This year (wait, last year…haha) was the first year I hosted the family Christmas dinner. It felt like a horribly adult thing to do, I mean, holiday dinners are something that your parents do, right? But it was time for me to step up and get into the kitchen, get grumpy and kick everyone out and cook some beef.
The menu was pretty much the same Christmas dinner menu we have every year. Big giant roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, roasted garlic lemon broccoli and creme brulee. I’ll admit, I was nervous about the making the beef. I’m a casserole/lasagna kind of oven-user and have never really cooked a big giant piece of meat before. Turned out that it was the easiest part of the meal. Throw it in a pan, rub it with some salt and pepper and in the oven it goes.
The broccoli was pretty easy too. And I put my parents to work to make the mashed potatoes and bernaise sauce. Since my husband was in charge of the creme brulee, all I had left to do was the Yorkshire pudding. According to the recipe in my Joy of Cooking book, it didn’t seem too difficult so I thought I was home free. Sound the dinner bell!
Looks like I got too cocky. After I warmed up the my glass dish in the oven (exactly what the recipe said to do), I then poured in the beef drippings into the dish and then a second later, KABLAMMMO!!!! My dish exploded on the stove and shards of glass flew everywhere. I just sort of stood there frozen with a WTF look on my face until people started running in wanting to know what the explosion was.
RIP favorite lasagna pan.Vaya con dios. Maybe we’ll meet again someday...
You’d think after this happened before I would’ve learned my lesson. Nope. Guess not.
So there was no Yorkshire pudding with dinner. That’s ok. There was still enough food to eat, enough wine to drink and my husband did a fabulous job on the creme brulee. All in all, I would declare the dinner a success.
And here’s my favorite part of Christmas:
Watching Anna and her cousins playing together was the best part of the day. Good times all around.
2. January 2010 at 4:46 pm
I think I need to make some roasted garlic lemon broccoli. I’d pretty much eat anything with garlic and lemon in the name!
What a bummer about the pan. That happened to me once, and it’s a shocker my heart didn’t burst out of my chest it scared me so bad! haha..
You should definitely read one of Jane Austen’s books. I say start with Pride & Prejudice just because it’s the only one I’ve read! haha
2. January 2010 at 7:04 pm
I’ve had a glass pan break too. I think it was becasue I put it on a hot burner. And I agree the meat is the best part. I bought a pre cooked turkey dinner this year. I prefer roast beef etc. I love yorkshire pudding and I made it from the Joy of Cooking also.
XD
2. January 2010 at 8:16 pm
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/08/pyrex.html
2. January 2010 at 8:17 pm
What a wonderful way to share and document a big family event. I LOVE THE WEB!
Bonnie
2. January 2010 at 11:14 pm
The sweet potatoes and rolls weren’t bad, either (pat pat pat)
3. January 2010 at 8:28 am
The sweet potatoes and rolls were awesome! Homemade rolls! Sweet potato casserole! My sister in law is the best cook ever!!
3. January 2010 at 8:29 am
That is a really interesting article. I had no idea that Corning sold Pyrex to someone else. But it makes sense.
3. January 2010 at 8:30 am
I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com and added some cauliflower to it. It was pretty tasty.
4. January 2010 at 5:27 am
that is definitely dinner with a bang! looks lovely, though.