My Christmas Feast

Yam and Navel Orange Salad

Like many other families, our holiday meals have always been ruled by tradition and habit: not only do we serve the same dishes over and over, the same women prepare the meals year after year. Our table would feature a turkey (ham if we were celebrating Easter), mashed potatoes and gravy, a plain stuffing, deviled eggs, a vegetable tray loaded with canned black olives and pickles, yams covered in sugar, a sweet salad with Jell-O as one of the ingredients, and depending on which side of the family I was feasting with, a bowl of cucumbers drowning in white vinegar. I cannot forget the pies. There are always pies. I have to add that one of my grandmothers is a master pie maker. When Pa was little Grandma Pie Master baked pies and sold them to make extra money.

The prime rib before cooking.

While Z. spent the holiday with his family in the Northwest, I visited the state that I fondly refer to as the Old Country, good ol' Wyoming. This year we broke some traditions. Pa and I prepared dinner. Not only was the venue different, we prepared dishes that showed off each of our respective culinary abilities and tastes in food. Pa  made an amazing prime rib roast that he covered in crushed peppercorns and slow cooked in a braising liquid of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce, garlic, and other seasonings. I created the side dishes.

Please pardon the pink plate; it is the only platter in the house.

Grandma Pie Master and I are the only two who love yams and expect them every holiday meal. She always prepared them with lots of brown sugar and covered in marshmallows. I wanted to share another way to enjoy yams. I made one of my favorite dishes from The Choosy Beggars (who by the way, are hilarious), Sweet Potato and Navel Orange Salad. This is a dish of contrasts. I love the tart vinaigrette with the sweet yams which cuts the spiciness of the chili pepper and red onion and the orange sections and juice tie everything together. Pa who hates yams and laughs at me every time I share my love of yams, tried my salad and ENJOYED himself. Try this recipe!

Pa had a recipe waiting for me when I arrived that he wanted to make for our meal. He wanted to make the Pioneer Woman's Brussels with Balsamic and Cranberries. I was more than happy to oblige; I already knew the beauty that is fresh brussels sprouts with balsamic. This dish turned out great. The tart, chewy cranberries were a great addition to the brussel sprouts. I went a step further and added a couple of handfuls of chopped toasted pecans. Excellent!

We had to have pie. Since I was co-leader of this meal, I really wanted to show off a little and make something unusual for my family. I made Guy Fieri's Rustic Pear Tart. My grandma has always added a drizzle of white vinegar to her crust to make it tender so I was drawn to Guy's use of buttermilk rather than ice water. I made a slight change and used half butter and half vegetable shortening. Grandma Pie Master was going to be eating this pie. I had to have a flaky crust, which I did with the shortening but still had the flavor and tenderness of a butter crust. I thoroughly enjoyed the spices used in the pear mixture but I did add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the pears since vanilla and pears is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Enjoy!