Freepers Holiday Recipes - it's time to get ready!!!

11/2/02 | Brytani

[Brytani]

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it would be nice if fellow freepers would share holiday recipes for others to try and get ideas from.

To get things started I've posted below two of my favorite recipes, one for a pecan pie I make during Thanksgiving and Christmas and a recipe for a Standing Rib Roast that has turned into a Christmas eve tradition in my home. Hope you enjoy them!!!

Pecan Pie

Pie Crust

1 Cup All Purpose Flour 1 Tbsp Sugar 1/2 Tsp Salt 3/4 stick unsalted butter (6 tablespoons) 2 tbsp ice cold water

Pie Filling 3 Large Eggs 1 Cup Brown Sugar 2/3 Cup Dark Corn Syrup 1/2 tsp Vanilla 3 Tablespoons bourbon, rum or brandy 1/4 tsp salt 2 tbsp melted butter 1-1/2 cups shelled pecans

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Break the butter into small pieces and blend into flour until it resembles course meal and is crumbly. Add the cold water and mix until the dough just comes together. On a cold surface, kneed the dough slightly just until it comes together. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough so it extends 2" beyond the edges of a 9" pie pan. Fit the dough into the pan and crimp edges.

(You can also use a food processor to make the dough.)

Pie Filling

In mixing bowl, beat the eggs and blend in the sugar. Work in the syrup, vanilla, liquor, salt and melted butter until smooth. Add the pecans and pour the mixture into the pie crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, lower temp to 350 and bake for another 30 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust is browned.

Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)

1 4-rib (9-10lb) standing rib roast Kosher salt Fresh pepper 1 Cup Beef Broth 1 Cup Red Wine

Allow the rib roast to come to room temperature before cooking. This is a very important step for even cooking of the roast.

Preheat over to 475 degrees.

Rub liberal amounts of salt and fresh ground pepper into the roast including the bones. Place the roast onto a rack inside a roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer into center of roast, making sure not to touch any of the bones. Place the roast into the 475 Degree oven and cook for 20 minutes, lower the over temperature to 325 and allow to roast approximately 1-3/4 of an hour. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, keep checking the roast temperature and remove the roast as soon as it reaches an internal temperature of 120 Degrees (for rare, the best way to have prime rib) if you prefer medium rare, remove roast at 130. Remove roast from the pan and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Carefully, pour off the accumulated fat from the bottom of the roasting pan but make sure to leave any juices and crunchy bits that have accumulated. Place the pan onto the stove top and turn the burners on medium heat. Stir in the wine and beef stock and use the liquids to de-glaze the pan. Either continue to simmer in the original roasting pay, or pour the au jus into a sauce pan and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add salt/pepper as needed. Before serving, strain the au jus through a fine mesh strainer and skim off any remaining fat.

One tip, I pour any accumulated juices from the resting and carving of the roast into the au jus, this seems to enhance the flavor.

Again, Hope you enjoy!!

[SwatTeam]

You're making me hungry!!! I'll save this post so I can post a recipe tomorrow for Christmas cookies made with candied cherries. It has been passed down since the turn of the last century. I'm talking 1900's.

[Brytani]

I can't wait to see that recipe!!! This year, I'm going to end up making close to 50 dozen cookies between my husband and me to take to work. Variety being the spice of life, I need all the different recipes I can get my hands on.

[SwatTeam]

Well, I'll see if I can accommodate you. The Christmas cookies I have sent all over the world practically. They are good for about a month before they get stale if they last that long. That's why they are so good to mail to people. They also freeze good. I'll post the recipe tomorrow and check my other recipe files and see if I have anything else.

[lizma]

Gonna try this one this year:

Asiago Toasted Cheese Puffs

1 cup grated Asiago cheese
1 teaspoon pressed garlic
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch salt
1`pinch ground black pepper
1 French baguette, thinly sliced

Directions
1 Preheat the broiler.
2 In a mixing bowl, combine the Asiago, garlic, mayonnaise, oregano, thyme, parsley, salt and
pepper. If the mixture does not hold together well, add more mayonnaise, if desired.
3 On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Spread the Asiago mixture. Broil for 3 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve immediately.


The traditional for the last 40 years:

Broccoli Casserole

1 small jar of cheese whiz - mexican now salsa (recent addition, 20 years ago)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cp celery, diced
1/2 cp onion, diced
1 can mushroom soup
1 1/3 cp minute rice
10 oz. broccoli

Mix. Bake 350 for 30 minutes.

I think this stuff is yummy.

[SwatTeam]

Christmas Cookies

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
2 eggs. well beaten
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 1/2 Cups coarsely chopped red and green candied cherries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place brown sugar in mixing bowl. Add butter, eggs and cream. Stir until smooth. Sift flour with salt and baking powder and add to mixture. Stir in nuts and cherries. Drop batter by teaspoonfuls, about 1 inch apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until firm and lightly brown. Remove from sheet while warm. Makes about 3 dozen coolies.

This recipe is kinda tricky. The heat is a guess because this recipe was taken from an old recipe file and when it was first written, the stoves that were used were wood stoves and didn't have a thermometer. Also, the flour was coarser than what we use today so you may have to use a litle more than the 2 cups. Be sure and use real butter and the cream I finally settled on was whipping cream.I usually cook them for about 13 minutes. Hope you enjoy these and let me know what you think if you make them.

[Brytani]

The recipe sounds wonderful, I'll have to give them a try for x-mas. Will probably make a batch before the holidays incase I run into any problems. Thanks!!!

[ThinkingMan]

bump for later- I have quite a few great Christmas recipes if I can get them posted.

[Holding Our Breath]

Would you be so kind as to ping me to the recipes? I am always lookinf for new recipes for cookies since I am the only one who makes them in my family! Thanks ,HOB

[SwatTeam]

If you like cookies check out www.christmas-cookies.com/recipes or go to google search and type in cookie recipes. You will get a treasure trove of recipes for every kind of cookie you can imagine. Anytime I want to look for a new or different recipe, I go to google search and just either type in a recipe name or a main ingredient for what I want to cook. Let me know if you are successful. And I will ping you if there are any more cookie recipes.