Best holiday recipes for brunch, dinner and dessert

Holiday food is the best food. Not only is it deliciously elevated, but calories don’t count at Christmas! In case you were fretting about what to serve for your holiday feast, I have you covered from sun up to sundown with brunch, dinner and dessert.  

For brunch, I have a holiday classic that we do every year at my home: a Dutch Baby. We love to switch it up with caramelized apples, pears and a variety of fruits. This Christmas, we are going with the holiday classic flavors of orange and cranberry.  

DUTCH BABY 

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar  
• 3 eggs 
• 1 cup milk 
• 2 blood oranges, zest and juice 
• salt, a pinch 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup  
• 4 tablespoons butter  
• 2 cups fresh cranberries  
• 5.3 ounces dried candied oranges 

Instructions 

1. In a large blender, combine the milk, flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, zest and juice of two blood oranges and maple syrup and blend until smooth. 

2. Place a cast-iron skillet into your oven and allow it to heat up at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or so. 

3. Add butter, cranberries and chopped-up candied oranges to the hot butter. 

4. Carefully stir for 1-2 minutes.

5. Pour the batter into the hot cast-iron skillet.

6. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and cook for 15 minutes.

7. Serve with pure maple syrup or freshly made whipped cream. 

Okay, your tummy has been satisfied; you have opened your presents and are going to regroup. There is nothing better than putting a bunch of ingredients into one large baking dish, forgetting about it for enough time to allow for a nap and a brisk afternoon walk, and then pulling it out just in time to be a dinner hero. This slow-cooked, elevated pot roast is easy enough for anyone to make and will satisfy a crowd of people.   

POT ROAST 

Ingredients 

• 5 pound roast  
• 1 bottle red wine 
• 16 ounces beef broth 
• .75 ounces fresh thyme  
• 10 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 
• 1 shallot, coarsely chopped 
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch pieces  
• 3 bay leaves  
• 1/4 cup peppercorns  
• 1 tablespoon salt  
• 2 tablespoons baby or fingerling potatoes  

Instructions 

1. Combine all ingredients in a large Dutch Oven and cook at 300 degrees for 4-5 hours.

2. Carefully remove the meat and the potatoes from the Dutch Oven. 

3. Strain the other ingredients from the broth in a sieve. 

4. Reduce the broth on high for 30 minutes or so, and pour over the meat when ready to serve. 

5. It is entirely optional, but I like to drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, and broil them for 3-4 more minutes. They are already cooked through but this extra step adds a bit of texture/char.

BUTTER CAPER CARROTS 

Ingredients  

• 2 pounds petite rainbow carrots  
• 1/2 cup butter, divided 
• 8-10 garlic cloves, finely chopped  
• 3 tablespoons butter 
• 3.5 ounces capers  
• salt, to taste 
• red pepper flakes, to taste 
• 3-4 tablespoons sherry 

Instructions 

1. Melt 1/4-cup butter into a large pan. 

2. Cut the carrots lengthwise from top to bottom and add them to the pan. 

3. Turn the heat to high on the burner and allow the carrots to brown, stirring them every 3 minutes or so. 

4. When the carrots have been in the pan for about 10 minutes total, transfer them to a plate while you cook the garlic and capers. 

5. Add the rest of the butter, and turn the heat down low. 

6. Add your chopped garlic and capers and cook until fragrant and translucent (about 5 minutes). 

7. Add the carrots back into the pan and return the heat to medium-high. Add salt and red pepper flakes to taste. 

8. Deglaze the pan with a few tablespoons of sherry and serve with the pot roast and potatoes.

At last, we have dessert. Everyone loves a good dessert. So often we stick with the traditional chocolate or pumpkin. As much as a love a good chocolate tart (trust me, I have many on my blog), sometimes I like to switch it up. Mulled spices and warm wine scream holidays to me. I encourage you to try out this recipe for red wine poached pears with a sweetened red wine reduction and a cinnamon mascarpone cream––it’s definitely a crowd pleaser. 

WINE POACHED PEARS 

Ingredients 

• 3 cups red wine 
• 3/4 cup sugar 
• 1 blood orange, sliced  
• 4 cinnamon sticks  
• 7 cloves  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• 4 pears, peeled and halved 
• 2 cans blood orange San Pellegrino 

Instructions 

1. Combine all ingredients except for the pears into a small pot. Allow them to come to a low boil. 

2. Once the poaching liquid is ready, peel the pears and cut them in half lengthwise. 

3. Poach in the liquid for 20-30 minutes. 

4. Reduce the liquid for another 20-30 minutes until it becomes more syrup-like in texture. 

For the Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream: 

• 32 ounces mascarpone  
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar  
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon  

1. Allow the mascarpone to reach room temperature.

2. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the powdered sugar and cinnamon. 

For the Topping:  

• 1/2 cup sugared almonds 
• 10-15 gingersnaps  

1. Pulse these ingredients in a food processor until they are coarsely chopped. 

Plate by spooning the red wine reduction into a shallow bowl. Add a scoop of the mascarpone and  a poached pear. Finally, add the crumble.  

There you go … an entire day’s-worth of recipes with fantastic holiday flavors. Now you just need to come up with cocktails!  

Looking for more recipes? Visit Caviar and Crayons. 

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