Entertaining year round is a favorite past time of mine, but there’s something special about hosting holidays, especially Christmas. I enjoy hosting a Christmas Eve dinner for family, friends, and anyone who may not have somewhere to spend the evening. It’s become a tradition over the years for us to enjoy an Italian feast, and then we load our cars up with blankets, hats, gloves, food and alcohol (yes, beer, whiskey, vodka, etc.) that we’ve collected over the prior weeks and head to homeless hangouts and hand out these items. We started this in Ohio years ago with our kids, heading to downtown Cleveland, and have continued the tradition here in downtown St. Petersburg. In 2004, the year Jack and I both lost our mothers, our children were with their other parents on Christmas Eve, and I hadn’t been in a very festive mood during December, but when the evening rolled around, I looked at Jack and said that I didn’t want to miss our tradition. He reminded me that we hadn’t collected our normal stash throughout the month. I thought, briefly, and said that I had another idea. We’ll never forget that night, especially Jack. We handed out $1,000 in 20’s. It was magical!
Anyway, in most recent years the Italian tradition has become a menu I can prepare mostly in advance so that I can enjoy the evening with our guests rather than scurrying around the kitchen as I had in years past. We start with an antipasto plate of Genoa salami, shaved prosciutto, melon, Cacio de Roma and fresh mozzarella cheeses, olives, grilled vegetables and crusty bread, all from Mazarro’s Italian Market here in St. Petersburg (with a Pittsburgh connection).
I love to set a beautiful table, using my Fiestaware, in a variety of colors, and festive lines that I collect. The meal is a chopped salad, winter greens lasagna and lasagna bolognese. Something for everyone, and you can do much of the work in advance so you can join the party. Here are the recipes for you to try:
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 Tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 each garlic clove minced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1/3 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, one head chopped
- 1 each English Cucumber diced
- 2 each Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 each yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 each small red onion chopped
- 1 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley chiffonade
- 1/2 cup brine-cured black olives pitted and quartered
Ingredients
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- In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly add olive oil in a stream, continuing to whisk until blended. Toss remaining ingredients with dressing.
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 55 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 each medium white onion diced
- 3 each medium garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 pound red kale stems removed and coarsley chopped
- 1 pound Swiss chard stems removed and coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups creme fraiche sour cream a suitable substitute
- 1 9-ounce box no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese finely grated
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk
Ingredients
Creme Fraiche
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- If baking lasagna immediately, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. I prepare lasagna early that morning and refrigerate until two hours before dinner.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When oil starts to shimmer, add onion and garlic seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until softened, stirring, which should take about 5 minutes.
- Add cream and two handfuls of kale and chard at a time, stirring, and until all greens are tender, completely wilted and coated in cream, which should take about 10 minutes. Season again with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and remove from heat.
- Spread 1 cup of the creme fraiche evenly over the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of 4 noodles, overlapping slightly. Using a slotted spoon, spread 1/3 of the greens and cream mixture over the noodles, and then cover with a 1/3 of the ricotta and 1/4 of the Parmesan cheeses. Repeat to make two more layers, ending with a final layer of noodles on top. Evenly pour 1/4 cup of warm cream sauce from greens over the noodles. Mix together the remaining creme fraiche and Parmesan and spread it evenly over the top.
- Cover the lasagna with foil and bake on middle rack in oven at 400 degrees until bubbling and starting to brown, about 45 minutes. Remove the foil at this time and bake until the top is browned and sauce is bubbling, probably about 10 minutes longer. Allow lasagna to sit at room temperature at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Have you made creme fraiche before? It's worth the extra effort, but you'll have to remember to prepare the day before when you're making your bechamel for the lasagna bolognese. In a non-reactive bowl, combine the heavy cream and buttermilk, cover with a clean kitchen cloth in a warm, draft-free place and let sit until thickened, but still a pourable consistency. This will take 12 to 16 hours. Once proper consistency, stir and refrigerate until ready to use. That's it! Easy, and better than store purchased sour cream, but sour cream a suitable substitute. (Creme fraiche can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.)
| Prep Time | 1.5 hours |
| Cook Time | 4 hours |
| Servings |
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- 1 each large white onion coarsely chopped
- 1 each medium carrot coarsely chopped
- 1 each celery stalk coarsely chopped
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 pound ground beef chuck
- 1 pound ground pork
- 4 ounces pancetta finely chopped
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup whole milk
- 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth divided
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk warmed
- pinch freshly ground nutmeg
- kosher salt to taste
- 2 9-ounce box no-boil lasagna noodles
- unsalted butter for glass dish
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese finely grated
Ingredients
Bolognese sauce
Bechamel
Assembly
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- On December 22nd, coarsely chop onion, carrot and celery. Heat olive oil in large heavy pot over medium heat until it starts to shimmer then add ground beef, ground pork, pancetta and vegetables. Cook, breaking up ground meat with a spoon, until moisture is evaporated and meat is well browned, about 30 minutes, and season with kosher salt and pepper. Add wine to pot and bring to a boil, scraping browned bits from bottom. Slowly add milk, bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer until moisture is again almost completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and 2 cups of broth, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, adding water by the 1/2-cupfuls if sauce begins to look dry, and until flavors meld and sauce thickens, which will take nearly 3 hours. Let sauce come to room temperature, cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 12 hours, and up to 2 days. As it sits, the sauce will become richer with flavor.
- On December 23rd, warm milk. Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add flour, whisking constantly, and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in warm milk, 1/2-cupful at a time. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, whisking often, and until the consistency of cream, about 10 minutes. Add nutmeg and season with kosher salt. Remove from heat, transfer to a medium bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto surface, let cool to almost room temperature and then chill in refrigerator until ready for use.
- On December 24th, preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat 13-by-9 glass baking dish with butter. Spread 1/4 cup bechamel in the prepared baking dish. Top with a later of 4 noodles, slightly overlapping, spread over a scant 3/4 cup Bolognese sauce, then 1/2 cup bechamel and top with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layering, starting with noodles and ending with Parmesan, until ingredients are gone. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet because it will bubble over, and bake for 55 minutes, or until top is brown and entire lasagna is bubbling. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving. Lasagna can be assembled 12 hours ahead. If you choose to do this, cover with foil and chill in refrigerator. Bring out of refrigerator 2 hours before baking to allow lasagna to come to room temperature. Bake at 350 degrees, covered with foil, until the last 20 minutes, then finish cooking uncovered. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.
What do you enjoy on Christmas Eve? Traditions, and food? Please share with us. I’ll be sharing dessert ideas, along with other holiday menus, over the next few weeks, so stay tuned, and thank you for reading.
Cheers,
Robin
Thanks for sharing the recipes and your traditions. Christmas eve is probably my favorite meal and always brings memories of Christmas eve in my grandparents basement. We continue our Italian family’s tradition of serving the Feast of the seven fishes along with handmade pasta with olive oil or butter (yes I still use the old hand crank style that my mother and grandmother used) and at least half dozen different green veggie dishes. Over the years we have added sauce and meats for the non-Italian family members.
That sounds delightful, Lisa. I attempted to prepare the Feast of the Seven Fishes for my crew one year, and it was a lot of work (I did it alone), and my kids didn’t appreciate many of the courses. We are only Italian in the sense that we love to eat Italian food. I hope you share photos of your Christmas Eve dinner this year, and what do you make for dessert?
Thank you for sharing this delightful story, family tradition … and also your scrumptious recipes, Robin! Your words made me stop my world from spinning for a few decadent minutes — long enough for it to be the first thing this season that really put me in the spirit of the holidays. And I thank you for that. Merry, merry Christmas!
That was the best thing to wake up to this morning, Michele. Thank you for reading, and for your kind words. You’ll be seeing me soon, again, though because I have some Christmas shopping to do. Until then, have a great day!
Wow! I am impressed by the generosity, Robin. I love this idea. My mom is Italian and every Christmas Eve that I can remember, we’ve had lasagna. This year my mom is “over Italian” (I died), and so I’m making the Christmas Eve dinner – tapas style, but am making meatballs to include some Italian love. Great menu! We love Mazzaros!
Thanks for sharing, Nichole, and from our home to yours, a blessed Christmas. Good luck with Christmas Eve dinner. I’m certain it will be delicious, and I think a tapas menu is perfect holiday plan.
Hope to see you soon,
Robin
Robin, I have made the Irish Cake twice.The first time I made it straight up like the recipe said. While I had trouble getting done, it was a hit. The second time I made it, I made a simple sugar and whiskey glaze. I split the cake in half and pored the glaze in the middle, placed the the top half back on and made some slits on the top and pored the rest of the glaze on top. When I made the topping I added whiskey in that too. This version was also good. Patrick requested an extra piece off of what was left before we went home.
I’m so glad you and your family are enjoying the Irish Christmas cake, and I cannot wait to try your version with the whiskey glaze. Guinness and Jameson . . . how could you go wrong?! How much whiskey did you add to the topping? We really don’t need another dessert, but I’m very tempted now to make this now. Thanks for sharing, Lindsy, and thanks for reading.
I used something close to the recipe listed below. I am aggravated with myself for not saving the exact sauce I chose because it was perfect. I probably double the amount for the cake since I split it in half. I used a whiskey that the liquor store recommended for cooking and Tulamore Dew for the icing (it is my personal favorite whiskey). Again, I just played with the sugar and whiskey amounts in the frosting and just made it to taste. I have to quit doing that!!! and write it down because the cake was fabulous. It was even better as the days past. If I make this again, I will definitely make the cake at least a day ahead of time.
WHISKEY SAUCE:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/4 block butter
Whiskey