Catching up from Christmas - Part 5 of 6

December 25

An unexpected surprise! Christmas dinner was supposed to take place at my mother's house and she had planned to do all of the cooking. Let's just say things did not go as planned. Mom contracted the FLU over a week before and although she was fine, she was left with fatigue as usual, so I offered to come over and do the cooking, as did several other family members. The plan was all set - we would each make several dishes so that mom could rest.

Until.....Mother Nature herself showed up two days beforehand with a high wind storm which brought down a tree onto the power lines going into Mom's neighborhood. As none of us wanted to eat in a pitch dark house in sub freezing temperatures outside, we made the wise decision to move the entire Christmas dinner to my house - all 22 people! No problem!

First up, my Homemade Green Bean Casserole. Ever had one made with canned string beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and pre-packaged fried onions? Yeah you will not want to eat that again after trying this one!

I started by sautéing sliced cremini mushrooms in butter and olive oil with Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I cooked until most of the liquid had evaporated and then I added minced garlic and flour and cooked for several minutes.

I added chicken stock to deglaze, and then heavy cream. I let it simmer away until it was thickened and bubbly and I tasted for seasoning.

I trimmed and cut fresh green beans in half, blanched them in boiling salted water, and then plunged into an ice bath. I added them to the mushroom sauce and stirred to combine.

The final step was homemade fried onions and since I already had a pot of canola oil at 350 degrees for the main course, I quick-fried thinly sliced red onion which I had dredged in heavily seasoned flour. It took less than five minutes and this entire dish was ready to go!

I also shredded some potatoes earlier in the day and turned them into Baked Latkes. I let the potatoes sit in a colander so that all of the water could drain and used paper towels to dry them even more. I combined with some diced onions, flour, egg, and dropped spoonfuls onto a preheated and oiled cookie sheet, flattening with a spatula. Back into the 425 degree oven until crispy and golden, flipping halfway. A sprinkling of salt is all that was needed to finish.

I also whipped up a batch of quick Maple Dijon Brussels Sprouts. Roast the sprouts with oil, salt, and pepper, and then brush on the glaze which is a combination of maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and a little olive oil.

The main course was Pickle Brined Fried Chicken. I brined the chicken overnight, and then coated with buttermilk and seasoned flour.

So despite the change in plans AND venue, Christmas dinner was still a huge success!

December 28

Christmas may have been over, but the entertaining and cooking never stop in this house. We had the opportunity to catch up with more friends and their kids since we were unable to see them prior to Christmas. I thought it would be fun to make a sharable appetizer and one of my personal favorites is Queso Fundido. The gooey cheese dip with sautéd vegetables and ground meat makes it irresistible and I order it almost every time I dine in a Mexican restaurant. I would normally use chorizo for this, but chorizo can be spicy so to be on the safe side for the kids, I opted to use ground pork so that I could control the seasoning and spice level.

Once browned, I removed the pork to a paper towel-lined plate and added diced red onion, red, yellow, and jalapeño peppers. I added taco seasoning, cumin, chili powder, Mexican oregano, salt, and black pepper. I added a splash of tequila and allowed the alcohol to cook out. The kitchen smelled amazing at this point! Once the vegetables were cooked, I removed them to a bowl.

To build the dip, I added a layer of cheese (I used Monterey jack, and Mexican cheddar blend), one third of the vegetables, and one third of the pork. I repeated twice using the rest of the cheese, vegetables., and pork.

I baked at 400 degrees until gooey and bubbling. I topped with fresh cilantro and diced tomatoes and served with a big bowl of tortilla chips. I assure you there was none left!

For dinner, I thought it might be fun to make chicken fingers and fries for the kids, but I also wanted to kick up some flavor for the adults so I made Reverse Pretzel Crusted Chicken Tenders. What makes them reverse? Well usually you dip pretzel crusted chicken into honey mustard or ranch dressing, and you dip Buffalo chicken into ranch or blue cheese dressing.

I started by coating the tenders in flour as usual, but instead of beaten egg, I dipped some in honey mustard, and some in ranch dressing. The honey mustard tenders then got coated in crushed honey mustard pretzels and the ranch tenders got coated in crushed Buffalo pretzels.

I also made some plain tenders that I coated in Parmesan and Panko for the kids, but they were just as delicious for the adults too! (Left to right - Parmesan, Buffalo, Honey Mustard tenders.)

Extra honey mustard and ranch on the side is all that was needed. Oh and a big plate of fries with spicy Asian street sauce for those who wanted an extra kick!

A very Merry post Christmas dinner!

One final Christmas post on the way and it is a good one!