My boots are a product of some Christmas shopping I was "wrapping" up last weekend. I found these riding boots at Zara. I liked the Hermes inspired look with the hardware buckle gracing the top of the boot. They were marked down from $179 to $99 and the quality for that price seemed pretty good. I was intrigued that these boots are made in Albania. I've never owned anything from Albania before. I certainly had no idea that they manufactured boots there!
So now on to the rosemary and my review of Christmas dinner. I decided to make all of Christmas dinner because I like to plan menus and have cohesion. This dinner centered around a beautiful rib roast which I made with a rosemary (for remembrance) garlic and paprika rub. It included pan roasted vegetables that soak up all of the rich drippings from the roast. Very yummy! As sides I made a trifecta of fat laden sides including mashed potatoes, pearl onion au gratin, and creamed spinach. I also made popovers (I've made these since I was about 5 with my mother) and a pear, blue cheese, and walnut mixed green salad. I am including the recipes for these dishes below with a few comments about each. I hope you will enjoy making these if you are so inclined. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but my family raved about every single dish, especially the beef, so these are certainly crowd pleasers!
Popovers-a-Popping!
Rib Roast-a-Roasting!
Rosemary Rib Roast with Pan Roasted Vegetables: It's all about the timing for meat and this turned out perfectly which was kind of a fluke. Our meat thermometer was not working ( I don't recommend using electric ones, stick to the old-fashioned analog ones). I would also recommend keeping the vegetables you are roasting whole or cutting them in large generous cuts so that don't get done too quick. Last of all this recipe calls for a lot of salt. It's best to wait to salt the vegetables to taste when they are done to get it just right. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/standing-rib-roast-recipe/index.html
Classic Creamed Spinach: This will taste just like it does at the steak house if you make it right. I would advise using more than the recommended spinach. I used two huge bunches and it barely made enough for 8 people. http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/classic-creamed-spinach.aspx
Pearl Onion Au Gratin: This recipe is easy and perfect. A classic french dish! The topping of bread crumbs, Parmesan and savory is to die for! http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/creamy-pearl-onion-gratin.aspx
Buttermilk and Bacon Mashed Potatoes: These are wonderful for a little twist on your traditional mashed potatoes. The one thing I would say is the following: if you want to make them really, really good, you need to use copious amounts of butter. I used four sticks. Paula Dean would be proud. http://www.marthastewart.com/355399/buttermilk-and-bacon-mashed-potatoes
Mixed Greens, Pear and Blue Cheese Salad: The dressing for this is yummy! I made my husband cut the pears and assemble this! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Baby-Greens-Pear-Walnut-and-Blue-Cheese-Salad-107065
omg katie your menu sounds SO good! thanks for the mashed potatoes recipe, i'm always looking for something easy to throw together. hope you had a great christmas and those boots are just gorgeous!
ReplyDelete