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My 'traditional' Christmas dinner
22 December 2009
Have I mentioned that I married an Italian family? Oh, yeah, I guess I have. Trust me, in my little world, that's a hard one to even imagine forgetting. And, have you heard the news? It's Christmas time! Italians and Christmas - oh, the visions of food that can come to mind.
This year, guess what … my husband requested we have one of my family's traditional, more or less, English Christmas dinners. The likes of which he has only experienced in my mother's house, yet he wants my specific twist on things. Having not had a Christmas meal with her since a couple years before her death, and this being the time of year that both of my parents passed away, I have to tell you that the thought of preparing a meal to surpass even my most cherished memories brings tears to my eyes.
What will our meal entail? The star of the evening will be a standing rib roast. The simplest preparation is what rests in my mind as something amazing. Just a rubbing of salt, pepper, some garlic and herbs is all that is required. Roasted to perfection, the aroma spreading not only through the house, but through the neighborhood with help of the exhaust fan, the sight of the crusty fat layer… Poof! I am once again a young girl in my parents' kitchen, giggling with one of my brothers over the fact that he and I have stolen most of that crusty fat off of the roast for ourselves. (If any of you lived close enough, you may have heard my mother's voice screaming at us for destroying the entire presentation of the beef itself.)
There are always questions regarding how long to roast the beef to ensure there is a cut for everyone's tastes. Here's a guide I go by for my beef:
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees. Cook the meat for about 25 minutes and reduce the temperature to 300 degrees. Using this method, you can count on 12-14 minutes per pound for rare (125 degrees internal temperature on instant read thermometer); 14-16 minutes per pound for medium rare (130-135 degrees internal temperature on instant read thermometer); 20-25 minutes per pound for well done (145 degrees internal temperature on instant read thermometer). Since this is an expensive cut of meat, it pays to follow these guidelines, and not simply guess. Remember, too, that it can always be cooked for more 'doneness,' but when it's over cooked, it can't be undone.
The drippings were used for Yorkshire pudding - another amazingly simplistic thing, yet so satisfying. Could it be for the nostalgia of helping my father make it? There's definitely a good chance in that. One of my favorite parts was the sizzling of the beef drippings and batter being poured into the pre-heated cast iron muffin tin. Anyone else may just refer to them as popovers, but for me, it's Yorkshire pudding. Mind you, we didn't have this every year…the alternative was my mother's spoon bread. That has an equally special place in my memories. As for this year, it's a toss-up. If I make the spoon bread, I may just be the only one to enjoy it. Yet, living in the South, I feel as though I should make it. The Yorkshire pudding would definitely be more fun for the kids, and I'm guessing my husband would prefer it, as well.
The green vegetable was always (or so it seems, all these years later) fresh green beans almandine. I love almonds toasted in a pan with the slightly browned butter. I'm not so sure I'll be able to convince my sons to eat the nuts on the beans, ("That's just weird, Mommy!") but at least I can have them on the side for my serving. I am fairly certain we had many holidays with a sort of baked creamed spinach, and since my guys are all spinach eaters, it's a pretty good bet that will make an appearance. We were all carrot eaters in my family, so Mom would either allow some to roast with the meat, or toss some simmered ones with butter and orange zest.
A tossed salad may have been included, but because of my father's preference and my mother's fabulous recipe, we could count on coleslaw. And, who could deny the jewel like quality of fresh cranberry sauce? That was always offered, many times as just something to add for a little more color. Honestly, I believe that it was the frozen, left over sauce from Thanksgiving. I like the stuff, though.
To round out the rest of the meal we had potatoes. My mother would prepare these long cooked scalloped potatoes (I swear, they would be in the oven for over 3 hours.) Made with heavy cream and butter, of course. My parents didn't care to skimp in the name of calories or cholesterol. Not only that, it was Christmas!
This year, since, after all, my children are half Italian, I will also include some baked pasta. (Hey, how much more harm can some pasta and cheese do on top of all the other rich food we'll be consuming?) I had originally thought I would make some lasagna, with the ricotta cheese part of it having pesto mixed in, but I'm leaning more toward lasagna roll-ups or stuffed shells so as to have individual servings. As another nod to my husband's traditions, I will include some cauliflower, but rather than the sort of mashed preparation he was raised having, I will roast the flowerets, and toss with seasoned bread crumbs, olive oil and parmesan cheese.
Do you have room for dessert? Every year there was pecan pie, and whatever Christmas cookies my eldest brother didn't devour without my mother knowing. I will not do the pecan pie, and instead will make one of my apple pies, mainly because I'm the only one in this family who likes pecans. Grand Marnier pie made several appearances over the years. I've been craving that in recent weeks, and just may have to make one.
It's like a custardy cheesecake in a graham cracker crust, dosed heavily with Grand Marnier, and then, to gild the lily, given a dollop of whipped cream and a fresh grinding of nutmeg. OK, that does it…I'm definitely going to make that this year. I am on the fence no longer. My 'new' tradition that
has come about for us over the course of the passed twelve years, is a Buche de Noel. I began making this the first year or two of our marriage, and wind up having a blast making it look like a realistic log in the woods, including marzipan mushrooms.
Hopefully, this may provide some culinary inspiration to anyone needing it. Or, even a little something to lull you into a Christmas mood. Whether you're sticking with your own traditions, or you are looking to incorporate some new ones, it doesn't really matter. It's Christmas! It's never a completely perfect holiday if we are looking for perfection overall. Should we take a step back from it for a moment of reflection, however, we may just witness one or two small perfect miracles of our own. I hope that all of you are able to find at least one, and that it can carry you into the coming year.
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