Good morning, Friends! And welcome to the last two weeks before Christmas; the countdown is on!
As I work my way through the decorating and present buying and baking all the things, I’ve had some thoughts on the holiday season. Here you go, in no particular order -
Christmas tree ornaments can make even the most non-sentimental of beings have fuzzy, warm feelings. Every year, the Christmas tree is the last thing I pull down out of the attic. It’s just such a job. And making sure the lights all work? Ugh. But every year, I convince my boys to put on Elf and help me decorate, and I see our family ornaments and just get hit with all the emotions.
There’s the pregnant lady ornament a co-worker got me all those years ago; the cardinal that reminds me of my grandmother; the tiny porcelain ballerina I’ve had since I was a child; the little hound dog that represents our first dog, Jack; countless tiny handprint snowmen on colorful glass globes, and all the “our first Christmas” and “baby’s first Christmas” you could imagine. What a personal thing an ornament collection can be!
I love to look in at people’s Christmas trees all lit up as we drive down the street at night. I love to see who uses classic white lights and who goes all out with multi-color. Houses with multiple trees get bonus points! I guess it makes me some kind of weird creeper, but hey - don’t put your tree right in the window if you don’t want me to look at it!
All of my wrapped Christmas presents probably include at least one dog hair stuck in the tape somewhere. Sorry about that.
I much prefer traditional Christmas carols to pop Christmas music. Give me a We Three Kings or Hark! The Herald Angels Sing over Mariah Carey any day. (Also - why does every pop star think they have to make a Christmas Album?) The candlelight Silent Night at our Christmas Eve service is always my official “now it’s Christmas” moment.
And finally, what makes a Christmas Dinner? Is it on Christmas Eve? Christmas Day? Does it have to be fancy? Is it always turkey or ham? (Didn’t we just eat that…) You see a lot of picture perfect tablescapes with beautiful centerpieces, and glowing candles, and food that definitely needed a stylist to look like that, but I like to think that Christmas dinner can be whenever friends and family are around. It can be served on china or paper plates. And it can be anything you feel like making, eating, or picking up! My only rule is that love and laughter must be abundant.
So, there you go - Sarah’s random thoughts about Christmas. And that brings us to this week’s recipes, which I’ve decided would be a wonderful alternative to that turkey or ham for your Christmas dinner.
I’ve always been partial to a chicken stew in my list of top comfort foods, and this Chicken Cacciatore makes the cut. It feels special and like maybe it took quite a bit of time and effort, when in reality, this one pan meal is very manageable. Boneless chicken thighs are quickly browned, onions and peppers are sautéed in the same skillet, and the whole thing is finished in another 30 minutes. (You could also check out my White Chicken Cacciatore here, but I love the red sauce for Christmas!)
In my vision of this Chicken Cacciatore as a holiday dinner, I would bring the pan right to the table and let guests serve themselves the tender chicken and savory sauce over bowls of creamy polenta with a mixed greens salad on the side and plenty of rustic bread for swiping all around the plates.
For dessert, I would serve this Classic Pecan Pie (also below) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (and probably a can of spray whip!). An old fashioned pie can’t help but be a crowd pleaser, and there’s something about a good pie that screams “wow, she really went all out”.
You can make your own crust (I included my all-butter pastry crust recipe), or take it easy on yourself and use store-bought, but the beauty of this pie is that it can be stirred together and in the oven in about 10 minutes. I use chopped pecans because I want to pack more in every bite (and it’s easier to cut than pies with pecan halves), and I stir in a tablespoon of bourbon for that little hint of “what is that? oh that’s good”, but you can totally leave it out if you want to.
Until next week, I leave you to your own Christmas musings. Enjoy the season! Sing all the carols (or pop songs, I won’t judge you), look in all the windows at the pretty lights, and know that it’s okay to get a little teary when you hang that toilet paper tube Santa from ten years ago on the tree.
MONDAY - BBQ Baked Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli
Recycling this idea from last week’s plan because I went down hard with a 24-hour stomach bug, and we never got to it!
TUESDAY - One-Pan Pasta with Vodka Sauce, Salad, Bread
WEDNESDAY - Roasted Chicken, Creamy Parmesan Rice, Honey Carrots
I love throwing a whole chicken in the oven to roast - it’s so much easier than many people think! Towards the end of the cooking time, I’ll do some parmesan rice and honey glazed carrots for the sides.
THURSDAY - Italian Wedding Soup
I’ve always wanted to try making an Italian wedding soup, can’t believe I never have. Who wouldn’t want soup with little meatballs right down in there?! I’m going to use this recipe from The Mediterranean Dish as a guide to get started.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-Up!
SATURDAY - Dinner at YaYa’s (the in-laws)!
Teriyaki chicken and rice - marinated chicken breast topped with a pineapple ring and a piece of swiss cheese! Rice and salad to go with.
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s!
We’ve discussed both meatloaf and patty melts. Both sound great - whatever we don’t do over there I may have to go ahead and do at home!
LUNCHES for this week -
It’s been a while since I’ve done this baked salad with kale, cabbage, and quinoa from Justine Doiron of Justine Snacks, and it sounds like just what I want this week while I push through pre-Christmas tasks.
EXTRAS for this week
I need to get going on some Christmas cookies! I’ll probably pick a couple of favorites from last year’s list, but I’m also working on a cranberry-walnut cookie with a nutty rye flour.
Chicken Cacciatore
Makes about 4-6 servings
· 2 – 2 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
· 1-1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
· 2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil
· 1 medium Onion, sliced
· 2 sweet Bell Peppers (red, orange, or yellow), cut into strips
· 3 cloves Garlic, minced
· 1 can (28 oz.) Diced Tomatoes
· 1 cup White Wine
· 1 cup Chicken Broth
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh Rosemary
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh Thyme leaves
· Salt and Pepper
Put flour in a zip-top bag and add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper, shake to mix. Add chicken thighs (in 2 batches if you need to) and shake to coat chicken. In a heavy bottomed, deep pan with a tight-fitting lid (such as a Dutch oven), drizzle in olive oil to coat bottom, and over medium high heat, brown chicken on all sides, 5 minutes per side (again, in two batches if needed). Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Add onion, peppers, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to pan, cook 6-8 minutes over medium high heat. Stir to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of your pan. Add garlic and cook about one minute more.
Stir in wine and cook 2-3 minutes until reduced by about half. Stir in tomatoes and broth. Add in rosemary and thyme. Nestle chicken thighs back down into the pan (along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate), cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165. Reduce heat as necessary to prevent a boil.
Serve chicken and sauce by itself with a green salad on the side or over pasta, mashed potatoes, or creamy polenta. Don’t forget good bread to get up every last bit!
Classic Pecan Pie
Makes one 9-inch pie
· One 9” Pie Crust, store-bought or homemade (my favorite homemade recipe below)
· 3 large Eggs
· 2/3 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
· ¼ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 1 teaspoon Vanilla
· 1 tablespoon Bourbon, optional
· 1 cup Light Corn Syrup
· 1 ½ cups roughly chopped Pecans
Preheat oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the lower third. No need to par bake your pie crust.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and brown sugar until well combined. Whisk in salt, vanilla, and bourbon, if using. Stir in the corn syrup and mix well. Change to a rubber spoon or spatula and fold in the chopped pecans.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust, using your spatula to make sure the pecans are evenly distributed.
Place the pie on a baking sheet for easier transport in and out of the oven.
Bake the pie on the rack arranged in the lower part of your oven for about 1 hour, until puffed and almost set. It will still have a wiggle, but should not be liquid in the center. (It will set more as it cools.)
Remove the pie from the oven and cool at least one hour. Serve warm or at room temperature, plain or with ice cream or whipped cream.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!