Christmas Entree Recipes
What Should I Prepare For My Christmas Dinner Entree?Deciding on what to serve for your Christmas dinner entrée could be very difficult. You could always choose the traditional ham, or you could go non traditional and choose lamb, turkey, goose, or even a prime rib. Whatever you choose, you will need great Christmas entrée recipes. There are hundreds of web sites and cook books that are dedicated to helping you prepare the best Christmas dinner.
The following recipe from Christmas-joy.com is for Garlic Roasted Lamb. You will need the following ingredients for the lamb. 1 shank half leg of lamb (about 3 pounds), 1/8 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 8 cloves garlic, sliced in half lengthwise, 2 large sprigs fresh rosemary, or 2 teaspoons dried rosemary, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes, 6 parsnips, cut into 1 inch pieces.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. With a sharp knife, trim all of the fat and any cartilage from the lamb. Season the meat with salt and pepper. With a small knife, make 1 inch deep slits all over the leg of lamb. Using most of the garlic and all of the rosemary, push a garlic half or a few of the rosemary leaves into each of the slits. In a large roasting pan, combine the olive oil with the sweet potatoes, parsnips, and remaining garlic to coat well. Move the vegetables to the side of the pan and place the leg of lamb into the center. Roast the lamb and the vegetables 1 ½ to 2 hours or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the meat reads 160 degrees F (for medium). Turn the vegetables occasionally so that they cook evenly. Remove the pan from the oven and with a slotted spoon transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and keep them warm while you tend to the lamb. Transfer the lamb to a carving platter, cover with foil and let rest for about 5 minutes, then slice the roast lamb and serve with the vegetables.
Another great Christmas entrée recipe is from allrecipes.com and is for a Christmas Sangria Ham. You will need 1 (8 pound) bone in ham with the rind removed, ¼ cup whole cloves, 1 pound brown sugar, 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice, 2 cups sangria wine (a burgundy wine may also be substituted for the sangria).
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, use a sharp knife to score the ham ¼ inch deep in a diamond pattern. Place ham into a large roaster with the fat side up, and stud the ham with the whole cloves. Pack the top of the ham with the whole pound of brown sugar to coat the surface as thickly as possible. Roast uncovered for approximately 20 minutes, or until the sugar begins to melt. During this time, mix together the pineapple juice and the sangria wine. When the sugar has begun to melt, pour one cup of the wine mixture over the ham make a foil tent over the ham and return the ham to the oven for 40 minutes. After one hour in the oven, baste the ham with a second cup of the wine mixture, stirring it into the pan drippings. Return the ham to the oven for 2 more hours, basting again after the first hour with the remaining wine mixture. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and baste the ham with the pan drippings every 20-30 minutes for the final hour of cooking. A meat thermometer should reach 160 degrees when the ham is done.
No matter what Christmas entrée recipes you choose, your dinner is sure to be a success if it is well planned out, and accompanied with friends and family. |