This week because of Christmas, I wanted to give everyone a complete Christmas dinner menu. I’ll try and help with some tips and some pre-cooking suggestions that will allow you to still get your shopping done! Since the entrée is fairly rich, the appetizer and salad are both light. You do not need to do both the soup and salad, one or the other is probably sufficient, but some folks like to go all out! In addition, since the beef is wrapped in pastry, which is a starch, you could delete the potato dish if you want, no one will notice. This menu is designed to serve 6 people and is set up for a seated dinner, however, you could certainly use this for a buffet dinner as well. Here it is:

CHRISTMAS DINNER PREP LIST
SHOPPING LIST

MENU ITEMS:

• James’ Pickled Shrimp Appetizer
• Curried Butternut Squash Soup
• Bibb Lettuce Salad-Bouchon
• Beef Wellington with Mushroom Duxelle and Béarnaise
• New Potatoes with Pancetta and Chive
• Asparagus with Grape Tomato and Feta
• White Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

Wednesday Afternoon

1. Make pickling sauce for shrimp
2. Make cheesecake
3. While cheesecake is cooking, make soup
4. Make dressing for salad

Thursday

1. Cook shrimp (if using raw)
2. Blanch and shock (plunge in ice water) asparagus. Drain, bag, and refrigerate.
3. Make Mushroom Duxelle
4. Stuff tenderloin with Mushroom Duxelle. Wrap in plastic refrigerate.
5. Wash and dry Bibb lettuce leaves for salad
6. Chop all herbs for salad, chives for potatoes, parsley for soup and shrimp, bag and refrigerate
7. Mince shallots for asparagus, bag and refrigerate
8. Pre-cut cheesecake

Friday, Christmas Day

1. Put shrimp in marinade in morning, place on tray in afternoon
2. Cook Pancetta for potatoes anytime early in day and leave out
3. Cook potatoes early, leave in warmer or heat in oven just before serving
4. Make Béarnaise sauce – can be made two hours before dinner. DO NOT refrigerate. Leave out, room temperature
5. Build salads and have ready to go (if you have room in fridge or even in cold garage, covered)
6. Place soup on stove, low heat. Have sour cream and parsley out ready to go.
7. Wrap tenderloin in pastry and place in oven
8. Put shrimp out for the starving so they don’t faint
9. 15 minutes before dinner, heat asparagus and potatoes
10. Have fun!

Liquor Department
1 bottle inexpensive dry white wine

Spices
1 box Kosher salt
Coarse black pepper
Whole black peppercorns
1 dried tarragon
Curry powder (if desired for soup)

Groceries
1 small bottle Tabasco
1 small jar capers
1 small jar Dijon mustard
1 bottle red wine vinegar
1 small bottle tarragon vinegar
1 bottle extra virgin olive oil
1 bottle canola oil
16 oz. chicken stock

Baking
1 small bag sugar
1 small bag flour
1 bottle vanilla extract
1 bag white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons espresso powder or instant coffee

Frozen
1 box of puff pastry

Meat and Seafood
3 lb. trimmed beef tenderloin roast
2 dozen large shrimp cooked or raw

Deli
6 pieces uncooked pancetta (can use bacon)
1 container feta cheese

Produce
1 whole butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
1 lb. gala or fuji apples
1 lb. washed, button mushrooms
1 bulb fresh garlic
1 head Italian parsley
6 heads Bibb lettuce
3 lemons
1 small red onion
2 bags shallots
1 package fresh tarragon
2 packages fresh chives
14 or so medium red potatoes
1 bunch asparagus
1 small box grape tomatoes (½ lb.)

Dairy
1 dozen eggs
2 lbs. cream cheese
2 lbs. unsalted butter
½ pint heavy cream
1 small container sour cream

At Clary’s, I used this dish for catering jobs as an alternative to shrimp cocktail. People get tired of shrimp with cocktail sauce. This has lots of zing and is a light start to an evening FILLED with rich and wonderful food! The pickling sauce could be done several days ahead. The shrimp can be cooked the day before. Feel free to use frozen shrimp that is pre-cooked if you do not want to cook your own. If you do want to cook the shrimp, here is how you should do it:

Shrimp Boil

To 3 quarts water boiling water add:

• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons salt and pepper mix
• One whole lemon cut in half-squeeze juice, then drop in lemon halves
• 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons Tabasco or other hot sauce
• Ice water bath

DO NOT peel shrimp. You can use either EZ peel (veins removed) or unpeeled shrimp. Place shrimp in boiling, seasoned water for 2 minutes tops for a 21 to 25 count shrimp. Less for smaller. Most people overcook shrimp, a big no no in cooking! Immediately plunge cooked shrimp in ice water to stop the cooking. Peel and de-vein.

For the Pickled Shrimp:

• 2 dozen large shrimp cooked, peeled, and de-veined
• 1 cup of very thinly sliced red onion
• ¼ cup small capers
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced, fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper mix
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

You can get the zest from a lemon by gently grating the sides of the lemon with a box grater, then chopping zest very fine. You do not want the white part (pith) which is very bitter. Strain the seeds from the lemon when juicing.

Mix everything together except shrimp and parsley in a bowl. 12 hours before dinner, add shrimp and refrigerate. Serve on a large platter with chopped parsley as garnish.

One of my favorite soups. If you REALLY want to do it right, go to a restaurant supply store, like Curtis restaurant supply in Tulsa, and ask for a Chinois, which is a very fine cone shaped strainer. This will give you the silkiest version of the soup. I LOVE the curry powder in the soup, but I realize some don’t care for curry. It is fine either way. The soup can be made up to 5 days in advance and kept refrigerated. When reheating, do so over low heat to avoid scorching. If you need to thin the soup, use some chicken stock.

Ingredients

• 1 whole butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
• Olive oil
• 2 cups cold water with juice of ½ lemon
• 1 lb. gala or fuji apples
• ¼ cup minced shallots or onions
• 2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons curry powder (optional)
• Kosher salt and pepper
• Sour cream
• Chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut squash in half lengthwise. Brush inside of squash with olive oil and place inside side down on cookie sheet. Roast for about 1 hour until squash feels VERY soft when pressed from the outside. Set aside to cool.

Peel, seed, and dice apples and place in lemon water (for you foodies, water with lemon, vinegar, or other acid is called acidulated water) to keep them from turning brown. Store apples cold in lemon water until needed. Drain apples and place in a saucepan with shallots. Cook apples and shallots, covered, over medium low heat until shallots are soft. Add chicken stock, cream, and curry powder if desired.

With a large spoon, remove seeds from squash and scoop pulp from skin. In a food processor or food mill, process squash until very smooth. Add squash to cream mixture. Add more stock if necessary to reach desired thickness. I like the soup thick, but pourable. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and slowly bring to a boil. Remove from heat and strain through a very fine strainer or through a food mill. A cake sifter will work for this or you can puree in food processor. Straining will give you the silkiest product, however. Place soup in bowls and garnish with a small dollop of sour cream and chopped parsley. Serve hot.

This salad is a variation of one that my favorite chef, Thomas Keller, serves at one his restaurants, Bouchon. I have made some personal adjustments, but the basic concept is the same. The lettuce can be washed, and herbs chopped, a day ahead and stored in a Ziplock bag. The dressing can be made up to 3 or 4 days ahead.

Ingredients

• 6 heads bibb lettuce
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced shallots
• ¼ cup Italian parsley leaves
• ¼ cup tarragon leaves
• ¼ cup minced chives
• ½ cup vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup dijon mustard
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• 1½ cups canola oil

Combine the mustard and vinegar in a blender and blend at medium speed for about 15 seconds. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in ½ cup of the oil. Don’t be tempted to add all the oil to the blender or the vinaigrette will become too thick. It should be very creamy.

Transfer the vinaigrette to a small bowl and, whisking constantly, slowly stream in the remaining 1 cup oil. (The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Should the vinaigrette separate, use a blender or immersion blender to re-emulsify it.)

Preparation

Carefully cut out the core from each head of lettuce and separate the leaves, but keep each head of lettuce together; discard any tough outer leaves. Because each head of lettuce will be reassembled, the easiest way to work is with one head at a time. First, place the leaves in a bowl of cold water to refresh them and remove any dirt, then lift out and spin-dry in a salad spinner.

Place the leaves from a single head of lettuce in a bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, 1½ teaspoons of the shallots and chives, and 1 tablespoon each of the parsley, tarragon, and chervil. Then toss gently with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Repeat with the remaining heads.

For each serving, arrange the outer lettuce leaves as a base on the plate and rebuild each head of lettuce, ending with the smallest, most tender leaves.

There is not a more classic French beef dish in my mind. The Béarnaise sauce really puts this over the top. For a “towering” presentation place 4 or 6 potato halves flat-side down in center of plate. Place a 2-inch thick slice of the Beef Wellington on top of potatoes. Place about 4 asparagus spears with feta on top of beef. Spoon Béarnaise sauce around plate.

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 lb. trimmed beef tenderloin roast
• 2 T. olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 or 2 sheets puff pastry, 12″ X 12″
• 2 eggs mixed with ¼ cup water (egg wash)

The tenderloin roast must be partially cooked if you want to eat it between medium rare and medium which is the preferred doneness for tenderloin. Preheat oven to 400°. Brush meat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Place on baking sheet and place in oven for 12 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. If you like the meat cooked longer, increase this precooking time about 5 minutes per degree of doneness desired. For well done, precook roast 15 to 20 minutes.

For the Duxelle:

• 2 T. butter
• 1 lb. washed, button mushrooms
• 2 T. minced shallot or white onion
• ½ cup dry white wine
• Salt and pepper

Place mushrooms in food processor and process until very fine. This can be done with a knife, but will require a lot of chopping! Heat a medium sauté pan and add butter. Add processed mushrooms and shallots and cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add wine and continue cooking until mixture is very thick and most of the moisture is cooked out (about 30 minutes). It’s important to stir constantly during this process. When done, set aside and cool completely. Turn meat over so that the underside is facing up and make a slit along the length of the tenderloin about 2 to 3 inches deep. Stuff mushroom mixture into tenderloin slit and squeeze meat back together.

Lightly flour a table or large cutting board and lay out pastry. With a rolling pin, roll the pastry square out about 2 inches on all sides. You should now have a square piece of pastry that is about 14″ X 14″. Brush pastry with eggs wash. Place tenderloin, stuffed side down, on pastry right along the edge that is facing you. Roll beef until the pastry sides meet. Pinch seam with your fingers. Brush top with egg wash. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375° for about 15 minutes.

For Béarnaise:

• 1 T. dried tarragon
• 1 T. minced shallot
• 1 cup tarragon vinegar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 and ½ cup clarified butter*

In small pan reduce vinegar with tarragon and shallot until almost dry. Over slowly simmering water in metal bowl, beat egg yolks with electric mixer or whisk for at least 10 minutes. Eggs should be lighter in color and somewhat thickened and frothy. Add tarragon mixture. Slowly drizzle in butter, beating constantly. Sauce will thicken. It may get too thick. If it does, just add a little hot water until the desired thickness is reached. Season with salt and pepper mix.

*Melt 1 lb. plus 1 stick butter in small sauce pan, then with a ladle, skim off the clear oil from top and reserve. Discard solids in bottom of pan.

This can be done ahead of time, except the chives, and heated right before serving.

Ingredients

• 6 pieces uncooked pancetta
• 14 medium red potatoes, quartered lengthwise
• A couple dozen fresh chives, chopped finely
• Salt and pepper mix

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 450° F.
2. Cook pancetta on sided cookie sheet, turning once, 15 minutes, or until crisp. Remove from sheet pan and reserve any fat left on pan. Chop pancetta and set aside.
3. Add potatoes to cookie sheet and toss to coat with bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper mix.
4. Cook, turning potatoes once 45 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown. Remove to serving dish and crumble reserved pancetta and chives on top.

Ingredients

• 2 qts. boiling water
• 2 quarts ice water in large bowl
• 12 stalks asparagus
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 4 T. olive oil
• 1 T. minced shallots
• Salt and pepper mix
• ½ cup feta cheese

Cut ends off asparagus and place in boiling water. Cook for about 90 seconds. Immediately plunge in ice water. Drain well. In a large bowl, toss asparagus spears and tomatoes with olive oil, shallots, and about 2 teaspoons salt and pepper mix. Place in Pyrex or baking dish. This can be done up to 3 days in advance. 15 minutes before serving, place mixture in a 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through. Place on serving tray, sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

For the Crust:

• ½ lb. butter-softened
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ t. salt
• Flour as needed

Mix butter, sugar, and salt in countertop mixer or with an electric mixer. Add flour until pea-sized balls are formed.

Place in a 10-inch spring form pan and with your hands, press the crust into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Work it until the thickness is fairly consistent on sides and bottom. This can be done in a cake pan, though can make it harder to get out!

For the Batter:

• 2 lbs. of cream cheese, completely softened.
• 4 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate bar
• 2 tablespoons espresso powder or instant coffee

Mix cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and eggs in mixer until smooth. Add white chocolate and coffee and blend well. Pour into crust and bake in a water bath at 200° for about 4 hours. To make a water bath simply place cheesecake into a broiling pan or cookie sheet with sides. Place in oven, then pour about 3 cups hot water into pan. Bake as usual. The water bath and slow cooking ensure that your cheesecake will not crack.