10 Fantastic Christmas Recipes

24 Jun 2010 - Tags:

Christmas is just around the corner and most housewives must have one question in mind that is what to cook for Christmas lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks. We have compiled for you 10 tried and tested fantastic Christmas recipes that will truly transform your family Christmas get together into a truly special occasion. These are some of our delicious Christmas recipes for you to try for this 25th of December.

1. Christmas Plum Cake

A must have dessert for this festive festival. Once you try it you will be making it year after year!
Ingredients; 250 grams flour (maida), 220 grams sugar, 4 eggs, 120 grams butter, 1 tsp. baking powder, 360 grams raisins, 100 ml rum, few drops of vanilla essence, 150 grams lemon peel, 50 grams walnuts, 30 grams crystallized cherries
Method; To start with grease the cake container and sprinkle a little flour on the surface, then place a sheet of paraffin paper on the bottom. Cut the cherries, walnuts and lemon peel into small pieces and submerge them along with the raisins in the rum. Also, Cream the butter and sugar along with the vanilla essence. Add in the eggs slowly mixing all the while. Fold in the flour and baking powder together and mix in the rum with all the ingredients soaked in it. Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake at 160° C for about 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Apple Caramel

Ingredients; 1 table spoon corn flour, 1 cup milk, 2 peeled & grated apples, few drops of lemon juice, 2 eggs, 2 table spoon sugar, 1 table spoon Orange marmalade, 2 biscuits, 100 grams Shelled & Sliced Walnuts, 50 grams Sliced Cherries, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder.
Method; Start with mixing corn flour with milk, forming a smooth paste and bringing it to a boil. Keep aside it aside for a few minutes. Add lemon juice to the apples. Stir over low heat for about 10 minutes. Side by side beat the eggs with sugar, marmalade and Marie biscuits. Mix walnuts and cherries, reserving a little for later use. Mix the apples, egg-biscuit mixture and walnut-cherry mixture together. Divide it into two portions. Now, pour one portion into a caramelized pan and steam for 10 minutes. Add cocoa mixture to the remaining portion and pour it gently over the steamed pudding. Steam for 15 minutes more or till done. Invert the dessert onto a serving dish. Decorate with the cherries and walnut kept aside. Serve chilled.

3. Christmas Soup Method

Ingredients; 1 small onion, ½ cup chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon Coriander, 1 tablespoon Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon pepper, 1 tablespoon curry masala, 2 tablespoon oil
Method; First, slice the chicken into small pieces. Then, Grind the ginger, coriander, cumin seeds, and pepper, curry masala and curry leaves together in a bowl. Mix it with the chicken pieces and salt. Cook this with some water. When it is done, squeeze out the chicken pieces and filter the soup. Sauté the sliced onion in oil and add the soup into it.

4. Christmas Apple Pie

Ingredients; 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 3 tablespoon flour, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 8 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced
Method; First, preheat oven to 425 degrees F or 220 degrees C. Now, Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Then, add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a latticework of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

5. Banana Sour Cream Bread

Ingredients; 1/4 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 3/4 cup butter, 3 cups white sugar, 3 eggs, 6 ripe bananas mashed, 1 container or (16 ounce) sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons baking soda, 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, cup chopped walnuts
Method; Start with preheating oven to 300 degrees F or 150 degrees C. Stir together 1/4-cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl. Then, dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Churn butter and 3 cups sugar together in another bowl. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Finally bake for 1 hour and voila banana sour cream bread is ready to be served.

6. Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients; 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup butter, softened, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 egg, beaten, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons milk, 40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Method; Start with preheating oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C. Sift together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl keep it aside. Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into a un greased mini muffin pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

7. Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients; 1 pound sweet potato, 1/2 cup butter, softened, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Method; Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Then, run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin. Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth. Pour this filling into an unbaked piecrust. Bake at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for 55 to 60 minutes. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then sink down as it cools.

8. Roasted turkey with stuffing

Ingredients; 4.5 kg turkey, 50g butter, softened, 1 onion, peeled and quartered, 1 lemon, quartered, 2 bay leaves, Fresh thyme sprigs to garnish, Salt and freshly milled black pepper
Method; Prepare the stuffing on Christmas Eve; remove the giblets from the turkey cavity.
Preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F. For stuffing the turkey, loosen the skin with your hands and smear the flesh with butter. Now, Pack the stuffing into the neck of the turkey. Press it gently to make a nice rounded end. Tuck the skin flap under the turkey and secure with a cocktail stick. Then, place bay leaves, lemon and onion in the turkey body cavity. Any leftover stuffing can be placed in the body cavity. This is perfectly safe if the stuffing is at room temperature before it goes in. Then, season with salt and pepper and place in a large roasting tin. Pour 300ml of water to keep it moist during cooking. Wrap the turkey loosely in foil, so that the turkey is encased.

Roast the turkey for 2 hours 30 minutes. Take out of the oven, remove all foil and turn up the heat to 200°C or 400°F. Scatter some fresh thyme sprigs and return to oven for 45 minutes. To check if it’s done, pierce the thickest part of the bird with a skewer. If the juices run clear, it’s ready, if they are pink, the turkey needs further cooking. Transfer to serving plate and cover with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes before you carve it. This allows the juices to run back into the joint, making it succulent and tender.

9. Christmas Rice

Ingredients; 250 grams fish pieces (skin less), 200 gm Shelled shrimps, 2 Egg, 2 cup Half cooked rice, 2 medium size Onions (chopped), 2 tablespoon masala powder, 100 gm Fresh green peas, 3 tablespoon Oil, 6-7 Green chilies, Salt to taste.
Method; Heat the oil in pressure cooker; fry the chopped onions, then add salt, shrimps, fish pieces and green peas into it. Add egg to it. Fry it on slow flame and slowly add the rice and the silted chilies. Pressure cook it with 1 cup of water as the rice is half boiled adding masala powder in it. Cook it for 5-10 minutes and the Christmas rice is ready to serve.

10. Crab fondue

Ingredients; 18 ounces Cream Cheese, 1/2 cup Mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Mustard oil, 2 tablespoon Powdered Sugar, 1/2 tablespoon Garlic Powder, 1-2 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning, 1/2 cup Dry White Wine, 1-2 tablespoon Lemon Juice, 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest, l pound Lump Crab Meat (Fresh Or Canned), 1/4 cup Green Onion Leaves (Chopped), Day-old French Or Italian Loaf Bread
Method; Start with, heating the cream cheese, mayonnaise, powdered sugar, garlic powder, Old Bay, lemon zest, and mustard together in a large bowl on a low flame. Completely melt the cheese. Then, add wine and lemon juice according to taste and slowly stir. Add the crabmeat and onion leaves and stir slowly. Pour it into a fondue pot. Serve with bread cubes for dipping.

Now celebrate your Christmas dinner or lunch with these hassle-free recipes. These seasonal recipes create wonderful holiday dishes for your friends and family. Merry Christmas to everyone!

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