Christmas Eve Dinner Menu

*Correction: I left out two beaten eggs in the Marshmallow Rolls recipe. That could have been disastrous! Many thanks to grandma for catching my error. Now... time to start cooking!

Growing up, we never had Christmas Day dinner in my family - we had Christmas Eve dinner. I for one think it's great - who wants to stay up late getting ready for Santa, get up early with the kiddos, spend a long morning opening and putting together new toys, and then spend all afternoon cooking a big meal that most people in your family (a.k.a. your kids and husband) won't want to eat because they've been eating candy and junk all day? (Answer: no one.)

So I've kept this tradition alive, and I have Christmas Eve dinner all planned. Here's my menu:

Fresh Herb Pork Loin Roast
Marshmallow Rolls
Maren's Famous Stuffing
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Tossed Salad
Gingersnap-Pear Cheesecake

Mmmmm...

I started on the cheesecake tonight, since it needs to refrigerate for a while. Here are a few shots.


Not exactly thrilling pictures, but what do you expect? It's cheesecake. I got the recipe out of Real Simple last year and have been waiting for a reason to make it. (If it tastes as good as it smells, it's gonna be great!)

The pork loin is pretty simple: rub with oil and spices, roast in 500 degree oven for 10 minutes and then 250 degrees until it reaches 150 degrees. Simple and yummy.

Okay, Maren's Famous Stuffing is a self-proclaimed title. But I happen to lurrve it. I worked on the recipe for quite a while to get it just right. I toyed with the idea of keeping the recipe secret, but then decided that a girl only needs one really good secret recipe to keep her friends around. That, and I'm pretty sure I gave the recipe to Ginger last year after her husband, Loren, ate half of it at Thanksgiving dinner.

Loren the stuffing eater.
(I'm not teasing you, Loren! I took it as a compliment! Okay, maybe I'm teasing a little.)

((My other secret recipe? The donuts I make for our annual Halloween donut party. Actually, not so secret, since my dad and grandma both have the recipe. But only my dad knows the new secret ingredient that puts them over the top, and I'd bet he's be willing to keep it secret for me!))

Anywho, here for all the world to see is my super-fantastic stuffing recipe:

1# white bread, cubed and slightly dried
4-8 Tbl butter (only the real deal in this recipe) (read: no margarine!)
2 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
1# sliced mushrooms
1 c pine nuts, slightly toasted
1/2 c fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp fresh sage, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1 c chicken stock (fresh is best!)

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over med-hi heat until foam subsides.
2. Add onions and celery and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients (except stock); stir in bread cubes and toss until well combined.
4. Stir in chicken stock until the stuffing is moist but not packed.
5. Bake at 350 until heated through, 30-40 minutes.

I can't wait - I didn't make it for Thanksgiving so I've had a hankerin' for it ever since.

The last recipe you might be interested in is for the Marshmallow Rolls. So yummy. They're nice and sweet, and I think Spencer will get a big kick out of them. (I'm sure he will be in the kitchen 'helping' tomorrow!) This is my Grandma's recipe.

2 c milk
1/2 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat and cool

5 tsp yeast
1/2 c warm water

2. Dissolve yeast in water; let grow

5 1/2 c flour
Big marshmallows (not the mini kind)

3. Combine wet ingredients and add 3 c flour
4. Beat well and add 2 1/2 c flour
5. Let raise once or twice (1-2 hours)
6. Put some melted butter in a small dish; put some sugar in another
7. Roll dough into 1/2" thickness; cut into 3" circles
8. Stick a marshmallow in the middle of circle and pull dough up around it; punch at bottom
9. Dip top in butter and then sugar
10. Place in a greased muffin tin and raise one hour
11. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes

I'm so excited for tomorrow! Because of course eating isn't the only thing we do. Pictures and such tomorrow!