Christmas Fare

Last year I made an elaborate Christmas meal, only to have all my kids get sick and not be able to enjoy it.

This year I decided to chill out and enjoy the day a bit more, so here is what we had for dinner:

Christmas Eve

My family has a long standing tradition of eating a "Jerusalem Dinner" on Christmas Eve. Depending on the age of the kids, we would sometimes dress up in nativity costumes and we almost always ate by candlelight. Dinner would consist of things that Joseph and Mary might have eaten in their day. This year we ate fish (lightly pan fried in a little EVOO), dried plums and apricots, olives, and pita bread with goat cheese (as well as some other cheeses that the kids would like). I also had some smoked oysters that a friend gave us when he cleaned out his pantry, so I made a cream cheese spread with them to eat on the pita bread. We drank grape juice with the meal. Leah added to the scene by placing nativity characters around the table.

Christmas Brunch

After the excitement of opening presents, we sat down to cinnamon rolls, mango-berry juice, and CranApple Acorn Squash. I was going to serve grapefruit as well, but we really didn't need anything more - it was a perfect snack to keep us going as we tried out our games and toys.

Christmas Dinner

The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the kitchen all day, so I found this great recipe for Posole which cooked in the slow cooker all day and served up great with a batch of cornbread and a little salad.

Mini Smoker

I got a mini stovetop smoker for my birthday and we decided to try it out the other night.

Our menu consisted of pork tenderloin with sweet turnips and baby carrots smoked over hickory chips. For seasoning, I stuck with a little salt and pepper because I wanted to experience the unadulterated smoked taste. The items being smoked sit on a rack over a drip tray. Under the tray you place about 1 Tbsp of the wood chips, then you place it on a burner set to medium heat. Surprisingly, it only takes about 30-45 minutes of cooking time and a few minutes under the broiler to brown things a little if you want. There was also very little smoke... just a few wisps escaping from time to time - the smell is quite strong though, so it's probably wise to use the oven exhaust fan while you're cooking.
Personally, I found the meat to be a little dry. I can see why they recommend using barbecue sauce for most meats - next time I think I'll just use the drippings to make a nice smoky gravy. The vegetables, however, were divine! They were nice and tender and had a wonderful smoky flavor that just made them stand out - esp. the turnips.

Next time we're going try fish with radishes and fennel smoked over alder chips!

Cafe Rio Salad

This dish has been served at the dinner our stake provides before the RS Broadcast each year. It's always a big hit and the recipe is much requested. There are two different versions - chicken and pork. Choose your favorite and the rest is the same. The chicken tends to be a bit drier than the pork, but once you add the salsa and dressing, you would never know! Caution: This recipe makes a lot of food - you can easily serve 10-15 people with one recipe so adjust accordingly.

Just like Café Rio Pork
5-6 lb Pork roast

1 Tbs cumin

1 cup brown sugar

12 oz bottle Taco Sauce
20 oz bottle coke

Cook roast on low for 12 hours in Crock Pot with water covering half the roast. After 12 hours, drain water off roast and add remaining ingredients. Continue cooking 4 hrs. Then shred the meat and cook for 2 hours more. (I prefer cooking my roast in the oven, place in oven at night and cook at 220 degrees 8-12 hours. Drain, shred and add all other ingredients. Put in Crock Pot for about 2-3 hours to blend flavors)

Just like Café Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs. cumin
3 cloves garlic
5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

Pour all ingredients in crock-pot on low for 4 hours. Shred meat and cook for 1 hr more.

Just like Café Rio Creamy Ranch dressing
1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic
3 tomatillos (peel off paper skins)
1/3 cup buttermilk
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. If you can't find tomatillos, you can replace both garlic and tomatillos with 3/4 cup green salsa.

Just like Café Rio Rice
4 tsp garlic
½ bunch cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 can green chilies
¾ tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
½ chopped onion

Blend all ingredients in blender then put in pan and add 6 cups water, bring to a boil add 3 cups rice, simmer 25 -30 minutes. (Use the directions on your rice package for the amount of water, some rice calls for a 1–2 ratio, some have 1-1½ ratio)

To Serve
Place a tortilla shell on a plate; add rice and beans, meat (pork or chicken), shredded lettuce, cheese, and tortilla strips. Serve with guacamole, Café Rio Dressing, and Pico de Gallo.

Pork Chops with Sauerkraut

This is a favorite stand by that my mom used to make when I was little.

Just pan fry your pork chops until brown on each side, then smother with sauerkraut (be sure to add some of the juice too!) and cover the skillet and simmer for about 20 minutes.

The kids pick off the sauerkraut, but love the flavor of the pork.

Rosemary Garlic Pork Loin with Roasted Cauliflower

I decided to just roast the pork loin, so I used my food processor to make a paste out of rosemary, garlic and olive oil and slathered that all over the roast, threw some carrots, celery and onions in the pan and stuck it in the oven for awhile. Everyone seemed to like it, but the surprise hit of the night was the roasted cauliflower! Finally a cauliflower recipe that I can enjoy! And it was surprisingly easy... so check it out.

Oven BBQ Pork Chops

This was super easy and the kids liked it.

I just covered the pork chops with slices of sweet onion, a sprinkling of brown sugar, smeared it all with a little ketchup and baked it for about an hour at 375 (covered for the first 45 minutes).

Serve with a simple salad of a wedge of iceberg lettuce drizzled with the best bleu cheese dressing ever.