Home Cookin’ for Xmas – New England Style +  Some Family Traditions

• Lobster is one of my favorite foods. I have to eat lobster every time we go to Maine. Eating it at home is as good as eating it at restaurant if not better!

It is currently very affordable because of the overabundance of lobster due to the overfishing of its predators.

Pull out your Joy of Cooking and boil those “lobsta’s.”  Serve with melted butter.

Click for “How to prepare lobster”.

• Gjetost Cheese Spread

Gjetost is a cheese that is a combination of goat and cow’s milk. Our family heats the Gjetost very slowly in a pot until the water has evaporated and the milk sugar forms a kind of brown caramelized paste. Then milk or cream is added to change the fat content of the finished product which looks like peanut butter that you can spread on crackers. This is a family tradition to make Gjetost around xmas time passed on by Swedish relatives from Minnesota.

• Peanut Butter Fudge from Kellie’s Belly

Tasty recipes we either prepared or had prepared for us for xmas:

• Lobster Fra Diavolo + Shrimp & Scallops

(Seafood Fra Diavolo) from Kellie’s Belly! Kellie made this for us for dinner in Maine. It was delicious.  It had a marinara and marsala taste to it because of the Chianti. Even if you don’t think you like seafood, this dish was not seafoody in a bad way at all.

(Serves 6)

• 3-4 tbs olive oil
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or more if you like spice)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 24 oz jar of good quality marinara sauce
• 2 lobsters, cooked and picked
• 1 lb shrimp, cleaned
• 1 lb sea scallops
• 2 packages fresh pasta
• fresh grated parmesan
• 1/2 c. dry red wine (chianti works well)

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pan, and saute garlic 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add all herbs and spices and saute another minute before adding the scallops and shrimp.  Cook the scallops and shrimp just until they turn opaque, then add the lobster, cooking 1 more minute.  Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.  Meanwhile, be sure the pasta water is ready.  Add the red wine to the seafood mixture in the pan and prepare the pasta.  Serve with parmesan cheese.

• Simple Spiced Chai Tea Pudding Recipe

This was a great dessert by Kellie’s Belly. My mom always says that when you are entertaining, you can’t make a lot of complicated dishes because it just won’t all get done in time.   So this is a perfect entertaining dessert to make ahead.

• Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce Recipe

This is an elegant and fairly simple dessert by our mother. You can use a variety of fillings such as cinnamon syrup or cinnamon ice cream.

Xmas Eve Dinner

• Best Leg of Lamb Recipe: + Roasted Vegetables

This recipe was an experiment as we had never made leg of lamb before.  It turned out to be pretty simple and tasted great.  Make sure you don’t overcook it – rare @ 135-140F is good. Serve it with Mango Chutney, Mint Jelly, and Roasted Veggies.