Enjoy your Christmas dinner with our suggestions
Blackberry Martini:
1 oz WOW Blackberry
2 oz Vodka/Gin
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 cup of ice in a martini shaker. Shake and serve with frozen blackberry
Nothing say decadent feast then a little surf and turf, right?
We’ll start with the surf, and while there are a multitude of options available here on the coast one of my personal favorites is seared scallops. And to make it extra decadent - add bacon! Scallops are actually very easy, and delicious if cooked properly.
Ingredients
24 fresh scallops (large) (for 6 people as an appy)
24 slices thick cut bacon
olive oil, salt and pepper. (and 24 toothpicks)
Precook the bacon until mostly cooked, but still very flexible - they need to be able to be wrapped around scallops.
Use a sharp knife and score each side of each scallop. Basically you are cutting an “X” about 1mm deep. This allows the scallop to sear better.
Wrap one slice of bacon around the scallop, and pin in place with a toothpick
Place on some paper towel to ensure they are nice and dry, so the sear works better.
Season the scallops on both sides liberally with salt and pepper.
Heat up a large steel or cast iron frying pan (if you have one), and get it really hot, so that olive oil just starts to smoke.
Place half of the scallops in to the pan. Don’t crowd them, leave space around them so they sear and don’t boil. If you are comfortable with it, you can actually use 2 pans and work with both simultaneously. This way all the scallops will be finished at the same time.
In about 2 minutes the first side should be seared and already have a golden colour. Flip the scallops to their other sides.
Again in 2-3 minutes the second side should also be seared (they may be a little less brown if your pan has cooled from the first side cooking)
Remove the first batch from the pan (put on a warm plate so they don’t cool too much), add a little more oil and sear the next batch.
The scallops should be a little translucent right in the middle. If you cook them so they are fully white all the way through they will likely be overcooked and rubbery. You really want these just a little on the “under” side so they are melt in your mouth.
Okay, now for the turf.
Growing up we almost always had turkey at Christmas. But when we had our own kids they really weren’t big fans. So we started to experiment with other roasts and ended up with Beef Wellington as our favourite.
Okay, my #1 favourite part of Beef Wellington for Christmas (other then the amazing taste?) I make it entirely the day before, and just throw it in the oven on Christmas day. No muss, no fuss, no worrying about will the turkey cook and I’m free all day to have fun with the kids.
This recipe is my favorite, I believe it’s actually one version of Gordon Ramsey’s Wellington. Enjoy!
Ingredients
A large Beef Tenderloin Roast (around 1 Kg)
1 tbsp hot english mustard (or dijon)
3 tbsp Olive Oil
250g mushrooms (plus some wild mushrooms if you can find them)
50 g butter
1 large sprig fresh thyme
100ml Dry white Wine (Our White blend or TLC would be great)
12 slices prociutto
500g puff pasty - thawed
flour for dusting
2 egg yolks
Season the beef fillet roast. Heat a pan, add some olive oil and sear the outside of the roast on all sides. Pop the roast into the oven (350 deg F) until it reaches an internal temperature of 120 - 125 F. This should be around 15 - 20 minutes depending on how thick your roast is. This should give you a medium-rare roast at the end, if you like it more of a medium, cook it until it reaches 135 F, which will take a little longer. I strongly recommend using a meat thermometer for this as it gives accurate results and prevents an over cooked or under cooked dinner. After it’s cooked, cool it at room temperature and then pop into the fridge while you complete the next steps.
Chop up the mushrooms very fine, about the size of coarse breadcrumbs. You can use a food processor, but pulse it, so it doesn’t make it a puree.
Heat up a pan, add 2 tbsp of olive oil, 50 g butter. Add the mushrooms, and the spring of thyme and cook for about 10 minutes. Add 100 ml of dry white wine and cook for another 10 minutes until all of the wine has been absorbed/boiled off. Remove from heat, remove the sprig of thyme and cool.
Spread a layer of mustard on the outside of the cooled roast.
Lay 2 overlapping layers of cling wrap on a large cutting board or directly on the kitchen counter or dining room table. They each need to be a foot longer than the roast.
Lay the proscuitto on the cling film, slightly overlapping in a double row (2 high by 6 wide). Spread half the mushrooms on the proscuitto , sit the fillet on top, put the rest of the mushrooms on top of the fillet.
Use the cling wrap to roll the proscuitto up and around the fillet. making it into a sausage roll. You may need to fiddle the ends of the proscuitto to have the proscuitto meet, and the cling wrap totally outside the proscuitto. Then twist the ends to tighten the wrap and it should look a bit like a sausage roll. Put the wrapped meat back in the fridge to continue cooling.
Take the thawed puff pastry out of the packet. On a well floured surface roll out the pastry until it’s about 45 cm by 35 cm. Beat the 2 egg yolks with a little water and brush a little around all the edge the help glue everything together. Take the wrapped meat back out of the fridge, carefully unwrap and put in the middle of the pasty. roll the pastry around the roast and seal the edges with the egg yolk mixture. Try to keep any air pockets to a minimum. Move the seam to the bottom, and brush the top with more egg yolk mixture, and score the surface with diagonal lines, without cutting through the pastry . Chill (minimum half hour, but up to 24 hours so you can make it the day ahead.)
To cook, preheat oven to 350 deg F. Cook until golden brown and crisp 25-30 minutes (longer if the roast is especially thick). Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. Again, if you have a good meat thermometer you can use it here to make sure the temperature in the meat comes back up to 125 - 130 deg F in the middle, so you know it’s nice an hot, not cold, when you serve it.
Are we full yet?
So here’s the thing. Neither Linda nor I are dessert people. Give me a cheese plate after dinner (with some port) and I’ll be in heaven. However, my mum loves dessert, so this is one of my favorite desserts for when she comes by for dinner. Some people have dietary restrictions. This is my go-to for someone who is lactose and gluten intolerant. If this isn’t an issue for you feel free to use normal butter and normal heavy (whipping) cream.
Lactose & Gluten Free Chocolate Souffle
Ingredients:
2 tbsp Lactose free butter
1/4 C granulated sugar (for sugaring the ramekin dishes)
6 oz semisweet chocolate
6 large room temperature eggs
3/4 C granulated sugar (for souffle)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp lactose free whipping cream or heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch cream of tartar.
Directions:
Rub the insides of the 6 oz. ramekin dishes with butter, then coat with 1/2 tbsp of sugar in each, covering all the sides and bottom with sugar stuck to butter. Put empty ramekins onto a baking sheet, spread apart by 4 cm from each other.
Preheat oven to 350 F
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Once completely melted cool back down to room temperature. Once cooled, add the whipping cream and vanilla extract to the melted chocolate.
Separate the eggs. place the yolks, 1/2 C sugar and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment beat the yolk mixture until its very fluffy and thick (about 3 mins)
Add the egg yolk mixture to the chocolate in 3 parts. (add 1/3 at a time and stir until well combined each time)
Clean up the mixer bowl and dry. Add the egg whites and beat with the whisk attachment at medium speed for about 3 minutes until fluffy soft peaks form.
With the mixer still whisking, add the last 1/4 C of sugar to the egg whites one Tbsp at a time, and then the cream of tartar. Beat for another minute and the whites should have a glossy firm peak.
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture 1/3 at a time. Gently folding until the egg whites are incorporated each time.
Divide the mixture into the ramekin dishes. The dish is now stable and can be left ready to bake until after the main course is finished.
Pop the baking tray into the oven (with ramekins) and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the tops are puffed and cracked and the centers don’t jiggle when you gently shake the baking sheet.
Remove from over and dust with powdered sugar if desired. Serve quickly while they are still at maximum height for maximum effect!