Another Christmas Dinner

On Christmas Eve, we had our traditional dinner of appetizers, dips, and desserts. Christmas Day ended being a little funky, meal-wise, so we ordered pizzas. Our big, fancy Christmas dinner was finally enjoyed today! I chose an English theme (since this has been a major “Rule Britannia” year for us), and the menu I settled up on included roast beef, brussels sprouts (a very important Christmas dinner staple in England), roast carrots and potatoes, cranberries, and, for dessert, a French cake popular in England, the Bûche de Noël or Yule Log Cake. We also enjoyed drinking wassail, which is another of our regular family Christmas traditions, but fit in nicely with the theme for the day!

Wassail, hot out of the pot:

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Standing rib roast with a rosemary-garlic rub, served with a horseradish cream sauce:

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A trio of roast vegetables–brussels sprouts, carrots, and potatoes:

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Spiced cranberries:

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The feast:

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The table:

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Christmas Crackers:

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In addition to a paper hat, everyone’s Christmas Cracker came with a toy:

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As well a joke:

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The Bûche de Noël:

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Happy Christmas!

Tasty Tuesday–Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie

This was a new recipe I tried out for Thanksgiving. I wanted something similar in taste to the wassail I make at Christmastime, and with the apples and cranberries, plus the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice, this definitely fits the bill. Around here, we’re even calling it “wassail pie!” The blend of spices is perfect, and I love finding another use for fresh cranberries.

  • 2 unbaked pie crusts (I use store-bought)
  • 3 1/4 lb. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/4 inch thick
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 4 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 10 oz. fresh cranberries
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Egg wash: 1 egg white, beaten with 1 tsp. water
  • 2 tsp. granulated sugar

To make the apple-cranberry filling, in a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven, stir together the apples, brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch until the apples are evenly coated. Set over medium heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are just tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and vanilla, and let cool for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, stir together the cranberries, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the water. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have broken down slightly and the liquid has thickened to the consistency of a loose jam, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Add the cranberry mixture to the apple mixture and stir to combine.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 400.

Let the pie crusts come to room temperature for about five minutes. Line a pie plate with one crust, and spoon in the apple cranberry filling. Gently place the second pie crust over the pie. Trim the edges flush with the rim of the dish and press the top and bottom crusts together to seal. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.

Place the pie dish on the preheated baking sheet. Bake until the crust is crisp and golden brown, about 1 hour, covering the edges with aluminum foil if they become too dark. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving. Serves 8.