Written by Jason Kritzberg on December 21, 2020
A delicious and flavorful Christmas dinner is something you want to spend the next 364 days thinking about! Creating the perfect Christmas dinner for your family to share and enjoy together could be a daunting and overwhelming task, so us at Stephen White Real Estate want to make things easy! Follow our top pick recipes to ensure you have a successful cooking process and produce the most mouth watering, appetizing, and flavorsome holiday meal!
Peppered Jelly & Orange Glazed Ham
Everyone loves that tangy and sweet flavor so we thought this would be a great main entree pick for the dinner table! Ham is a Christmas dinner staple, and you will have the entire dinner table impressed with this orange-red pepper jelly glaze that adds a tangy yet sweet taste to the dish. With robust flavors of red pepper jelly, mixed with the citrus that the navel oranges provide, topped with the tartness of red wine vinegar, this recipe will be the show stopper! Follow the recipe below:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 fully cooked bone-in ham (about 7 pounds total; preferably shank end)
1 navel orange
2 8-ounce jars sweet red pepper jelly
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the ham cut-side down on a rack set in a roasting pan; add 1/4 cup water to the pan. Score the ham, if desired. Cover the ham and the pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely grate the orange zest into a small bowl, then squeeze in 3 tablespoons juice. Add the pepper jelly and vinegar and whisk to combine. Transfer 3/4 cup glaze to a bowl and reserve for serving.
Brush half the remaining glaze over the ham and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Brush the remaining glaze over the ham and bake until the ham is heated through and the internal temperature registers 140 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes more. Serve with the reserved glaze. Merry Christmas!
Roasted Maple Pears with Cranberries & Thyme
Alongside the basic Christmas side dishes like mashed potatoes, Mac & cheese, veggies, etc, this dish is quite the unique side dish which is why we figured having it on this list would be well suited! Who doesn’t love roasted pears?? This dish brings a party in your mouth with the sweetness burst in the pears and the herby flavor from the thyme. Having this sweetness along with the tart ham above would be not only a great pallet cleanser, but also just a delicious side! You know what to do, follow the recipe below:
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 firm pears (such as Bosc), cored and quartered
Kosher salt and pepper
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries (thawed, if frozen)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 375°F with the rack in the middle.
Melt butter in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet on medium until foamy. Cook pears on cut sides, turning once, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove from the heat. Turn pears skin-side down and season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup water and lemon juice to the pan, then drizzle with maple syrup. Add cranberries, then sprinkle with sugar and thyme sprigs.
Transfer to the oven and cook, basting occasionally with pan juices, until pears are tender but still hold their shape, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with pan juices for a delicious Christmas side!
White Peppermint Bark
My favorites Christmas dessert treat is by far white peppermint bark chocolate! I just had to share it because its such a classic! This bark is topped with mini meringue pieces and white-chocolate coated pretzels; again, giving you that sweet yet salty flavor for a delicious treat (see the trend yet?) Follow our recipe to make this Christmas classic:
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. white chocolate
1/8 tsp. pure peppermint extract
white chocolate–coated pretzels
puffed-rice cereal
meringue cookie pieces
white and silver sprinkles
crushed peppermint candies
DIRECTIONS
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place 1 lb white chocolate in a bowl and microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Add in 1/8 tsp pure peppermint extract.
Spread onto prepared sheet into roughly 8- by 10-in. rectangle shape.
Sprinkle with white chocolate–coated pretzels, puffed-rice cereal, meringue cookie pieces, white and silver sprinkles, and crushed peppermint candies.
Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes and cut into pieces before serving.
Your Christmas Dinner
And thats all folks! We hope you enjoy these featured recipes we love! If you end up making these recipes, be sure to take a picture and tag us @whiteluxuryhomes_ on Instagram so we can see how they came out! From all of us at Stephen White Real Estate, we wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year! Here’s to a better tomorrow in 2021! Cheers!
