... La La La La
Dec. 25th, 2006 01:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hrjIt's that relaxing point of the day when the presents have all been opened and are being played with. (Starfarers of Catan is currently in play.) The turkey is in the oven and all possible advance food preparation has been done, so the dinner schedule pretty much runs itself from here on in. (I did end up taking a page from my SCA feast preparation technique and did a time-table spreadsheet, coordinating the various dishes. I'm still finalizing the time-table for tomorrow's larger dinner.)
So here's what I'm fixing for Christmas dinner:
Roast turkey with orange-maple glaze
Wash and zest 4 navel oranges then remove the rind and reserve the pulp. Soften 8 oz of butter and process in a food processer. Add the orange pulp and half the orange zest (the other half goes in the cranberry sauce) plus about ΒΌ c. maple syrup. Process until relatively smooth. After the turkey has been washed and dried, reach in to loosen the skin from the meat all over the breast and as much around the legs as possible. Using about half of the orange-maple-butter mixture, work this into the space between the skin and meat. Stuff and roast using your usual recipe. Liquify the remaining orange-maple-butter mixture in the microwave and use it to baste the turkey at regular intervals. Garnish finished turkey with orange slices.
Fruity chestnut stuffing
Chop one onion and 3-4 celery stalks and saute in the leftover bacon grease. Add about 1 c. chicken broth and simmer while doing other things. Coarsely chop approx. 1 c. seedless grapes and approx. 1 lb. cooked chestnuts. Mix the ingredients together with several cups of bread crumbs. Stuff turkey or bake under foil.
Pea pods and onions
Steam edible pea pods and pearl onions. When tender, saute briefly in butter to finish, adding toasted slivered almonds and a spice to be named later. (Inspiration hasn't struck yet.)
The other essentials
Basic mashed potatoes, basic mashed sweet potatoes, gravy made from giblet broth and turkey drippings, cranberry-orange sauce, olives.
I've been buying so much furniture in the last month that it feels like I've already given myself all the Christmas presents I need. But I'd tossed out a few ideas that were picked up and at least one surprise. Several very nice long-sleeved cotton shirts (my winter at-work wardrobe), the usual Sierra Club calendar and National Geographic subsription, and updated photo of my parents, a bocce ball set (no doubt inspired by the game we started up Sunday morning at Mists Coronet -- now I just need to remember to bring it to events), and a counter-top sized dishwasher (designed for 1-2 people's dishes) which was something I'd only discovered existed a few months ago.
The main theme of the gift-giving, though, was model trains, with two of my brothers (and my nephew) having recently acquired the bug.
And on top of all that, I get to have all the family here (and get to show off all my work on the house).
So here's what I'm fixing for Christmas dinner:
Roast turkey with orange-maple glaze
Wash and zest 4 navel oranges then remove the rind and reserve the pulp. Soften 8 oz of butter and process in a food processer. Add the orange pulp and half the orange zest (the other half goes in the cranberry sauce) plus about ΒΌ c. maple syrup. Process until relatively smooth. After the turkey has been washed and dried, reach in to loosen the skin from the meat all over the breast and as much around the legs as possible. Using about half of the orange-maple-butter mixture, work this into the space between the skin and meat. Stuff and roast using your usual recipe. Liquify the remaining orange-maple-butter mixture in the microwave and use it to baste the turkey at regular intervals. Garnish finished turkey with orange slices.
Fruity chestnut stuffing
Chop one onion and 3-4 celery stalks and saute in the leftover bacon grease. Add about 1 c. chicken broth and simmer while doing other things. Coarsely chop approx. 1 c. seedless grapes and approx. 1 lb. cooked chestnuts. Mix the ingredients together with several cups of bread crumbs. Stuff turkey or bake under foil.
Pea pods and onions
Steam edible pea pods and pearl onions. When tender, saute briefly in butter to finish, adding toasted slivered almonds and a spice to be named later. (Inspiration hasn't struck yet.)
The other essentials
Basic mashed potatoes, basic mashed sweet potatoes, gravy made from giblet broth and turkey drippings, cranberry-orange sauce, olives.
I've been buying so much furniture in the last month that it feels like I've already given myself all the Christmas presents I need. But I'd tossed out a few ideas that were picked up and at least one surprise. Several very nice long-sleeved cotton shirts (my winter at-work wardrobe), the usual Sierra Club calendar and National Geographic subsription, and updated photo of my parents, a bocce ball set (no doubt inspired by the game we started up Sunday morning at Mists Coronet -- now I just need to remember to bring it to events), and a counter-top sized dishwasher (designed for 1-2 people's dishes) which was something I'd only discovered existed a few months ago.
The main theme of the gift-giving, though, was model trains, with two of my brothers (and my nephew) having recently acquired the bug.
And on top of all that, I get to have all the family here (and get to show off all my work on the house).
