Lobster makes a luxurious addition to this Christmas feast. Since this dish is an hors d'oeuvre, you only need a small amount of expensive lobster to serve a group. Greek-style yogurt has a pleasant thickness that works for this recipe. Make the toasts and lobster mixture up to several hours ahead; store the toasts in an airtight bag at room temperature, and refrigerate the lobster.
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Place bread slices on a baking sheet. Lightly coat tops of bread slices with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 8 minutes or until toasted. Cool.
3. Combine lobster and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon lobster mixture onto each toast.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Use Wellfleet oysters from Cape Cod, if possible. Reminiscent of chowder, this bisque is a touch lighter, filled out with wild rice rather than the more common potatoes. Use salt pork—an old New England favorite—for bacon, if you prefer.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Cook bacon in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat 6 minutes or until crisp. Stir in onion; cover and cook 8 minutes or until the onion is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Strain oysters through a sieve over a bowl. Reserve oysters; add oyster liquid to pan. Combine clam juice and flour in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add clam juice mixture, broth, and bay leaf to pan. Increase heat to medium-high. Bring mixture to a boil; cook until reduced to 2 cups (about 6 minutes).
3. Reduce heat to low. Discard bay leaf. Stir in rice, milk, half-and-half, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in reserved oysters; cook 5 minutes or until edges of oysters curl. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Small bay scallops, now in peak season, are often sweeter and more tender than larger sea scallops. Pat them dry before coating with cooking spray so they will sear rather than steam in the pan. Bay-scented butter tinged with a hint of lemon flavors the scallops, while panko provides crunchy texture. Serve in scallop shells for a handsome presentation.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Place butter and bay leaves in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; cook 5 minutes or until butter melts. Remove from heat; let stand 30 minutes. Skim solids off the top; discard solids and bay leaves.
2. Lightly coat scallops with cooking spray. Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Add half of scallops to pan; sauté 1 minute or until browned on both sides, turning once. Place in a bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining scallops. Sprinkle scallops with salt. Add juice and half of butter to scallops, tossing to coat.
3. Combine panko and remaining butter. Heat pan over medium-low heat. Add panko mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until panko is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove panko from pan.
4. Place 1/3 cup scallops into each of 8 ramekins. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons panko and 1/8 teaspoon lemon rind. Sprinkle with chives, if desired.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Buttery beef tenderloin serves as the dinner's grand centerpiece. A reduction sauce of port and a Nantucket favorite, beach plum jelly, enhances the meat. Tiny wild beach plums are too sour to eat out of hand, so they are often made into jelly, which balances their tartness. Red currant jelly is a readily available substitute.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Lightly coat beef with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly on all sides with pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Loosely cover beef with plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 450°.
3. Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add beef to pan; cook 2 minutes on all sides or until browned. Place beef on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 128° or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.
4. Return skillet to medium-high heat; add shallots and butter to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, port, jelly, vinegar, thyme, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups (about 17 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
5. Cut beef crosswise into 16 slices. Serve with sauce.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Corn pudding evolved from the popular colonial Indian pudding, which was itself a cornmeal adaptation of flour-based English porridge. This dish makes an excellent side at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and kids love it!
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine 1 cup corn, 1/4 cup evaporated milk, and half-and-half in a blender; process until smooth. Combine remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and egg white in a large bowl. Stir in pureed corn mixture, remaining 2 cups corn, 3 tablespoons crackers, and cornmeal.
3. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Combine remaining 3 tablespoons crackers and butter in a small bowl; sprinkle cracker mixture evenly over cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
The Cape Cod town of Eastham is noted for its extra-sweet turnips, though other varieties will work in this dish. While many gratins are rich with cream, chicken broth serves as the liquid here, to delicious effect. A mandoline makes quick and even vegetable slices, though a sharp knife will do just fine. If you have a double oven, preheat the broiler while the casserole finishes baking at 350°.
1. Place turnips in saucepan; cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain; pat dry.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Arrange one third of turnips in a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with one third of salt and one third of pepper. Arrange half of potato over turnip. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons cheese evenly over potato. Arrange one third turnip over cheese; sprinkle with one third of salt and one third of pepper. Arrange remaining potato over turnip. Arrange remaining turnip over potato; sprinkle with remaining salt and remaining pepper. Pour broth over vegetables. Cover with foil, pressing foil down onto turnip slices. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Uncover turnips; sprinkle with the remaining 6 tablespoons cheese. Broil 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Brussels sprouts are finest in winter. Trim and cut the sprouts up to a day ahead, then keep refrigerated in a zip-top plastic bag.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine sprouts and chestnuts in a large bowl. Add oil, salt, and peppers; toss well to coat. Spread in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan.
3. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until sprouts are tender, stirring after 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Add butter to sprout mixture, tossing until butter melts.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Based on the old English Yorkshire pudding, popovers are a quick bread classically paired with beef dishes. Make the popover batter up to two hours ahead and refrigerate until 15 minutes before you plan to bake them. Popover cups are tall and narrow so the batter "pops over" the top as it bakes; you can find a popover pan at any kitchenware shop. Muffin cups will also do (with five minutes less time in the oven), though they won't puff quite as dramatically.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, thyme, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Combine milk and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended; let stand 30 minutes. Gradually add flour mixture to milk mixture, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in melted butter.
3. Coat 8 popover cups with cooking spray; sprinkle cheese evenly among cups. Place cups in oven at 375° for 5 minutes. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
Make this cake a day ahead, and refrigerate. Large crystals of raw brown Demerara sugar look and taste lovely, but the cake is still delicious without it. To prevent the crust from sticking to your fingers while pressing it into the pan, lightly coat your hands with cooking spray.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare crust, combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until well blended. Press crumb mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 300°.
4. To prepare filling, place cream cheeses in a food processor; process until smooth. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and next 4 ingredients (through pumpkin); process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 50 minutes or until almost set. Turn oven off; partially open oven door. Cool cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar just before serving.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
This take on the old New England drink features apple brandy rather than the usual rum. Substitute applejack or plain brandy, if you like.
Photo by: Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a pitcher. Serve over ice. Garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks, if desired.
Cooking Light DECEMBER 2008
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