Author Topic: Holiday Menus  (Read 150412 times)

Offline Meryl

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #40 on: December 02, 2006, 01:32:46 pm »
Thanks, Dot!  Those are a perfect addition to our cowboy-themed holiday thread.  8)

I'm with Elle, some of those sound better than others.  And can this be right:

Stewed Oysters, Boned Turkey
Stuffed Ham, Mashed Potatoes

Surely they mean Boned Ham and Stuffed Turkey?  :P

Also, I wonder how those cavalry troops in Montana got hold of lobster and shrimp?  ???

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Offline dot-matrix

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #41 on: December 02, 2006, 05:34:46 pm »
Thanks, Dot!  Those are a perfect addition to our cowboy-themed holiday thread.  8)

I'm with Elle, some of those sound better than others.  And can this be right:

Stewed Oysters, Boned Turkey
Stuffed Ham, Mashed Potatoes

Surely they mean Boned Ham and Stuffed Turkey?  :P

Also, I wonder how those cavalry troops in Montana got hold of lobster and shrimp?  ???



Actually Meryl, I'm told on good authority that Seafood east of California and west of the Mississippi  would have shipped out of either Seattle or San Francisco.  Both with large Asian populations so that prior to the completion of the first trancontinental railroad in 1869 and the second in 1882, seafood in other than coastal was shipped either precooked and packed in salt or brine, or dried and needed to be reconsitited upon arrival.  After the completion of the railroad the railroad, seafood was ship to the nearest rail head packed in ice.  Upon arrival the ice was replenished and then it was couriered by wagon or stage.  The cost was almost prohibative so it was reserved for very special occassions.

As for the turkey verses the ham.  Stuffed Ham was a very popular dish in some parts of the country and I understand still is the South.  Here's a modern version of the recipe.

CHRISTMAS STUFFED BAKED HAM --------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 hours. Serves 12. (Delicious and makes a festive holiday presentation with the pink ham and mixed green stuffing!)

1 fully cooked ham (about 10 to 12 lbs.)
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped kale
1 c. finely chopped fresh spinach
1 lg. onion, finely chopped (1 c.)
3/4 c. finely chopped watercress
1/2 c. finely chopped celery tops (leaves)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. honey
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. dry mustard

(Ask your grocer produce manager to order watercress for you in advance. It's not always locally available.
1. Trim rind off ham, if any. Trim fat to 1/4 inch thickness. Make X-shaped cuts with a small paring knife, 2 inches deep and 1 inch apart; stagger the rows, all over fat side.

2. Cook hole in boiling salted water to cover, following directions on package; drain; cool; squeeze out excess water with hands.

3. Combine kale, fresh spinach, onion, fresh watercress, fresh celery leaves, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.

4. Press greens mixture into pockets in ham; pack down well with fingertips. Place ham, fat side up, in a large shallow pan.

5. Bake in a slow oven (325 degrees) for 2 minutes.

6. Stir honey with vinegar and dry mustard; brush part over ham. Continue baking and brushing with the remaining honey mixture, 30 minutes or until top of ham is richly glazed. Remove ham from pan. Let stand 20 minutes before carving.

7. Carve ham carefully, holding slices together to keep the stuffing intact. Garnish platter with glazed carrots and fresh watercress leaves!


According to my cookbook, frontier families would often use spinach, dandielion greens, pote salad, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens and various wild greens to stuff their hams.
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Offline LazyLJack

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #42 on: December 09, 2006, 09:18:37 am »
We have a venison roast in the freezer from hunting this fall, so for Christmas Eve, this will be on the table at the Lazy L:

Roasted Rack of Venison with Shallots and Dried-Cranberry Gravy
Braised Red Cabbage
Golden Creamed Onions
Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes

For dessert: Lemon-Poppyseed Cake

Jack
Jack & Ennis
Lazy L Farm
Quanah, TX

Offline Meryl

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #43 on: December 09, 2006, 02:45:37 pm »
Yum!

*Meryl gets out her 30-30*

I'm off to shoot elk!  You comin' with me, Jack?  8)
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #44 on: December 16, 2006, 10:15:44 am »
Here are two of my recent Christmas dinner menus:

For 2004, I planned a traditional Italian Christmas dinner with a few French touches tossed in. The appetizer was simple—jumbo cocktail shrimp with a spicy sauce to dip in, plus a host of appetizers served in cut crystal relish dishes passed on to me by my mother.  The appetizers included mixed fruit, pickles, pickled onions, spiced crab apples, and special olives.

I usually like to serve a soup after the appetizer and I had selected a rice noodle and bok choy soup, but I had to delete the soup course this year in order to keep to our schedule—we were planning to go to a 5 p.m movie. So, I went ahead to the main course—duck. I had prepared the duck the traditional Italian way—rubbing it with cracked black pepper, garlic, salt and rosemary and letting it rest uncovered in the refrigerator for a couple of days beforehand in order to ensure a crisp skin.

On “Christmas” day, I put the duck in the oven in a roasting pan on a rack above a pan of water. I let the duck roast for about 1.5 hours, without basting or glazing. Instead of making a gravy or sauce, I served peach chutney to slather on the duck. It was delicious.

I poached Brussels sprouts, which my daughter loves, and stirred into them a mixture of butter, honey, mustard, horseradish, freshly ground pepper, and maple syrup. I also placed some quartered acorn squash in the roasting pan with the duck, which was done in about an hour. I dressed it simply with butter, freshly ground pepper, and a few spices.

Finally, I made an Italian dish, a Christmas spaghetti with a sauce of olive oil, roasted walnuts (on a pie plate in the oven) garlic, anchovies, and parsley. I bought parsley roots for the first time, which look live baby parsnips with parsley tops. The pasta was a big hit. All was served with basil bread that I had baked the previous weekend.

The salad came later, in the Italian tradition. It was a simple salad of arugula, grapefruit sections, and pomegranate seeds, with a vinaigrette made with mild rice vinegar and blue cheese to sprinkle over the top.

Christmas 2003

This Christmas finds us all together, no hockey tournament this year.  The weather cooperated—a little overcast in the morning and then sunny and mild.

Father made pancakes for breakfast. The buttermilk biscuits could wait for dinner. I used the recipe from the Crème de Colorado cookbook.

Appetizers will be little crab cakes with avocado slices, red radishes.

The meat will be ham, which will go well with the biscuits. I will serve a special mustard, gravy, and chutney that I made last weekend with the ham. We will also have cranberry relish, Mama Stamberg’s recipe. And a cranberry waldorf salad too.

There are a wealth of vegetables this  year. I will serve steamed cauliflower with a sauce from the Crème de Colorado cookbook. Also green beans and pumpkin wedges. Mushrooms and a salad made with sliced fennel and grapes. Sliced beets with a topping of dried apricots and crème fraiche.
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #45 on: December 22, 2006, 11:34:33 pm »
Lee, I want to eat at your house!  :)  Those sound wonderful.  Great ingredients creatively mixed together. 

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #46 on: December 26, 2007, 01:48:38 pm »
How did you like your holiday menus this year?

At Front-Ranger's we had a simpler feast than previous years. We are planning to go out of town for New Year's and we didn't want a bunch of leftovers in the fridge.

So I served olive bread with tapenade and proscuitto, butternut squash soup, turkey, mushroom gravy, roesti potatoes, braised red cabbage with blueberries, eggplant, Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish, spiced peaches and chocolate cranberry pie for dessert. There were chocolate chip scones for breakfast. Let me know if you would like me to post any of these recipes!!

"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Shasta542

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #47 on: December 26, 2007, 01:54:31 pm »
How did you like your holiday menus this year?

At Front-Ranger's we had a simpler feast than previous years. We are planning to go out of town for New Year's and we didn't want a bunch of leftovers in the fridge.

So I served olive bread with tapenade and proscuitto, butternut squash soup, turkey, mushroom gravy, roesti potatoes, braised red cabbage with blueberries, eggplant, Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish, spiced peaches and chocolate cranberry pie for dessert. There were chocolate chip scones for breakfast. Let me know if you would like me to post any of these recipes!!

Front-Ranger -- that sounds like a very elegant spread! The olive bread sounds yummy! May we see that recipe?

Where are the Rangers heading for New Year's if you don't mind telling us. ?
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #48 on: December 26, 2007, 05:28:51 pm »
Front-Ranger -- that sounds like a very elegant spread! The olive bread sounds yummy! May we see that recipe?

Where are the Rangers heading for New Year's if you don't mind telling us. ?

I will dig it out for y'all!!

We are heading to Arizona...we haven't yet recovered from LAST winter in Denver, much less this one!! We'll be back on the 1st, and I'll check in between sessions in the spa!!

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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Holiday Menus
« Reply #49 on: December 04, 2008, 03:02:18 pm »
Time to think about the holiday menu!! What are you planning on putting on the table, everyone??
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