Christmas in Kentucky

Dear Long Lost Readers: I apologize for the little hiatus. The holiday though packed with good cheer, fantastic food and hearty home cooking, managed to keep me away from the computer. Hopefully you enjoyed time away from yours as well! John and I traveled home to be with my family in Harrodsburg, KY for Christmas. My sister Annie and her husband Greg were there, as was my Mom's brother, my Uncle Bill and his wife Suellen. As I've mentioned before, we all love to cook and most all family gatherings are centered around food. Christmas this year was of course no exception. The menu for Christmas Dinner 2009 was as follows: *Uncle Bill's Caesar Salad (now Annie's specialty) *Lemony Mushroom Risotto *Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Cream *Steamed Asparagus Many people have a traditional Christmas dinner menu however in our house, half of the fun is designing a unique menu each year. This process has become even more interesting now that Annie is a "pescatarian." (A vegetarian that also eats fish and shellfish.) This year's menu worked great seeing as the risotto served double duty as a side dish with the tenderloin and a hearty main course for my sister. The meal preparation and cocktail hour kicked off simultaneously. We snacked on cheeses and olives and sipped on Manhattans. Seeing as we live in the very heart of Bourbon country, these are a family specialty. We normally eye-ball these but the recipe technically calls for: *1 1/2 oz Kentucky Bourbon *1/2 oz sweet Vermouth *dash Angostura bitters Shake over ice and pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. It was much fun to have everybody in the kitchen cooking together. Between my Mom, Uncle Bill (the only one of us with formal culinary training and restaurant experience), Annie and myself, we were able to pull together an amazing meal in a jiffy. Uncle Bill's Caesar salad recipe is legendary. Quite frankly, I don't have the actual recipe written down. I can tell you that it is the.real.deal . It is a mixture of anchovy paste, fresh garlic, a raw egg, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, parmesan cheese and a hit of Tabasco. It is finished with some parmesan cheese as well. Tossed with crisp romaine lettuce, a few fresh croutons and shaved parmesan cheese, it is spicy, tart, briny, savory... there is really nothing like it in this world. The risotto was a recipe that Annie found on Epicurious. It was absolutely delicious, creamy and just al dente. My secret to perfect risotto is constant stirring-adding just a very tiny ladle of broth at a time- also I thin it with some extra broth right at the very end. The rice continues to absorb the liquid all the way to the table and you need the extra liquid to avoid a gluey-ness as it sets up. Uncle Bill and Mom studded the beef tenderloin with shards of fresh garlic and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. They seared it quickly in a roasting pan over a hot grill and then placed it in the oven at 400 degrees. After 10 minutes, they turn the oven off. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR. My grandmother's secret was to let the residual heat gradually cook the meat evenly through. Roasting in a hot oven tends to cook the outer meat much more quickly than the middle. I think we left it in for another 20 minutes or so until the thermometer read approx 125 degrees. Meanwhile, Mom whisked together some prepared horseradish, sour cream and a touch of dijon for a quick but delectable accompaniment. All in all it was an outstanding meal. We managed to leave a little room for a smattering of mom's classic Christmas cookies too. What did your family have for Christmas dinner this year??? Leave a comment and let me know!