Christmas Perfection » christmas dinner http://www.christmasperfection.com Merry Christmas from Christmas Perfection Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:31:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Cherry Vanilla Fudge http://www.christmasperfection.com/cherry-vanilla-fudge/ http://www.christmasperfection.com/cherry-vanilla-fudge/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 00:14:30 +0000 admin http://www.christmasperfection.com/?p=94 Cherry Vanilla Fudge

Source: Family Circle – December 1974 – Old-Fashioned Christmas Goodies

3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup candied cherries, quartered

Combine sugar, salt, cream, milk, corn syrup and butter in a large heavy saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boiling. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees F (soft-ball stage).

Remove from heat, leaving thermometer in the saucepan. Cool to 100 degrees F.

Add vanilla extract. Beat briskly until fudge thickens and begins to lose its gloss. Stir in cherries.

Pour into buttered 8-inch square pan. Cool. Cut into squares when firm.

Yield: 16 servings

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]]> http://www.christmasperfection.com/cherry-vanilla-fudge/feed/ 0 White Christmas Fudge http://www.christmasperfection.com/white-christmas-fudge/ http://www.christmasperfection.com/white-christmas-fudge/#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:13:07 +0000 admin http://www.christmasperfection.com/?p=92 White Christmas Fudge

Makes 36 squares.

2 1/2 cups Domino Confectioners’ Sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
12 ounces white chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3/4 cup dried cherries cranberries or apricots or apricots coarsely chopped
3/4 cup toasted almond slices

1/ Line an 8-inch square pan with foil; grease foil.

2/ Mix confectioners’ sugar and milk in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Over medium heat add butter and, bring to boil. Without stirring, boil constantly for 5 minutes.

3/ Over low heat, add chocolate and almond extract but be careful on the amount of chocolate! Stir, then whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Stir in dried cherries and toasted almonds. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Refrigerate 2 hours until firm. Invert pan, peel off foil and cut into 1-inch squares. Garnish as desired.

A few more tips:

Look for dried cherries in the bulk foods or produce section of your supermarket.

To toast almonds, spread in a single layer on baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until they begin to brown.

Bon appetit!

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]]> http://www.christmasperfection.com/white-christmas-fudge/feed/ 0 How to prepare the perfect holiday meal http://www.christmasperfection.com/how-to-prepare-the-perfect-holiday-meal/ http://www.christmasperfection.com/how-to-prepare-the-perfect-holiday-meal/#comments Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:35:53 +0000 admin http://www.christmasperfection.com/?p=28 You should always follow Santa approach for cooking during these times that is you should plan things well in advance. You should first prepare a list of the food items that you will like to prepare. The initial list may be long but it will eventually become shorter as it may not be possible to prepare all the items in the list. In fact people are who expert in this field like expert chefs start with the food preparation two months before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thus time management is an extremely important thing when it comes to food. So plan and implement things nicely.

You should make your list small in order to cut down on the budget and stress. You can share the responsibility with your family members, for example give the responsibility of the dessert bar to some. Desserts are always a part of the event and thus they require special attention. Make your favorite dessert for the occasion. You can also ask other people to contribute cake, candy or special cake for the event. You should never forget to have the standard desserts in your list. They are extremely popular and liked by one and all. These are pumpkin pie, butter nut delight or red velvet cakes.

You can also have some special arrangements for diabetics and for those who are allergic to some things like eggs or nuts. For this, you can log on to the internet. You will find quite many recipes which will make the event special for such people also. You can also order from the bakery. However be sure to check out the ingredients. Some desserts are less on sweetness like fresh fruit, such as fresh apples, strawberries or cantaloupe. You can serve them with sugar free and low fat toppings such as whip cream.

You meal is not complete unless it has nutritious and healthy vegetable in it. You can cook them in the oven or on the stove. To make your table look colorful, put a tray of fresh vegetables on it. You can get the vegetables from a mart or local deli. In case you get raw vegetables, use them within 24 hours. You can also store the vegetables in case you want to have them fresh for the stove preparation. Sweet potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours after they are cleaned as well as skinned. You can then put it up in the oven (after you have mashed it), and add brown sugar and marshmallows. Dressing and stuffing should be prepared well in advance. There are several ways to present the vegetables.

You have to take extra care of the meat since it’s the most important part of the meal. A number of people love the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving. However, several options are available in case you want to do something different. You can go for Italian spaghetti, fresh garlic bread and sweet wine. You can get a nice big turkey for your meals especially if you are in agrarian south. The hunter will hunt it down; clean it and then you are the turkey is thus ready to eat. Everything about the meat should be sorted out well in advance. You can buy it before the D day and then refrigerate it or you can get it from some local store. You can also get pre baked quick fix meats from the local stores. You just need to warm it in an oven and it is ready to eat. Several varieties of meat like hens and baked hams should be fixed in advance. They need to be refrigerated; to keep them juicy put them in a light colored or brown chicken broth.

So there are several options for preparing the perfect holiday meal. All you need to do is to plan well in advance. This will save you from the last minute stress. You can also test certain preparations in case you need to fix them. This will make sure that the dinner is prepared in the perfect way, the way you wanted it to be. So put in all your efforts and make the occasion an affair to remember.

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