Christmas was such a happy, happy time. Like last year, we spent it here in Chicago, enjoying the oddly mild weather and our cozy festive apartment. Christmas morning we just cozied up in our pajamas, opened presents and ate traditional family Christmas breads (German Braid bread from my side, and Orange Rolls from Alex's!), all while double fisting coffee and champagne. We celebrated the rest of the day with Brian and Sara and their family, which featured delightful cousins and a delicious Christmas dinner.
We continued our Christmas festivities with a yummy dinner on St. Stephen's Day (Boxing Day). I love making fancy dinners, and what better time for one than during the Christmas season! It was so fun to come up with a menu and pick out wines to go with each course. (Thanks to Alex and his watching Evangeline nearly all day, this dinner turned out quite successfully!)
First Course
Cheese, Fruit, Crackers
Second Course
Seared Scallop Salad with Haricots Verts and Truffle Oil
Third Course
Sweet Citrus and Herb Bouquet-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens with Orange Marmalade Glaze
Asparagus
Nutmeg and Black Pepper Popovers
Fourth Course
I intended to make a Berry Pavlova for dessert, but we had eaten so many sweets during the days previous that neither Alex or I wanted any more sugar, so we just ended up eating leftover Orange Rolls from Christmas Day.
Seared Scallop Salad with Haricots Verts and Truffle Oil (adapted from a 2000 Bon Appetit recipe--I couldn't find truffle oil anywhere, so I substituted truffle flavored olive oil!)
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoons minced shallot
2 tablespoons truffle flavored olive oil
3 ounces haricots verts or other slender green beans, trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 handfuls baby kale greens
4 large sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Mix vinegar and shallot in small bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. Cook haricots verts in medium pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Refresh under cold running water.
Mix kale and 1 tablespoons vinaigrette in medium bowl; toss to combine. Let stand 20 minutes. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle scallops with curry powder. Add to skillet and cook 3 minutes; turn over and cook until almost opaque in center, about 2 minutes longer.
Mound half of kale mixture in center of each plate. Using half of haricots verts for each plate, place haricots verts atop kale. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over haricots verts and scallops. Place 2 scallops on top of each plate. Sprinkle salads with chives.
Nutmeg and Black Pepper Popovers (from Bon Appetit)
Whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg in a medium bowl. Whisk 3 large eggs and 2 1/2 cups whole milk in a large bowl until well blended. Gently whisk in flour mixture, followed by 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (do not overmix).
Preheat oven to 425°. Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; grease 12 standard muffin cups with 1/2 teaspoons melted butter each. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling cups three-quarters full and dividing equally. Bake popovers until puffed, golden brown, and crispy around edges, 30-35 minutes. Using a thin knife or an offset spatula, remove popovers from pan. Serve immediately.
Sweet Citrus and Herb Bouquet-Stuffed Cornish Game Hens with Orange Marmalade Glaze (from The Cozy Apron)
(Serves 4)
4 cornish game hens (roughly 1 ½ lbs each), rinsed and dried off
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems trimmed down
16 sprigs fresh thyme
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 lemons, sliced into 8 thin slices
2 small oranges, sliced into 8 thin slices
Orange Marmalade Glaze
Orange Marmalade Glaze:
½ cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
Add the orange marmalade and the orange juice to a small pot set over medium-low heat, and stir to incorporate; once the mixture comes to the simmer, reduce the heat to low, and allow the mixture to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly reduced, stirring occasionally; once reduced, strain the mixture into a small bowl, and allow it to cool for about 20-25 minutes (it will also thicken up slightly) before using to glaze the hens.
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Season and stuff the hens 24-48 hours in advance, and refrigerate until an hour before roasting time. Prepare the cornish game hens by liberally seasoning them, both inside the cavity and out, with the sea salt (about 1 tablespoons worth), the freshly cracked black pepper and the Italian seasoning. Next, prepare your herb bouquets by dividing the small bunch of flat-leaf parsley into 4 portions; add to the parsley about 4 sprigs of the fresh thyme and 1 sprig of the fresh rosemary, and tie the herb bouquet into a little bundle with some string, just to help the bouquets to stay together. Stuff one bouquet into the cavity of each hen, then stuff 2 slices of lemon and 2 slices of orange into the cavity as well; and place the hens on a wire rack, breast side up.
Preheat oven to 375; line a baking sheet with foil, and place a wire rack onto the baking sheet.
Before placing the hens into the oven, brush some of the Orange Marmalade Glaze all over each hen (save some glaze to apply during the roasting). Now place the hens into the oven to roast on the lower-middle rack. After about 20 minutes, brush some more of the glaze over the hens, then continue to roast. After another 20 minutes, brush the hens with more glaze, then continue to roast for another 20-35 minutes, depending on the size of the hens. The total roasting time for the hens should be approx. 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until the internal temp reads 160° when inserted into the thigh and the juices run clear. Once roasted, remove the hens from the oven, and allow them to rest for about 10-15 minutes; serve the hens while hot, one whole hen per person, with additional slices of fresh citrus for garnish, if you desire.
