Holiday Recipes
I generally always make the same meal for Christmas as I do for Thanksgiving with a few exceptions, the Mulled Wine being the most exciting addition. I cringe when I add cupfuls of sugar to sweeten things, so instead I add agave syrup to this lovely spiced drink and it works beautifully. Since you can pull up the Thanksgiving MAKE from the archive if you’re doing Whole Roast Turkey, I thought I would do a delicious Hanukkah menu and a Christmas breakfast.
For Hanukkah I love a Whole Roasted Fish with Salsa Verde and with the addition of the Latkes, you get that wonderful crisp potato thing on the side; it’s very satisfying. The Maple-Dijon Roasted Winter Vegetables complete the picture.
The Christmas morning breakfast/brunch is easy to prepare and has great seasonal and holiday flavors. The Spiced Pumpkin & Walnut Bread has become one of my favorites, I could eat the whole loaf. Make it and serve it warm in the morning. The frittata is really wonderful and you can use any ingredients you like, just follow the basic technique. Here I use sweet potatoes, shallots and goat cheese, but feel free to dream up your own combo.
The biscuits are a healthier version of the good ole’ southern version but are just as tasty. You can scramble an egg, add one of the homemade sausages, stick ’em in the fresh warm biscuit and, to quote a line from the epic eighties film Sixteen Candles, “Wha-lah, breakfast is ready!”
Love, gp
Menus
Hanukkah Dinner
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Mulled Wine (keep it on the stove all season!)
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Potato and Apple Latkes with Smoked Salmon
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Whole Roasted Fish
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Salsa Verde
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Maple-Dijon Roasted Winter Vegetables
Christmas Breakfast
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Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Frittata
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Homemade Turkey Sausage
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Spiced Pumpkin and Walnut Bread
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Quick Biscuits
Mulled Wine
A lot of spice and no sugar (we use agave syrup, lower on the glycemic index) lends a clean, mild flavor to this holiday classic.
Potato & Apple Latkes with Smoked Salmon
Combining apple with the potato lends a welcome sweetness and roundness to these fun and festive latkes, best served to a crowd.
Whole Roasted Fish with Salsa Verde
As easy as it is impressive, this simple and elegant recipe is great for entertaining. Fish cooks so nicely when left on the bone.
Salsa Verde
A hard recipe to give precisely. My amounts are always a little different and my herbs change frequently depending on what’s growing in my garden and what I’m serving it with. This is my standard salsa verde—heavy on the chives, easy on the parsley, generous, as always, with the anchovies.
Maple-Dijon Roasted Winter Vegetables
Sure, you can just roast vegetables with olive oil and salt, but the maple syrup and Dijon really elevate the dish. Kids love these.
Sweet Potato & Goat Cheese Frittata
This savory combination of sweet potatoes, shallots, thyme and goat cheese is perfect for wintertime. A great breakfast dish for a crowd.
Turkey Sausage Patties
Sausage patties are one of the easiest things to make and so much healthier and tastier than the scary processed options.
Spiced Pumpkin & Walnut Bread
You won’t miss the wheat or sugar here, with the maple syrup adding a perfect sweetness and the ginger and garam masala a piquant kick.
Quick Biscuits
Soft, flaky and perfect, these biscuits, made with spelt flour and yogurt, are just as good as their white flour and lard cousins.
