To ease the workload everyone takes turns with making a main meal. My turn was on Boxing Day and I grabbed The Complete Christmas Book from Canadian Living. After having our fill of Turkey on Christmas I tried to go in a totally different direction and choose fish for the main course, with a sit down appetizer.
I have been trying very hard to actually follow the recipes as printed. I have a tendency to make some edits. I have been doing good up until recently, but the edits were just minor!
To start the evening off, as people arrived I made the White Cranberry Mulled Wine, it provided a nice light warm drink that helped remove the chill from being outside. I served the mulled wine with some sweet & spicy nuts. The nuts were not in this recipe book. I had them earlier in the month at a potluck and just loved them and had made several batches over the holidays.
As mentioned the next course was a platted appetizer, so once everyone was at the table we served the Mushroom Cheesecake with a small green salad. This was a twist on a typical cheesecake, most at the table had never had a savoury cheesecake. It made for an interesting appetizer. A small portion went a long way and the mushroom provided an earthiness to the dish. Even my 1 year old great-nephew enjoyed some of the cheesecake!
The main course was a Seafood Salmon Roulade. I served it with Asparagus with Lemon & Hazelnuts and festive rice (white rice with chopped green onions and red peppers).
To make the the salmon roulade you had to basically butterfly a salmon fillet. Which is easier said than done. If you every tried cooking at someone else's house it is always add an extra challenge because you don't always know what they have to cook with. Fortunately my brother also enjoys cooking so he had good sharp knives which made the job easier. Once butterflied you stuff it with the seafood (shrimp/scallops) mixture and roll it up to bake. It is served with a Lemon Tarragon Beurre Blanc, that is why in the picture you can't see the "jellyroll" of seafood in the salmon.
I had planned to make Green Beans with Lemon & Hazelnuts, but when I did the groceries there was no green beans but a great sale on Asparagus. Just goes to show it is easy to make substitutions when needed.
To round out the meal, I wanted something light to serve with the holiday sweets that are abundant this time of year. Earl Grey Pots de Creme was just the ticket with a small ingredient adjustment. I had "Nutcracker" tea bags and thought that would add a seasonal flair to the dessert. The Pots de Creme where baked in some of my mother's china tea cups.
You rarely see China Tea Cups being used anymore, as a child I remember attending baby and bridal showers with my mom. The hostess always had out her best china cups. When we travelled Mom would often get a tea cup as a souvenir. In the days before disposables, china tea cups were the "in" thing. Now they hide in the back of cupboards or on the shelves of second hand stores, as people declutter.
Maybe we can start a trend as move towards more reusables and bring back the China Tea cups! It is nice to see them out being used. I have a friend that gives them a second life as candle holders, or if you are a "Fancy Nancy" fan, like my great-niece and having a tea party for your 4th birthday - you need china tea cups - the real thing!
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