Our Favorite Holiday Recipes
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"Since this is the season of giving, we thought we would do something different instead of our usual Gourmet Magic Monthly Recipe. We would like to share some of our own favorite recipes that we have made over the years at Christmas and New Years Eve. We really can't credit where these recipes came from - most probably cookbooks or the food section of newspapers. These recipes have also evolved over the years as we became more experienced cooks and discovered new gourmet products. We really hope you enjoy the following four recipes. We both would also like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers for their support throughout the year and wish everyone a Happy Holiday and Best Wishes for the New Year!"
Debra and Steve Crandall
Brandied Carrots with Chambord Liqueur
"We realized that this was a family favorite when we decided NOT to make these carrots for Christmas. One of Debra's little nephews, who hates vegetables, was waiting for the "candy carrots" to arrive on the table. We just about ruined his Christmas Dinner and have made these carrots ever since. (Don't worry - this recipe is child safe since the alcohol burns off during cooking!). This is a very elegant side dish and very easy to make."
Ingredients:
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48 baby carrots (We use fresh carrots found in the produce section in a plastic bag but canned carrots would work too)
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3 Tbsp. butter
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6 Tbsp. Chambord Liqueur
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Juice of 2 lemons
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½ cup Brandy
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½ cup Honey
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Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley - Optional
Preparation:
Put carrots in a saucepan of salted water and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until tender.
Drain and arrange carrots in a buttered casserole dish. Non-stick vegetable spray can be used if desired.
Make a syrup of the Chambord Liqueur, Brandy, lemon juice and honey. Don't be afraid to experiment here until the sauce is to your taste!
Pour the sauce over the carrots and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
Before serving, sprinkle chopped parsley if desired.
SERVES 8
Dauphinoise Potatoes
"We both are great fans of boxed Betty Crocker Potatoes that you can find down the street at your local supermarket. We use them all, be it Instant Mashed (great for thickening soups), Scalloped or Flavored Mashed. They are all easy, fast and very tasty. But…if you want the REAL DEAL with plenty of butter, heavy cream, cheese and calories…THIS IS IT!"
Ingredients:
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3 lbs. potatoes - peeled & thinly sliced (about 6 to 7 cups)
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4 cups regular milk
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1 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (to your taste)
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2 Tbsp. butter
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Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
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Grated fresh nutmeg (use bottled nutmeg if you do not have a grater)
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1 ¼ cups grated white cheddar or Gruyere cheese
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½ cup heavy whipping cream
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly butter an 8 - 9 cup baking dish, about 2" deep.
In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, milk, thyme, butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and transfer half of them to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle over half the cheese, half the cream, with salt and pepper.
Top with the remaining potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cream.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until crisp and golden on top. (All ovens cook differently so I would suggest taking a peek at 30 minutes to see how they are cooking and then again every 10 minutes or so - Don't let them overcook and dry out.)
8 SERVINGS
Prime Rib with Cabernet Sauce
"We made this recipe for the first time the Christmas of 1997 - our first Christmas in the Pacific Northwest after moving from New Jersey. Steve is the "meat chef" in the family and no piece of meat is put in the oven or on the grill until he arrives at a family gathering! Here are his secrets for making perfect meat:
- Buy the best cut of meat that you possibly can - even if it means ordering it in advance - So, don't wait until the last minute if you are making a special dinner and have to buy just what's available in the meat case.
- Become "Best Friends" with your butcher - It doesn't make any difference if you shop in a local supermarket or a gourmet specialty store. There is a butcher behind all of the cases of meat that you see. There used to be a bell that you could push to summon for help but I haven't seen that in a long time. Don't be shy - Find the butcher & tell him what you need. You will be surprised how helpful they will be! There are all sorts of cuts of meat available. If it's not in the meat case, they will cut it for you or special order it. Give it a try.
- If you think that you are a great cook and can tell "doneness" by sight, following the timing instructions in a recipe or cutting into the meat - you are wrong!!! RELY ON A MEAT THERMOMETER!!! Also know the difference between an "Instant Read" (Steve's choice) and a Meat Thermometer, which remains in the roast during the entire cooking cycle.
- Don't carve the meat immediately after removing it from the oven or grill. Let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. IT WILL NOT GET COLD. The meat needs some time for the juices to flow back through the meat. If you carve it immediately, it will look kind of gray instead of red and juicy.
- Last but not Least - DON'T OVER COOK! - There is nothing worse than an expensive piece of meat cooked to smithereens with the consistency of shoe leather! If you have friends and relatives that like beef "well done", there is a reason why the microwave was invented. Either zap it or cut off their piece of meat and continue cooking it. There is no reason why everyone should suffer!
One last comment before we proceed to the recipe. We recently started adding "More Than Gourmet" Demi-Glace Gold to the Cabernet Sauce. The sauce is wonderful without it but really extraordinary with ½ teaspoon added. A pound of the Demi-Glace is good for 18 months after opening and can be used in so many soup and sauce recipes. Granted, this is available at GourmetMagic.com but this is the only product that will be mentioned in these 4 recipes. We routinely use all of the
"More Than Gourmet" products and our recipes definitely taste much more flavorful."
Ingredients:
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Two 750ml bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon
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2 cups of Port
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4 cups of Beef Broth
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2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
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2 shallots, peeled and quartered
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2 bay leaves
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½ tsp. "More Than Gourmet" Demi-Glace Gold (optional)
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6 tsp. fresh thyme, or 3 tsp. dried
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One 6-pound Prime Rib Beef Roast
Preparation:
Combine the first 7 ingredients and 2 teaspoons of thyme in a large non-reactive saucepan. Boil until reduced to 2 cups. This takes at least an hour. This can be made one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place beef, fatty side up, in a heavy baking pan on a rack. Rub beef all over with the remaining 4 teaspoons of thyme. Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Roast for one hour. Tent Prime Rib with foil. Continue roasting until meat thermometer inserted into the center reads 118 degrees for rare, about 35 minutes. Transfer to platter and let stand for 20 minutes.
Pour off all fat from roasting pan. Place pan over medium-high heat. Add Cabernet Sauce to the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce into a sauceboat. Carve beef and serve, passing sauce separately.
SERVES 8
Peach Melba
"We especially like to serve this dessert for company since the Raspberry Sauce can be made in advance and there is very little assembly time prior to serving. Straining the Raspberry Sauce is a little tedious but don't skip this step. You want the sauce to be silky smooth and it is just not the same with seeds. We always, at least double, the sauce recipe. We then pour it into small containers and freeze. It really comes in handy when you need an impressive dessert in a hurry. We have received rave reviews whenever we serve this dessert."
Ingredients:
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Your favorite vanilla ice cream
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Canned sliced peaches
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Raspberry Sauce (Makes About 1 ½ cups):
- Two 12-oz. bags of frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed in the bag
- 2/3 cup of sugar
Preparation:
Bring the raspberries and sugar to a boil in a non-reactive saucepan.
Simmer over moderately high heat for 10 minutes. Let cool.
Strain the sauce through a fine sieve and serve warm or at room temperature.
This can be made up to 2 days in advance. Bring back up to room temperature or reheat before serving. This is the basic recipe but we also add a slight squeeze of fresh lemon juice and 1 or 2 tablespoons of Chambord Liqueur, if we have some on hand.
You probably noticed that we did not put down any quantities for the ice cream or peaches. What you will need depends upon the size of your dessert dishes and how many people you are serving. It's very easy to assemble:
Put a rounded scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center of your dessert dish.
Surround the base of the scoop with peach slices (We use 4). Spoon a few tablespoons of the raspberry sauce over the top of the ice cream scoop so that the sauce flows down the ice cream onto the peaches. You can always put any remaining sauce in a little gravy boat and put it on the side in case anyone wants additional sauce.