These were the definite winners for the Christmas cookies, IMO. Really excellent, and I am no fan of chocolate. I messed up the first batch by not soaking the espresso granules, and they were still great, but they were exceptional when done correctly. Definitely one to make next year.
We decided on roast beef tenderloin for Christmas dinner this year, and we were VERY happy with the results. I didn’t do much to it – it stood out on its own for sure. A little compound butter and in it went for what I would say was by far the best Christmas dinner I have ever done. We’re swimming in leftovers, but I’m not complaining. This method came from Chow.
This was a festive side dish to go along with a tenderloin roast for our Christmas dinner. Quick and easy, but it was definitely a hit – my Mom even asked for it at every holiday meal from now on! As much as we like sprouts, I think we can make that happen. 😉 This is a good old Alton Brown recipe.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts have never been my forte (unless grilled or a crockpot), but I’ve had some luck with baked versions. I caught this on some list of Sriracha recipes and decided to give it a try. We liked it a lot, and it was good for a quick weeknight meal. I think next time I might marinate the chicken for a while, just to give it even more depth of flavor. We had this with some sauteed bok choy.
This would really have made a lovely Christmas pie, letting pumpkin or apple shine on Thanksgiving, but I was talked into it…and no regrets, it was a nice pie, worth making again for sure. I think that next time I make it, I will double or triple the crystalized ginger. I used multiple recipes to get to this, and though I waffled on double crust or streusel, I’m very glad I went with the latter…made the pie. 🙂
Cranberry sauce is shockingly easy to make from scratch, and this is my general go-to for it. You will have to adjust orange/sugar/etc. to your taste and as you cook – for example, I find the sugar just right on this as someone who doesn’t have a sweet tooth, but you might like more! This is an easy one to make ahead…one less thing on your plate for the day of.
This is my absolute favorite stuffing recipe, and I don’t know why I’m just now getting around to posting it…I make it every year! Probably pretty much my favorite thing at the Thanksgiving table. This is a Cooking Light recipe from eons ago, and the only thing I ever changed about it was to use all chicken stock instead of half stock/half water. Well, and to change up the sausage…hot Italian is awesome with this, but so are various herb sausages…you really can’t go wrong. I will say to be careful of the moisture level – it’s very dependent on how large a loaf of bread you use, etc. I usually find I only need 2 cups, but you can go up to 3…I also like a slightly crisper stuffing. Can’t say enough good things about this one!
This was a good, solid side dish for a holiday meal. I added both green beans and wax beans for some festive color. Definitely would go to it again for a nice holiday veggie side dish, though too splurgy for our every day. 😉
I’m not much of a chocolate fan, but Shawn is, and this was one he mentioned he’d like for Thanksgiving. I’m glad he did…it was good enough that I enjoyed it as well! Very rich, but not difficult and we all liked it a lot. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe I made with no adjustments. I did use store bought pie crust…the chocolate stole the show so it didn’t much matter. 🙂 It was perfect with some homemade whipped cream.
We try to eat vegetarian once a week, although it doesn’t always work out. But there are so many great options out there, we really should make more of an effort. This was awesome – I got the recipe idea from a curried squash idea from MorningStar Farm’s website, and modified it to make it a little more southwest-themed. Definite make-again.
Om nom nom! 