There are few places where Christmas is celebrated more heartily than at the dining table. Eggnog, turkey roast and flambéed rum cake jostle for space with apples and prunes. But if you've not had time to soak fruit and stuff your turkey, whip out your apron and dish out these easy to make delicacies on Christmas Eve.
Beef wrapped lavosh
What you need
Cream cheese -120 gm
Mayonnaise -15 gm
Horseradish – 30 gm
Green onions, sliced – 30 gm
Black olives – 50 gm
Beef roasted and sliced – 240 gm
Provolone cheese slices – 8
Lettuce – 200 gm
Tomato, sliced thin - 6
Lovash (or) flat bread - 1
Cooking instructions
Blend cream cheese, mayonnaise and horseradish until smooth. Fold in green onions and black olives.
Spread cream cheese mixture on the lavosh bread. Add roast beef, provolone cheese, spinach and tomato.
Fold in half to serve. For appetisers, roll and slice crosswise.
Parmesan puffs
What you need
Milk – 1/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Unsalted butter – 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
All-purpose flour – 1/2 cup
Eggs, large – 2
Parmesan, freshly grated -1 cup
Freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Cooking instructions
In a small heavy saucepan combine the milk, water, the butter, and the salt and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour all at once, and beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until it leaves the side of the pan and forms a ball.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, whisk in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the Parmesan and pepper to taste.
Drop the batter in eight mounds on a buttered baking sheet and bake the puffs in the upper third of a preheated 400F (205C) oven for 20 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden.
Store overnight in an airtight container.
This recipe makes eight puffs.
(The writer is Executive Chef, Courtyard Marriott)
