Great Lakes Foodie » Christmas

One last piece of ham!

Great Lakes Foodie — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:28:52 +0000

So, I talked about eating healthy for a few weeks and what do I do? I forgot to clean out the last container or potatoes and ham. I can’t let that go to waste. I warmed it up and savored that last morsel of the holidays. Thankfully, I had a whole wheat English muffin with marmalade and no added fat for breakfast. Phew!

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Ham, Potatoes

As if there wasn’t enough turkey last week…

Great Lakes Foodie — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:10:46 +0000

Well, since I didn’t make a turkey for Thanksgiving but I had bought one at the store (with my Pick ‘n Save Turkey Perks reward no less!), I wanted to make the bird before I needed the space in the freezer for Christmas. Four days ago, I embarked on a path to making the bird today by putting it in the fridge to thaw. No salmonella in this house! It’s been in the oven for about two and a half hours now. The smells in the house are wonderful. To accompany the turkey, we’re having cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and dressing. I’m whipping up a turkey gravy right now using the neck and other exciting parts of the turkey. However, as Julia warned me, I will not be putting the liver inside the gravy…as it might cloud it! Sadly, every gravy I’ve ever had at family dinners definitely was cloudy. I’m not sure I’ll think it’s gravy.

To further my holiday spirits, I decided to plan my cookie baking season out today. Most of my grocery purchases were related to baking. I’m still on the hunt for crystallized ginger, orange marmalade, cardamom, hard fruit candies, and real vanilla extract. (All things I buy at places other than my main grocery store!) Can you guess what I’m baking? I’ll give you a hint: The ingredients listed aren’t all in one recipe! Christmas Cookie List 2012 is soon to follow.

Technorati Tags: Christmas, Cookies, Turkey

Merkt’s Cheese

Great Lakes Foodie — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:57:25 +0000

I forgot to tell you about one of my favorite holiday foods…Have you ever tried Merkt's cheese? This processed cheese spread out of Bristol, Wisconsin has been a family staple for years. I tend to stay clear of things like processed cheese spreads…but you have to keep your comfort foods around at Christmas. My favorite flavor is the port wine cheese spread. It's good on just about everything. I've even had it at the Chancery, a local pub & grill chain in the Milwaukee area. What's better than a patty melt smothered in Merkt's cheese! I can say that I've only had two in my life. Each time I have it…I think I might be encouraging a spontaneous heart attack! Oh so good…

Merkt's Cheese Website

Chancery Website

Technorati Tags: Bristol WI, Cheese, Christmas, Milwaukee WI

Challah French Toast

Great Lakes Foodie — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:49:21 +0000

Mmmmm. I make Challah for Christmas every year. This year, I made four loaves. One for Christmas Eve and two plus for Christmas day. Thankfully, there was enough left over after Christmas day that I could make my favorite: Challah french toast. What better way to make french toast than with a semi-sweet, egg bread! I cut six 1-inch thick pieces and soaked them in a couple of eggs, 2% milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. I don't add any salt as the crust of the bread has a salt dusting on it already. The result is a wonderful breakfast with a sweet, salty, and warming spice flavor. You only need a whisper of butter and a drop of your favorite topping. Mine is plain ol' maple syrup.

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Challah, Christmas, French toast

Another Christmas Gone…

Great Lakes Foodie — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:00:42 +0000

Well, another set of Christmas gatherings complete. I'd say that I was glad to see them over, but I always hate to see it end. Christmas Eve was a small group this year…only 8 of us. I have to admit, had a bit of a challenge for dinner. With a small group, I figured that I could go a bit beyond the norm and have something more special. Standing rib roast it was. Rubbed with a mixture of fresh rosemary, thyme, and garlic, this crusty roast was sure to please. I made one huge mistake. The afternoon got away from me and at 1:30, I realized that I hadn't taken the roast out of the fridge. It needed to go into the oven at 2:00, so I was cutting it short. The failure came in the fact that I didn't give the roast enough time to warm up before cooking. I cooked the roast to medium well (where I stuck the probe). There was a section of roast that didn't get a chance to warm up and wound up being a bit less than rare. Oh well, mistakes happen. Fortunately, the crew with me on Christmas Eve didn't hang me for slicing and finishing off the roast on top of the stove!!! I think we'll practice a few more times before I make for a crowd again.

Christmas Day was a bit different. We had 27 people for a noon dinner!! Though I would love to do something a bit more extravagant, with that many people, you run into varying food tastes and food quirks. We wound up serving a turkey breast sliced, beef tips that I made in Bourguignon style, and a ham with an orange-clove glaze. Thankfully, we satisfied everyone's taste.

Now that Christmas has passed, I have a few leftovers to deal with…and these I love as each bite reminds me of the great time we had. Once the tasty reminders of our 2009 Christmas are gone, it will be time for me to start thinking of meal plans for future weeks….including a bit of a healthier spin to get the new year off to the right foot.

Technorati Tags: Christmas