Christmas Menus

I thought I would throw a little food post at you for a change! Here are two different menus for Christmas dinner, if you happen to be hosting. The first one I have made many times and it is always a big hit. The second one is what I am thinking about doing this year. I hope you like! Leave me a comment if you would like any of the recipes.

Menu 1:

Mushroom-Stuffed Beef Tenderloin
Garlic Cheese Grits (I don't care if you are a diehard Yankee, you will love these! Absolutely decadent.)
Spinach Maria (a spinach and cheese concoction from a local restaurant; to-die-for)
Sister Schubert's rolls
Rum Raisin Carrot Cake

Menu 2:

Spiral-sliced Ham with homemade mini biscuits and sweet-hot mustard
Broccoli salad
Pineapple casserole
Sweet potato casserole
Chocolate cakes with warm molten centers and fresh whipped cream

Bon Appetit!

Fish Tacos

Still on a cookbook kick: even though I talked about always using Epicurious, yesterday I pulled out my Susan Branch "Summer" cookbook for some inspiration. She has so many great ideas for using the fresh seasonal produce from our gardens and farmer's markets and I've never been disappointed with any of her recipes.


I actually didn't follow Susan's recipe exactly...I was going to do my own thing but it turned out the package of flour tortillas I brought home had a great fish taco recipe on the back, so I used their marinade and I'm really glad I did - it was great!


Here is my pasted-together final version:


flour tortillas
tilapia filets
fresh lime juice
dried oregano
chili powder
fresh garlic
olive oil
fresh tomato or fruit salsa
avocado
sour cream


Combine the lime juice, herbs, garlic and olive oil in a small bowl and brush onto both sides of the fish. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes up to several hours. Grill tilapia until flaky and opaque. Pile all ingredients into a warmed tortilla. *I use lots of cilantro in my homemade salsa, but if yours doesn't you might want to add some  fresh cilantro to your taco for the freshest taste.


It didn't occur to me to take a photo, so I'm cheating and using one from Google Images that looks a lot like mine did!

Rum-Raisin Carrot Cake

I made this yesterday for my friend Angie's birthday, and it came out great, if I do say so! I mixed and matched a couple of recipes and made some of my own additions...hopefully I can remember everything I did!

Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs

1/2 cup applesauce
3 cups grated peeled carrots (4-5 large carrots)
1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts

3/4 cup raisins, soaked in 1 cup dark rum for at least 30 minutes (reserve rum)

Cream Cheese Frosting
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
One stick of softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

For cake:Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour paper; tap out excess flour. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in applesauce until blended. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and ginger. Gently mix in drained raisins. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off waxed paper; poke holes in cakes with a toothpick, drizzle reserved rum equally over each cake. Cool completely before frosting.

For frosting: In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, confectioners' sugar and brown sugar. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a handheld mixer, beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy, about 10 minutes or until smooth. Spread the frosting between cake layers and all over cake. Decorate with walnut halves if desired.