Issue Date: December 11, 2005
Holiday entertaining
Maximum feast, minimum fuss
How can you get the holiday meal on the table and have time to relax with family and friends, too? Do a bit of upfront work, and you've got a memorable meal in store.
Anchor dinner with a festive rib roast. For great color and flavor, sear it first in a skillet, then rub the meat all over with minced garlic and rosemary before popping it in the oven. Make sure it comes out juicy, tender and perfectly pink from surface to center by roasting it at a low 250 degrees. To avoid last-minute fussing, make the mushroom sauce from the pan drippings before roasting the beef. At serving time, simply rewarm the sauce.
Creamed spinach, made with the frozen chopped variety, perfectly complements the roast, and it can be made up to two days ahead. Cherry tomatoes take less than 10 minutes to prepare.
You could spend hours fooling with sponge cake, buttercream and meringue mushrooms for a classic bûche de Noël. Or, the night before, you could assemble an equally impressive yule log with chocolate wafers, marmalade and whipped cream, garnished with chocolate "mushrooms" of kisses topped with nonpareils. So enjoy your guests -- dinner's going to be just fine.
Holiday Menu
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No-Bake Chocolate Yule Log with Chocolate Mushrooms
1 pint (16-ounce container) heavy cream
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
5 Tbs. orange-flavored liqueur, such asGrand Marnier or Cointreau, divided
1 Tb. sugar
3/4 cup low-sugar orange marmalade
1 9-ounce box Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
8 nonpareils (or use chocolate stars or small Peppermint Patties)
8 dark chocolate kisses, foil removed
1 6-ounce container raspberries (optional)
Beat cream, cocoa, 3 Tbs. liqueur and sugar to stiff peaks in a large bowl. Set aside. Mix marmalade with 2 Tbs. liqueur in a medium bowl.
Select a platter long and wide enough to fit a 12-inch yule log with two "knots."
1. On flat side of the first wafer, spread a scant teaspoon of marmalade and 1 1/2 tsps. of the cream mixture over entire surface, then top with another wafer, flat side up. Repeat until you have about 3 inches of wafers. Stand stack on its side at a slight angle on the serving platter. Keep adding to log until 16 wafers remain.
2. Stack 8 wafers, also on a slight angle, on each side of the log to form two knots.
3. Spread remaining whipped cream mix over whole log, coating completely, then create "bark" by running fork tines along the log and each knot. Cover gently with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
4. Using a toothpick or ice pick, make a small hole in the bottom of each nonpareil. Stick a chocolate kiss into each hole to form mushrooms.
Decorate log with clusters of mushrooms, and scatter raspberries around the platter. Slice and serve.
Serves 10 to 12
Per serving: 389 calories, 4g protein, 42g carbohydrates, 23g fat (21g saturated), 66mg cholesterol, 3g fiber, 171mg sodium
Build a yule log in 4 simple steps
1 Start creating the log by layering wafers with cream and marmalade. Then turn on its side and keep going.
2 Next, make two "knots" with eight wafers each, and angle them on both sides of the log.
3 Use a flexible spatula to spread cream evenly and thickly over whole log, then use a fork to create "bark."
4 Dig a small hole in the bottom ofeach nonpareil, then insert a kiss.
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Creamed Spinach
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; reserve 1/2 cup liquid
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
Combine milk, spinach liquid and garlic in a 1-quart microwave-safe measuring cup or small bowl covered with a saucer, and microwave (or heat slowly in a medium saucepan) until very hot and steamy. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to soften garlic.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour. Add hot milk mixture all at once, then whisk until smooth. Stir in spinach; cook until sauce is thick and bubbly and spinach is tender but still green, about 5 minutes. (Make-ahead tip: Cool spinach, transfer to a covered container and refrigerate up to 2 days. Rewarm slowly on low heat.) Stir in cheese, nutmeg, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Serves 8
Per serving: 130 calories, 9g protein, 11g carbohydrates, 7g fat (5g saturated), 19mg cholesterol, 4g fiber, 322mg sodium
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Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes
2 Tbs. olive oil,divided
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tb. minced fresh basil
Heat 1 Tb. olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high flame until it just starts to smoke. Add tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté, shaking pan frequently, until tomatoes soften and skins just begin to wrinkle, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and continue to shake the pan until garlic is fragrant. Off heat, stir in the basil and remaining 1 Tb. olive oil, then serve.
Serves 8
Per serving: 48 calories, 0.7g protein, 4g carbohydrates, 4g fat (0.5g saturated),0mg cholesterol, 0.8g fiber, 55mg sodium
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Boneless Prime Rib Rubbed with Garlic & Rosemaryand Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
1 boneless rib-eye roast (about 5 pounds), left at room temperature for 2 hours before cooking
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tb. salt
2 Tbs. ground black pepper (you can grind whole peppercorns in a blender)
8 large garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary, plus 1/2 tsp.for the sauce
2 10-ounce packages baby bella or domestic white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup red wine
1 Tb. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsps. water
Adjust oven rack to center position, and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Rub roast on all sides with oil, salt and pepper. Turn on exhaust fan, add roast to hot skillet, and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer roast to a plate. When cool enough to handle, rub garlic and rosemary all over.
Meanwhile, pour off all but 2 Tbs. of the beef drippings. Add mushrooms to hot skillet and sauté until well browned, about 8 minutes. Mix broth, wine and mustard; add to mushrooms, and simmer to blend flavors and reduce slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour mushroom sauce into a bowl; set aside.
Set a wire rack over the skillet, and set roast on rack (or use a regular roasting pan with a V-rack). Slow-roast in oven 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until meat reaches an internal temperature of 135 degrees for medium-rare or 140 degrees for medium.
Transfer roast to a cutting board, and remove rack from skillet or pan. Pour off excess fat, if any. Set skillet or pan over medium-high heat; return mushroom sauce to pan and heat to a simmer. Add cornstarch and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about a minute.
Carve meat and serve with the sauce.
Serves 8
Per serving: 354 calories, 36g protein,7g carbohydrates, 18g fat (6g saturated), 98mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 1,140mg sodium
For more USA WEEKEND recipes, visit allrecipes.com
Want to add to this holiday meal? Try these previously published Pam Anderson recipes. Pam suggests one of her Creamy Soups or the Smoked Salmon & Watercress Salad as a starter. For a starch, try Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes. Substitute Molten Chocolate Cakes for the yule log.
Pam Anderson is the author of four cookbooks, including the new "Perfect Recipes for Having People Over" (Houghton Mifflin, $35).
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