Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas Dinner

It's a few days late, but we had a great Christmas Dinner...I hope it becomes my traditional Christmas Dinner!!! Mmm, German food...I only have my grandmother to thank...


To start, I made grandma's ribs and kraut, prepared in the slow-cooker. I used country-style boneless ribs and the best sauerkraut recipe ever. The sauerkraut recipe is mine, the combo is grandma's...

I made some rosemary roasted potatoes as a side. I thought of doing fried potatoes, but didn't feel like sitting over the stove while we had guests. (Cut potatoes into uniform pieces; cubes or slices, season with olive oil, salt, pepper and chopped fresh rosemary. Place on a baking sheet in a 425 oven until tender and crispy, about 30-45 minutes.) Or, if I was super smart, I would have made the Mustard Roasted Potatoes for the most super-duper, awesome complimentary side dish!

I needed a vegetable, sauted green beans with crispy fried shallots. (Thinly slice your shallots and fry in 1/3 cup of olive oil until crispy, spoon out to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt. Blanche the green beans in salted, boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain and put in a bowl of ice water. When ready to serve, add green beans to a frying pan over high heat with 1 TB olive oil and 1 TB butter. When heated through, add half the fried shallots, place in a serving bowl or plate, top with the remaining shallots.)

And of course the sauerkraut. Cooked with apples and onions and seasoned with caraway seeds and allspice berries.

A very nice plate of food. The potatoes were crispy. The beans were just crispy and full of fresh green flavor. The sauerkraut and ribs were a perfect complement to each other. Sweet, savory and slightly sweet. Follow with a lovely pear tart for full tummy overload.

3 comments:

Dancer in DC said...

I mean...SHUT UP. This meal may not be for everyone, but it really works for me. The pork was incredibly tender and the flavor had really worked its way through all the meat. ScottE's sauerkraut has a sweet touch to it, but still has the tang and savory flavor you'd expect. And the green beans have become a classic in our house.

Strangely enough, my favorite was the potato side! The roasting made them taste almost buttery, despite the fact that they had no butter in them. Yum!

Stef said...

I do love me some German food - and your homemade version just looks to die for! You should definitely make it a holiday tradition.

Charles Boyington said...

OOOOOhhhhh! I was there! I had this meal! It was really good. The ribs absorbed some of the flavor from the kraut, so good. The Kraut was not the overpowering sour stuff that I grew up with but was mild and savory. The potatos were devine. I really liked the beans with the shallots, great texture and really great flavor.