PLANNING A COZY CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

Are all of your Christmas plans made? Are you planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner?

Have you written down your list and checked it twice?

Our family celebration is all about the Conception of Christ here at Christmas time; and we do love to gather and celebrate all of those blessings with close friends and loved ones.

We are celebrating Hanukkah too from a Christian perspective. I always think of Jesus at the Festival of Lights. Do you ever have visions of Jesus walking on Solomon’s porch right after enjoying a great meal with all of his closest friends and family?

Feeding The Light of The World must have been such a joy and a beautiful opportunity to say thank you to The Savior of The World. How much do you think those old servant’s hands knew how they were worshiping with the love they provided from their humble kitchen tables?

Could they really understand the present of the blessing of His walking around inside their own homes and neighborhoods?

It might have been similar to when we are planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner.

GATHER TO WORSHIP AND CELEBRATE

This is why I think God loves for all of us to gather around our tables as we worship. It is a good place to remember and offer thanks for all God has done for us.

Christ, Emmanuel, has come to live among men.

Let us feast and rejoice over that miracle from God!

Keeping this thought in mind, I try to have a nice Christmas Eve dinner every year. We typically invite my Mom and all of our grown children and their families. The out-of-state bunch usually can’t make it; but that just gives us another excuse to go find them in the new year. For those local family members who can come; we always love this gathering. Often we invite others to join in with us too.

MAKING THE PLAN FOR A COZY CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

It is nice to have the house decorated and a tasty meal in the works.

So what is planned for this year?

I’ve never cooked Beef Wellington (and I’ve always wanted to be that brave.) So, I thought that might be a great main dish to try this year. My children and grandchildren are forgiving in case I don’t exactly pull it off; but please pray that I do!

I’ll include a link to the most interesting recipe I discovered below. I’m going to give it a try! https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020640-beef-wellington. Since we are providing this link; the recipe will not be listed below. We want you to appreciate the source of this amazing recipe. You might love some of the other recipes we offer too. Hopefully these will make planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner easier.

Also; here is the rest of the menu plan along with copies and links to all of the outsourced recipes. I certainly can’t take credit for creating all of these myself. I’ve provided links for those I found while glancing through the best Christmas idea blogs and other good places on the web. Sharing is caring. It surely helps Christmas to come together in a wonderful way. We should all be sharing our ideas for planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner.

PLANNING A COZY CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER MENU            

SWEET POTATO BITES; GOAT CHEESE AND HONEY CRACKERS

WATER WITH LEMON, SWEET TEA, COFFEE,

CHERRY COKE SALAD, 12 FRUIT SALAD, APPLE CRANBERRY WALNUT GREEN SALAD

PARTY BREAD ROUNDS, BROCOLLI CORNBREAD                   

BEEF WELLINGTON

MUSHROOM AND ONION GRAVY

BAKED ZUCCHINI AND FETA CASSEROLE, GARLIC MASHED POTATOES, GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE, MACARONI AND CHEESE

RED VELVET CAKE, PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE, SOUTHERN LIVING’S EGGNOG LAYER CAKE WITH BOURBON-VANILLA BEAN BUTTER CREAM FROSTING AND APPLE PIE A LA ZING WITH VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM, WITH A BOARD FULL OF MIXED COOKIES AND CANDIES 

RECIPES FOR PLANNING A COZY CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

SWEET POTATO BITE APPETIZERS  

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a50000/sweet-potato-bites-recipe/         

Ingredients:

4-Medium Sweet Potatoes (peeled and sliced into 1/4″ rounds
2-Tbsp. Maple syrup
2-tbsp. melted butter
Kosher Salt
2 bags Marshmallows
1/2 cup pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and mix with Maple Syrup. Put sweet potatoes into a large plastic bag and pour mix on top and saturate each piece well. Next, place them on a metal cookie sheet, season with salt and bake until tender (about 20 minutes.) Flip after 10 minutes of baking and continue heating until done. Take them out of oven and switch oven to broil. Top each potato with a marshmallow. Broil until puffed and golden brown. Next, top each marshmallow with a pecan half while warm.

CHERRY COKE SALAD

Ingredients

(20 ounce) can of crushed pineapple, drained, but juices reserved
1 (14.5 ounce) can of sweet Bing cherries or dark sweet cherries in heavy syrup, drained, but syrup reserved
One large (8 serving size) cherry flavored Jello
1 (12 ounce) can of chilled Coca-Cola
1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
optional Topping (recipe below)
cottage cheese, or sweet salad dressing mayonnaise (like Miracle Whip) for garnish,

Optional Topping

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup of powdered sugar 2 cups of thawed Cool Whip or whipped cream

Directions:

Drain the cherry syrup and pineapple juices into a saucepan. Next, set the fruit aside in the refrigerator to chill. Bring fruit juices to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the Jello powder until fully dissolved. Transfer to a 4 cup glass measuring cup. Then, add enough Coca-Cola to equal a total of 4 cups of liquid. If desired, you can substitute Dr. Pepper, cherry coke, other compatible juices, or even water to make up the full 4 cups; transfer to a bowl and stir in the pineapple, cherries, and nuts. Also, you can pour into small, prepared individual molds, or a larger mold if desired. Allow to fully set for at least 3 to 5 hours or longer. Do not stir!

For the topping, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Then, stir in the Cool Whip or whipped cream, until well combined. If you like, use as a topping for salad.

To serve, turn out molds onto individual lettuce leaves, or spoon servings into short parfait glasses, or onto leaves of lettuce. Top with a small dollop of the cream cheese topping, or a sweet mayonnaise, such as Miracle Whip, if desired. Remember, homemade mayonnaise is particularly endeared for congealed salads. If you use a mold, place the topping in the center of the mold.

Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad

This crisp, seasonal holiday side salad is a tasty time-saver. Mix the dressing up to a week ahead of time and drizzle over the veggies and fruit when the big meal is served. Under 300 calories per serving!

Ingredients

8 cups baby spinach leaves
1 red apple, thinly sliced
One cup walnuts, toasted
1 cup thinly sliced celery
¼ cup dried cranberries
Cider vinegar – 1/4 cup
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Coarse grain mustard – 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

Toss together spinach, apple, walnuts, celery and cranberries in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, honey, mustard and salt. Serve over salad.

PARTY BREAD ROUNDS

Ingredients

1 Un-sliced round loaf sourdough bread (1 pound)
Monterey Jack Cheese – (1 pound)
½ cup butter, melted
Chopped green onions (1/2 cup)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. First, cut bread width-wise into 1-in. slices to within 1/2 in. of bottom of loaf. Repeat cuts in opposite direction. Second, cut cheese into 1/4-in. slices; cut slices into small pieces. Third, place cheese in cuts. Then, in a small bowl, mix butter, green onions and poppy seeds; drizzle over bread. Next, wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Last, unwrap; bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. One loaf feeds 8 people. If you have a crowd you might want to double or triple this.

BROCCOLI CORNBREAD

Ingredients

2 pkgs. Cornbread mix
4 eggs
Chopped broccoli (1 cup)
1 cup chopped onion
Cottage cheese (1 cup)
2/3 cup melted butter

Preparation

Pam a casserole dish. Mix all together and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

BEEF WELLINGTON

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020640-beef-wellington

MY FAVORITE MAC AND CHEESE

Ingredients:

2 cups macaroni noodles
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

Dry mustard (1/2 teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika (also some for sprinkling on top)
2-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3-1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped bacon bits

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil noodles on the stove top in water until tender but not limp, drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

Turn the stove top to medium and in another boiler on the stove add butter until melted, then add all-purpose flour, salt, dry mustard, black pepper and paprika. Stir with a wooden spoon until well blended then slowly add heavy whipping cream

BAKED ZUCCHINI SPINACH AND FETA CASSEROLE

https://delishtasty.com/baked-zucchini-spinach-and-feta-casserole/

Ingredients

3 Cups Baby Spinach
1/4 Cup Feta Cheese Crumbled
2 Zucchini (diced)
1 tsp. dried-basil leaves
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs
Yellow Squash ( 2 diced)
2 egg-whites
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. spray a 9×13″ casserole dish using non-stick spray. In a large skillet heat olive oil. When hot, add the zucchini, spinach and yellow squash. Cook together for 5 minutes until spinach is wilted and squash is soft. Drain excess liquids and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the mix. Blend well and spread the mixture in an even layer in the prepared dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool slightly before serving.

Ingredients

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

5 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 whole stick of unsalted butter
2 cups Parmesan cheese
Chopped fresh chives (1 cup)
1-1/2 cups cream cheese
1/2 medium head garlic – minced
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions: 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potato cubes, boil over medium heat until tender but still firm. Drain and return to stove over low heat to dry for 1 – 2 minutes. While still heating on low add Parmesan cheese, chives, cream cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Keep stirring to keep from overheating. Use a potato masher to mash until smooth and serve hot.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Ingredients

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup Milk
Soy sauce (1 teaspoon)
Dash ground black pepper
4 cups cooked cut green beans
1-1/3 cups French’s French Fried Onions

Preparation

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions together and pour into a 1-1/2 quart casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining fried onions. Bake for five minutes more or until the fried onions are golden brown.

APPLE PIE A LA ZING

Ingredients

4 cups pared, sliced apples
2 cups Ocean Spray Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Chopped walnuts – 3/4 cup, optional
Pastry for a 9-inch two crust pie

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425º F.

Combine all ingredients, except pastry, in a medium mixing bowl; mix well. Pour into a pastry-lined pie plate. Cover with top crust. Seal edges and cut several slits in top crust.

Bake 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cover edges with foil if they begin to brown too quickly.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

https://www.kentuckyderby.com/party/recipes/desserts/pumpkin-cheesecake
12 servings

Ingredients

12 ounces granulated sugar
2 ½ pounds cream cheese
5 each whole eggs
11 ounces pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
lemon juice (one teaspoon)
1 tablespoon corn starch
4 ounces sour cream
One teaspoon cinnamon, ground
Ginger, ground (1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon cloves, ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

Preparation

Place the sugar in a large mixer with paddle attachment. Add cream cheese and mix until smooth, scrape the bowl.

Add the eggs slowly with the mixer on the first speed. It is very important not to overbeat the eggs into the mixture because this will cause cheesecake to souffle and break.

As the eggs are being incorporated scrape the sides of the bowl to keep mixture very smooth.

Add pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, lemon juice, cornstarch, sour cream, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg – scraping the bowl between each addition. Never allow mixture to be beaten.

Pour into prepared pans or molds and bake in 275 degree oven. Use water bath when possible, allow to bake until middle is set and slightly souffled.

TIP

Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to fall in the oven slowly, then allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the cooler. (Cheesecake will crack if placed in the cooler when too warm)

Once chilled thoroughly then can be un-molded. (Warm sides of the mold with a torch and cake should slide out)

EGGNOG LAYER CAKE WITH BOURBON VANILLA BEAN BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

(This is Southern Living’s Cake for Christmas 2021.  I LOVE to try making their beautiful creations at home for special occasions.  You can find their link here:  View on Southern Living

Ingredients

For Cake Layers:
Baking spray with flour
1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups refrigerated eggnog, divided
Add 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) bourbon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
1 (32 ounce) pkg. powdered sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
One vanilla bean pod, split
2 tablespoons (1 oz.) bourbon

FOR DECORATING

Assorted gold and white candy sprinkles, nonpareil candy sprinkles and sparkling sugar.

Preparation

Prepare the Cake Layers:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 4 (6-inch) round cake pans with baking spray. Line each pan bottom with a circle of parchment paper; coat parchment with baking spray.

Beat sugar and butter with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined.

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to sugar-butter mixture alternately with one cup of the eggnog in three additions; beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat on low speed until blended after each addition, about one minute total. Stir in bourbon and vanilla extract until smooth. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans (1-2/3 cups per pan.)

Bake on center rack in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center of each layer comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Run an offset spatula around edges of each layer; remove from pans, and cool completely on a wire rack, about 45 minutes. Using a long, serrated knife, trim rounded tops from each layer. (They should be about 1-1/4 inches tall after trimming.) Drizzle evenly with remaining 1 cup eggnog (1/4 cup per layer.) Let stand 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the Frosting:

Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually beat in powdered sugar alternately with cream, beating until blended after each addition, about 2 minutes total. Scrape seeds from split vanilla bean pod using dull edge of a paring knife; add scraped vanilla seeds and bourbon to butter mixture (discard scraped vanilla bean pod.) Beat on high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Place 1 Cake Layer, cut side up, on a platter; spread 2/3 cup Frosting over top. Top with a second layer, cut side up, and another 2/3 cup Frosting. Then top with a third layer, cut side up, 2/3 cup Frosting, and then remaining layer, cut side down. Frost top and sides of cake with 2-1/2 cups frosting, reserving remaining 1/2 cup frosting for tree decoration.

With a small paring knife or a wooden pick, draw an outline of a Christmas tree on side of assembled cake. Using an offset spatula, scoop teaspoonfuls of reserved 1/2 cup Frosting and place on cake, one at a time, starting at the bottom of the tree outline. with a spatula, use a swooping motion to create a brushstroke-like branch with each dollop of Frosting, moving from the inside of the tree to the outside. continue scooping and swooping with spatula, working from bottom to top of tree and from inside to outside, overlapping as needed, until tree is complete. Decorate tree as desired with assorted candy sprinkles, nonpareils, and sparkling sugar.

Place one star shortbread cookie at the top of the tree, and place several present shortbread cookies around the base of the cake.

(For directions on how to make the star and present cookies; check this link from Southern Living too: http://(For directions on how to make the star and present cookies; check this link: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/holiday-present-and-star-shortbread-cookies?printview)https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/holiday-present-and-star-shortbread-cookies?printview)

RED VELVET CAKE

https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-white-chocolate-cheesecake

Just follow the link to get the best Red Velvet Cake you have ever tasted. I made it a few Christmases ago and am still getting compliments. Like I said before; Southern Living has the very best cake recipes; especially their Christmas Cakes.

What a feast! This is just what we wanted for planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner.

We will have left-overs for days; even after our son takes food to the homeless when he leaves. Do you think he REALLY does that; or is he just eating again after he leaves?

I hope you are busy cooking up a feast and enjoying a wonderful Christmas celebration too.

My best advice for the holidays; gather with those that you love and cherish, whether it is for a feast or a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Make some memories while there is still time. Have fun while you are planning a cozy Christmas Eve Dinner.

We would love to hear some of your recipes and ideas as well. Please share pics of some of your happy gatherings with our little community here when you think of it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!