It’s the holiday season and for most of us, that means spending quality time with our family and friends, but it also means finding scrumptious recipes with which to dazzle them when we all sit down to enjoy dinner. If you’ve been too busy shopping and wrapping or just enjoying the company of your loved ones to find the perfect recipes, London Bay Homes has you covered. Aside from being a Southwest Florida luxury home builder, we also happen to have a few delicious recipes cooking in our luxury kitchens.
SPIRAL-CUT Holiday Ham
Holiday ham is a staple crowd-favorite over the holidays and this recipe from MyRecipes features the traditional cooking method but adds three options for a tasty homemade glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 (8- to 9-lb.) fully cooked, bone-in spiral-cut ham half
- Choice of glaze:
Steps
Preheat oven to 350°. Place ham half, cut side down, in a heavy-duty aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush 1/2 cup of the desired glaze over the ham. Bake, uncovered, on the lowest oven rack for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 140°, basting every 30 minutes with 1/2 cup glaze. Remove from oven, and spoon pan drippings over ham. Let stand for 10 minutes.
Christmas Tortellini and Spinach Soup
Southwest Florida may not be participating in fall or winter this year, but we can always turn up the air conditioner – or wait for those rare cold days – to cook up a delicious vegetarian soup from Taste of Home featuring red and green ingredients for that Christmas feel.
Ingredients
- 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) vegetable broth
- 1 package (9 ounces) of refrigerated cheese tortellini or tortellini of your choice
- 1 can (15 ounces) of white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
- 1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
Steps
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, salt and pepper; return to a simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes longer or until tortellini are tender.
Stir in spinach and basil; cook until spinach is wilted. Top each serving with cheese.
Herb Roasted Turkey with Wild Mushroom Gravy
Turkeys aren’t just for Thanksgiving and Food and Wine’s Herb Roasted Turkey combines our love of butter with a woodsy wild mushroom gravy you’ll want to put on everything.
Ingredients
For the Turkey:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme, plus 4 large sprigs
- 1 tablespoon chopped sage, plus 4 large sprigs
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- One 12- to 14-pound turkey, neck and gizzard reserved
- 1/2 large apple
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch-thick wedges
- 1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 large celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for rubbing
For the Gravy:
- 1 tablespoon small dried porcini pieces
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound golden chanterelles or a mix of cremini and oyster mushrooms, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 3 medium shallots, minced
- Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
Steps
For the Turkey:
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small bowl, beat the butter with the garlic, chopped thyme and chopped sage and season with salt and pepper. Season the turkey inside and out with salt and pepper. Rub two-thirds of the herb butter inside the cavity and under the neck flap. Place the remaining butter in the cavity along with the thyme and sage sprigs. Tuck the wing tips under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Tuck the apple, rounded side out, under the neck flap. Fold the neck skin under the body and secure with a skewer.
Put the onion, carrot, and celery in a large roasting pan. Set the turkey in the pan and add the neck and gizzard. Rub the turkey all over with olive oil. Roast the turkey in the lower third of the oven for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° and continue to roast, basting occasionally, for 2 hours and 35 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer registers 165° when inserted in an inner thigh. Transfer the turkey to a carving board and let rest in a warm place for at least 25 minutes and up to 1 hour.
For the Gravy:
In a small bowl, cover the porcini with 1/4 cup of hot water. Let stand until softened, about 10 minutes. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the chanterelle mushrooms and the shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden brown and tender, about 8 minutes. Lift the porcini from the soaking liquid and add to the skillet. Cover and remove the skillet from the heat.
Set a coarse strainer over a medium bowl. Pour in the juices and vegetables from the roasting pan and press on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Skim the fat off of the juices and reserve 2 tablespoons. In a large saucepan, stir the reserved fat with the flour until smooth; cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually whisk in the strained juices and the stock and bring to a simmer, whisking. Stir in the mushroom mixture and simmer over low heat, whisking often, until no floury taste remains, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.
Feast of the Seven Fishes
We couldn’t cover holiday recipes without mentioning the Feast of the Seven Fishes, but to include all of the recipes encompassing this Italian-style holiday feast would be much too long. We can, however, guide you toward two articles that will tell you everything you need to know to create the perfect Italian Christmas dinner. Bon Appetit breaks down each dish needed and All Recipes provides an abundance of recipes from which to choose.
The Ultimate Braised Brisket
If you’re celebrating Hanukkah this season, you can’t go wrong with Food Network’s Ultimate Braised Brisket. This recipe from Tyler Florence combines all of the delicious ingredients typical of a brisket, as well as a few new items to change it up and add even more flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 (4 pound) beef brisket, first-cut
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- 3 large carrots, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, halved
- 2 celery stalks, cut into chunks
- 1 head garlic, cut in 1/2
- 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, hand-crushed (recommended: San Marzano)
- 3/4 bottle dry red wine
- 1 bay leaves
- 1/4 bunch fresh thyme, leaves only
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves only
- 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
Steps
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Drizzle brisket liberally with olive oil then season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
Place a large Dutch oven or heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Place the brisket in the pot and sear on both sides to form a nice brown crust. Remove from pot and set aside before adding carrots, onion and celery. Brown vegetables, then add the garlic, tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and parsley. Add the brisket back to the pot, cover and roast in the oven for 3 hours until the brisket is fork tender.
Remove the brisket to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes. Strain out the vegetables and pour off some of the excess fat, then pour over the brisket. Slice brisket across the grain and serve over parsnip puree with roasted red onions and garnish with parsley.
Any one of these recipes is sure to draw a few “wows” from the crowd, but if you find that your luxury kitchen is not up to the task, contact London Bay Renovation to create the kitchen of your dreams in time for next year’s holiday gathering.
