Recipes Of Perfection: Holiday Fare for The Season

To mix it up a bit and take a detour from my normal unorthodox activity on this blog, I have decided to share with you a virtual vault of my favorite holiday recipes and this is why….…

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and it goes so much further than just the presents and the food. The sounds of the season and the trickling snow flakes falling on the grass makes for a perfect holiday season. Of course, being in Florida and not seeing snow for the past nine years has been a challenge. It’s hard to get into the holiday spirit when your staring a palm tree in the face all year round.

Side Dishes
Holiday Scalloped Sweet Potato Dauphinois
Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs sweet potato peeled and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove sliced in half
 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
1 ounce butter
salt and white pepper

Method

Butter a shallow baking dish and rub the garlic clove all over the bottom.
Whisk the cream and the milk together.
Place one layer of sweet potato slices on the bottom of the dish.
Season with salt and pepper.
Pour a a layer of the cream mixture over the potato?s.
Continue this method until there is no more potato or cream mixture remaining.
Bake at 325 for 1  hour and 15 minutes.

Note: If you?d like to speed up the process, precook the sweet potatoes to cut about 20 minutes off your cooking time.

Creamy Corn Casserole
Ingredients

1 can condensed chicken soup
3 cups fresh or frozen drained corn
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
 1 cup finely chopped celery
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/3 cup slivered almond (optional)
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

Method

In a medium skillet, saute celery, onion and red pepper in 2 tbsp butter until tender.
Remove from the heat and add the soup, corn, chestnuts, and almonds.
Transfer to a casserole dish.
Melt remaining butter and toss with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top.
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Entrees
Champagne Cream Roasted Chicken(Serves 4)
Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp butter
1 cup champagne or chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp flour
Garlic Salt
Lemon pepper seasoning

Method

Season chicken with garlic salt and lemon pepper and place in saute pan with butter.
Saute chicken for 2 minutes on each side.
Add broth or champagne. Bring to a boil; cover and let simmer for 10 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.
Remove chicken from pan and place on a platter.
Stir heavy cream and flour together before adding to pan.
Add cream mixture to pan and cook until thick.
Season to taste.
Spoon sauce over chicken.

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Mustard Sauce (Serves 4-6)


Ingredients

2 Pork tenderloins
1 can chicken broth
1 Tbsp sage leaves
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp minced garlic
½ Tsp kosher salt
½ Tsp White Pepper

Blackberry Mustard Sauce
Ingredients

½ cup blackberry preserves
½ cup Dijon mustard

Method

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.
Rub pork with sage, thyme, garlic, salt, and sugar.
Place in a glass baking dish and pour can of chicken broth around the edges of the pork.
Bake until desired internal temperature. Note: Pork tenderloin can be consumed at Medium temperatures but, that?s up to you.
Remove Pork from glass dish and place to the side.
Pour remaining sauce from the glass dish into a sauce pan.
Bring to a slight boil and add preserves and mustard.
Whisk until smooth.
Remove from heat and pour over Pork Tenderloin on serving dish.
Garnish with whole blackberries.

Desserts
 Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
Filling recipe

1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups sour cream
5 eggs
1 pint raspberries
1 cup melted chocolate

Method

1) Cream the cheese?s  and sugar together with your kitchen aid mixer or an electric hand held mixer.

2) Slowly add one egg at a time. Let them incorporate fully.

3) Add the chocolate sauce in a steady stream to the mixture while blending.

4) Add the raspberries into the batter and fold mixture until blended.

5) Pour batter into a spring-form pan over your crust of choice.

6) Bake this cheesecake at 325 degrees for 2 hours in a water bath.

Almond Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup chopped toasted almond

Method

Blend all of the ingredients together is a mixing bowl and press into a oiled spring-form pan. Pre-bake the crust for at least 5-8 minutes on 350 to set the crust.

Graham Cracker Crust

If you need recipes for a simple graham cracker crust for your cheesecake here is the simplest way to produce the perfect outcome.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp butter

Method

Blend all of the ingredients together is a mixing bowl and press into a oiled spring-form pan. Pre-bake the crust for at least 5-8 minutes on 350 to set the crust.

Granola Crust

2 cups granola
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp butter

Method

Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor and press into an oiled spring-form pan. Pre-bake the crust for at least 5-8 minutes on 350 to set the crust.

For more amazing Holiday Recipes, check out Friends Revolution