Christmas Cooking

We had a quiet little Christmas Eve dinner – just Walt and me. So I thought I’d try something different for both dinner and dessert. Both were delicious and I will definitely make them again. We served them with some sparkling non-alcoholic grape juice. 

You’ll need some of this for the Cajun Chicken Pasta.

Cajun Spice Mix

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1/4 cup cayenne

1/4 cup paprika

1/4 cup garlic granules

1/4 cup ground black pepper

2 tablespoons onion granules

2 tablespoons oregano, dry

2 tablespoons thyme, dry

 

Mix all these together

 This is a pretty Christmas dish – red peppers and tomatoes, green peppers, and white chicken and noodles. And it’s simply delicious!

CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

3+ tsp. Cajun Spice Mix

½ - 1 lb. frozen shrimp

1 lb. fettuccine

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. butter

1 whole green pepper, seeded and sliced

1 whole red pepper, seeded and sliced

½ large red onion, sliced

3 minced cloves garlic

4 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream (or you can used low-fat half and half)

Cayenne pepper to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Chopped parsley, to taste (I could do without the parsley, but don’t let me stop you)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Remove tails from shrimp. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon Cajun spice over shrimp.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.

Add more olive oil if necessary. Stir fry shrimp 2 minutes. Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic.

Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes

 and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.

With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!

Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Top with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

Ok – I wanted to eat all four of these as soon as they came out of the oven. It has the nicest, light crunchy top, and creamy warm chocolate underneath. Absolutely fabulous! And easy!

BAKED FUDGE

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

2 heaping tbs. cocoa

¼ tsp. cayenne or chipotle (optional)

2 tbs. flour

½ c. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla

½ c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 315°.       
   
Beat eggs until light in color.

Beat in sugar until just combined. Add cocoa, flour, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Mix gently until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into four large ramekins or one 8-inch square baking dish. Set ramekins or pan into a larger pan halfway full of water.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until upper crust is crispy and the rest of the batter is firm but not set. Toothpick should come out…not clean, but mixture should not be overly runny. If you pull it out of the oven and have second thoughts, stick it back in for ten more minutes.

 
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream; I like my chocolate straight up, thank you very much, so I didn’t add cream or ice cream.

Walt and I went to Beth’s (middle daughter) house for Christmas day. We decided that it would be delicious, fun, easy, to have all sorts of appetizers for Christmas dinner. I made Stuffed Mushrooms and these tasty Tex Mex Eggrolls – they are nearly a meal in themselves.

TEX MEX AVOCADO EGG ROLLS
5 oz. pkg. Spanish rice mix
1 lb. hot bulk pork sausage
15 oz. can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 c. chopped green onions
1 ½ c. salsa
2 c. (8 oz) shredded Monterey jack
½ c. canned jalapeno chilies, chopped
24-40 egg roll wrappers
2-3 avocados, sliced
Canola oil for frying

Prepare rice mix and let cool. Brown sausage, drain and cool. Stir in rice, beans, green onions, salsa, cheese and chilies.

Spoon a scant 1/4 c. onto center of each egg roll wrapper.

Top with avocado slice.

Fold 1 corner of wrapper over filling and tuck in edges.

Dip finger in water to moisten remaining corner and press to seal.

Fry in 375˚ till golden, about 2 minutes.

Serve warm. Makes 24-40 (or cut in half on diagonal for double servings)

This is in the Dinner Party Blog. You can see it for more instructions.

Classic Stuffed Mushrooms Recipe

You can use either cremini or regular button mushrooms. The recipe can easily be scaled up - doubled or tripled. Scrub the mushrooms well first, then just snap out the stems. They'll come out easily, no need to use a knife. For parties, make the stuffing and have the mushrooms cleaned and stems removed ahead of time. But don't cook them until you want to serve: Once cooked, stuffed mushrooms do not hold up well for long periods. Bake some, serve and repeat.

18-24 button or cremini mushrooms, scrubbed clean, stems separated from the caps

1 Tbsp butter

2 small shallots, minced, about 2 Tbsp

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

Salt

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (basil, fennel, thyme) or dried thyme

2 Tbsp breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp chicken stock

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Finely chop the mushroom stems. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a small frying pan over medium-high heat.

Sauté the chopped mushroom stems and the shallots for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and walnuts and sprinkle with salt. Stir well and sauté 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and add the parsley, herbes de Provence and breadcrumbs. Pour the chicken stock into a food processor, then the rest of the stuffing. Pulse several times to get a fine mixture, almost a paste.

Toss the mushroom caps with olive oil. Fill each mushroom with the stuffing – about 1 tsp. per mushroom.

Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over each mushroom. At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake them. Let them come to room temperature before baking.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375°F., or until the cheese browns a little. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before serving. Serves 4-6 as an appetizer.

 

We had the prettiest table FULL of appetizers:

These are proscuitto and phyllo-wrapped asparagus spears. Then baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or so.

Beth made this and I didn’t think to take pictures until the end. But it was SO good and a wonderful way to end the Christmas eating.

PEAR TARTE TATIN

2 tbs. butter

½ c. sugar

4 peeled ripe Anjou pears, cored and halved lengthwise

1 tbs. canola oil

5 (14x9) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed

3 tbs. crème fraiche

Preheat oven to 400°.

Coat a 10” cast iron skillet with 1 ½ tbs. butter. Sprinkle 6 tbs. sugar into pan. Arrange 7 pear halves, cut sides up, in a circle in the pan; put remaining pear half in the middle. Cover skillet and cook over medium low heat, without stirring, for 15 minutes until sugar mixture is bubble and caramelized. Place pan in oven. Bake at 400° for 5 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, place rest of butter and oil in a bowl; microwave until butter melts. Lay 1 phyllo sheet horizontally on a flat work surface; brush lightly with butter mixture. Sprinkle 2 tsp. sugar over phyllo. Place next phyllo sheet vertically on top of first. Repeat procedure twice (6 sheets in all) with remaining butter and sugar. Fold in edges to form a 9” circle.

 

Place phyllo circle in pan over the pears, pressing gently. Bake at 400°for 16 minutes until filling is bubble and crust is browned. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes.

Place a plate upside-down on top of pan. Invert tart onto plate.

Cut tart into wedges. Top each wedge with crème fraiche, or toffee sauce or chocolate sauce or whatever sounds particularly yummy to you at that moment.

I hope your Christmas was merry! And I hope you can use some of these delicious receipes throughout the year!