Christmas food photo-blog

Lasagna with the fresh mooutz!

The star of the show!

Corn pudding and balsamic rosemary acorn squash

Top row: Panchetta brussel sprouts with golden rasins, tarragon string beans, breaded and baked cauliflower, potato crips Bottom: Blood orange and fennel salad, sweet potatoes and walnuts

 

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Eleven Vegetables Piping

What seemed like the 12 days of Christmas with all the prepping and organizing was wildly successful in the end.  We had lists, timelines broken up by day and ‘In the Oven.’  Thanks to my account management skills were we able to work right up until our guests arrived at 3:00 on Christmas Day.  It was literally ‘Utensils down Hands Up’ when that doorbell rang.  My carmelized onion tart just managed to slide into the oven in time.

Every year we have our staple Italian antipasto to start things off which for all the new comers can prove quite deadly if you don’t pace yourself.  Second course is the infamous Lasagna followed by two meats and the vegetable showcase.  This year there were eleven!

Mixed Root Vegetables

Thyme Mushrooms

Breaded cauliflower

Butternut Squash with dried cranberries

Corn Pudding

Potato Crisp (a new favorite, russet potatoes cut thin arranged like a ratatouli with shalots and thyme springs)

Bourbon Sweet Potatoes

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto

Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and golden raisins

Apricot, radicchio and spinach salad with goat cheese

Broccolini with homemade lemon breadcrumbs

For the meat, we had a filet mignon with a horseradish Dijon mustard herb mixture, and pork stuffed with dried mix fruits and chesnuts.

And of course this massive feast would not be complete without freshly stuffed cannoli’s, sfogliatelle, tiramisu, pistachio gelato, an assortment of pies, italian cookies, Aunt Laura’s famous ambrosia, and my new coconut rice pudding.

We had enough food to feed our guests a second time around the  next day and then some!

I have to say my right arm has toned up nicely from all the chopping, peeling, stirring and sauteing.  Work-out while you eat!