Christmas dinner for two?



K

Karen AKA Kajikit

Guest
I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
like that's out too :(

What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...

I bought a thick slice of leg ham and we might have that... so how do
I prepare it?


--
~Karen aka Kajikit
Crafts, cats, and chocolate - the three essentials of life
http://www.kajikitscorner.com
Online photo album - http://community.webshots.com/user/kajikit
 
"Karen AKA Kajikit" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> What would you make for a christmas dinner just
> for two people...

For Christmas Eve (the big celebration here), we're having duck -- duck
breasts, to be exact, with some sort of port sauce, an onion and dried
cherry confit to go with it, wild rice pancakes, green salad with sauted
mushrooms, and probably traditional Danish rice a l'almond (cold rice
porridge mixed with whipped cream and slivered almonds, served with cherry
sauce -- it's nice) or maybe brandied figs with whipped cream. Probably no
starter. Nothing too taxing. :)

We have family coming on the 26th, and we'll have brasied short ribs, mashed
potatoes, salad, and probably an apple cake. The starter's still under
debate.

Company on New Year's Eve, too. We'll be having venison with a dried cherry
and pinot noir sauce, butternut squash timbales, probably green beans,
salad. Lemon **** for dessert and, if I get really motivated, hot chocolate
truffles (chocolate ganache rolled in cinnamon sugar and then briefly deep
fried -- seriously addictive and altogether splendifferous). Probably
gougere and phyllo pastry filled with duxelles for starters. It's a long
night, gotta keep the food coming. :) Oh, and of course the traditional
"kransekage" pyramid -- towering rings of baked marzipan cookies -- to go
with the champagne at midnight.

****, I need to make my shopping list. With the stores here closed from the
24th through 27th, there's no time to procrastinate!

-j
 
Karen wrote:

> I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
> pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
> it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
> had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
> like that's out too :(
>
> What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...
>
> I bought a thick slice of leg ham and we might have that... so how do
> I prepare it?

Earlier this year I made a spiced (cloves & allspice) lemon marmalade and
brushed it on a ham steak, then just cooked to glaze. Here's the complete
menu:

Salad with Strawberries, Pine Nuts, and Honey Vinaigrette
Cardoons au Gratin
Ham Steak Glazed with Spiced Lemon Marmalade
Jasmine Rice with Peas and Caramelized Onions
Pound Cake with Lychee Tea Creme Anglaise, Fresh Berries, and Whipped Cream

Everything was easy to make, and it was a nice meal.

Since berries are out of season now, I'd use dried cranberries in the salad
and persimmon puree in the dessert (assuming you can get COMPLETELY RIPE
persimmons).

Bob
 
Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
> pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
> it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
> had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
> like that's out too :(
>
> What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...
>
Roasted cornish game hens. Depending on your combined appetites, usually
one small bird per person works fine... if you have leftovers so be it. I
love these things even though I don't care much for "regular" chicken. Make
any side dishes you'd like. I'm doing cornbread dressing (baked in a bread
pan) and some sort of steamed green veggie - so far the plan is broccoli
with hollandaise sauce. I might make yellow squash casserole, too, if I can
find suitable yellow squash this time of year.

> I bought a thick slice of leg ham and we might have that... so how do
> I prepare it?

No idea, sorry.

Jill
 
I used to do duck-for-two for Christmas Eve but after years of that I'm
all ducked out. So since I'm well-supplied in organic chickens, I
thought I'd try Mimi's Sticky Chicken. So far there's squash soup on
the menu but I haven't worked out the rest. Potatoes of some sort,
maybe twice baked or 'neeps-n-taties. Some other vegetable, maybe some
of the peapods from the summer garden or maybe a salad including the
winter lettuces growing in the washbasin on the porch. Maybe a steamed
figgy pudding or I might try a cooked custard made with mexican
chocolate.
 
Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
> pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
> it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
> had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
> like that's out too :(
>
> What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...
>
> I bought a thick slice of leg ham and we might have that... so how do
> I prepare it?
>
>
> --
> ~Karen aka Kajikit

Karen, I think I'd glaze & bake the ham for a cosy Christmas Eve dinner
- Bob's glaze sounds fabulous, but if you're looking for an easy one,
try brushing it with a combo of red wine and peach or apricot
preserves. Home made scalloped potatoes & a great salad would do make
my DH a happy guy...

I'd finish the ham off on Christmas morning using it in Eggs Benedict
(which is our traditional Christmas Day brunch). If you're feeling
wild, serve with a couple of Mimosas. This Mama does not make
Hollandaise until after the opening of presents and consumption of
several cups of coffee, so "breakfast" is always something simple like
bagels with good shmear. For a festive Christmas dinner for 2, Cornish
Game hens are a classic winner, but we're going with a couple of really
nice filet mignons this year...just starting to think about the rest of
the menu, but with just the 2 of us to celebrate the holiday, we do
tend have fun "eating our way" through the day.

Nancy T
 
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:21:40 -0500, Karen AKA Kajikit
<[email protected]> wrote:

> I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
> pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
> it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
> had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
> like that's out too :(

Whole turkeys are a better value, and you can do things with the dark
meat to make it more palatable (we're not fans, either). I shred the
cooked leg and thigh meat and slow cook it in barbecue sauce for
sandwiches - much cheaper than beef. It's also better in soup than
white meat - it's more tender, and I don't notice the dark meat taste
in that context.

> What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...

We're having turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and apple pie.

I like what Kili's doing, making fondue. Very intimate.

Meat, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit and wine would be a lovely,
trouble-free way to share the holiday together.

Please let us know what you wind up doing. I love ham too much to
suggest anything other thanm "fry it and split it." <G>

Carol
 
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:21:40 -0500, Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:

> I HAD planned to make my family's traditional steamed christmas
> pudding but I haven't been able to find a suitable bowl for steaming
> it... and I'd also planned to roast a turkey breast but the store only
> had legs (Ugh), wings (even more ugh) and whole birds... so it looks
> like that's out too :(
>
> What would you make for a christmas dinner just for two people...

If you want turkey and wing/leg isn't as "ugh" as you say,,,, buy a
small frozen turkey and have it sawed in 1/2 (while frozen). Cook 1/2
for xmas and cook the other 1/2 at a later date.
>
> I bought a thick slice of leg ham and we might have that... so how do
> I prepare it?

I think cheese fondue - served and eaten in front of a fireplace would
be much more romantic.
;)
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
 
On 20 Dec 2005 09:37:03 -0600, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> spiced (cloves & allspice) lemon marmalade

YUM! Don't hold back! Where's that recipe????

:)
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
 
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:28:55 -0600, jmcquown wrote:

> Roasted cornish game hens.

Although I'd brush them with an orange/pineapple marmalade spiked with
Grand Marnier, I think Terwilliger's lemon marmalade would be a good
glaze too.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
 
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:29:09 +0100, jacqui{JB} wrote:

> we're having duck -- duck breasts, to be exact,

Do you just go to your local grocery store to buy these? I can't
recall ever seeing them at Safeway.

:)

--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.
 
On Tue 20 Dec 2005 10:20:08p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it sf?

> On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 15:29:09 +0100, jacqui{JB} wrote:
>
>> we're having duck -- duck breasts, to be exact,
>
> Do you just go to your local grocery store to buy these? I can't
> recall ever seeing them at Safeway.
>
> :)

Barbara, you must have missed the duck breast department. It's usually in
that stall near the lobster aquarium.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
_____________________________________________

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!
 
"sf" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> > we're having duck -- duck breasts, to be exact,

> Do you just go to your local grocery store to buy
> these? I can't recall ever seeing them at Safeway.

Remarkably, yes -- even my local cheapo market has them most of the time.
Frozen, of course, but very good quality. I've generally only see fresh
duck here during hunting season, when, if it's cold enough, the ducks and
pheasants are hanging outside the fishmongers (in what I consider to be a
very bizarre twist, in DK game is handled by the fishmongers, rather than
the butchers).

-j
 
sf wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:28:55 -0600, jmcquown wrote:
>
>> Roasted cornish game hens.
>
> Although I'd brush them with an orange/pineapple marmalade spiked with
> Grand Marnier, I think Terwilliger's lemon marmalade would be a good
> glaze too.

I'm not big into glazes but hey, go for it! I just brush with melted
butter, do the salt & pepper thing, sprinkle with a little dried crushed
rosemary or tarragon and roast per the directions on the package. If I
don't stuff the birds (I'm not this year) I will sometimes put a half an
onion and half a lemon in the cavity.

Jill
 
sf wrote:

>> spiced (cloves & allspice) lemon marmalade
>
> YUM! Don't hold back! Where's that recipe????

I just follow the recipe from Cook's, then add cloves and allspice at the
end:

Lemon Marmalade

3 pounds Meyer lemons or lemons
8 to 10 cups granulated sugar

Slice the lemons as thinly as possible. Discard ends. Remove all seeds and
tie them in a square of doubled cheesecloth. Put lemons and seed bag in a
nonreactive bowl with enough water to cover. Let stand overnight. Measure
the lemons and water into a wide, shallow, nonreactive pan. Add an equal
volume of sugar and cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Raise heat
to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently and skimming off the foam as it
rises, until temperature reaches 220°F., about 1/2 hour. Remove marmalade
from heat. To test for consistency, drop a little marmalade on a saucer and
put the saucer into the freezer until marmalade is cold, about 5 minutes.
Tip the saucer: the marmalade should just barely run. If too thin, return
marmalade to medium-high heat and cook, testing often, until it has reached
the right consistency. Put marmalade into hot, sterilized pint or half-pint
jars. Store in refrigerator up to 1 month or, for longer storage, seal
according to reliable canning instructions.

Yields: 4 to 5 pints

For the ham glaze, I cut the recipe WAY down, using only 3 lemons and just
over 2 cups of sugar, and I didn't bother with any of the canning
procedures. I added a pinch of cloves and a couple pinches of allspice when
the marmalade had cooled to about 120°F.

Bob
 
jmcquown wrote:
> sf wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:28:55 -0600, jmcquown wrote:
>>
>>> Roasted cornish game hens.
>> Although I'd brush them with an orange/pineapple marmalade spiked with
>> Grand Marnier, I think Terwilliger's lemon marmalade would be a good
>> glaze too.
>
> I'm not big into glazes but hey, go for it! I just brush with melted
> butter, do the salt & pepper thing, sprinkle with a little dried crushed
> rosemary or tarragon and roast per the directions on the package. If I
> don't stuff the birds (I'm not this year) I will sometimes put a half an
> onion and half a lemon in the cavity.
>
> Jill
>
>
Last year, in the summer at a friend's house, supper was Cornish game
hens that were cut in half and baked sitting on a dried apricot bread
dressing/stuffing mix. Both bird and stuffing tasted very good.
 
Mr Libido Incognito wrote:
> jmcquown wrote:
>> sf wrote:
>>> On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 11:28:55 -0600, jmcquown wrote:
>>>
>>>> Roasted cornish game hens.
>>> Although I'd brush them with an orange/pineapple marmalade spiked
>>> with Grand Marnier, I think Terwilliger's lemon marmalade would be
>>> a good glaze too.
>>
>> I'm not big into glazes but hey, go for it! I just brush with melted
>> butter, do the salt & pepper thing, sprinkle with a little dried
>> crushed rosemary or tarragon and roast per the directions on the
>> package. If I don't stuff the birds (I'm not this year) I will
>> sometimes put a half an onion and half a lemon in the cavity.
>>
>> Jill
>>
>>
> Last year, in the summer at a friend's house, supper was Cornish game
> hens that were cut in half and baked sitting on a dried apricot bread
> dressing/stuffing mix. Both bird and stuffing tasted very good.

I've grilled split cornish hens but I've never tried just roasting (baking)
them. I'll give that a go sometime, thanks Alan.

Jill
 
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