Silent Night, Holy Night - A Quiet Christmas Eve

You will see a lot more posts coming up today and tomorrow. I am trying to post all my recipes and menus for the upcoming Christmas holiday in case some of my followers need some ideas.  Also, because I am going to start running out of time to post blogs because my schedule is getting a bit hectic.

My husband and I wanted to create a tradition all our own with our children for Christmas Eve.  Since my family celebrates a big Italian Christmas Eve a week before(plus we see them on Christmas Day) and Mike's family all lives out of state, we decided that we would have a quiet Christmas Eve at home tradition.  We want it to be a night of attending Christmas Eve mass and also relaxing at home with our kids.  We also wanted to come up with a Christmas Eve dinner tradition as well.  A menu that is not complicated and also a bit lighter since we will be eating huge at my parents the next day. We also wanted to stick with the Italian-Christmas Eve seafood theme as well.  I have attached my "Quiet Christmas Eve At Home Dinner" in this post for you to view.  You will find that it is simple and yet elegant!


TWO HEARTS SALAD  

•  2 TB. Fresh lemon juice
• 2 ½ tsp. Dijon Mustard
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 6 TB. Olive oil
•  1 (14 oz.) can hearts of palm, drained and sliced into round
• 1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, quartered
•  1 head butter lettuce
• 12 cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1. Combine lemon juice, mustard and garlic in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing with salt & pepper.

2. Add hearts of palm and artichoke hearts. Let marinate at room temp. at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours, tossing occasionally.

 3. Line 6 plates with lettuce leaves. Using slotted spoon, divide hearts of palm and artichoke hearts among the 6 plates.

4. Add tomatoes to top of salad, Spoon remaining dressing over top and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Recipe Courtesy of Bon Appetite


CORN & LOBSTER CHOWDER 

*To cut down on prep time, use cooked lobster meat, available in some fish markets and supermarkets, or follow the directions below for cooking frozen lobster tails

• 2 (10 oz) frozen uncooked lobster tails, thawed, or 1 lb. freshly cooked lobster meat cut into bite-size pieces
• 8 cups frozen yellow corn kernels (about 2 1/4 pounds), thawed
• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 8 bacon slices, chopped
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 3/4 cup peeled finely diced carrots
• 2/3 cup finely diced celery
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. tarragon
• 3 cups bottled clam juice
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

If using thawed frozen lobster tails, cook in pot of boiling water until almost cooked through, about 6 minutes. Drain. Cool. Using kitchen shears, cut lobster shells open. Remove lobster meat; cut into bite-size pieces. Discard shells.

Purée 4 cups corn with 1 1/4 cups broth in processor until almost smooth.

Sauté bacon in large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add onions to pot; sauté until light golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 4 cups corn; sauté 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and cayenne; sauté until vegetables soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add clam juice and 1 3/4 cups broth; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in corn puré and whipping cream; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Lobster, bacon, and soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill lobster and bacon separately. Cool soup slightly; chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Bring bacon to room temperature and bring soup to simmer before continuing.) Remove soup from heat; stir in sour cream.

Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and sauté just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with lobster pieces, bacon, and chives and serve.

**I added most of the lobster meat to the soup and let it cook in the soup for 20 minutes.  I also added most of the bacon to the soup as well as I thought the lobster and bacon added flavor to the cooking of the soup.  I then added the extra lobster meat, bacon and chives as garnish to the soup when ready to serve.

*Recipe Adapted From Bon Appetite & Photo Courtesy of Bon Appetite
 

STORE BOUGHT CRESCENT ROLLS