Christmas dining

[rwsaunders]

Mrs. RW starts off the holiday week tonight before midnight Mass...beef braciole and shrimp scampi, served with a sparkling Prosecco and of course, San Pellegrino.

[Dave Thompson]

Very nice table Bob.

We did our usual Prime Rib and Caesar salad accompanied by my last bottle of 82 Margaux.

[Too Tall]

Outstanding work RW

[caleb]

For Christmas Eve we did pan fried/seared duck breasts with lingonberry sauce and a mushroom and spinach risotto.

I just put a 20 pound ham in the oven. Planning on making some scalloped potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts shortly.

[SeanEasley]

Bob, we're coming up tomorrow--save me some leftovers!

Last night I did your basic roast, stuffed pork loin, green beans, mashed taters and roasted butternut squash chunks on the side. Tonight the Missus is putting together a coq-au-vin.

Feliz Navidad to all yins in salon-land

[Tom]

Three revelations this year:

(1) Caramel potatoes. Seriously. Baby potatoes boiled for no more than 10 minutes, cool and peel. (Easier than I thought, the skins just come off by hand.) Make a basic caramel - sugar, butter and salt in a saute pan. Burn it slightly by mistake. Simmer the potatoes in it for about 20 minutes or so, stirring all the time. It's not sweet and gloppy like you might think, the flavor is really something.
(2) Cure a salmon fillet in your fridge for a week or so. Salt, sugar, cardamom, coriander, orange zest. Skin side down, layer the top thick and wrap it all up really tight in cling wrap and forget it. Take it out after a week, rinse it off, slice it and my, my, my. The key is you go to the halal meat market over on State Street that has all the fresh spices and that's where you get the cardamom and coriander. Penzey's can go pound salt, for all I'm concerned. Seven ounces of killer cardamom for four bucks, you can't beat that.
(3) Marinate thin sliced raw beets in vinegar for a few hours and eat them with horseradish sauce. I hate beets and I couldn't get enough of these. Crisp, fresh, and the beet flavor was way more subtle that you'd think.

[rwsaunders]

Last big meal of the holidays...roasted pork loin wrapped in bacon with a garlic aioli, pasta and roasted broccoli..topped off with a glass or two of red. Happy New Year, VSaloners.