Roast Beef Hash

We always had this the day after Christmas. It is made from the leftovers, so is a little different each time but was always delicious. A variation of this was made after the St. Patrick's Day corned beef.

Leftover roast beef, cut into bite-size pieces to equal about 2 cups
Leftover Yorkshire pudding, cut into bite-size pieces
Onion, chopped (I used about a 1/2 an onion)
4 or 5 potatoes, peeled and boiled, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
Olive oil

Heat nonstick griddle to about 350 degrees. Heat about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the potatoes and bits of Yorkshire puddings, and keep stirring and browning the mixture, adding more oil if needed. The beef is added last so it is not overcooked. Cook until heated. Season to taste.

Serve with a vegetable and some bread for a hearty dinner, or with eggs and fruit for breakfast or brunch.

Kolaczki

Grandma always made these at Christmastime. She filled some with raspberry jam, and some with apricot jam.

8 ounces of cream cheese
3 sticks of butter
3 cups of flour
Raspberry and apricot jam
Confectioner's sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add flour little by little until combined into a dough. Form into a ball, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

When ready to make, heat the oven to 350 degrees and roll the dough to about a 1/4" thickness. Slice into 2" squares. Place a dab of the jam in the center of the square, then fold one corner in, then overlap the other corner in.

Bake for 15 minute, until just browning. Store in airtight container. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Tiramisu

This is the best tiramisu you'll ever have! It's fluffier than the traditional version. Can be doubled, and makes a pretty presentation in a trifle dish or glass baking dish. The perfect Christmas dessert. As a bonus, it is something that you make ahead, so less fuss on Christmas day!

1 package lady fingers
1 cup espresso
1/4 Kahlua (suit to taste)
drop of scotch (this eliminates the egg taste)
2 egg yolks
2 T sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
cocoa powder

Preparation:

1. In small bowl combine coffee, Kahlua, scotch (if doubling, you won't need to double this part). Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until foamy. Add mascarpone cheese to egg mixture.
3. In a third bowl, whip heavy cream. Fold whipped cream into egg/cheese mixture.

Assembly:

Like a lasagna, this is arranged in layers. Two layers for single recipe, three layers for double:

1. Dip each lady finger in coffee mixture, layer in trifle dish. (Or layer lady fingers, then sprinkle with coffee mixture).
2. Sprinkle coffee-dipped ladyfingers with cocoa powder.
3. Spread half (or third) of cheese mixture.
4. Once layers are complete, sprinkle with more cocoa powder.
5. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

The Tiramisu! This is a double recipe.

 

The kid that got stuck holding the Tiramisu on the way to Thanksgiving dinner!

Grandma's Whiskey Balls

Grandma made these every year just after Thanksgiving so they would be ready for Christmas. Once made, pack them in sealed containers -- aging makes them better. Even as kids, we ate these and, because they ship well, they were packed in care packages.

2 cups finely chopped walnuts
2 3/4 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup whiskey (Jack Daniels, Jameson's or Maker's Mark work well)

Combine all ingredients. Roll into little balls, then roll in some extra confectioners sugar. Store in airtight container.

Turkey Tettrazini

A standard after-Thanksgiving use-up-the-leftovers meal. The base of this dish is a standard roux.

1 small onion, finely chopped
4 T butter
2 T turkey drippings
4 T flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups of cubed leftover turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked spaghetti

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add turkey drippings. Heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Turn the heat to low. Add flour one tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition. Once all the flour has been, turn heat up a bit until flour/butter mixture bubbles, then slowly add chicken broth (amount of broth can be adjusted to make sauce thicker or thinner). Once all the broth has been added, allow to come to bubble and stir until any lumps disappear. Add turkey and heat on medium until turkey is heated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over cooked spaghetti.

Or, mix with spaghetti, pour into greased casserole, cover with bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Mom's Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Hors d'Oeuvres
Clam Dip and Chips
Shrimp Puffs
Brie with Bremer Wafers

Soup
Vichysoisse

Salad
Tossed Salad with Green Goddess Dressing

Relish Tray
Sweet Gherkins
Olives
Pickled Watermelon Rind


Main Course
Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy
Mashed Potatoes
Sage Stuffing
Creamed Onions
Glazed Carrots
Green Beans Almondine
Candied Yams
Cranberry Sauce

Dessert
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Whipped Cream
Mints

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding

Every year at Christmas, Mom usually made Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Sometimes she'd do a Beef Wellington, but we all loved Yorkshire Pudding so much (and weren't fans of pate) and you need to make a roast to make Yorkshire Pudding, so that was the standard. When I moved away from home, I looked in my cookbook to find a recipe for Yorkshire Pudding but there wasn't one. I called Mom, and she gave me instructions over the phone which I scribbled in the front cover of my cook book. To this day, these scribbled instructions are what I follow each Christmas as I make my own Yorkshire Pudding.
















Mom's Standing Rib Roast:
Don't bother getting a roast less than 5 lbs.
Figure 1 lb. per person but get a big one because you can do a lot with the leftovers.
Set oven to 300 degrees.
Set roast in a roasting pan with a rack, season with salt and pepper
Figure 20 minutes per pound, or until the roast reaches 145 degrees.
Remove roast from oven, cover with aluminum foil and let "rest".

While the roast is "resting", do the following:

Mom's Yorkshire Pudding:
Reset the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat 3 eggs "to death"
Beat in 1 cup of milk (don't use skim)
Mix 1 cup of flour with 1/2 tsp salt, then beat into milk mixture
Put 1/4 cup roast dripping in a 13 x 9 Pyrex dish, the pour batter on top
Put in the oven for 30 minutes
(If conditions are right, the pudding will rise from pan as above.)

Serve with aspargus and Hollandaise Sauce, red and green pepper jellies, and horseradish cream.

*Dad stepped in to make the asparagus. He didn't cook often but he had a few specialties and he took asparagus very seriously. He used an old coffee perculator because he said the asparagus needed to stand while steaming for best effect.

A Pretty Christmas Table: Sequins, Butter Roses, and Sugar Bells

Grandma made a "butter rose" to grace the table of every special meal. She had a set of old spoons in graduated sizes (demitasse, teaspoon, soup spoon, etc.) that she kept on hand to make these. She would scoop a spoonful of the butter in the spoon, level it with a knife, and then dip the bowl of the spoon in ice water. When it had set a little, she would gently push it out of the spoon onto wax paper. Once she had a full complement of these "petals" she would freeze them. When they were good and solid, she would arrange them on a pretty round plate (salad plate size) in the shape of a flower--small petals in the center and larger ones to the outside.

For the sugar bells, she had an old small silver bell that had lost its clapper. (The bell had been used bedside for those confined to bed to call for her.) She would gently wet some granulated sugar (not too much or it would dissolve) and then she would pack it in the bell. Then she would gently tap it out onto wax paper to dry. After Christmas dinner, a crystal sugar bowl full of these sugar bells would be put on the table with coffee.

The dining table at Grandma and Mom's house was always set the same. They each had cherry dining tables. The table pads went down first, covered with a white table cloth (or in a pinch or in an effort to save the good white linens from small sticky finger--a white sheet). Then, a generous scattering of loose sequins (all shapes and sizes). To top it off and hold the sequins in place, a length of red netting from the fabric store. To finish the effect, a crystal punchbowl full of shiny glass ball ornaments framed with holly garland and red candles in silver candlesticks.