Christmas Eve

For the first time on Christmas Eve, mom, Liz, Mike and I had dinner together, just the four of us. I cooked, with mom and Liz helping out in the kitchen. I wanted to cook a meal that was somewhat fancy, yet simple to prepare. I composed a menu consisting of steak with black cherry sauce, risotto with sweet peas (both from Rachael Ray) and roasted carrots with honey-lemon dressing (from Martha Stewart).

We cooked the steak in a George Forman grill, which easily allowed each of us our preferred level of doneness. The sauce consists of minced shallots, black cherry preserves, balsamic vinegar and a very small amount of butter. The original recipe calls for the sauce to be served with lamb chops, but I have found that it goes wonderfully with steak and I think it would be excellent on pork as well.

For the roasted carrots, toss cut carrots with some EVOO, cayenne pepper and salt. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment for easier cleaning!) and roast at 450º for 20-40 minutes (depends on the amount and size of carrots). When the carrots are roasting, whisk together a couple tablespoons of honey, some freshly squeezed lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest. When the carrots are done, toss them with the dressing and serve. These were absolutely delectable. The spicy cayenne on the sweet carrots is complemented perfectly by the tangy lemon dressing. I highly recommend these!

For dessert I made a balsamic-caramel sauce, which is served over vanilla ice cream (from Michael Chiarello). First, begin by heating 1 cup of heavy cream until boiling, then reduce heat and keep warm. Combine 1 cup of granulated sugar with 2 tbsps of water in a large saucepan. Cook for about 8 minutes, brushing sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with more water, until sugar is browned. Remove from heat and slowly add cream to sugar. Also add 2 tbsps of balsamic vinegar (recipe called for 4 tbsps, which I think would have been way too much), about 3/4 of the juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 tsp salt. Although the recipe didn't call for it, I put the pan back on low heat and added some brown sugar to help thicken/sweeten the sauce. It was very thin at this point, but did thicken significantly as it cooled. I was a little nervous while making the sauce, but it actually turned out really well. Mom loved it and Liz and I really liked it as well (Mike choose not to try it).

Dinner was a delicious success and it was so nice to be able to be at home with my family. Liz and Mike both stayed the night at my place and mom came back over in the morning. We had our annual Christmas breakfast of egg bake and blueberry muffins, to which we added a frittata this year. After opening presents and relaxing, we were off to aunt Diane and uncle Tom's house for a fabulous day of family and food.