My Christmas Story Dinner
Christmas is the time of year for friends, family, and ah-mazing food, of course! For my Christmas dinner, I wanted to ensure the boys were well fed with unique and fun menu items that could be cooked with one oven at one temp (If anyone wants to get me a kitchen makeover for my birthday – I’m a size Kardashian kitchen).
This menu was inspired by my love of cooking, some arm-twisting (I was forced against my will to make green bean casserole, ugh the things we do for love), and previous holiday recipe wins. For starters: mulled wine is my holiday cocktail of choice. Of course – I make this cocktail before I start cooking so I can indulge in a glass (or several…) while I create my magic. I give credit to the mulled wine for creating a totally stress-free me in the kitchen. Pro-tip.
Mulled Wine:
1 – 2 bottles Merlot
2 cinnamon sticks
A few peppercorns, cloves, and a bay leaf in a tea ball or wrapped in cheesecloth.
A dash of nutmeg and allspice
Whole cranberries
Fresh ginger
A strip of orange peel
Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add in 1/2 – 1 c brown sugar (start with 1/2 cup and add more to taste). Remove the aromatics. Keep warm on the stove over very low heat.
Now for the delicious Xmas dinner everyone is sure to love:
Delightful Xmas Dinner for 2 (or 3)
Start with the ham because it takes the longest to prepare. Begin about 3 hours before your desired dinner time. Preheat the oven to 350.
Pomegranate – Jalapeño Glazed Ham
One bone-in spiral-cut ham
1 box turkey broth (or chicken broth)
Whole cloves
10 oz jar of jalapeño jelly
1 c pomegranate juice
2 T lemon juice
2 T mayo
3/4 t worcestershire sauce
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t ground ginger
The Deets:
Use a large roasting pan. Pour in the stock. Stud the ham with cloves.
Use a small saucepan; bring the jelly, pomegranate juice, and lemon to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes (be careful not to overflow). Whisk in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for another 5 minutes or until thickened.
Drizzle half of the glaze over the ham and cover in foil. Roast for 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the glaze 3 or 4 times.
Remove foil and brush the rest of the glaze over the ham. Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes. Add in sweet potatoes (for the salad) to cook in the stock and pop the mini casseroles into the oven at this time.
Delightful Side Dishes
MINI GREEN BEAN CASSEROLES
MANCHEGO MASHED POTATOES
SWEET POTATO & QUINOA SALAD
Once the ham has been cooking for about an hour, begin to prepare to make the sides.
MINI CASSEROLES:
2 14.5 oz-cans green beans
1 10.75 oz-can condensed cream of mushroom
1/2 – 1 c shredded white cheddar
Salt & Pepper
French’s fried onions
Grease 4 mini ramekins. Combine the green beans, soup, cheddar cheese, salt & pepper, and a handful of fried onions in a mixing bowl. Fill each ramekin and top with fried onions. Set aside for now, then cook for 30 mins with the uncovered ham.
SALAD:
1 Apple
Chopped, fresh parsley
Kale or Spinach
Quinoa
Sweet potatoes
Candied pecans
Prepare 1/2 c quinoa and refrigerate until ready to assemble the salad.
Cube one lb of sweet potatoes. Place on a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes then add to ham roasting pan as directed.
Whisk 1/4 c olive oil, 2 T apple cider vinegar, salt & pepper to create the dressing.
When dinner is ready, assemble the salad and mix with the dressing.
MASHED POTATOES:
3 lb golden potatoes
1/2 c heavy cream, warmed
4 oz manchego, shredded
1 T olive oil
1 t garlic
Bring potatoes to a boil in salted water. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until fork-tender. Mash the potatoes with half of the heavy cream. Add in the remaining cream, olive oil, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
Dessert
I felt like I deserved a break on this one after making a scrumptious Salted-Caramel Kahlua Cheesecake (you can find that recipe here) for Thanksgiving. We couln’t eat a whole cheesecake ourselves and even with the help of friends, we couldn’t finish it all. So, instead of making another dessert, I decided on Trader Joe’s selection of amazing desserts to finish the meal. I opted for lemon bars because Dan really wanted them. However, I think a lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream or macaroons would have also paired very nicely.
