Christmas
Dinner Ideas
The holiday meal is probably
the most festive one you’ll prepare
all year a real show stopper!
Can it be spectacular and special
yet simple, too?
Yes, if you select foods that arc
easy to prepare and add your own
special touches.
Do as much of the preparation
ahead of time as possible.
It is possible to entertain ele
gantly and easily if you know a few
tricks.
A boneless ham or a boneless
beef roast are some of the easiest
entrees to cook and serve. Once in
the oven, the roast cooks virtually
unattended. Because it’s boneless,
carving is easy even for the novice.
It needs no preparation except for
perhaps a seasoning mb prior to
roasting.
ZESTY PEPPER RUB FOR
BEEF ROAST
2 teaspoons each cracked black
pepper and dry mustard
'A teaspoon ground allspice
teaspoon red pepper
large garlic clove, crushed
teaspoon vegetable oil
Combine pepper, dry mustard,
allspice, red pepper, and garlic; stir
in oil to form paste. Rub mixture
evenly over surface of beef roast.
Place roast, fat side up, on rack in
open roasting pan. Insert meat
thermometer so bulb is centered in
the thickest part but not resting on
bone or fat. Roast at 32S degrees
for about three hours for a 6-pound
roast.
EASY POTATO SALAD
10 cooked potatoes, diced or
shredded
6 hard-boiled eggs
V* cup celery, chopped
1 small onion
IV4 cups salad dressing
2 tablespoons mustard
2A tablespoons vinegar
VA teaspoon salt
I cup sugar
Put potatoes, eggs, celery, and
onions in bowl. In separate bowl,
mix remaining ingredients.
Sprinkle in celery seed to season.
Stir the ingredients until sugar is
dissolved. Pour over potato mix
ture and mix thoroughly with a
spoon. Chill.
Ringgold Pike Cook
Recipe Topics
If you have recipes for the topics listed below, please share
them with us. We welcome your recipes, but ask that you
include accurate measurements, a complete list of ingre
dients and clear instructions with each recipe you submit.
Send your recipes to Lou Ann Good, Lancaster Farming, P.O.
Box 609, Ephrata, PA 17522. Recipes should reach our office
one week before publishing date.
January
1- Soups & Stews
8- Breakfast Favorites
15- Pasta Dishes
22- One-Dish Dinners
Bonis On The Binge
EGGNOG BERRY TRIFLE
1 small package vanilla pudding
and pie GUing
2 cups dairy eggnog
6 ounces ladyGngers, split
'A cup Amarctto liqueur
1/4 cups sliced fresh
strawberries
IJ4 cups whole fresh or frozen
unsweetened raspberries
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon confectioners’
sugar
'A teaspoon almond extract
Whole fresh strawberries and
raspberries, if desired
Fresh mint, if desired
Prepare pudding according to
package directions using eggnog
in place of milk. Cool. Sprinkle
ladyfingers with Amaretto.
Arrange about half of ladyfingers
on sides and bottom of 8-inch
springform pan. Spread strawber
ries over ladyfingers on bottom of
pan. Spoon on half of the pudding.
Arrange remaining ladyfingers
over pudding. Spread raspberries
over ladyfingers. Layer with
remaining pudding. Refrigerate at
least 4 hours. About 1 hour before
serving, combine whipping cream,
sugar, and almond extract in small
mixer bowl. Whip until stiff peaks
form. Pipe whipped cream through
pastry tube fitted with star tip to
cover top of trifle. Refrigerate. Just
before serving, place trifle on serv
uig plate. Carefully remove sides
of pan. Garnish with fresh straw
berries, raspberries and mint Cut
into wedges and serve. Yield: one
8-inch round dessert.
HAMBALLS
1 pound ground ham
VA cups soft bread crumbs
A teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
'A pound ground pork
1 egg
'A cup brown sugar
Combine meats and crumbs,
egg, and dry mustard. Mix well.
Shape into balls and place in bak
ing dish. Combine sugar and pre
pared mustard. Spread over top of
balls. Dribble with a small amount
of water to keep balls moist while
baking. Bake at 3SO degrees for 45
to S 3 minutes.
Ringgold Cook
Whipped cream rosettes garnish this delicious Eggnog Berry Trifle, easily
assembled from purchased ladyflngers, pudding mix and fresh strawberries and
raspberries. A perfect end to a holiday meal.
FRENCH HOLIDAY
TRUFFLES
'A cup whipping cream
8 ounces semi-sweet baking
chocolate, chopped
'/j cup butter, softened
Unsweetened cocoa or confec
tioners* sugar
Chocolate and vanilla candy
coating, melted
In a 2-quart saucepan, combine
whipping cream and chocolate.
Cook over low heat, stirring occa
sionally, until chocolate melts, 7 to
9 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in butter until melted and
creamy. Cover, refrigerate until
firm, at least 2 hours.
Dust hands with cocoa or con
fectioners’ sugar. Working quick
ly, shape 2 teaspoonsfuls of mix
ture into balls; roll in cocoa or con
fectioners ’ sugar. (Truffle mixture
will be soft. Repeat dusting hands
to make shaping easier to use small
ice cream scoop to form balls).
Refrigerate truffles until Arm, at
least 45 minutes.
To coat truffles, use a spoon or
wooden pick to dip truffles into
melted candy coating; let excess
coating drip off. Place dipped truf
fles on waxed paper until coating is
hard. If desired, to decorate,
drizzle dipped truffles with melted
colored candy coating. Store truf
fles in tightly covered container in
refrigerator. Makes about 2 dozen.
Naomi Becker
Shamokin
CRAN-RASPBERRY MOLD
2 cups boiling water
6-ounce box raspberry Jell-0
16 ounces whole cranberry
sauce
1 cup sour cream
Pour boiling water on Jell-O,
stir until dissolved. Stir in cranber
ry sauce. Refrigerate until partly
jelled. Beat in sour cream. Refrig
erate until firm. Serves 8.
Wanda Yoder
RAISIN CREAM PIE
1 cup raisins
l'/> cups milk
l A cup flour
Vi cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Featured Recipe
First, remove the leg and last two wing Second, slice In a vertical direction
jolnta and make a deep horizontal “base down through the breast, to the hon
our into the breast, over the wing. zontal “base cut. ”
HOW TO STUFF, ROAST, AND CARVE A TURKEY
Stuffing: Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat
dry with paper towels. Lightly spoon some of the stuffing into the neck
cavity. Spoon the stuffing in loosely, do not pack. This leaves room for
the stuffing to expand during roasting. Pull the neck skin over the stuf
fing to the back of the bird.
Lightly spoon some stuffing into the body cavity; do not pack. Tuck
the drumsticks under the band of skin across the tail. If the skin is not
present, tie the legs securely to the tail with string. This helps the bird
hold its shape. Twist the wing tips under the back to hold the neck skin
in place.
Roasting: Place the turkey, breast side up in roasting pan. Brush
with oil. Insert meat thermometer in center of the inside thigh muscle,
making sure bulb does not touch bone. Cover.
Roast in 32S degree oven until thermometer registers 185 degrees,
basting occasionally with juices. Uncover and cut band of skin
between legs for last 45 minutes of roasting. Remove turkey from
oven; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 15 minutes before carving.
Carving: Cutting beautiful slices depends on using a good, sharp,
non-serrated carving knife. Serrated knives tend to tear tender meat,
producing shreds instead of slices
Make sure you let the turkey set for at least 12 minutes after remov
ing from oven. This makes the meat easier to carve.
Start carving by removing the drumsticks and thighs. Next remove
the wings; but only the tip and center sections. Leave the last section of
the wing attached to the breast. This provides a good broad base to
help prevent the bird from tilting when you slice the "breast.'
When carving the turkey breast, start by making a deep horizontal
base cut into the breast, just above the wing bone. Then you can release
nice even slices by cutting in a vertical direction down through the
breast to the base cut
'A teaspoon salt
Stew raisins in a little water.
Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Add
milk and egg yolks. Cook until
thickened. Add stewed raisins,
butter, and vanilla. Pour into baked
pie shell and top with meringue.
(Turn to Pago Bt)
Courteay EdgeLraft f on
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