christmas dinner

this year I wanted to make something interesting and different for Christmas dinner.
I decided on pheasant.  I have never roasted pheasant before and it was an interesting experiment.  They took a bit longer than most internet recipes said it would to cook through.  But they were delicious and flavorful.
We were having Christmas dinner at my sister's rented house near their university so space was a little limited, and lacking a dishwasher - so we ate off Christmas paper plates and enjoyed ourselves a very lovely holiday dinner and then opened presents.
I got a Doctor Who pen, Top Gear t-shirt, and Hollister sweats that I bought for myself.
Mostly though I received donations for my trip to Europe this summer.

I listed everything I made - except green beans....because all I did was steam those and put butter, salt and pepper on them.
and because I didn't take photos, I honestly can't recall what I made for dessert.

Roasted Pheasant
pheasant is a very lean game bird with low fat(although one of my birds seemed to have quite a few yucky fat deposits) so when roasting in hopes that they won't dry out they are often covered in bacon, and since bacon makes everything better - that is exactly what I did.
3 pheasants, gizzards etc removed
1 orange
fresh thyme
chopped onion
rough chopped carrot
bacon to cover(I bought a whole pound but didn't use it all)

slice and juice the orange, then cute again and divide the rind equally between the birds, stuff them into the cavities with sprigs of thyme, onion and carrot. lay the bacon all over the bird, cutting it to fit everywhere.
roast breast side up at 500F 20min, remove the bacon strips and cook for another 40-50min until the juices run clear. Be careful not to overcook because they are much leaner and drier than other birds.

Roasted Ham with Grapefruit Brown Sugar Glaze
since we were already having pheasant I found the smallest ham that I could.  My Dad was a little wary of just having pheasant(doesn't like change or experimentation too much) so to humor him and my Mom I did a Christmas ham(ham is more common in the US for Christmas than Turkey, as we had Turkey only a few weeks prior at Thanksgiving and have been eating leftover turkey sandwiches ever since).
My ham, like most bought at a typical grocer around Christmas was already fully cooked, so I just needed to heat it and glaze it - I decided to heat it very slowly(mostly at 200F)with whole grapefruit slices to really infuse the flavor. If you have a pot roast pan, this is the best way - or a slow cooker large enough.  I had neither so I covered ham with a tall stock pot in a pyrex baking dish placed on a half sheet.
1 cup firmly pack brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/8 tsp cinnamon
5 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons water
mix altogether, drizzle on the ham with maybe an hour left, cover again
drizzle and baste the ham again with 15min left and uncover, turn up the heat to 350 and the last 5min turn on the broiler to make the glaze nice and crisp

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

my Dad loves brussel sprouts, and if you haven't had a fried or roasted sprout - these are not your mother's boiled mushy mess.
1-2lbs fresh brussel sprouts
fresh rosemary chopped
olive oil
salt and white pepper
wash, trim and halve the sprouts.
toss on a half sheet pan with olive oil and seasonings
roast at 375 stirring occasionally for 20min or so - until they start to get crispy and caramelized.

Rosemary and Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
potato mash is a must for any great American holiday - Christmas is no exception.  Since I was home in the States I was able to use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, the ultimate device for fluffy lovely mashed potatoes.

2 whole heads of garlic, roasted in the oven - low heat and slow(with the ham)
5lbs of Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped and boiled in salted water until tender and flaky
finely chopped fresh rosemary, quite a bit - maybe 2 Tablespoons worth
lite Sour Cream
butter
salt

drain and dump the potatoes in the drum of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
add the softened roasted garlic to be mashed in
add a good 2 tablespoons of butter and about a cup of sour cream
once the potatoes are a nice creamy consistency, toss the rosemary in and salt to taste. server immediately.

the week before Christmas

The week leading up to Christmas, I spent time with people I love.  My family, my friends.  That week I spent the better part of two days with the Young family of Evan, Holly, Kyle and Aiden.  I made them some dinner and we went to the Utah Museum of Natural History.  As many of my friends know, I LOVE dinosaurs! I also love museums, so spending time at this museum with my good friends was a super special experience.
As we slowly made our way through the museum and the little Young boys explored and were distracted, I thought of how blessed I am.  I have friends that whenever I see them, it's like no time has passed, although it really has, it reminds me of my parents and how they are with their really close friends Alain and Donna Balmanno, more on them later :)
The museum proved a wonderful distraction and escape from the cold winter outside and we had a great time discovering the exhibits and dismantling and reassembling the interactive displays especially for curious and inquiring minds.  Kyle asked various questions that we would struggle to answer appropriately, we asked each other questions about the origins and age of the universe.
Anyways, I'm a sucker for museums and this was a great one.  I purchased the required magnets and mug at the end - and found a STEAL of a book - a signed first edition of Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman for half price at the gift shop.   I bought it for my Dad for Christmas.

I made dinner later that night for Holly and Evan and their boys.
Kyle and Aiden(Holly and Evan's boys) have diet restrictions; Kyle, no dairy and Aiden, no dairy or gluten.  This limited me significantly in terms of what to make, but no fear. I figured something simple out.




Wild Rice pilaf with Caramelized Onions and Red Wine Sausage
1 pound or 500g Lundberg Mixed American Rice Pilaf (soak in water for a few hours ahead of time to speed up cooking)
Olive Oil
one large white onion
high quality sausage fresh sausage(not fully cooked already) 1lb or 500g (I used this one)
dry red wine - enough for poaching the sausage and deglazing the pan - 2 cups or so

set the rice to cook in the rice cooker or on the stove(2 parts water to 1 part rice), salt the water.
poach the sausages in water with a healthy splash of red wine and a pinch of salt.
don't boil, just simmer until cooked through and the casings are solid, remove and let cool, after they are cool slice the sausage and set aside
halve the onion and slice, saute in a skillet with olive oil
cook on medium temperature until the onions start to caramelize , then add the sausage to brown and crisp a bit on the edges - add a splash of red wine to deglaze the pan and add some flavor to the onions
when the rice is done, it can be tossed in the frying pan and stir fried a bit to gather some of the flavor from the sausage and onions or it can served with the sausage and onions on the side
it is also good served with soy sour cream