Christmas Dinner

I love Christmas, especially since I'm going home to my parents house. I thought this meant I was off the hook for cooking, but then I got a surprise. My mom called last week and requested a menu because she has been frantically redecorating, painting, scrubbing, etc. for the past few weeks to prepare a brand new guest bedroom for us! I'm willing to trade a real bed (as opposed to the rolled up daybed mattress) for dinner. Especially since Nic decided that he wanted to help out with the planning and cooking, and Poppop donated a beef tenderloin and lamb chops to get the party started. (He will also be making dessert, thank goodness, because I feel like I never want to look at a baked good again after all these holiday packages.) We used my brand new copy of The Flavor Bible to get some inspiration for the flavors.

Now I'm off to pack up my dutch oven, meat thermometer, and vegetable slicer...

Christmas Dinner
main course
beef tenderloin w/ a balsamic reduction
lamb chops in a soy and ginger marinade served w/ mint yogurt

side dishes
sauteed porcini mushrooms and shallots
braised leeks
sauteed Swiss chard w/ roasted pine nuts
glazed carrots
roasted red bliss potatoes w/rosemary
fennel and apple salad w/pecans
homemade bread