Holiday Recipe Ideas

Pepper Herb Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Whole beef tenderloin (4 to 5 pounds)
2 teaspoons cracked mixed peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

Directions:

Heat oven to 425°. Combine seasoning ingredients; press evenly onto all surfaces of beef roast.
Place roast on rack in shallow. Insert ovenproof meat thermometer so it is centered in thickest part of, not resting in fat. Do not add water or cover. Roast in 425° oven 50 to 60 minutes for medium rare; 60 to 70 minutes for medium doneness.
Remove roast when meat thermometer registers 135° for medium rare; 150° for medium. Transfer roast to carving board; tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes. (Temperature will continue to rise about 10°F to reach 145° for medium rare; 160°F for medium.)
Carve roast into thick slices.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin

Whole beef tenderloin (3 lbs.)
12 slices peeled garlic (from about 4 cloves)
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 pound bacon slices
3 fresh rosemary branches (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Using small sharp knife, cut twelve 1-inch-deep slits all over beef tenderloin. Insert garlic slices into slits. Rub pepper all over tenderloin. Arrange bacon slices on work surface, overlapping slightly and forming rectangle. Place 1 rosemary branch down center of bacon rectangle, perpendicular to bacon slices. Place tenderloin atop rosemary branch. Place remaining 2 rosemary branches atop tenderloin. Wrap bacon slices around tenderloin and rosemary to enclose tenderloin completely. Place tenderloin in roasting pan, bacon ends down. (Can be assembled 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Roast tenderloin until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125° for rare, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Tent with foil and let tenderloin stand 10 minutes.
Carve roast into thick slices.

Horseradish Gravy

Try this tasty gravy to be used with beef or pork dishes.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup stock
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 rounded tablespoons prepared horseradish
1/3 cup cream
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Remove meat from skillet. Meanwhile, reduce heat under skillet a little. Add butter to melt. Whisk in flour, cook 1 minute Whisk in stock, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and cream. Season with pepper.

Standing Rib Roast

Standing rib roast
3 to 7 ribs (12 to 16 oz. per person), bones cut away from the roast and tied back to the roast with kitchen string (ask your butcher to prepare the roast this way)
Salt and ground black pepper.

Directions:

3 hours before cooking, loosely wrap roast and leave set at room temperature. Roasts should always be brought close to room temperature first, before they go in the oven.

Preheat your oven to 500°, or the highest it will go. Generously sprinkle salt and pepper all over the roast.
Insert meat thermometer into the thickest part of the roast, making sure it doesn’t touch a bone. Place the roast, fat side up, rib side down in a roasting pan in the oven.

After 15 min., reduce the heat to 325°. To figure out the total cooking time, allow about 13-15 minutes per pound for medium rare. The actual cooking time will depend on the shape of the roast and your particular oven. A flatter roast will cook more quickly than a thicker one. So make sure to use a meat thermometer.

Roast in oven until thermometer registers 115°-120° for rare or 125°-130° for medium.

Check the temperature of the roast using a meat thermometer a half hour before you expect the roast to be done. Once the roast has reached the desired internal temperature, remove it from the oven and let rest 20 minutes, covered with aluminum foil, before carving. The roast will continue to cook while it is resting.

Coca Cola Ham

1 (10-pound) fully-cooked smoked cured ham
2 (12-ounce) cans cola
Canned pineapple rings
Light brown sugar, for sprinkling*
Maraschino cherries
Cloves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325.
Place ham in a shallow roasting pan, leaving room around the ham so the air can evenly circulate. Baste the ham with cola. With toothpicks, stick some pineapple rings on the ham, about 4 or 5 rings. Sprinkle some brown sugar on the rings. With toothpicks, place a cherry in each pineapple ring hole and then stick some cloves in the rings. Cover with foil.
Bake ham until heated through, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Baste with cola about every 30 minutes during cooking.

Stuffed Crown Roast of Pork

3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup peeled, cored and chopped tart apple
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground seasoned pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
9 pounds crown pork roast

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°
To Make Stuffing: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in celery and apples; saute (without browning) about 5 minutes longer. Scrape skillet contents into a large mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs, ground pork, sausage meat, parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Mix together gently but thoroughly. (Note: Do not taste the uncooked stuffing, for it contains raw pork. Fill the center of the crown with the stuffing, mounding it slightly. Cover it with a round of aluminum foil and wrap the ends of the chop bones in strips of foil to prevent them from charring and snapping off.
Place the crown on a rack in a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold it comfortably, and roast in the center of the oven, undisturbed, for about 3 hours or until internal temperature of meat is 175°. (Note: 30 minutes before pork is done, remove the foil from the top of the stuffing to allow the top to brown.)
Carefully transfer the crown to a large, heated, circular platter, strip the foil from the ends of the chops and replace it with paper frills. Let the crown rest for about 10 minutes before carving and serving. To Carve Pork: Insert a large fork in the side of the crown to steady it and, with a large, sharp knife, cut down through each rib to detach the chops. Two chops per person is a customary portion accompanied by a generous serving of the stuffing.