Christmas is less than two weeks away and many home chefs and bakers have no clue as to whip up. Do you go with a roast or with a ham? Bake the traditional cookies or try your hand at a lush dessert? There are so many options. Yet what is the right one?
This is my problem on two accounts. What I will make as the main course will be vegan . That's a given. Yet what will it be? My go to is the comforting and tasty Gardein's turkey cutlets. They're easy to make in the air fryer and the accompanying gravy packets can easily be cooked in the microwave. This last is easy to make. Just thaw out add some water and a bit of I can't Believe it's Not Butter and a pinch of onion powder. The sides are an easy stuffing mix usually from Acme. Then there's either Brussels sprouts or green beans. I could change it up, I've seen two recipes that could change my mind.I recently saw the great British chef Mary Berry make a venison Wellington on her Great Country House series. She turned venison into something special at Scone Castle. I looked up a vegan version and found I could make one with Beyond beef, spinach, and chopped mushrooms wrapped in already made puff pastry. Then there's a tofu ham loaf that I know I can make tasty with a root beer glaze. I prepped the Thanksgiving Tofurky as it was the real thing. I can do the same with a faux ham with a delicious tried and true recipe.
Then there's the question of dessert. Who doesn't love a home baked cookie at Christmas however they are work. Even the Pillsbury Slice and Bakes can be laborious. Yet there are some recipes I would love to try, like peanut blossoms or almond spritz cookies. I did buy a gingerbread house kit at Five Below. This can be dismantled and eaten, hence taking care of the cookie and candy side of the holiday. Yet what to make for Christmas Day dessert? I thought maybe a spice cake with a chocolate ganache icing , a riff on Hackensack New Jersey's great B & W's Bakery's spice cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Then I saw a PBS special on London's historic hotel The Savoy and one of its illustrious chefs ,Auguste Escoffier. He was famed for creating amazing desserts , named for the prominent women of the late Victorian Era. One was for the Australian opera singer , Nellie Melba which was a marriage of raspberry coulis over peaches and vanilla ice cream. That looked wonderful so I Googled the recipe. It's surprisingly easy to make. It would be a breeze to make after a labor intensive fake meat dinner.. I can easily buy canned peaches and there are fresh raspberries in all the stores.
I still don't what to make. I am leaning towards the tried and true Gardein turkey and peach Melba. Or it may be something else? Or something new? There's still a lot of time to decide.
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