgundy, 1 1/2 sticks cinnamon, a pinch of coriander, 10 whole cloves, a twist of lemon peel, sugar to your taste. Bring to a boil, let stand in a warm place for 1 hour. Strain, serve hot with a twist of lemon peel.
Sparkling Champagne Punch
1 quart strawberries
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 bottle Moselle wine
1 cup strawberry liqueur
Cover and refrigerate for 3 or more hours. Strain, add 2 bottles Champagne plus 1/4 cup grenadine. Pour into a bowl surrounded by ice.
CLEAR TOMATO SOUP
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 sprigs parsley
4 cups canned tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
6 whole cloves
1 bayleaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon thyme
2 cups hot consom
Saute celery, carrots and onion in the butter for 5 minutes. Add rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Strain, add 2 cups of hot consomme; reheat, and serve hot.
KING RANCH CHICKEN
King Ranch Chicken can be made the day before and refrigerated, or days before and frozen, then baked in a 350° oven until hot and bubbling.
1 3 l/2-to-4-pound hen steamed, boned and cut in chunks, or 1 2-pound can chicken
1 cup onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 package tortillas Chicken broth (canned or a bouillon cube)
1/2 pound grated Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 10 1/2-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes, mashed
Combine chicken, onion and green pepper. Layer alternately in a shallow 3-quart buttered casserole with tortillas, which have been dipped in hot chicken broth long enough to soften. Top with the grated cheese. Sprinkle with chili powder and garlic salt. Add, in order, chicken soup, mushroom soup and tomatoes. Bake in 350° oven 30 to 45 minutes. Serves 8 to 10.
Creole Corn Muffins
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup shortening, melted
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped pimiento 3/4 cup grated American cheese
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons baking powder
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornmeal
Mix the eggs, milk and shortening. Add the green pepper, onion, pimiento and cheese to the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and cornmeal. Add the milk mixture and stir only enough to mix. Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes. Weigh everything out the day before, or even bake, then reheat.
Sit-down Dinner
If you’re going to throw a sit-down dinner these days, budgeting -of your time and your pocketbook – is the main consideration. The suggested menu below is designed for the family, the single girl or the single guy, who is becoming less and less exempt from spreading his share of goodwill during the holiday season.
The menu here can be a seated dinner or a buffet. It may look complicated but it’s not. No need to make a big fuss about decorations. Simple, traditional table decor with your best china and silver will be just fine.
Start the festivities with Champagne and Lillet and serve the Champagne throughout the evening. With it paté de fois gras and/or smoked salmon Scotch or Irish, thinly sliced, with thin sliced whole wheat bread lightly spread with unsalted butter.
Roast Sirloin Strip, Madeira with
Sauteed Mushrooms and Little White
Onions
Sliced Brussels Sprouts with Grapes
Rice with Pine Nuts
Chocolate Mousse with Brandy
flavored Whipped Cream
Coffee
Since the paté you buy probably will be tinned, be sure it is chilled. Same for the smoked salmon. Of course, both could be put aside for fresh caviar. The sirloin strip should be boneless and for 8 or 10 you will need 11 or 12 pounds. Merely rub with salt and fresh ground pepper, place in a shallow pan and roast at 450° for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 325° and continue until the inner temperature registers 120° on a meat thermometer, about 30 minutes. Remove to a warm serving platter. Pour the drippings in a water glass and skim off most of the fat. It will come to the top. Return drippings left in glass to roasting pan and add 2 cans beef consomme. Bring to a boil and reduce to 1/2. Add 1/4 cup Rainwater Madeira. Boil 1 minute, add salt if necessary. Bring to table with a bunch of watercress as a garnish and serve with the beef.
To the roasting pan add 1/4 cup butter. Saute mushrooms (allow 2 for each guest) 2 minutes. Add little white cooked onions, cooked the day before, and continue to saute with the mushrooms until slightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add a little Madeira, and salt and white pepper.
The Brussels sprouts (3 pints for 8) can be washed, sliced in half and cooked covered in very little salted water for 5 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use. Place in a skillet with 1/4 cud butter and 1 cup seeded grapes, and peeled if you are ambitious, or canned seedless grapes will do. Fork stir until hot. Correct seasonings. Serve at once.
RICE WITH PINE NUTS
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups pine nuts
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Salt and pepper Chopped parsley
1 cup olive oil
Sauté onion, pine nuts, paprika and Tabasco in olive oil for 8 minutes. Toss with hot rice, using two forks. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Easy chocolate mousse made the day before, or several days ahead of time and frozen.
EASY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
3 ounces semi sweet chocolate
1 ounce bitter chocolate
1/4 cup honey
Heat over hot water, add 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee and 1 1/2 tablespoons cognac. Slightly cool. Fold in 2 cups whipped cream. Pour into 8 individual molds or 1 quart mold and chill, or freeze.
