Christmas Eve dinner has always been a tradition in my family that was made by reservation. Between Eli’s of Chicago to some of the fine dining chains here in Phoenix, my family was always treated out for dinner.

This year, Joy and I wanted to do something different. We wanted to make Christmas Eve dinner. Even before we sent out the invitations for the dinner, we spent many nights planning this out. Every detail needed to be precise to us. I believe we did a most restaurant-worthy job.

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One of our appetizers for Christmas Eve dinner was the Spinach Dip from the 75th Anniversary Joy of Cooking. While we have no images, I believe the ingredients speak for themselves as to how delectable the dish will be.

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Quite possibly, the easist dish to prepare was our Cheese and Crackers dish with Grapes. One of the stores Joy and I shop in the area, Fry’s, recently had a remodel. In that remodel, they introduced a section dedicated to cheeses of the world. I am not speaking about the little island in front of the deli where maybe 1/2 of it will have ‘special cheeses,’ I am talking 5-6 display coolers full of a range of cheeses from soft to hard consistancies.

While we were shopping for our holiday meal, Joy like a child in a candy store, reached for a variety of cheeses. We heard somewhere that a successful cheese tray needs 3 cheeses. Joy put into our basket these cheeses: English Double Gloucester, French St. Andre, and Swiss Gruyère. Cut into cubes, placed in front of the slices of cheese, and to help with serving, toothpicks were put into the cubes. To accent the cheeses, we picked up a box of Entertaining Quartet. We also picked up a few vines of red grapes and served them along side the crackers. While we had a small number of guests, this cheese tray was gone long before dinner hit the table.

One of our favorite new places to eat, Sauce, has an awesome salad: Chopped Chicken, Pine Nuts, Cherry Tomato & Gorgonzola. It was my idea to replicate that salad and its dressing. But I also wanted to make it something of my own. I did not write down anything for this recipe, so I’m going on sheer recollection of the dish.

I give you my first attempt at this dish, that I have entitled:

SPINACH PANCETTA SALAD WITH GORGONZOLA VINAIGRETTE

Yields: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:

• 4 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

For the salad:

• 9 ounces of baby spinach
• 1/4 cup (or 2.25 oz package) pine nuts
• 1/4 pound thin sliced pancetta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

1.  Vinaigrette: In a food processor or blender, combine and pulse the olive oil and canola oil. Add the Gorgonzola, salt and pepper next and mix well, pausing a few times to scrape the sides. Add the lemon and lime juice, pulse. The resulting consistency is similar to that of Caesar salad dressing.

2.  Salad: Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the pancetta to golden brown. Transfer the cooked pancetta to a paper towel-lined plate and let it cool. Crumble when cooled.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread pie nuts over a cookie sheet evenly and place in the oven to toast it for about 5-8 minutes. Keep a vigilant eye on the nuts. When you can smell them outside the oven, take them out and allow them to cool by placing the cookie sheet on a cooling rack.

4.  In a large serving bowl, pour the vinaigrette. Add the spinach, crumbled pancetta and pine nuts and toss together using salad forks or tongs. Make sure to reach from the bottom. Serve immediately.

This recipe, although nothing was written, was a massive success. Even the guest we thought would not touch it finished her serving and gave it a rave review. I am not sure I would change much about the recipe, but one thing is for sure, we will be serving it often. I hope it brings as much enjoyment to your table as it has to ours.

This was the other side dish we wanted to serve with dinner. I used the word ‘was’ because everything did not go as well as expected. We wanted to make a potato dish with the beef but we did not want to make the regular mashed variety. Then one night while watching Food Network, Paula Deen and Robert Irvine made this potato dish that looked awesome with the presentation. When Robert said the name of the potato, we knew what our potato dish would be on the holiday table. First, the recipe. Then, how we worked around our issues. Continue Reading

These were part of the take-home treat boxes we gave out to the “tired Santas” (a.k.a. parents and grandparents) on Christmas day. They are just one of my favorite cookies and I desperately tried to replicate them twice years ago but my efforts were futile. But didn’t they say three’s a charm? My third attempt at it last Christmas Eve was close enough to the crinkles that I’ve been used to. Oh so lovely: a little bitter chocolate with a soft chewy center merged with all the sugary sweetness of sugar when you bite it. It’s hello to many Christmases all over again.

Try these indulgent cookies but don’t hate me if you get hooked. Enjoy!

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We are going be hosting dinner on Christmas Eve, and the main course will be a beef roast recipe that we took from Gourmet Magazine. Herb Filet of Beef with Tomato Confit. (recipe will follow.) We wanted to try it on ourselves before we served it as a main course on Christmas Eve. The rest of this article has the results.

HERB CRUSTED FLAT IRON STEAK

Ingredients

For beef

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 2 1/2 to 3 pounds flat iron steak

Preparation

1. Do ahead: Mix garlic, shallot, herbs, salt, and ground pepper in a small bowl, and then rub all over the steak. Place meat in a large ziplock bag and marinate in the refrigerator for a day.

   Let the meat stand at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
3. Place beef in a 17- by 11-inch shallow heavy baking pan and roast in the oven until the meat thermometer registers 120°F when inserted into the center of the thickest part of the meat; about 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and transfer meat onto a cutting board, cover with aluminum foil and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Here is a visual interpretation of the preparation and the results:

The original recipe says how it is supposed to be how to be prepared. But we had a few differences between the test run and the recipe. Our first snag with the recipe when we cooked is for testing was the current market rate of the type of beef preferred was about $15/lb and was packaged to be about 2-3 pounds minimum. We’re trying to do this on a budget and 2-3 lbs on a trial run is not needed. Further down the line at the Fry’s butcher market was a relatively thin cut of beef called Flat Iron Steak. It was about 2 lbs and was on special for $8. It looked incredibly lean and would fit the testing perfectly, in my opinion. Another snag we had: We had no rosemary, thyme, or shallots.

What we used (for testing) instead was cilantro, yellow onions, and a spice from our rack called “Savory.” We went through the motions of the recipe to see how it would turn out. We gave the meat a surgeon’s knot tying to start. We let it sit in the fridge covered in plastic wrap, since getting the 2-foot steak to fit in a zipper bag was not going to happen.

The next afternoon, the meat was removed from the fridge and allowed to return to room temperature. The oven was heated and I set the probe thermometer at an angle so I had it deep enough into the meat, but still in the middle.

About an hour and a digital reading of 140°F (I’m not a big fan of medium-rare), the beef was tented. It was cut as directed. It was beautiful. Even when my thermometer read 140 when it was pulled from the oven, the cut had at least 3 levels of flavor: some medium-rare, medium, and medium-well. We devoured this cut!

The best part, though. It has an amazing reheating value. By reheating value, I mean when you reheat your leftovers, how does the taste keep like it was prepared that day. We declared this a massive success, even without the confit. We cannot wait to serve this dish on Christmas Eve for our guests.

(Update: This post was intended to be released on 12-19, but was never completed. The meat we prepared was a standing rib roast. Our guests have already replied to this meat dish and the other dishes we made on Christmas Eve were incredible. We even made the confit as well. It turned out rich! This dish is a must-have on your entertaining list if you are going to serve beef. Happy eatings!)

Cold, cold go away. Come again another day. We just want to enjoy our Christmas Day.

I’ve been able to avert the cold so far (thanks to Cold FX) but Dan has been battling the darn virus since Thursday. I made this chicken soup for us last Thursday night. It’s easy to make and quite yummy, according to my now-recovering half. There’s no need to slave over making chicken stock–who can do that if you’re already sick?

So for all those who are not feeling well, we’re thinking of you today. Feel better. Have some soup! And enjoy the holidays!

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• What is a Silpat?

Dan and I love Alton Brown, a Food Network chef who gets into the scientific side of food and cooking/baking, and explaining how everything works and comes together. It brings me back to those endless experiments in all my science subjects from grade school to college. I’ve learned to embrace them. I love testing and experimenting with stuff, and one of the things I’ve been curious about (for the past 2…3 years) was whether there is a real benefit to getting oneself a Silpat for baking. So I did my own home experiment.

To honor my science instructors and professors, I’m presenting this old-school style — following The Scientific Method. Haha.

Disclaimer: Joy is not responsible and/or liable for an purchases you make as a direct or indirect result of the experiment. [Sign Here.]

Proceed…

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