Christmas dinner

What you need to know:

For a gourmet touch, heat the broiler or grill of the oven to a moderate temperature and toast the bread on both sides. Spread one side with butter and top with grated cheese.

French Onion Soup
Holiday Roast Chicken
With Orange Stuffing
Rice & Peas Jamaican Coat of Arms
Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic & Sesame Seeds
Waldorf Salad
Parker house Rolls Butter
Ice Cream
Assorted Cheese and Crackers
Hot Coffee

French Onion Soup
In the time it takes to soften a few onions and brown some cheese on toast, this superb soup is ready to serve and appears on the table steaming hot and ready to eat. BTW, it makes a substantial starter or lunch dish.

Serves 4
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium onion sliced
• 4 cups beef stock
• 4 slices French bread
• Butter for spreading
• 1 cup grated Gruyere, Beaufort or Emmenthal Cheese
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan and brown the onions over a steady heat, taking care that they do not burn.

Transfer the browned onions to a large saucepan, cover with beef stock and simmer for about ten minutes.

For a gourmet touch, heat the broiler or grill of the oven to a moderate temperature and toast the bread on both sides. Spread one side with butter and top with grated cheese. Ladle the soup into four flameproof dishes, float the cheesy crusts on top and grill until crispy and brown.

Holiday Chicken
Select a capon, weighing 2 to 3 kg ready-to-cook weight. Clean the capon and remove the wing joints and tips, leaving only the meaty second joints.

Rub the inside with salt and stuff lightly with Orange Stuffing. Do not truss or prick the skin. Close the opening with skewers and lace with a cord.
Place, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Do not add water.
Roast uncovered in a slow oven 325 d FH/163 d Celsius for around two hours.
For an impressive shine, half an hour before the chicken is done, brush with Honey Glaze: Combine 2 tablespoons honey and 1 teaspoon Aromat seasoning.

Orange Stuffing for Chicken
• 3 cups toasted bread cubes
• 2 cups finely diced celery
• 1 tablespoon grated imported orange peel
• 2/3 cups diced orange sections
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon Royco
• 1 beaten egg
• ¼ cup melted butter or Blue Band
Toss together the bread, celery, orange peel, diced orange sections and the seasonings. Combine the egg and butter; add to the bread mixture, tossing lightly and makes enough stuffing for a 2 to 3 kg capon.
Rice & Peas Jamaican Coat of Arms
Ingredients

Serves 6
½ tumpeco of cooked red dry beans 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 bay leaves
2 cloves crushed
1 finely chopped onion
½ teaspoon ground all spice 1 chopped green pepper
½ kg long grain rice Salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp crushed garlic

Method

1. You will have already cooked the beans making sure that you retain enough of the bean stock for the rice.
2. You will need all in all four tumpecos of liquid including the coconut cream. Bring this to a boil then add the garlic, bay leaves, all spice, onion, garlic, green pepper, fresh basil and the salt and pepper.
3. Add the rice and stir well and cover then reduce the heat and simmer for about half an hour until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir Fried Spinach with Garlic and Sesame Seeds

The sesame seeds add a crunchy texture which contrasts well with the wilted spinach in this easy vegetable dish.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
1 kg fresh spinach, washed
4 to 5 tablespoons sesame seeds
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
Soy salt to taste
Chilies to taste (optional)
5-7 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons crushed ginger

1. Shake the spinach to get rid of any excess water, and then remove the stalks. Lay several spinach leaves one on top of the other, roll up lightly and cut crossways into wide strips and repeat with the remaining leaves.

2. Heat a wok over medium heat; add the sesame seeds and dry-fry, stirring for a minute or two, until golden brown before transferring to a small bowl and set aside.

3. Add the oil to the wok and swirl around. When hot add the garlic, ginger, chilies and stir fry for two minutes. Add the spinach and cooked until done.
4. When the spinach is done sprinkle over the sesame seeds and tosss well and serve.

Waldorf salad
4 red and green apples, diced
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup diced celery
1 cup halved, seeded grapes
1 cup tiny marshmallows (optional)
¼ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
¼ cup whipped fresh cream
½ cup coarsely broken walnuts

Sprinkle diced apple with lemon juice and combine with celery, grapes, marshmallows and mayonnaise. Fold in whipped cream and chill. Just before serving, add the nuts. Serve in lettuce lined bowl and garnish with apple wedges and perfect walnut halves.

Parker House Rolls
2 tablespoons shortening
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup water
1 cake yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoon dry yeast
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
3 ½ cups sifted wheat flour
1 egg well beaten
Melted butter
Add the shortening, salt, sugar and the yeast to water and stir until shortening is melted.

Stir in the sifted flour and cover and set in warm place away from drafts so that it can rise.

When doubled in bulk, add the egg. Knead lightly and let rise again until doubled in bulk.
Roll out ½ inch thick on a well floured board and cut with a biscuit cutter 2 inches in diameter, crease in center with a dull knife, brush with melted butter ad fold over, pinching the dough at sides to a make a pocket book.
Place on a baking sheet and brush tips with melted butter and let rise and bake in a hot oven 400d FH or 204 d Celsius about twenty minutes

HEALTHY CHRISTMAS MEAL

Baked chicken drumsticks

Baked chicken drumsticks are addictively delicious, sweet and sticky; crispy and tender while also being spicy, savoury and popping with ginger and garlic flavour.
It is a must-make chicken drumsticks recipe

Recipe
Ingredients:
20 chicken drumsticks
1/3 cup flour
3 Tb. corn starch
1 Tb. salt
Three and a half cups pineapple juice
One cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Two Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 cup sriracha chili sauce

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil, spray with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
2. Mix the flour, corn starch, and salt together in a bowl. Using paper towels, dry each drumstick and roll them in the flour mixture for a light dusting. Then lay them out on the baking sheets, evenly spaced.
3. Bake the drumsticks for 30 minutes, flipping once.
4. In the meantime, pour the pineapple juice and all remaining ingredients in a sauce pot. (If you are sensitive to heat, add 1/4 cup sriracha; if you really like spicy food, add 1/2 cup.) Sriracha is a type of hot sauce or chilli sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It is named after the city of Si Racha, in Chonburi Province of eastern Thailand, where it was first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants5. 5. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Then pour the sauce over the drumsticks evenly. Roll the drumsticks around in it to coat, and place back in the oven for 20 minutes, until the sauce is thick and sticky and the drumsticks are well coated.
Serve warm.