Pellet Fan
All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: jdmessner on December 03, 2021, 01:16:20 PM
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Normally my wife and I have done a Christmas appreciation dinner for those we have worked with over the last year. The past couple years have not been normal, so we are doing things a bit differently this time around. This will be the first dinner we have done since we have moved, so those who attend will not have any preconceived expectations. We usually try and go big, but they will not know if we are slacking off or not!!
Since my wife had foot surgery at the end of October, we had a bright idea, you might call it an epiphany. We decided to do the dinner on the Twelfth day of Christmas, January 6. The actual 12 days of Christmas are not a countdown to Christmas, but the 12 days after; leading up to the Day of Epiphany. This is when we celebrate the Wisemen showing up to visit Jesus. During Advent I am reading a book on the hymns of Charles Wesley. He wrote over 9,000 of them. Some are very well known (i.e. Hark the Harold Angels Sing) and some not so well known. So in honor of Chuck and his brother John, I thought it would be fun to do a traditional English themed dinner.
Roasted beef, turkey, Yorkshire pudding are a given. Wassail and king cake should also be in the mix. I am trying to figure out sides that might work. My first thought is root vegetables would be good, such as potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. From what I've read, Brussel sprouts might also be appropriate. Normally the kids do appetizers, but I am not sure if they will be around this year, so I may need ideas. My wife will do desserts and decorations, so I will stay out of the way and be supportive!
At this point the plan is to get a whole New York Strip top round, smoke it and thinly slice it to serve. I have done this in the past and it has worked well. After reading just4fun's posting on dry aging, that may be worth a try. Doing the math, if I get it soon, it should be able to age it for 30-35 days. I have wet aged the meat in the past and had good results, dry aging might help me step up my game.
Any ideas, suggestions, and recipes are appreciated. Thanks!!
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I would send Chris_M a PM since he's in sunny Lincolnshire and ask him for suggestions for sides.
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I would send Chris_M a PM since he's in sunny Lincolnshire and ask him for suggestions for sides.
Great idea, message sent!
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So we are not looking for the feast the Magi might have had, but are looking to replicate an English Dinner during 12th night basically circa 1740-1750?
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My Mom did a Renaissance Dinner for many years at our church in Fresno (she was Minister of Music). The timeframe was England in 1475. Many of the same traditions you are talking were observed for food -- wassail, prime rib roast, flaming pudding instead of King Cake. She started the food courses with homemade French Onion soup. I have no idea if that is practical for you or not. If not enough bowls, a soup can always be served in mugs.
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I would think some popovers or Yorkshire pudding would make for good sides.
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I'm fascinated by what I'm learning from this thread (and the site in general).
I can't offer anything worthwhile but will be paying close attention.
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Traditional sides. Roast potatoes definitely. Yorkshire isn't so "traditional", but always appeared on the Christmas tables of my youth.
Also you are serving beef, so the Yorkshire is definitely allowed!
Nothing wrong with the other veg you listed. I often roast carrots and parsnips together, sometimes glazed with a 50/50 mix of honey and oil. Sprinkle some rosemary over the top.
A common Christmas way of doing brussels is mixed with chestnuts. This BBC page adds bacon to the mix!
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/brussels-sprouts-bacon-chestnuts
Another common Christmas accompaniment is pigs in blankets - small chipolata sausages, about the size of your little finger, wrapped in bacon.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-pigs-blankets
I would normally serve turkey with cranberry sauce and some kind of stuffing, beef with horseradish, of course. I'm partial to a bit of sweetness in my stuffing, so I quite like this pork and apricot, although anything will go.
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/apricot-stuffing
I usually cook my stuffing separate from the turkey, to ensure everything cooks properly - either in a dish, or I quite like making stuffing balls, which gives more surface for crispiness and makes it easy to serve.
Hope this helps, and have an excellent time!
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Ohhh, forgot about the horseradish! Do you make a sauce Chris or just straight? When I say sauce, we mix ours with some sour cream for a combo.
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Horseradish: a sauce, but straight out of jar. ;)
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So we are not looking for the feast the Magi might have had, but are looking to replicate an English Dinner during 12th night basically circa 1740-1750?
Bentley, that is correct! It doesn't need to be 100% authentic, but that is my starting point. There will be a lot of leeway, because I don't think most people will be too hung up on the details or checking for accuracy. Hopefully it will just be a time to hang out and enjoy a good meal and good fellowship.
Kristin, I have been fascinated by the some of the stories you have shared about the dinners your mother put on. Someday I would like to help with a Madrigal Dinner, but as you well know that is such a huge undertaking. The French onion soup is a great idea. From what I can tell there are a lot of variations on the King Cake. It looks like the English version goes back to the Tudor's and is very close to the plumb or figgy pudding. I plan on using your mothers molds to make a cake/pudding, with some sort of surprise inside. Here is something I found on the history of English Christmas dinners:
Mince pies were made with 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and His disciples, including fruits, spices and mutton, to represent the shepherds. Twelfth Night cake was a type of fruit cake, baked with a coin or dried bean hidden in the mixture, and whoever found it became the King or Queen to host the evening's entertainment!
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/christmas/christmas-dinners-through-history/
Chris, thank you so much for all the information. I appreciate the help and plan on using several of the recipes. I have always thought of Pigs in the Blanket as more of a Dutch thing and wrapped in pastry, but I don't think you can miss with sausage in bacon. The English may be on to something! I really like the Brussels Sprout recipe. I had a friend that I used to be able to count on for chestnuts each year. They were fun to roast on the pellet grill. However, I just found out he moved, so it looks like I will need to find another source. The apricot stuffing also sounds good. I hadn't planned on stuffing since I am doing the Yorkshire pudding, but may need to rethink that.
I went to get the meat last night, there is a really nice market about 30 miles from here. It was my first venture out after 14 days in quarantine. It felt kind of strange being out and about in the real world again. It was a great place to shop. However, they were sold out of the cut I was looking for. They advertised, choice top round NY strip for $7.99, which isn't bad for this neck of the woods. So it looks like I will loose a few days of aging. There is another store advertising them for a similar price a little closer to home. It was not a total loss, I did get a top round roast for the Italian beef I am doing next weekend and a bone in prime rib for a family Christmas meal.
Thanks for all the help!
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Pigs in blankets, I have also come across the name being used for sausage in pastry, although here in the UK (or the parts I have lived in; we are a small country, but customs change from region to region) it's in bacon; sausage in pastry is simply called a "sausage roll".
However, I recently came across this, which amused me greatly, and I would love to see used for pastry and sausage.
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Note that all my descriptions are for food traditions from the 1960's onwards, that being my childhood. :)
Mince pies disappoint me these days. I remember when they were made from a mixture of vine fruits, zest and candied peel, brown sugar and - importantly - suet. Over the years, I got used to checking the ingredients to make sure suet was being used and not "vegetable suet" (usually incorporating palm oil), but for the past 10 years, the suet recipe has disappeared from the shops completely, both in pies and in the canned mincemeat. I hate the palm oil version, as it seems to coat my mouth with an aftertaste.
I guess the answer is to try and make my own. I've planned to do it for the last 3 years, and still haven't gotten around to it.
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I live on my own, but I always do a proper Christmas dinner. Some of the sides I buy in - one of the butchers I use sell trays of par-boiled potatoes in goose or duck fat, ready for the oven, and also the pigs in blankets.
I usually buy for a table of 3 or 4, as I often discover that some friend or other is going to spend the day on their own. I actually like my own company, but I am also happy to invite friends and lay a place for them at the table. If that doesn't happen, and I eat alone, then I have lots of cold meat for the days following - I also plan for what prepared/part-cooked veg can go in the freezer if it is not needed. Nothing goes wasted.
This year I am not planning on guests, but that hasn't altered my shopping. Often I will buy a turkey crown (Do you have them in the States? The top half of the carcass, with just the breasts, but no wings or legs.), the last couple of years I have bought either a stuffed turkey leg (which is huge) or a 3 bird roast. This year I have got a goose coming, the first I have tried. I figure that a solo Christmas is a good time to experiment with one for the first time, and leftovers can easily be used or frozen.
I hate my kitchen's oven, and plan to get rid of it soon, for more storage. So the goose will go in the pellet grill on a racked roasting tin.
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Yeah, Pigs in a Blanket is third of a hot dog rolled up in a Pillsbury Crescent Roll! Or a similar sized sausage/dog/hot link of your choosing!
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Tried to make them and was not real successful either time!
...sausage in pastry is simply called a "sausage roll".
(https://i.imgur.com/DFS6BJzh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/gRC4DMCh.jpg)
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I think we should try a UK/US combo. Sausage, wrapped in bacon, wrapped in croissant pastry.
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When I grew up, pigs in a blanket was bacon inside beef.
Mother would cut a round steak into about 1.5 - 2" lay the bacon on the strips, roll them up, toothpick to hold it together, then bake.
Never knew there were other foods called pigs in a blanket until years later...
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I know the menu will change several times between now and January 6, but I need to start somewhere. So here is the first draft:
Appetizers
Pigs in a Blanket
French Onion Soup or Squash Soup
Smoked Salmon Terrine
*Salad (?) In all the things I have read about traditional English dinners, I have not seen anything about salads. I am good without it, but it kind of seems like we should have something.
*Dinner Rolls (?) If I do stuffing and Yorkshire pudding, would rolls be needed?
Main Dishes
Roasted Top Sirloin
Turkey
Sides
Yorkshire Pudding
Stuffing
Potatoes
Carrots and Parsnips
Brussel Sprouts
Desserts
Flaming English Pudding
Mincemeat Pie
Yule Log
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I don't think dinner rolls are needed and I don't think a salad is needed especially with both appetizers and soup and your side veggies. A Buche de Noel!!! Fabulous! Are you making from scratch?
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I don't think dinner rolls are needed and I don't think a salad is needed especially with both appetizers and soup and your side veggies. A Buche de Noel!!! Fabulous! Are you making from scratch?
If I talk nicely to my wife, I am thinking she will do it. She has been known to make them in the past! When I asked her if she might be up for it, she said something along the lines of: That's not till next year, I'm not thinking about that now!
I will probably be on my own with the English pudding and the mince meat, she is not a big fan.
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Salad with a Christmas meal isn't something I've experienced. I wouldn't bother, but no worries if it is something you wanted.
This is a side that I have done a few times that I really like. It provides some acid on the plate to cut through the richness of everything else.
Christmas Cabbage (red cabbage with cranberries):
https://www.foodadventure.org.uk/wordpress/2019/12/25/christmas-cabbage/
This was my Christmas last year:
https://www.foodadventure.org.uk/wordpress/2020/12/27/christmas/
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Now that Christmas is all most over (still have a few stops to make), it is time to redirect my attention to the Epiphany dinner. I am starting to make some menu tweaks so it will be a little easier to manage. In past years we were able to put the kids to work on appetizers and other assorted jobs. However, kids grow up and we are without their help this time around. A lot of food will be made off site, so that is also part of the consideration. Timing will be crucial. Still not sure how many people are attending. RSVPs have been a bit slow coming in.
Appetizers
Pigs in a Blanket - Bacon and sausage
French Onion Soup or Butternut Squash Soup (it will require less fuss than French Onion)
Smoked Salmon Terrine
Salad (?)
Dinner Rolls (?)
Main Dishes
Roasted Top Sirloin
Turkey
Sides
Yorkshire Pudding – After looking at it closer, I will probably make it as popovers in muffin tins.
Stuffing – For all practical purposes it came down to either stuffing or YS pudding.
Potatoes - Mashed
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Honey Glaze
Brussel Sprouts
Turkey Gravy – I would prefer beef gravy, but with the top sirloin there probably won’t be a lot of drippings and they will be used for the YS pudding.
Desserts
Flaming English Pudding
Mincemeat Pie – filled cookies
Yule Log
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Looks like a great final menu. Are you having wassail?
This was the song that our madrigals sang as the flaming wassail bowl was paraded through the hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6HZVch7t_8
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I'd have a tough time getting beyond the Pigs In A Blanket. ;D :pig:
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Looks like a great final menu. Are you having wassail?
This was the song that our madrigals sang as the flaming wassail bowl was paraded through the hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6HZVch7t_8
Loved the song!
Depending on the weather and the cooperation of a couple of friends, I would like to have a wassail and hot chocolate station set up outside around a fire pit with carolers. If the weather is bad, we will do it inside (minus the fire)! Odds are good we will be inside!
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That sounds lovely! Hope the weather cooperates.
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I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.
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I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.
Might not help you, but for the fun of information: "Aunt Bessies" (https://www.auntbessies.co.uk/) is a brand of frozen Yorkshire pudding that has become very popular in the UK. So frozen Yorkies is a thing, certainly. I don't know of anyone who has frozen their own, although I reckon it probably isn't complicated.
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And today I learned something I didn't know. Before launching the Aunt Bessies brand in retail, the company behind the brand has been supplying frozen yorkshires to Butlins (major chain of holiday camps) since the 1970s.
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I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.
Might not help you, but for the fun of information: "Aunt Bessies" (https://www.auntbessies.co.uk/) is a brand of frozen Yorkshire pudding that has become very popular in the UK. So frozen Yorkies is a thing, certainly. I don't know of anyone who has frozen their own, although I reckon it probably isn't complicated.
Thank you Chris. I think this at least calls for an experiment. My kids are coming for Christmas dinner this weekend. I will make some up ahead of time and see how they hold up.
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This may help.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/freezer-yorkies
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Thanks for the link Chris. I tried an experiment over the weekend. I made Yorkshire pudding popovers ahead of time for a Christmas celebration at my sister's house. I did not freeze them. I reheated them uncovered in her oven. It seemed to work OK. They got a bit crispy, but it didn't make a big difference overall. I am thinking I can make them on Wednesday and be good for Thursday.
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They look excellent! :)
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They really do look very good you have to puff part down perfect!
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Let the fun and games begin. The party is tomorrow, here is the game plan as it stands as of 1 p.m. on Epiphany Eve. I am sure there will be plenty of changes on the fly!
I decided to go with turkey breasts instead of a whole turkey. I like the dark meat, but when all is said and done the breasts are a lot easier to deal with. Besides, if you put enough gravy on it, it is hard to tell the difference! The turkey is currently in a brine, and I will smoke it later tonight. The plan is to reheat it on a rack in steam table pan with broth on the bottom, to keep it moist.
This morning I grilled the salmon for the terrine and hopefully have that good to assemble later this evening while the turkey is cooking.
Getting ready to make the butternut squash soup. While that is simmering, I will bake the popovers.
Yorkshire pudding batter is good to go. On New Years I did a prime rib and saved the fat that I trimmed off before smoking it. Made tallow out of the fat and will use that for the popovers.
I will assemble the Pigs in a Blanket today and bake them off tomorrow afternoon.
I plan on putting the beef on in the morning. Hope to have it done around 1 p.m. and will place it in a Cambro/cooler until it is time to slice it.
We are doing the party at the veteran’s facility where I did the Italian beef for the Army/Navy game. We spent a few hours yesterday getting things set up there and it is starting to come together!
Given the weather forecast, we will be doing our wassailing inside instead of around the fire.
Figgy pudding is done! My wife baked it yesterday. If nothing else turns out, at least we will have that!!
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Sounds like all is going like a military operation JD! Good job!!
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Going to be a lot of lucky and well fed folks!
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Why is it that when you think you have things nicely timed out, it takes literally twice as long to accomplish? Peeling butternut squash with a potato peeler looked so easy on YouTube. I had chunks flying all over. Cutting the carrots and parsnips was also a chore. With weather in the teens it took longer than expected to smoke the turkey. However, I think things should be back on track today.
Squash for soup
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Carrots and parsnips
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Calm before the storm!
Here is a great party hosting tip: When you pour the hot chocolate into the cambro make sure the spigot is closed!
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Beef!
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Pengins are not really a British tradition but they are fun.
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Wassailing inside on the big screen!
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A few more pictures:
Beef
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The squash soup was a big hit. It surprised me that it was about the same consistency as split pea soup.
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Pigs in a Blanket
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Desserts
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Mince meat pies
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Place settings
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Wow, everything looks sooo delicious!!! And your table settings and decorations are lovely. Folks must have felt pretty special!! And Mom has to be smiling to see her pudding molds not only used, but also an actual flaming pudding!!! Well done JD :clap:
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Absolutely spectacular. That's a lot of work!