Healthy Recipes for the Holidays

Just in time for the season: new cookbook, Holiday Entertaining: Inspired Recipes & Ideas for Celebrating the Season, by Georgeanne Brennan, published by Oxmoor House. With more than 120 recipes— including holiday classics—to make your holidays delicious and stress free, it also has serving and decorating tips to make your table memorable. Sample these recipes from the book, and you'll surely want to try the rest.

RECIPES FROM WILLIAMS-SONOMA HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING

Rosemary Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding
Serves 8
4-rib standing rib roast, about 8 lb (4 kg), tied
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Yorkshire Pudding
3 extra-large eggs
1-1/2 cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) whole milk
1-1/2 cups (7 ½ oz/235 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
Canola oil, if needed
2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) beef or chicken stock

Remove the roast from the refrigerator about 1 hour before roasting. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C). Rub the roast on all sides with the butter and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the Yorkshire pudding batter, combine the eggs and milk in a blender and process just to combine. Add the flour and salt and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Place the roast, rib bones down, in a roasting pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F (180°C). Continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part away from the bone registers 120°-130°F (52°-54°C) for rare to medium-rare, about 1-1/4 – 1-3/4 hours longer. Transfer to a carving board and loosely tent with aluminum foil. Let rest for 30 minutes. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and raise the heat to 450°F (230°C).

Spoon the fat from the roasting pan into a small bowl. Add canola oil if needed to total 1/4 cup (2 fl oz/60 mil) and reserve. Pour the stock into the roasting pan, place the pan on the stove top over low heat, and scrape the pan bottom to loosen browned bits, stirring until dissolved. Pour the contents of the pan through a medium-mesh sieve into a measuring pitcher and reserve.

Put 1 teaspoon of the reserved fat in each of 12 nonstick standard muffin cups. Place in the oven to heat for 5 minutes. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of the batter into each hot muffin cup, filling them about two-thirds full. Return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 425°F (220°C). Bake until puffed and golden and a knife inserted into the center of 1 pudding comes out clean, about 30 minutes

While the puddings are baking, prepare the jus: Pour the pan juices mixture into a saucepan, bring to a boil over high heat, and cook until reduced by one-third, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

Remove the strings and cut along the rib bones to release the meat in a single large piece. Cut across the grain into thick slices. Serve with a little jus spooned over each slice. With the tip of the knife, lift each pudding from the muffin pan and serve with the roast.

Shopping Tip:
Look for a roast with a thick layer of white fat and marbling throughout the meat. Ask the butcher for the “first cut,” which comes from the loin end and has the biggest eye, and to tie the roast to keep the fat from pulling away from the meat.

Root Vegetable Puree
This purée can be made with any combination of root vegetables, which are fresh and delicious during the winter months. This side dish is a favorite addition to hearty roasts and stews.

Serves 6

1 large or 2 medium russet or Yukon gold potatoes, about 1 lb (500 g) total weight, peeled and cut
into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks
2 lb (1kg) root vegetables such as rutabagas, celery root (celeriac), parsnips, or carrots, or a
combination, peeled and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks
Salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 shallots, sliced into thin rounds
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons (2 oz/60 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the potato, the root vegetables, 1 teaspoon salt, and water to cover by 1 inch (2.5 cm) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer rapidly, uncovered, until the vegetables are very tender when pieced with a knife, 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan over high heat, warm the oil. Separate the shallot slices into rings and add to the pan. Fry, stirring often, until golden brown, 4-7 minutes. Add the sugar and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 1 minute longer. The shallots should be crisp and well colored. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots to paper towels to drain, arranging them in a single layer.

When the vegetables are tender, drain them, reserving 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) of the cooking liquid. Return the vegetables to the saucepan and, using a potato masher or large wooden spoon, mash them, adding the butter pieces one at a time as you work. Add enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make a soft consistency. Season with the nutmeg and with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the purée to a warmed serving dish or bowl and sprinkle evenly with the shallots. Serve at once.

Poached Pears in Red Wine
Fruity Pinot Noir, along with a vanilla bean and colorful raspberry purée, updates this classic pear dessert. Seckel pears, with their smooth, slightly granular flesh are a good variety to use. Winter Nellis or Bosc are also good pears for poaching.
Serves 4

4 firm but ripe Seckel pears, peeled with stems intact
2-1/2 cups (20 fl oz/625 ml) Pinot Noir or other light, fruity red wine
1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) sugar
1 lemon zest strip, 2 inches (5 cm) long by 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide
2-inch (5-cm) piece vanilla bean
1-1/2 cups (12 fl oz/375 ml) water
1 cup (4 oz/125 g) fresh or thawed frozen unsweetened raspberries
1/2 cup (2 oz/60 g) fresh raspberries

Place the pears in a non-aluminum saucepan large enough to hold them lying down. Add the wine, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla bean, and the water.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, set a heatproof plate on top of the pears to keep them submerged in the liquid, and simmer gently until a thin knife inserted into the widest part of a pear pierces easily to the center, 35-40 minutes. Remove the plate covering the pears. Let the pears cool to room temperature in the liquid.

Meanwhile, make a raspberry purée. In a food processor or blender, purée the 1 cup (4 oz/125 g) fresh or frozen berries until smooth. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh sieve held over a bowl, pressing the back of a wooden spoon to push as much of the purée through the sieve as possible. Discard the contents of the sieve. Set the purée aside.

Using a slotted spoon, lift the pears from the liquid. Set each pear in a shallow individual bowl, or place all four pears on a deep platter. Remove the zest and vanilla bean and discard or save the vanilla bean to garnish, if you like. Drizzle the raspberry purée onto the plate and garnish with a few fresh raspberries. Serve at room temperature.

SERVING TIP:
Pass thin wafers of bittersweet chocolate to accompany the ruby pears.

Recipes reprinted with permission from HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING: Inspired Recipes & Ideas for Celebrating the Season
by Georgeanne Brennan
Oxmoor House; October 2007; $34.95/hardcover; ISBN-13: 978-0-8487-3193-9