Very blessed this Christmas to have spent the time with the in-laws before Christmas, a quiet time at home during Christmas, and the folks & step-brother up for the end of Christmas.
I must confess that this year's festivities were influenced by Pinterest.
For lunch at the Borchert's we brought Christmas Trees!
Green frosting on ice cream cones, decorated with mini M&Ms, topped with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.
Pinterest Link
Source: pigtailsandtutus.blogspot.com via Petranella on Pinterest
Then for actual tree decorating, I left that up to LittleMiss. Or should I say "left that down to the lower right 1/8th of the tree within her reach"
Sorry, got distracted by cuteness....
Okay, the 12th Day of Christmas menu --- what we ate!
Lunch:
Princess Aprilia's Purple Pumpernickel Bread
(used the bread machine's recipe for pumpernickle bread, but added a ton of purple food coloring; treated the same way as if making a red-velvet something, just it was purple)
Rueban Spread on Princess Aprilia's Purple Pumpernickel Bread
into crock pot on high until melty, then low just to keep warm:
8 oz sour cream
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz shredded swiss cheese
8 oz sauerkraut (not drained, use the juice too)
14 oz chopped deli sliced Pastrami (2 pkgs, I think was 14 oz)
1 tbsp (yep, that's a lot) slightly crushed caraway seeds
2 tsp slightly crushed fennel seeds
Platter of dill pickles, slices of pumpernickel, & some herbed mustard from an oktoberfest shopping spree.
Dinner:
Stars & Scribbles
Cut mini stars out of Pillsbury Cresent Roll dough & just squowooshed the leftover dough edges into similar sized bites. Baked for slightly lesser time than what was on the package - watched to make sure they didn't burn.
Pinterest Link that inspired stars & scribbles
Roasted Cranberry Country Butter
7 pkgs of fresh cranberries
1 pkg (lb) dark brown sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
2 peels of oranges
In very large roasting pan placed rinsed & sorted berries, in 300F oven, covered. Cook for about an hour.
Stirred with wooden spoon, mashing the berries that had popped open (which was most of them).
Put in 4 cinnamon sticks strategically spacing them in the pan to optimal spice exposure. Removed the peel from 2 large oranges. Then using a filet knife removed the white pithy lining of the peel to only have the zest layer remaining. (Someday I'll add a picture of that process).
Bury the orange peels in the berries.
Keep the lid on & reduce heat to 250F for another 2 hours. Then I left it in the oven with the lid on & the oven closed overnight. When completely, absolutely, totally cooled, if not cold, I pureed the berries in my food processor (in batches). (By the way, I removed the cinnamon sticks, but I did chop up the orange peels & pureed them in with the berry batches).
If you were more organized than I, you would then heat up the pureed (now) butter then can in boiling method. If you are me, then you put it in a sealed container out in the cool pantry & served it with 12th day of Christmas Dinner as a spread on the Stars & Scribbles, then give 'unsealed' jars to the guests & tell them to keep refrigerated!!!!
(no pinterest, just made that one up --- don't tell Shane Quinters though!)
Slaw Salad & Crunchy Yummy
1/2 head of red cabbage finely shredded
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
full bunch of fresh cilantro (I think it would have been about a cup)
Dressing: in a mason jar, kept cold until ready to serve
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp dried dill (yep, that's a lot & I love it!)
1 tbsp dried basil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
Crunch Yummy: made a day in advance & kept in ziplock bag; sprinkled on top of slaw when served.
zest of one orange
1 tbsp sugar
blended in coffee/spice grinder to make 'orange sugar'
1/4 cup brown sugar put in small sauce pan on med hi & let melt without stirring.
mix in the orange sugar, stirring, & allowing to melt. Heat until just before boiling.
1 cup walnuts in heat tolerant bowl
pour the heated sugar/syrup over the walnuts & stir carefully to completely coat the walnuts. Then spread out on baking sheet. Baked in 350F oven for 30 minutes until edges slightly browned. Let cool before cracking apart and storing in ziplock.
Inspired by Pinterest Links
Royal Potatoes
Made instant potatoes almost according to box instructions for 6 servings - didn't add milk & didn't add butter, only used water for total liquid amount.
Let cool until cold.
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup cream
Mix together & try to pipe into pretty shapes. ONLY AFTER exploding two make-shift-pastry-bags-from-ziplocks, then roll in your hands to shape into 12 balls. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten the balls slightly and press your thumb to make a gravy holding divot. Keep chilled until 1/2 hour prior to serving, at which time you bake for 30 minutes at 350F.
Pinterest Link that inspired (technically it was from the show I watched on Food Network, but I also pinned it)
Mushroom Gravy
When you are setting the table, and realize that you have forgotten to make the gravy, do NOT panic. Take a deep breath. Turn to your mom & give her a whisk. (No Dad, one can ever have too many whisks!!!!) Remember that you soaked, jarred, & refrigerated 1 cup dried mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups of boiling water two days ago for this exact need - earthy broth for gravy!
2 tbsp flour into hot skillet, let brown, let Mom whisk it to evenly brown.
1 cup mushroom broth - pour off liquid from that emergency jar.
Assure Mom that the lumps will blend in. Then introduce the 'gravy' to the mini blender & blend away all the lumps that really won't blend in. Take the roasted orange duck out of the oven. Pray that there are drippings available, and mix it in the gravy.
(No Pinterest link for the gravy, as this is a 'trick' that I have been using for years. I'm sure I saw it on a cooking show, but have since claimed it as my own. MUhhhahahaha!!!)
Duck Ala Orange
From Epicurious (LINK)
Until recently, we had always thought of duck à l'orange
as a tired cliché of the 1960s, so it was a surprise to find out how
delightful this old recipe actually is. We have reduced the original
quantity of sugar and caramelized it (along with the aromatic vegetables
which balance out the sweetness) for a rich sauce with layers of
flavor. One thing that hasn't changed: Cooking a whole duck still feels
wonderfully extravagant.
2 ducks completely thawed & at room temp.
rinse in cold water, removing all the 'extras', curse your brother for making you eat chicken hearts and gizzards at a birthday meal, then forgive your brother and admire him, for that was good one!
2 leeks - the whole thing! greens & all! chop in large pieces ~3 inches; swish & set deep bowl of cold water. (this gets all the dirt out); set out on towel to dry a bit. BUT NOT the duck towel!!!
5 ribs of celery chopped to large pieces also ~ 3inches.
cover the entire bottom of the roasting pan with these sticks of celery & leeks.
Slice a pocket into each duck breast & slide in a 1/2 orange peel.
Fill each ducks' inner cavity with
~ 10 sprigs fresh Thyme
~ 10 sprigs fresh Lemon Thyme
~ 10 sprigs fresh Rosemary
~ 8 garlic cloves (peeled, but kept whole)
~ 1 whole orange - sliced in half to expose juice/center
~ entire peel/zest of another orange
Tie up the legs and wrap the wings around in a crazy yoga pose to use a 'natural' roasting rack.
Cover & roast at 450F for 45 minutes. Turn down to 350F and roast for 2.5 hours
(Kicking myself for not taking pictures!!! THESE were GORGEOUS!!!)
Orange Sauce
1 cup of water boiling
4 orange peels/zest
boil ~15 minutes
remove peels
add some mushrooom stock ( few tablespoons )
pinch of lemon thyme
1/4 cup brown sugar
Mix in the two bags of orange sauce that were shoved in the duck from the store.
Keep warm until serving.
Stuffing Bacon Cups
1/2 lb bacon, room temp, super stretchy
turn muffing tin upside-down
cut a piece of parchment/foil to cover each inverted cup.
drape, criss-crossing, & wrapping raw bacon over each inverted cup.
put on baking sheet to catch drippings & prevent the oven from catching on fire from bacon grease draining on bottom of oven --- not what I was EVER have such an experience - wink ---
Bake at 275F for about an hour, check on the it frequently.
You want to cook it until it's completely cooked through, but you don't want to bake too hot, other wise the bacon will shrink too quickly. The bacon DOES shrink - it's supposed to! It seems to be more even & retain the cup shape better at this lower temp.
Turn off the oven, keep the bacon in there & let completely cool.
I then kept the parchment/foil piece in the cup, and stacked them together, put in ziplock, and stored in fridge.
2 pkgs of Italian sauage - pan fry & completely crumble. Toward the end of frying put a TON of dried sage & a whole lot of "Italian" dried seasonings. Remove from pan & let cool.
In the same pan that has all the crunchy, greasy, mess from the sausage, fry :
3 finely chopped ribs of celery
1 finely chopped leek
6 finely chopped cloves of garlic
Pour in 2 cups of HOT chicken broth.
Scraping the pan (No Dad, with a WOODEN spoon. No worries no scratches)
While still hot & very moist, add in
1 cup of finely diced dried papya
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
In large bowl stir this & the sausage all together.
Let cool.
Add 2 boxes of stuffing bread mixes (purchased from Christmas clearance)
4 eggs - mix, toss, coat.
Press into 9x 13 baking dish & bake 350F for an hour.
Let cool, cover & refrigerate until the dinner day.
30 minutes prior to serving, put bacon cups INSIDE muffin cups, scoop in the stuffing into each cup & bake 350F for 30 minutes.
Another Pinterest Link that inspired (technically it was from the show I watched on Food Network, but I also pinned it)
Dessert
Chocolate Decadence
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons virgin COCONUT OIL
1 cup MILK chocolate chips
1 cup plain, unsalted cooked BLACK BEANS, rinsed and drained 1 cup raw CASHEWS, soaked 4 hours, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup COCOA POWDER
2 tsp Baking POWDER
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325˚F.
Oil bottom and sides of one 9" round springform cake pan. Dust with cocoa powder.
Combine and gently heat coconut oil and chocolate chips just to soften. (I used the microwave to melt)
In food processor I combined black beans, cashews, water, & honey. Blended on high for several minutes to get completely smooth. Blended in powders & melted chocolate.
Poured into prepped pan.
Baked 1 hour.
The cake rises & falls at it cools.
After cool, keep in refrigerator.
Top with stabilized whipped cream
I THINK that was everything! Mom, Dad, Bro,
did I forget anything????
Roast duck in the foreground, the princess potatoes in the background.
Stuffing cups & orange sauce
Chocolate Decadence Royal King Cake with hidden chocolate candy piece.
