I know this post is a bit belated, but the holidays had me hustling and bustling around.  Now that I have had time to slow down and go on with sharing the delicious recipes we used for Christmas.  This year I had an urge to connect with my ancestral roots.  Both Chad and I have branches of our family tree in Britian, so I decided to do some research and have a traditional English Christmas Eve dinner complete with Christmas Crackers (little party poppers that you let off before dessert.  It is traditional for goose to be served, however due to the lack of a fresh goose, I went with duck, close enough.  We also had roasted tenderloin with blue cheese cream sauce as a main protein as well.  We started off with appetizers of sardines with mustard and crackers, pickles, pickled onions, and a cheese board of English White Cheddar and Cotswold with green onion and chive, and to top it off a crudite of raw veg with sour cream dipping sauce.  Luckily I have always had my children try a small taste of anything before they decide whether or not they "like" it.  The sardines were a hit!  My sister, who said, "normally I don't like sardines." couldn't stop noshing on them.  We had sides of roasted potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic vinegar, and even though not an English creation we couldn't leave out the beloved green been casserole.  I have included a couple of the recipes and hopefully you'll try them, because they are delicous and can be used for any occasion a weekend dinner.  Invite a couple friends, put everything together and Bob's your uncle!

Roast Christmas Duck (adapted from Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients

2 red onions, peeled and halved
4 sticks of celery, trimmed and halved
3 carrots, peeled and halved
1 bulb garlic,  papery layers removed and sliced in half
few sprigs of rosemary
1 5-6 lb duck with 1lb with giblets, at room temperature
For Pan Gravy

3 Tablespoons plain flour
1¾ pints chicken stock



Isabella gives the duck its 5 spice massage

 Lightly oil the duck with olive oil. Rub the five-spice over the bird. Stuff the pierced clementines into the cavity.
Under the wing, on both sides, pierce fat pockets with knife to allow fat to render. Also stab the fatty parts on the back of the bird - the fat will render out and make everything delicious.
Place the duck on top of the vegetables and giblets.
Put the duck into the pre-heated oven and after 20 min turn the oven down to 375.
The cooking time depends on whether your bird is at room temperature or not and also on the size and type of oven you've got and the quality of the bird. As a guide, give your birds about to 35-40 minutes oven time per lb. So for the this size bird, about 3-3.5 hours should suffice.
After 35 minutes in the oven, wrap the legs in a single layer of tinfoil. This will protect the legs from getting dry and burnt.
When the cooking time is up, carefully lift the bird out of the tray and rest it on a board, loosely covered with tinfoil, for 20 minutes. While your bird is resting, skim most of the fat off the liquid left in the roasting tray, I like to pour it into a separating pitcher and then pour the separated stock back into the pan, but spooning it off works also.  Now whisk in the flour.
Put the tray on the heat, and keep stirring - the flour will thicken the liquid. Add the stock, then pour the gravy and the caramelized veg into a saucepan.
Scrape all the sticky bits off the bottom of the tray and add to the pan. Simmer the gravy gently for about 15 to 20 minutes, then strain into a clean saucepan and keep warm. Remember to skim any fat off the top before serving.


The Best Roasted Potatoes




Ingredients

River and Isabella peel potatoes-The actually fight over this job!


Roasted Brussel Sprouts












Ingredients

Stalk of brussel sprouts
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper



Logan removes and scores brussel sprouts

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Place a pot of water on stove and bring to a boil.  Remove sprouts from the stalk, rinse and mark an X on each stem base.  Place sprouts into boiling water and parboil for 1-2 minutes.  Drain in a colander.  Pour dry sprouts in a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Place in oven and roast for 30-35 minutes occasionally tossing in the juices until they are brown on the outside and tender inside. You may not have enjoyed brussel sprouts in the past, but these are delicious.