Christmas Shrimp Boil & Ribs

Traditional food is a big part of my family. Eggs benedict for Christmas morning, clam chowder for Christmas eve dinner, baked apples for Christmas Eve dessert, prime rib for New Years, grape sherbet for Memorial Day (or any other outdoor family gathering), sauerkraut on Thanksgiving. You get the point. However, there is one rather interesting meal left out: Christmas dinner.



I think Christmas dinner is supposed to be turkey and ham, or something like that for most people. Sometimes after the presents are all opened, we just eat cherry chocolates and the Life Savers books that came in our stockings and call it good, but sometimes we get adventurous on Christmas dinner. I have a vague memory of duck back there somewhere, and I'm pretty sure there was lamb once (only because I distinctly remember the mint jelly), and I am positive there was a goose that did not go well.



In spite of our many attempts, nothing really stuck as the traditional, Christmas dinner. To be perfectly honest, I don't think this one is going to stick, either, but it sure was fun. We invited over some cousins and just dumped the shrimp, veggies, and ribs right in the middle of the table. Most people were a little skeptical, and Grandma seemed a little scandalized, but we had a ball. Make sure you have adequate paper towels: it's really important.


Now, I just outright stole the recipe for the shrimp boil, and the ribs are my brother's super-secret recipe, so there's no actual recipe here. Just some ideas for super-fun, utensil-optional meals for large groups.

What are ideas you've done that are great for parties or large groups? Fun food traditions? Let us know.

Ginger Ale Scallops

This recipe was made in a hotel room with limited resources. We went to a grocery store, but it you're only going to be somewhere for one night, you don't really want to buy all these kitchen staples. So, we bought a few main ingredients, then tried to make do with what we had. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we came up with something pretty dang good. Don't laugh when you see it. There probably is a way to do it with honey, fresh ginger, etc, but the crisp sweetness of the ginger ale really worked well with the scallops. And best of all, it was ready in just a few minutes.


Ginger Ale Scallops

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound small-to-medium sea scallops (you could do it with larger ones if you wanted, but the small ones worked really well)
• 1 medium shallot, finely diced
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
• About 1/2 cup ginger ale
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Remove the "feet" from the scallops, if necessary. Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil in a large, flat-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Make sure the bottom is covered well with the butter and oil. Add the scallops in a single layer, and let sear, undisturbed, for about 3 minutes. Gently dislodge them, if needed, and flip them to sear the other side, 2-3 minutes (or until gently colored). Remove from pan, retaining as much liquid in the pan as possible.

Add additional 2 tablespoons butter to the pan. Toss in the shallot, and saute until browned. Add the lemon juice and ginger ale, working the bottom of the pan to dissolve any browned bits of scallop into the sauce. Bring to a boil, and let the sauce reduce for a few minutes. Toss the scallops back into the pan to reheat and cover with the sauce. Serve over sauteed or roasted asparagus.

Pan Seared Tuna with Asparagus and Tomato, Caper, Parsley Reduction

I grew up hating fish (as in loathing it, if that verb is strong enough). As I have grown up, however, I have realized more and more that it's not fish in general that I hate--it's overcooked, frozen fish that I hate (and in all honesty, what's not to hate about it?). It has taken a surprisingly long time for me to overcome the childhood aversion. When I did, though, I came to love a well-cooked piece of fish.

This recipe was inspired by a challenge I saw on a cooking reality competition show, and then adapted from a recipe by Emeril. While it looks like I have prepared two plates, one for me and one for a special someone, in the name of full disclosure, I ate both pieces myself in one sitting. It was good.

Lesson learned. A few capers go a long way.


Pan-Seared Tuna with Asparagus and Tomato, Caper, Parsley Reduction

Serves 2: multiply as needed

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil, for sauteing
  
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 medium ripe tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup water or fish broth
  
• 1 tablespoon capers, with the brine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 -4 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 sushi-grade tuna medallions (or steaks, if you're looking for a larger, heartier meal)
• 10 thin stalks asparagus

Heat a few tablespoons olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot, and saute for a minute or two, until slightly browned. Add the tomato, and stir until soft. Add the water/broth, capers, and lemon juice and simmer for a few minutes, until reduced and thickened. Add the parsley and butter, stir to incorporate. Turn down the heat to low, and let it simmer while you cook the fish.

Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Cover the bottom of a wide pan with some olive oil and heat over medium high. Move the pan off-center so there is a definite hot side and a cooler side. Add the fish to the direct heat, and let cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Place the asparagus in the cooler side of the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Turn the tuna, and cook for an additional 2 minutes for medium (maybe longer if you're using full steaks). Place the asparagus on a plate, top with the tomato caper sauce, and the fish. Garnish with parsley.

Blood Orange Scallops with Sea Beans

This was my attempt at a fancy appetizer. Scallops are kind of intimidating to me for some reason, but they really are super easy to prepare. I found some jumbo scallops at Whole Foods, and they make for a really dramatic presentation with very little effort. I did learn a few things about scallops, though, if you're experimenting with them for the first time.

Scallops have little 'feet' which is just a small, tough muscle along the side which needs to be removed. Also, if you can find dry-pack scallops, they sear much better and keep a much better consistency than wet-pack.

This is also my experience with sea beans, but I saw them used them on Iron Chef one night and so that practically makes me professional. They have a briny crunch to them which pairs really well with the scallop. I used them raw here, but you could probably stir fry them for a minute or two to soften them up (I don't think they need it, though).

And just one more note on the presentation. You'll notice in the picture that I used a blood orange slice to the plate as garnish. The red and orange make a beautiful contrast, but were I to do it again, I would use a supreme wedge of the orange so you could actually eat it rather than just look at it.


Blood Orange Sea Scallops with Sea Beans

Ingredients

• 2 medium blood oranges
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 or 3 sprigs parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• 4 large sea scallops
• Sea beans, enough to form small beds for each scallop

Supreme 4 segments of the blood orange, and set aside. Place the rest of the flesh from both oranges in a food processor with the cream and salt and pepper. Puree until very smooth.

Remove and discard the feet from the scallops, and then lightly salt and pepper the remaining flesh. If you want to add a few presentation points, slice shallow X's across the top and bottom of the scallops (they sear beautifully that way).

Pour a thin layer of oil in a non-stick pan and heat to medium high (until the oil starts to smoke slightly). Add the scallops and let sit still for a few minutes (3-4) until the edges are seared golden, then flip and sear the other side.

Meanwhile, wash and arrange the sea beans and the orange supreme on the plates. When the second face of the scallops are seared, place on the bed of sea beans.

Quickly pour the orange-cream mixture into the hot pan, and stir quickly to incorporate the olive oil into the mixture. Taste for seasoning, then top the scallops with the sauce.

New England Clam Chowder

Clam chowder = Christmas Eve in my family's history. This is one of the die-hard, unbending, every single Christmas Eve since I reached consciousness traditions in my family, and we love it. The original recipe comes from a small, well-used family cookbook (the interesting this is, it's not our family's book--it's some completely random family I've never heard of before, so thanks Minchey's). I particularly liked this year's versions where we had big chunks of baby red potatoes with the peels still on, red onions, big leaves of parsley, and the celery leaves thrown in there, too. It felt much more like a chunky stew, and I was a fan.


New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 2 pounds baby red potatoes, skins on, quartered
• 2-3 stalks celery, leaves still attached, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 cans minced clams, 6.5 ounces each
• up to 4 cups chicken broth
  
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
  
• 3-4 sprigs coarsely-chopped parsley
• about 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup light cream
  
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Put potatoes, celery, onions, and garlic in a large pot. Pour the juice from the clams over, and then add enough chicken broth to just barely cover the vegetables. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir the flour to make a paste. Add the milk and stir until the flour mixture is dissolved. Add the flour/milk/butter mixture to the vegetables, then add the parsley and sugar. Add the cream, vinegar, and clams. Stir well. Heat, but don't boil or the clams will get tough and rubbery.