What a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner with my loves. We opted for a more traditional holiday meal this year, versus our usual Italian feast. In typical Clark Giswold style, Jason completely outdid himself. Bourbon glazed ham, roasted thyme potatoes, maple balsamic Brussel sprouts, cornbread dressing and sugared carrots with pecans. Buon Natale!
Crispy Roasted Thyme Potatoes
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp olive oil
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
4 shallots, thickly sliced lengthwise
coarse salt
1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs thyme
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. With a sharp knife or mandoline, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout. Sprinkle with salt, red-pepper flakes (if using) and thyme. Brush with remaining butter mixture. Bake 1 hour, until edges are crispy.
Brussel sprouts already posted in Fall 2014.
This is Jason’s secret cornbread dressing. Maybe one day I’ll convince him to share!
Sugared Carrots with Pecans
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
Heat oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes. Stir in ginger and sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Add pecans and cook until carrots are tender when pierced and mixture is glazed in sugar, 3 to 5 minutes.
Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup orange marmalade
3 tbsp bourbon
1 tbsp spicy Dijon mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
Combine ingredients and pour over top of scored ham. Cook according to directions.
Eat.Well. 