Christmas Meal Help!!?

Question

I need to make a Christmas themed cook for my Home Economics coursework. I have 2 hours and I am required to serve 4 people a main course accompaniment and dessert. I really need some ideas and recipes. I don’t want to make turkey as it may take too long. Please leave ideas and recipes if possible. Thank-You!

Answer 1

Here are some ideas for recipes that should go together quickly without too much prep time. The dessert can be made while the other dishes are baking. These are not original recipes, but gathered from various sites. I decided to go with the baked ham, as it is another traditional Christmas main course but doesn't take as long as turkey.



Menu:

Main Course: Baked Ham with Glazed Vegetables

Accompaniment: Green Bean Casserole (a favorite)

Dessert: Trifle



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Baked Ham with Glazed Vegetables



1 c. apricot nectar

1 c. dried apricot halves

1 c. Wish-bone deluxe French dressing

1/4 c. honey

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. sliced almonds (optional)

1 (5 to 6 lb.) fully cooked ham butt end with bone

2 lbs. sweet potatoes or yams, peeled, cut into lg. chunks

1 lb. pearl onions, peeled



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.



In medium saucepan, bring nectar to a boil. Add apricots, then remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.



Stir in dressing, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, then almonds.



On aluminum-foil roasting pan, place ham. With knife, score (lightly cut) fat in diamond pattern.



Arrange potatoes and onions around ham. Spoon dressing mixture over ham and vegetables.



Loosely cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and bake, turning vegetables and basting occasionally, one hour or until ham is golden and vegetables are tender.



Makes about 10 servings.

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Green Bean Casserole

From: Campbell's Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6



Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup OR Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. soy sauce

Dash ground black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions



Directions:

MIX soup, milk, soy, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in 1 1/2-qt. casserole.



BAKE at 350°F-375°F for 25 min. or until hot.



STIR . Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 5 min.



TIP: Use 1 bag (16 to 20 oz.) frozen green beans, 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) frozen green beans, 2 cans (about 16 oz. each) green beans or about 1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans for this recipe.



For a change of pace, substitute 4 cups cooked broccoli flowerets for the green beans.



For a creative twist, stir in 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese with soup. Omit soy sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup additional Cheddar cheese when adding the remaining onions.



For a festive touch, stir in 1/4 cup chopped red pepper with soup.



For a heartier mushroom flavor, substitute Campbell's® Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup for Cream of Mushroom Soup. Omit soy sauce. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped red pepper with green beans.



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Dessert: Trifle



(A trifle is a layered dessert of cake, pudding, and topping, displayed in a trifle bowl or a deep glass bowl.) Prepare vanilla pudding according to package directions. Cut pound cake into 1" cubes. Layer 1/3 whipped topping, 1/2 cake cubes, 1/2 pudding, sliced strawberries, 1/3 whipped topping, remainder of cake cubes and pudding, blueberries and top with remainder of whipped topping.





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Answer 2

Sweet and Tender Pork Tenderloin

2 pork tenderloins--premarinated

Roast the tenderloin in the oven per directions on the package

Baste with warmed Orange Marmalade during the last 30 minutes.



Duchesse Sweet Potatoes

1 lb. sweet potatoes, scrubbed

1 russet potato, scrubbed

2 tbsp. softened unsalted butter

1 lg. whole egg, beaten lightly

1 lg. egg yolk, beaten lightly

Melted unsalted butter for drizzling over the potatoes



Bake the sweet potatoes and the russet potato in a preheated 400 degree oven for 1 hour, or until they are tender. Halve the potatoes lengthwise scrape the flesh from the skins and force it through a ricer or food mill into a large bowl.



Beat in the softened butter, the whole egg, the egg yolk, and salt and pepper to taste and beat the mixture until it is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a tip and pip onto butter baking sheet. The rosettes may be prepared up to this point and covered loosely.



Chill for several hours or overnight. Bake the rosettes in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes if at room temperature, or 25-30 minutes if chilled, or until they are heated through. Put the baking sheet under a preheated broiler about 6 inches from the heat, and broil the rosettes until the tops are browned lightly.



Steamed Asparagus with Sauce Bearnaise or



Lemon Butter Sauce



4 tbsp. butter

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard



Melt butter. Mix with lemon juice and mustard. Pour over hot asparagus or other vegetables such as broccoli.



Sherbet a la Orange

2 Navel Oranges

2 cups of orange sherbert (or other sherbet)

1/2 C.of Ghirardelli dark chocolate morsels



Cut oranges in half. Carefully remove all of the fruit from the skin so that you have formed a cup. Remove some of the meat of the orange from the membrane, reserving any juice that results. Soften the sherbet, fold in the juice, spoon into the orange halves. Put back into freezer for a minimum of four hours or over night. Lay some of the orange pieces on the tops when serving. Drizzle warm chocolate over all and serve immediately.

Answer 3

How about a disassembled Christmas dinner? You have all the components of a standard holiday fare but put it together in a new way. For example a traditional dinner might be Turkey with cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked corn, gravy, side salad, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert.



Disassemble the dishes and you get

Turkey cutlets/fingers

Cranberries

potatoes

corn

custard

pumpkin

lettuce and raw veggies

dressing

bread

and reassemble as



Grilled (or pan sauteed) turkey cutlets marinated in italian dressing.

Warm Potato Salad on a bed of lettuce with croutons and CranberryOrange Vinaigrette

Favorite Veggie with butter and sliced almonds (asparagus, b sprouts, peas.. whatever)

Warm Spiced Pumpkin Custard (basically pumpkin pie with no crust and more egg then usual) with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Answer 4

Here's an English style Christmas Day dinner: hot soup, roast beef (usually a standing rib roast) Yorkshire pudding, broccoli with Hollandaise sauce, and Plum Pudding with hard sauce for dessert. You should be able to find all of these recipes in any good complete cookbook! Happy cooking!

Answer 5

OK so cooking a roast turkey is not feasible as it would take too long. What about garlic mushroom stuffed chicken breasts with streaky bacon wrapped round them?

Just buy the boneless chicken breasts. smooth out the breast meat and then add garlic marinated mushrooms (mushrooms cooked in garlic butter and thinly sliced) inside the breast and secure it with streaky bacon. Cook at gas mark 5 for about 45 Min's to an hour. I usually serve it with a nice Stilton cheese melted on top. But that is up to personal taste. Serve with thinly sliced carrots, courgettes, button sprouts and roasted potatoes sprinkled with fresh rosemary.

For dessert i would make an apple and mincemeat tart with fresh brandy cream.

Answer 6

You're right Turkey wont work but Cornish game hens will . Roast them (lemon slices and basil leaves under the skin) rubbed with a little olive oil and s&p, split them and serve them on a platter on a bed of frisee lettuce garnished with lemon slices and whole cranberries. Whole cranberry sauce, a nice salad with sugared walnuts and maybe a twice baked potato or pilaf. Brownies ala mode with pomegranite seeds would be good and beautiful for dessert.

Answer 7

Buy some ready cooked turkey slices from your local store that sells cooked meats, and make a gravy, lay turkey sliced in a shallow dish and pour gravy over. Either heat theis in a microwave, or warm up in oven.

I bet the teacher will wonder how you managed to do roast Turkey in so short a time!

To accompany this do the usual mash potatoes, roast, brussell sprouts, and carrots, (You can cheat with these too as you can buy them frozen). And there is more nutrition in some frozen food, than the fresh. (as they do not have to travel from country to country) they are frozen at source, so keep all their nutrients.



Serve Mini syrup sponge puddings:



50g margarine

50g caster sugar

2 small eggs beaten

100g s.r flour

2 tbsp warm water

6 heaped tsp golden syrup



Use a tsp of margarine and grease 6 castle pudding moulds (individual pudding basins with steep sides) Cream the remainder wit the caster sugar until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs.



Fold in the flour then add the water to give a soft dropping consistency



Place 1 heaped tsp of golden syrup in the base of each mould, and then divide the sponge mixture between the them. Cover with foil or greaseproof paper.



Tramnsfer the moulds to as steamer and steam for about 40 mins, topping up with boiling water from time to time. Never allow the steamer to boil dry. Turn out and serve.



Variation:

Substitute lemon, lime or orange marmalade for the syrup, if you prefer.

Also. to make chocolate pudding, add 15g of cocoa powder, sifting it into the mixture with the flour.

These can be served with custard or cream.

"Merry xmas". lol

Answer 8

I was about to answer your question -- and then I read the answer from "Barry B.". I can't believe his answer is almost exactly what I was going to tell you. The baked ham would be a terrific Xmas dinner with the green bean casserole with mushrooms and canned fried onions. It is really super. I'm a grandmother, and always looking for shortcuts as I'm starting to slow down a little. This meal is terrific. Barry B. must be a terrific host if he cooks for guests. I'd go with what he says.

Good luck.

Answer 9

Cranberry stuffed turkey or chicken breasts is Christmassy, and seems easy to cook. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/cranberrystuffedturk_65686.shtml



You could replace the wine with chicken or vegetable stock if you're not allowed to use alcohol.



Just have the usual roast potatoes, or you could have Irish champ. Simmer some chopped spring onions in milk and butter, then stir into mashed potatoes with lots of salt and pepper.



For pudding http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/apricotandcaramelpud_73694.shtml



Good luck.

Answer 10

Hey Chef!

Check out www.allrecipes.com. Click on "Holidays" at the top of the page. It gives GREAT advice on how to choose a turkey at the grocery store (according to how many people you are going to serve), how to properly thaw it, and cook it. As well as some great side dishes, that are visually appealing, and delicious. Best of luck to ya!

Answer 11

if you want to do turkey but don't have enough time, try turkey breasts. those will cook up quickly and you can have traditional sides with those.



or try a ham. i mix 1 c brown sugar with 1 tbsp of mustard. coat the ham in that, put some foil around it while it's baking in the oven. it makes a nice easy glaze.



or if you don't want to go traditional...why don't you try making turkey burgers and some sweet potato fries?

Answer 12

Baked Ham Steaks with cranberry/pinapple glaze

twice baked potatoes

Steamed Brocolli/ or medley

Baked apple pie

Answer 13

I always make a nice roast (easy )homemade gravy, cheese pototoes, green vegetable, salad, and some dessert.



Why dont you google menus?

Answer 14

Wild thought actually...... 70's meal :



Prawn cocktails.



Steak with salad and roastiz.



Black Forest Gateau.



Good Luck.xxx

Answer 15

how about a roasting chicken, mashed po's

gravy,dressing,sweet po's,deviled eggs,

vegie, rolls, drink and ice cream for dessert

this is all basic recipes and you can save time by serving ice cream

Answer 16

chicken breasts with streaky bacon latticed over and baked in the oven, quality roast potatoes, stuffing balls, 3 veg (maybe carrots, red cabbage and sprouts)



Sherry trifle for pud, heavy on the sherry, should go down well with the examiner.

Answer 17

Try curried Christmas pudding, don't knock it until you have tried it - fandabadozie

Answer 18

Tell your home Ec teacher that s/he's months too early!!