Christmas
Shopping Got You
Frazzled?
After-Shopping
Buffet
Hot Crab and
Artichoke Dip with Crostini
Barbecue Meatballs
Eggnog ~ Wine
Lasagna
Romaine, Radicchio
and Pear Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Toasted garlic
bread
Chocolate Caramel
Nut Tart
Gingerbread Folks
An After-Shopping
Buffet gives you a chance to pull out the stops on comfort and
coziness. Your guests have been shopping all day in the hum of the
pre-Christmas rush. Buying just the right gift for everyone on your
list can be fun, but let’s face it, it can also be draining. Your
guests may have been shopping for hours, coping with crowds, lines and
noise, and operating on nothing but inspiration and adrenaline. When
they get to your house, you want them to sigh with relief and
contentment the minute they walk in the door. Greet them with a warm,
cozy fire, candlelight, soothing music, and a place to drop their
things. Their blood sugar is probably staggeringly low by now, so put
out eggnog, wine, and some sustaining bites to eat so they can help
themselves first thing.
The food should be
familiar and comforting, and it should be something that can be kept
warm for stragglers. Hot Crab Artichoke Dip with Crostini and Barbecue
Meatballs are great starters. The main attraction is a spicy, cheesy
Lasagna made with hot Italian sausage. Garlic bread and a salad of
romaine, radicchio, pears and balsamic onions round out the menu.
Finish with Chocolate Caramel Nut Tart.
Send each guest
home with a personalized gingerbread man or lady wrapped in cellophane
(wrap a few extra un-personalized ones to send home with unexpected
guests). You can buy cellophane bags just the right size in most party
supply stores.
A really
thoughtful option would be to stock up on inexpensive wrapping paper,
ribbons and other package decorations. Hire a couple of local high
school students and set up a gift-wrap center where your guests can have
their gifts wrapped while they relax. To keep things organized and
prevent mix-ups, have plain tie-on labels available for guests to fill
out and attach to each gift when they leave it to be wrapped. The
wrapper then attaches it to the wrapped gift along with a gift tag that
the giver can personalize later. Have large plastic garbage bags in
which to load the wrapped gifts for each guest, marked with each guest’s
name. This keeps all the gifts for each person together and also keeps
them dry when they take them out to their cars.
Hot Crab Artichoke
Dip with Crostini
1 9-ounce package
frozen artichoke hearts
1 8-ounce package
cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sliced green
onions
¼ cup finely diced
green pepper
¼ cup finely diced
celery
1 tablespoon
finely chopped jalapeño
¼ cup chopped
cilantro
½ pound crab meat
1 teaspoon white
wine vinegar
½ cup plus 2
tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly
ground black pepper
1 baguette, sliced
into ¼” slices
½ stick butter,
melted
Cook artichoke
hearts according to package directions. Cool and chop finely. Beat
cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Beat in
mayonnaise. Fold in chopped artichoke hearts, green onions, green
pepper, celery, jalapeño, cilantro, crab meat, wine vinegar and ½ cup
Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a
small casserole. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Refrigerate.
Arrange baguette
slices on a baking sheet. Brush both sides lightly with melted butter.
Broil first side until golden. Turn crostini over and broil second side
until golden. Store at room temperature until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to
400 degrees. Bake Crab Artichoke Dip until heated through and cheese is
melted, about 15 minutes, slightly longer if it has been refrigerated.
Serve accompanied by a basket of the crostini.
Barbecue Meatballs
1 ½ pound ground beef
½ pound ground pork
1 cup soft bread crumbs
½ cup milk
2 shallots, minced
2 eggs
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Several grinds of freshly ground black pepper
Flour for dredging
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup molasses
2/3 cup vinegar
2/3 cup ketchup
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon oregano
Mix together ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, milk, shallot,
salt, pepper and eggs. Shape into small meatballs. Melt 2 tablespoons
butter in a non-stick skillet. Dredge 1/3 of the meatballs in flour and
sauté in butter until browned and barely cooked through. Wipe pan clean
with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining meatballs
Combine molasses, vinegar, ketchup, Tabasco sauce and oregano in a
saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the meatballs
and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to a heated casserole or
chafing dish to serve.
Romaine, Radicchio
and Pear Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 head romaine
lettuce, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 head radicchio,
washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 ripe D’Anjou
pears (or whatever pears you like best)
1 teaspoon lemon
juice mixed with 1 cup cold water
½ red onion,
thinly sliced
2 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons
balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons
honey
½ cup extra virgin
olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground
black pepper
Place onion
slices, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar in a small
dish and marinate for an hour or so.
Combine 3
tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons honey. Whisk in olive
oil (or blend in a blender until emulsified). Taste and season with
salt and pepper.
Core and cut pears
into thin slices. Keep in lemon water until time to use. Drain
onions. Immediately before serving, combine lettuce, radicchio, onions
and pears in a salad bowl and toss with vinaigrette.
Spicy Lasagna with
Hot Turkey Sausage
3 tablespoons
butter
3 tablespoons
flour
3 cups half and
half
½ teaspoon dried
basil
¾ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper
1 cup grated
Parmesan cheese
6 tablespoons
olive oil
1 onion, finely
chopped
6 garlic cloves,
minced
½ cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon oregano
¾ teaspoon basil
¾ teaspoon oregano
¾ teaspoon red
pepper flakes
3 15-ounce cans
tomato sauce
Kosher salt
freshly ground
black pepper
1 ½ pounds hot
Italian turkey sausage
1 pound lasagna
noodles (16)
3 cups grated
mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated
Parmesan cheese
For béchamel:
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking,
for 2 minutes to cook the flour. Heat cream and whisk into butter-flour
mixture. Whisk in basil, oregano and pepper. Simmer over very low heat
for about 1 hour. Stir in 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
For sauce: Heat 3
tablespoons oil in a sauté pan. Remove the sausage from the casings and
cook until brown, breaking up sausage as it browns. Transfer to a
dish. Add 3 more tablespoons oil to the pan and sauté onion and
garlic. Add oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and black pepper to
taste. Sauté 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer 3-4 minutes. Add
tomato sauce and browned sausage. Simmer sauce about 1 hour. Taste for
seasoning and add salt to taste.
Cook lasagna
noodles in salted water and drain.
Put a small amount
of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13” pan. Place a single layer of
noodles over sauce. Spread ¼ of tomato sauce over noodles. Top with
1/3 of béchamel sauce followed by ¼ of mozzarella. Layer noodles,
sauce, béchamel, and mozzarella 2 more times. Finish with a fourth
layer of noodles, sauce and mozzarella. Top with ½ cup Parmesan
cheese. Bake at 350 about 35-40 minutes, more if it has been
refrigerated.
Garlic Bread
1 loaf Italian or
French bread or baguette
1 stick butter,
melted
garlic powder
½ cup grated
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Slice bread.
Arrange slices on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter on both
sides. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Parmesan cheese if desired.
Just before serving, broil on both sides until golden. Serve hot.
Chocolate Caramel
Nut Tart
1 pie shell, baked
in a 10” tart pan with removable bottom
2 ounces white
chocolate
10 ounces
bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whipping
cream
3 tablespoons
unsalted butter
2 cups mixed raw
nuts (macadamias, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds)
2 cups cooking oil
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
½ cup whipping
cream
1 tablespoons
unsalted butter
Melt white
chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Spread a thin layer
over the bottom of the baked pie shell. Refrigerate to set chocolate.
For the ganache:
Place 10 ounces chopped chocolate, 1 cup cream and 3 tablespoons butter
in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir until
chocolate is melted and smooth. Let ganache cool to room temperature.
Pour the ganache into the tart shell on top of the white chocolate
layer. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Place nuts in
saucepan with the 2 cups cooking oil. Stir over medium heat until oil
starts to bubble and the nuts turn a very light golden, about 4
minutes. Very carefully, pour nuts and oil into a sieve placed over
another saucepan. Spread nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
The nuts are burning hot at this point, so be careful not to touch them
until they cool. Whatever you do, resist the temptation to pop one in
your mouth or you could end up with serious burns. Cool nuts to
room temperature, about 45 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels
Place sugar and
water in a large saucepan (mixture is going to boil up significantly, so
you will need plenty of room). Without stirring, bring to a boil over
high heat. Boil until the mixture turns a very dark amber. Remove from
heat. With a long-handled whisk, whisk in 1 tablespoon whipping cream.
(Be careful, because the caramel syrup will bubble up dramatically.)
Continue adding cream slowly, stirring until it is incorporated. Stir
in butter. Cool until barely warm.
Place nuts in a
bowl. Add 2/3 cup of the barely warm caramel sauce and stir to
combine. Spread the nuts in a single layer over the chocolate ganache
layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Gingerbread Folks
½ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated
sugar
1 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground
ginger
½ teaspoon ground
cloves
1 teaspoon baking
soda
½ cup unsalted
butter, softened
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose
flour
Royal Icing
1 pound
confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons
dried egg white powder
6 tablespoons
water
Heat molasses,
brown sugar and granulated sugar in a saucepan until warm and sugar has
melted. Stir in baking powder. Mixture will bubble up. Allow molasses
to cool to room temperature. Beat butter in an electric mixer until
light and fluffy. Beat in molasses mixture until combined. Add egg and
mix well. Sift together flour, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Add to egg
and sugar mixture and stir just until completely mixed. Don’t over-mix
or the cookies will be tough. Pat dough into a flat disk, wrap in
plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to
350 degrees. Roll dough out until ¼” thick on a well-floured surface.
Cut out gingerbread shapes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until cookies are firm to the touch. Cool on
racks.
To make royal
icing, combine confectioner’s sugar, egg white powder and water. Pipe
facial features, clothes and guests’ names onto the cookies to make
gingerbread folks. You can also color the icing with food coloring, or
you can use sprinkles or other decorations as creative inspiration
strikes. Package cookies in individual cellophane bags and tie on a
jingle bell with a festive ribbon.
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