Christmas blessings with menus for several occasions

My prayer is that today you enjoy a blessed Christmas.

And, soon to follow we’ll all be celebrating the arrival of the new year. Every family discovers and creates their favorite holiday traditions. From these traditions they will also fit meals into that holiday template.

With our family, we have often had a light New Year’s meal, a late morning breakfast and an early New Year’s dinner. All of these meals are, of course, interspersed between viewing parades, building our Lego layout even more grandiose, football games and, on occasion, a Scrabble game or jigsaw puzzle.

So, my Christmas gift to you is a series of New Year’s menus with a * marking a recipe that might be a wonderful fit for your family and its New Year’s activities and culinary needs.

With Christmas and New Year’s blessings, J.B.

Family New Year’s Eve

Chowder (Corn, Clam,

Crab, Lobster, Potato)

Cheese-Bread Loaf*

Carrots, Celery, Olives, Grape

tomatoes

Peppermint-Frosted Cookies

Sparkling Apple Cider

New Year’s

Morning Breakfast

Panettone-French Toast*

Warmed Maple syrup

Sauteed Apples

Turkey Bacon

A New Year’s

Mid-Morning Brunch

Scrambled Eggs

Sauteed Vegetables

Crescent Rolls

Link sausages

Apple-Orange Galette*

New Year’s Day Dinner

Baked Ham

Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower

with Cheese Sauce

Pecan-Topped Sweet Potatoes

Classic Pan Rolls*

Angel Food Cake with Whipped

Cream and Crushed Peppermint

Candy

New Year’s Day Supper

Slow Cooker Beef Stew*

Popovers

Grape Tomatoes with Pesto Sauce

Frosted Christmas Cake

Cheese Bread Loaf

1 pkg. active dry yeast

¼ cup warm (105-115 degrees) water

¼ cup milk

1 ½ tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ cup canola oil

3 eggs

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup ¼-inch diced Swiss or

American cheese

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixer bowl.

Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Stir milk into yeast, sugar, salt, oil, eggs and 1 ½ cups of flour.

Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, 10 minutes. Stir in remaining flour with spoon until smooth.

Cover, let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.

Stir down batter by beating about 25 strokes; gently work in cheese until evenly distributed. Shape into ball; place in greased glassed pie plate, 9 x 1 ½ inches. Let rise until double, about 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake risen bread until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from pie plate to a wire rack. Cool just until easy to handle. Slice into wedges and serve.

Panettone-French Toast

1 large loaf Panettone Bread

9 eggs

1 qt. milk

1 cup whipping cream

¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cut bread into slices about ½-inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet and dry in a 300-degree oven about 20 minutes, turning once. Remove and cool. Cut into manageable pieces (halves or triangles).

Place bread slices in a shallow-rimmed non-reactive container (stainless, glass or plastic).

Blend milk and whipping cream. Combine salt, sugar and cinnamon and shake through a strainer to break up cinnamon. Add a bit of milk mixture slowly so that mixture remains smooth. Add remaning milk-cream mixture. Pour all over bread in container. Turn bread to coat both sides. Refrigerate overnight. All of egg mixture will be absorbed by bread.

Take from container with a spatula and cook on greased preheated griddle or electric frypan until lightly browned and cooked through. Serve with warmed syrup.

Apple-Orange Galette

Pastry for a two-crust pie

(homemade, from mix or

refrigerated pie crusts)

¼ cup orange marmalade

½ tsp. fresh grated orange rind

6 Granny Smith apples

1 tbsp. lemon juice

3 tbsp. flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp. cream

1 ½ tsp. sugar

2 tbsp. orange marmalade

1 tbsp. water

On a floured surface, stack two rounds of pastry for a 9-inch pie on top of each other. Roll to a 16-17 inch circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet (pastry will overlap). Spread orange marmalade over center of pastry, leaving a 2-inch border.

Put apples in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Blend flour, sugar and cinnamon. Toss mixture with apples.

Turn apples out onto pastry, leaving 2-inch border. Fold border over apples. Blend egg yolk and cream with a fork. Brush egg-cream mixture on top of pastry. Sprinkle with 1 ½ tsp. sugar.

Bake in a 350-degree oven about an hour or until apples or tender.

Combine orange marmalade and water and heat. Drizzle over apples. Let cool a bit. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8.

Classic Pan Rolls

¼ cup water (about 70 degrees)

1 pkg. active dry yeast

Pinch of sugar

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. melted butter

1 egg

1 cup whole milk

3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups all purpose flour

Soft butter

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp. cream

Pour water into a large bowl. Sprinkle with yeast. Add a pinch of sugar. Let stand about 5 minutes or until dissolved.

Stir in 3 tbsp. sugar, salt, melted butter, egg and milk. Blend well. Add flour, in 1-cup increments, blending well after each, until dough forms that can be kneaded.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 5 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rest 5 minutes. Knead again. Generously butter a 9 x 13-inch pan. Shape into 15 equal size balls of dough and place dough into buttered pan. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Mix egg yolk with cream and brush on top of each roll. Bake in a 350-degree oven until deep golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Makes 15 rolls.

To make ahead

When dough has been shaped into balls and placed in buttered pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap and then foil. Refrigerate overnight.

To bake: Remove from refrigerator. Allow to rise until double in bulk. Paint tops with egg-cream mixture and bake as above. Makes 15 rolls

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 tbsp. canola oil

3 lb. beef stew meat

2 cups beef stock

2 onions, chopped

½ cup red wine

2 carrots

4 ribs of celery

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. thyme

1-2 tsp. minced garlic

3 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

6 small red potatoes, cooked and

quartered, optional

Saute beef in oil just until brown, if desired and time is available. Turn into large (at least 6 cup slow cooker/ Crockpot). Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for about 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

If desired, cook red potatoes in boiling water. Cool. Peel and quarter and add to stew about l hour before end of cooking time.

Serves 6.