Maria Finds

It’s two days before Christmas. Gift shopping done, presents are being wrapped, calls are made, greetings cards start arriving, carolers start knocking.

But if you haven’t decided on that special Christmas dinner, I would like to share with you my all-time favorites for entertaining the family. Simple meals to take away the frazzle of cooking during the holidays.

Garlic Studded Pot Roast

Boneless chuck (beef roast or you can substitute with pork loin)
10 to 12 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut lengthwise
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
water

Using a small paring knife, make slits all around your meat, deep enough to fit those garlic slices. Using your fingers, insert garlic cloves as deep as you can working your way so that the meat is evenly covered. Next, season your meat on all sides with a mixture of salt and pepper.

Heat up a dutch oven (if you don’t have one, a seasoned skillet or non-stick pot would do if that’s handy) pour oil and when it’s very hot, use meat fork to add the meat. Sear on all sides. Some bits of meat will stick to the bottom but that’s okay, it actually adds to the flavor of your dish. When your meat is brown on all sides, add water and stir so that the bits and pieces stuck to the bottom of the pan becomes loose. The rule is, there should always be an inch of water in the pot during cooking.

Cover your dutch oven and reduce heat to low or medium low and let the roast cook for approximately 2 to 3 hours, turning the roast two to three times during cooking.

When the roast is tender, transfer to a serving dish and either slice or pull roast beef onto plates. Reduce pan juice to about half and pour over the roast or to make gravy.

Spinach

This spinach recipe can be made as a side dish, a spinach pie filling or a twist on the Greek spanakopita. I adapted this recipe from Emeril Lagasse’s spinach pie.

1 teaspoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped bacon
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 pounds spinach, rinsed, blanched, and finely chopped (substitute with frozen chopped spinach)
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large pan and add bacon. Cook until bacon is a bit on the crispy side. Then add onions, saute for about two minutes then add garlic. Add spinach, salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Reove from heat and add beaten egg and parmesan cheese, mix well.

To make it as a pie filling, let it cool first. You can use a Pillsbury flaky crust as a base or you can use sheets of phyllo dough, about six to eight sheets on top and bottom. Brush each sheet with melted butter as you lay them on the baking pan then pour spinach filling and cover with more buttered phyllo dough. Bake at 400F until phyllo dough is golden brown about 20 to 40 minutes depending on your oven.

To make a spinach triangle, lay out three phyloo dough on top of each other and brush with melted butter. With a pizza cutter, cut the dough in three. Place a tablespoon full of spinach filling on one end of a phyllo strip and fold it in a triangle. Place on lined cookie sheets and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Baked Chicken in Beer

You will need one whole chicken, a can of beer and a half a stick of butter, melted.

Clean chicken and pat dry. Open a can of beer (no, bottled beer deinitely won’t do) and in a deep baking pan, insert the can of beer in the chicken in a way that the chicken is “sitting” on the can of beer. (don’t let the beer spill!) brush chicken skin with melted butter and bake at 400F for an hour or until the chicken is golden brown.

Once done, take out of the oven, taking care not to spill any of the beer (or it will leave a “beer-y” taste). remove beer can and slice up the chicken before serving.

The beer helps the chicken develop flavor and keep it  moist and tender.

Simple Mashed Potato

potatoes, diced (with or without skin)
milk
butter
salt and pepper

In a pot, cover diced potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender and easy to smush. Remove from heat and drain excess water. Put back in the pot and mash with a potato masher or your good old fork (requires a little bit more work), while you’re mashing the potato, be sure to add butter, a tablespoon at a time (those stick butters come marked in tablespoon measurements so you can just cut them). The heat from the potato will melt the butter. Gradually add milk until your mashed potato is of desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Roasted Vegetables

Round up your meal with roasted vegetables. Some ideas include thin carrots, cut up red and yellow bell peppers, cut yellow onions and cherry tomatoes. Toss all these (except the onion, coat it separately) in olive oil and lay out in an ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with rosemary and thyme. Broil until they appear wilted but not dry. You can also grill them if you like.

Fried Apple Pie

this recipe came from Food Network’s Paula Deen. I didn’t alter this recipe at all and they are definitely awesome.

2 tablespoons butter
6 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (8-piece) container refrigerated flaky biscuit dough
2 tablespoons water
Powdered sugar

Directions

Filling: Add the butter to a large saute pan and melt. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

When the filling is cool, roll the biscuits out on a lightly floured surface so that each biscuit forms a 7 to 8-inch circle. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on each biscuit circle. Brush the edges of the circle with water. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-moon shape. Seal by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.

Preheat deep-fryer with oil to 350 degrees F.

Carefully add the pies to the oil, 1 at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies as necessary for even browning, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately.

I hope your Christmas dinner will be filled with joy and laughter! Happy Holidays!

Through years of entertaining I have developed different menu combination for different groups of friends I invite over for a get together. I prefer informal gatherings with simple food. However, informal and simple should not be equated with sloppy and boring.

This Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa or any other holiday festivity you may be observing, jazz up your table with a few new ideas.

Dished Up. In our mom’s generation, everything matched. From the soup tureen to the salad plate to the toothpick holder. Unless you’re holding a formal sit-down dinner, you can definitely veer away from this scenario.

Use colorful serving dishes to serve up food. Colored serverware adds oomph to your food’s appeal specially those blah-colored dishes like mashed potato, pasta slaad or rice or plain food like chips. Colored serving dishes also enhances the hues of stews and sauced-up food. Adding visual appeal to otherwise simple food makes them extra appetizing. The need to make perfect garnish or Martha Stewart-esque grand presentation is not needed when you use your serving plates and bowls as the backdrop for your food.

Add Shape. There is no rule on using only round shaped vessels to dish up your food so why stick to it? Use oddly-shaped platters and bowls to create an interesting presentation and stir up some compliments.

Edible Arrangements. Give your fruit basket a twist by ordering an edible arrangements fruit basket. Edible Arrangements, the company has been delivering fruit baskets since 1999. Started in East Haven Connecticut, this company now has over 870 stores worldwide and offers ordering option via in-store, phone or online.

Each stunning bouquet contains shaped premium fresh fruits which can be complemented with chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, apples and pineapple daisies. Grace your table with one of these arrangements and it will certainly be a conversation starter or give this as a gift to one of your friends. Visit ediblearrangements.com to see if they are available in your area.