A Very Special Holiday Dinner

A Christmas in Connecticut 

Elizabeth Lane's Ultimate Christmas Dinner  

Homemade Bouillon

This recipe requires a food processor. 

Ingredients

5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed

7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped

7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped

3.5 ounces / 100 g celery

1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes

3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled

3 medium garlic cloves

9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt

1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped

Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. 

You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.

Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.

Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.

Prep time: 40 min

Roast Goose Bernaise with Walnut Dressing

Now. How to get medium-rare breast with properly done legs and wings? Take the bird apart midstream. The only thing you lose is that “ooh, ahh!” moment of a perfect-looking roast bird. But that bird will not taste perfect, my friends, no matter how lacquered the skin is. If the legs are done properly, the breast will be overcooked. And besides, you’ll cut into the bird in a moment anyway.

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Preparation time: About 2 1/2 hours.

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INGREDIENTS

1 goose, approx. 8 lbs.

Juice of a lemon

Salt and pepper

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

1 head garlic

1/2 cup Madeira wine

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups chicken stock (for gravy)

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Root vegetables to roast with the goose, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, and/or rutabagas, peeled and chopped into large chunks

In general, plan for:

8-10 lb goose for 5-6 people

11-12 lb goose for 6-8 people

METHOD

To start, if the goose has been refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before cooking. Keep it in its plastic wrapping until you are ready to cook it. While in the refrigerator, and or while you are bringing it to room temp, have the bird resting in a pan, so that if the plastic covering leaks for any reason, you are confining the juices to the pan. If you get a frozen goose, which is most likely the case, you will need to defrost it in the refrigerator for two days first.

While I have never found any instances of food poisoning from raw duck or goose, it’s best to handle the goose with common sense. Use a separate cutting board and utensils to avoid contaminating other foods. Wash your hands with soap frequently – if for no other reason than because geese are fatty and you don’t want to be walking around with greasy hands. Use paper towels to clean up.

Remove the neck, giblets, wing tips

Remove the neck and giblets (heart, gizzard, liver). Use them for making the gravy. You want to remove the last two joints of the wings, too, and use them for the gravy as well.

Carve out the breasts

When a total of 45 minutes of cooking time has elapsed, test the temperature of the breast. You should have something between 130 and 140 degrees. If you’re there, remove the goose but keep the oven on.

Now you need to carve off the whole breasts. Using a thin knife – again, a boning knife is ideal – slice along the keel bone, which separates the two halves of the breast. Go straight down and tap the point of the blade against the breastbone as you move the knife up toward the wishbone, then back toward the open body cavity. Know that a goose has a deep keel and that the breastbone comes out wide at almost a right angle from it, so work your knife in short, gentle strokes out to free the whole side of the breast. Once you get near the wishbone, find it with the tip of your knife and carefully slice around it. Repeat on the other side.

Remove the breasts and tent with foil.

Finish cooking the rest of the goose.

Put the goose (minus the breasts) back into the oven. Let this cook for another 45 minutes.

Watch the goose gravy. If it gets too thick, add a little water.

After the additional 45 minutes are up, probe the thickest part of the goose’s thigh with a thermometer. You want 165-175 degrees. If it is a little low or high, that’s fine. Remove the goose.

Check the root veggies, and if they are done, great. If not, keep them in the oven for the moment.

Remove the garlic from the goose. Tent the goose with foil and set aside.

Finish the gravy.

Remove the garlic cloves from the husk and put the cloves into the simmering goose gravy. Let this cook for 5 minutes. Fish out the neck and wing pieces and pick off any bits and toss them into the gravy. Pour the gravy into a blender and buzz the hell out of it – you might need to do this in batches to avoid it spurting out of your blender. You want a thick gravy, so if it is too thick add water. If it’s too thin, don’t worry, you can cook it down.

Return the gravy to the pot and put on low heat. Simmer it more if it is too thin.

Sear the breasts

Now get a large sauté pan hot. Add some goose fat, and let that get hot over medium-high heat.

Take the goose breasts, which should be a lovely pink on the meat side, and pat them dry. Place them skin side down in the pan and sear the skin hard. You might need to press down on them a little to get good contact. Check after 3-4 minutes. You want a rich brown.

When it is ready, remove the breasts – don’t cook them on the meat side! – and immediately salt the skin. Set aside, skin side up. Move the pan off the heat.

Carve off the legs and wings, and sear

Carve off the legs and wings of the goose. Get the pan hot again and sear the skin surfaces of the legs and wings. While this is searing, slice the breast (at an angle is nice) skin side up. Salt the legs and wings and serve with the root veggies.

Walnut Dressing

 INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup butter

3 medium onions, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

12 cups cubed bread

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1-1/2 cups Walnut pieces

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup sage

1/2 cup rosemary

1/2 cup thyme

3/4 to 1-1/2 cups goose stock

Salt and Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

In non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and celery; cook 5 minutes or until soft.

In large bowl, mix bread, onion mixture, apples and walnuts. Add parsley, sage rosemary and thyme. Mix in enough goose stock to moisten bread. Season with salt and pepper.

Loosely fill goose cavity and follow cooking instructions for the weight of the bird; or make single servings by baking at 375 degrees in small well buttered oven-proof ramekins for 25 minutes or until heated through and brown on top.

Cranberry Orange Relish

INGREDIENTS

1 unpeeled orange, cut into eighths and seeded

1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained

3/4-1 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Place half the cranberries and half the orange slices in food processor container. Process until mixture is evenly chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange slices. Stir in sugar. Store in refrigerator or freezer. 

Makes about 3 cups. 

NOTE: May also be prepared in a food grinder.

Buttered Green Beans

Total Time: 13 min

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 8 min

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds string beans, stems trimmed

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

Fill a large pot with 2-inches of water and place a steamer inside. Bring water to a boil. Add string beans and cover for 5 minutes, or until beans are cooked throughout but still crisp to the bite. If you don't have a steamer, toss beans in a large pot of boiling water for 4 minutes.

Thoroughly drain water then return beans to the emptied pot. Let beans sit, uncovered, for 2 minutes so that any water coating them has evaporated. Pour out any accumulated water.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, or until melted butter has turned golden brown (this adds a slightly nutty flavor). Remove from heat and add lemon juice and beans and toss thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

5 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional Toppings

2 cups marshmallows, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place potatoes in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture over sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Cover dish well with foil.

Bake 50 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until potatoes are tender and syrup thickens a bit (basting occasionally) about 20 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 500°F. Top sweet potatoes with cubed marshmallows and pecans and bake until marshmallows begin to melt and nuts begin to brown, about 3 minutes.

Celery Souffle

Yield: Serves 4.

Who said celery should always be relegated to the Salad Department?

INGREDIENTS

4 slices soft bread

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 teaspoons minced onion

4 eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cut the bread into small cubes and soften in the milk.

Melt the butter or margarine in a skillet. Add the celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the bread and milk and heat thoroughly, then beat until smooth. Remove from the heat.

Beat the egg yolks and add to the skillet, beating well. Add the seasonings. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture.

Pour into a well-buttered 1-quart casserole, set in a pan of hot water, and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Butter Lettuce with Russian Dressing

INGREDIENTS

½ cup mayonnaise

2 Tbl. ketchup

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. prepared horseradish sauce

freshly cracked pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

salt to taste, if needed

Mince Pie 

This dessert, long favored by the British at holiday time, originally contained minced meat along with the fruits and spices. This version, more suited to the nineties table, is meatless and brimming with apples, dried fruit and lots of spices.

INGREDIENTS

3 1/2 pounds small pippin apples (about 7), peeled, cored, chopped

1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup dried currants

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup unsulfured (light) molasses

1/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

2 Buttermilk Pie Crust Dough disks

Milk

Rum raisin ice cream (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Combine first 17 ingredients in heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cook over low heat until apples are very tender and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool filling completely. (Can be prepared up to 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out 1 pie crust disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round (about 1/8 inch thick). Roll up dough on rolling pin and transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie plate. Gently press into place. Trim edges of crust, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Fold overhang under crust so that crust is flush with edge of pie pan. Crimp edges with fork to make decorative border. Spoon filling into crustlined pan, gently pressing flat.

Roll out second disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Cut out about 28 three-inch leaves using cookie cutter. Press leaves lightly with tines of fork to form vein pattern. Brush bottom of 1 leaf with milk. Place leaf atop mince, overlapping crust slightly and pressing to adhere to crust. Continue placing leaves atop pie in concentric circles, overlapping edges slightly until top of pie is covered. Brush crust with milk. Bake until crust is golden brown and mince bubbles, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Serve pie with rum raisin ice cream if desired.

Old Fashioned Plum Pudding

The ingredients must be measured in coffee cup:

Four eggs beaten light, one cup each of dark sugar, molasses, kidney suet, bread crumbs, milk, blackberry or grape jam, three cups of flour, one pound of currants, two pounds of raisins, half pound of citron, half cup of walnut meats (if desired), one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, and one-half teaspoonful of cloves. Salt to taste.

Grind suet, bread, and citron through the meat chopper. Mix the dry ingredients together. Sift a teaspoonful of soda and one of baking powder three times with the flour, and incorporate these ingredients with the beaten eggs and molasses, milk and jam. Dredge the fruit with a cup of the flour.

Mix all lightly together. Sleam In molds or cans four hours, or boil in a bag if you prefer. If you use the bag a large iron kettle is best. The water must be at a fast boil when the pudding bag goes in.

The pudding is best when it has ripened for a month. It will keep for an indefinite period. Reheat on Christmas or Thanksgiving morning. No good pudding sauce, however fine, can add to the lusciousness, but use whatever you like in that line.

If you make the pudding according to this recipe, your content will be your best having. [?]

If you measure ingredients in a tea cup, use one egg the less. If in a quart bowl, use two more.

It is a genuine pleasure to contribute this recipe. As I have said, it is a century old. It has been in our family for generations. I have used it for forty years.

Mrs. M.R.W.