Christmas Dinner

Lest you believe all I do is read and play with yarn, I cook as well.




We stayed home this Xmas. Fresh from my last round of holiday baking (chocolate peppermint chews, s'mores cookies, pistachio lime balls, chocolate dipped mocha cutouts, cranberry white chocolate drops, to name a few), I made a pretty fine round of meals for the in-laws. Friday dinner was a rotini-tomato bake with pine nutes, basil and cheese, garlic bread, and a salad. Saturday morning was an almond tea ring.



Then, dinner. The menu was from various issues of Fine Cooking (as a charter subscriber, I have every copy, as well as several of their seasonal publications). I roasted a whole beef tenderloin in a salt crust. I served it with orange dijon green beans, carrots with shallots, and served a sourdough. For dessert, it was a steamed gingerbread cake with an egg nog creme anglais.

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/beef-tenderloin-roasted-salt-crust.aspx?ac=ts&ra=fp

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/braised-carrots-shallots.aspx?nterms=50044,50280,53160&ac=fp

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes/steamed-coriander-gingerbread-eggnog-creme-anglaise.aspx?ac=fp


For Xmas dinner today, Bon Appetit will provide the meal. I'm making apple-sage cornish game hens, a pilaf, and ginger creme brulee.