Christmas at the Garrene's 2015

I am reposting my usual Holiday dishes but this year I will not be cooking, in fact, there hasn't been much cooking going on around here for several weeks. We have finally decided to remodel our kitchen. This has been a huge undertaking and we are now in the home stretch. Cabinets are being installed as I write. Hopefully I will have some great photos to post soon. Happy Holidays!!

This has to be my favorite time of the year, hands down. I usually am in charge of dinner on Christmas Eve so I try to keep it simple making much of meal ahead of time. I also try to make Italian food like ravioli's or oso bucco. Christmas day is less hectic with chruch out of the way, we spend a relaxing morning around the tree opening gifts. My parents will stop by for sweet rolls and coffee before heading off to my brother's house. Then everyone will meet back here for dinner. Prime rib is always on the menu with potatoes gratin.
This weekend Bjorn and I are finishing up the decor(inside and out, shopping for gifts and I'm making cookies. The kids come home this in a few days and I want to have as much done as possible. My first grade class is studying Winter Holidays around the world this month. We always conclude the unit by decorating gingerbread cookies. Chris and Noel will usually come to my classroom the last day of school to help my students complete their houses. It's messy but a lot of fun.
Several years ago, I started putting up 2 trees. We have a large one in the living room and a small one in the family room. I wanted to do something special with all the decorations the kids would make each year they were in elementary school. Thus the idea of a small tree was born. I think I enjoy decorating this tree most of all because every year I can take a stroll down memory lane with the kids.

It also turned out to be a nice way to enjoy a tree no matter which room we happened to be in. You can't beat the smell of a fresh pine tree.

Holiday Stratta

On Christmas Morning I usually try to prepare an easy dish that can go in the oven. With the oven doing all the work I can do something else, like enjoy my family. This dish can be mostly prepped the night before minus the apples. A stratta is just another version of bread pudding. It can be sweet or savory depending on your needs.

Serves 8

1 large loaf of french bread, cubed
8 beaten eggs
2 cups 1% milk
1 cup fat free half and half
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 pound turkey or chicken breakfast sausage
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
4 granny smith apples,peeled,cored and cut into cubes

Preheat the oven to 325. Spray large baking dish with cooking spray. Place the cubed bread in the bottom of the dish. Mix the eggs, milk, half and half, maple syrup and nutmeg together and pour it over the bread. Make sure you coat each piece of bread with the mixture. If your sausage is uncooked, squeeze it from its casing and brown it over medium/high heat. Spoon the sausage over the bread mixture. Layer the apples on next, followed by the cheese. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Oven roasting veggies gives them a lovely browned taste that you can't get through steaming. It also takes very little prep and cooking time.

Serves 4



1 bundle of asparagus
1 lemon, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 350. Cut the ends off of the asparagus. Lay it out on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over all and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Gentle toss with your hands to distribute the oil, salt and pepper evenly. Lay the asparagus out in a single layer. Lay the lemon slices over the asparagus and bake for 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

I have brought this to many pot-luck events during the holidays and I always get rave revues. My dad often requests this for Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner. It has just the right balance of chocolate and it is not too sweet. Unlike the Pear Bread Pudding below, this one does not require a water bath.

1 (1 pound loaf) french bread, cubed
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chocolate flavored liqueur
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder( dutch processed is best)
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces of chocolate chips
Whipped Cream

Preheat oven to 325
Lightly grease and 13x9 inch baking dish and place the bread in the dish. In a large bowl combine the sugars and cocoa and mix well. Add the milk, heavy cream, liqueur and vanilla and wisk until well combined. Add the beaten eggs and mix again. Pour the milk and egg custard over the bread in baking dish. Push down all the pieces so that they get a coating of the custard mixture. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Let mixture stand for about 20 minutes to allow the bread time to soak up the egg mixture. Bake for 1 hour or until set and a knife inserted comes out clean.
Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream or chill in the frig.

Sweet Roll Cake with Cinnabon Frosting

I don't know about you but anything I can do to limit my time in the kitchen on the holidays is a priority. I used to spend all of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day cooking only to wonder how I managed to miss out on the day. So now I try to take short cuts where ever possible. I have always made cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning but that took me half the day to complete. This year I'm trying this cake recipe and it looks very promising. I found a recipe for Cinnabon frosting but the amount of butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar bordered on the ridiculous. So I cut the amounts to about 1/4 and had great results. The amount of frosting my recipe made was just the perfect amount for the cake. Happy Holidays everyone!

Serves 12-14
Cake
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 extra large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup(1 stick) butter melted

Topping
1 cup (2 sticks)butter softened
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp cinnamon

Cinnabon Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray. In the bowl of a standing mixer or a large bowl using a hand mixer, place all the cake ingredients. Mix until combined. Pour into the baking pan and spread out evenly. In a medium bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Drop spoonfuls of the topping onto the cake batter and cut in with a knife to get a swirl effect. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool until barely warm. Using a mixer beat the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy. This will take about 12 minutes, so if using a hand mixer get someone to take turns with you. Scoop the frosting onto the barely warm cake. Spread out evenly. Cut the cake in half horizontally then cut into slices vertically.

Scalloped Potatoes

I stumbled on this recipe several years ago and my kids won't let Christmas or Easter go by without this making an appearance on the table. However I need to warn you this dish is not for the faint of heart(literally). They probably have your cholesteral count for an entire year in the one dish. That is why I will only make these twice a year. But they are so worth it!

Cook's Notes- You will need a vegetable slicer or Mandolin for this dish. I have the inexpensive plastic kind. But you need to be very careful when using this because if you get your fingers too close you may be heading to the emergency room. So stop slicing before you get down to the end of whatever you are slicing and you will be fine.
A note on the cornstarch. I have found that different labels of cream and half and half have different fat contents. That will greatly affect how thick the sauce will become. I also noticed that when I began using the slicer that my potatoes were so thin that they cooked a lot faster than the recipe called for and that will affect the sauce's thickness. So have the cornstarch handy if you need it. If your sauce becomes too thick, add more half and half to thin it out and if it is no

t thick enough, add a bit more cornstarch and water. Add a  little at a time until you get the desired thickness. The sauce must come to a boil before the cornstarch will take effect.

Serves 6
1 1/2 to 2 cups each of heavy cream and half and half
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste(1/2 a teaspoon to 1 teaspoon)
1 bay leaf
2 to 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes(6-7 cups  thinly sliced)
1 cup grated gruyere cheese
4 tablespoons butter to dot the top
3 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1/3 cup cold water

Pour 1 1/2 cups of cream and half and half into a 3 quart saucepan. Stir in garlic, salt and pepper and bay leaf. Add the potates. Once all are in, top off the potatoes with more cream and half and half until covered by 1/2 inch. Bring to just below a simmer and maintain this until the potatoes are tender. Check frequently and stiring to assure that the potatoes don't boil and that they don't stick to the bottom.
The cream mixture should have thickened. If it has not, add the corn starch that has been dissolved in cold water. Add slowly while you are stirring. Turn up the heat and let the mixture come to a boil. until mixture thickens.  When tender, pour into a greased 3-4 quart cassarole. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Uncover, spread cheese over top, dot with butter and bake for  20 minutes at 425 until hot and bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Crown Roast of Pork

We usually have prime rib on Christmas but this year I wanted to return to my husband's Norwegian roots and serve a pork roast. I chose a crown roast because it is the easiest to carve and serve. Outside of the up front prep, the oven does the majority of the work.

Serves 8-12

6-8 pound crown roast of pork
7 cloves garlic
2 fennel bulbs, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of celery, cut into chunks
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp dry thyme
2 cups chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 450. Scatter the onion, carrots, fennel, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaf and 4 cloves of garlic over the bottom of a large roasting pan.Toss them with a small amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the roasting rack over the veggies and put the roast on the rack. Grate the remaining garlic into the olive oil and brush it over the roast both inside and out. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Finish the dried thyme. Cap the top of each rib bone with a bit of foil to prevent burning. Place the roast in the middle of your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350. Continue roasting about 20 minutes per pound until the roast reaches an internal temp of 140. The last 30 minutes of roasting time, add the chicken stock to the bottom of the pan and finish the roast. This will help deglaze the pan for you.
Remove the roast from the oven and immediately cover it with foil. Let it rest for about 20 minutes. Remove the roast from the pan. Remove the foil caps. Cut the string that is holding the roast together and discard. Using a sharp knife, cut the roast apart. Slicing between the ribs. Make the gravy.

2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
pan drippings
3 tbsp corn starch mixed in a half cup of cold water

Strain the veggies and fat from the pan drippings. Place the drippings in a sauce pot. Add the sherry or wine, vinegar and sugar. Bring it to a boil, adjusting seasoning if necessary. Add the corn starch mixture, stirring constantly. Let the gravy return to a boil to allow it to thicken. Serve

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Who doesn't love a good bowl of chicken soup? This will please adults and kids alike. Add a touch of lemon juice at the end. It brightens the whole dish and really brings out the flavors of the chicken and veggies. Soup doesn't have to cook all day to be delicious. I find that a good quality stock from the market is just as good as homemade. I use Kitchen Basics boxed stocks for all my soups and savory dishes.

Serves 10-12

4 cups of cooked chicken diced(you can use a rotisserie chicken or poached boneless, skinless breasts and thighs for this)
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced carrots
2 large onions, minced
1 clove of garlic, smashed and left whole
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
3 cups cooked wild rice or wild rice blend
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 large lemon

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large stock pot. Add the onion, carrots,garlic and celery. Cook over medium/high heat until veggies begin to soften. Add the cooked chicken, stock and wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the thyme and parsley. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the veggies are cooked through. Add the rice and the lemon juice. Serve