I love to entertain during the holidays. Most years, I host a Christmas party for my friends and neighbors, and my favorite part of the party planning is creating the perfect menu.
Now, my momma, Dot Sexton, always said you should serve your guests food you prepare personally, so I take great pride in making every dish from scratch. It is time consuming, but in the end, the personal touch makes the party so much more special.
Every get-together I host, certain recipes are always requested by my guests, especially the White Glove Souffle’, as momma referred to it. Without a doubt, the souffle’ dish is scraped clean at the end of the night.
White Glove Souffle’
4 blocks cream cheese, softened
16 ounces frozen onions, thawed and pressed to remove liquid
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
3 cups of grated parmesan cheese
Mix all ingredients and pour into a four-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until top is golden. Serve with Wheat Thins.
This recipe has been a hit every time I have served it.
Another favorite is my beef and biscuits. I learned a recipe from my friend, Seth Kent.
The Perfect Roast Beef
1 sirloin tip roast, any size
Dale’s marinade
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Marinate roast in Dale’s and sprinkle with steak seasoning.
Heat oven to 500 degrees. Take the weight of the roast and multiply that weight by 5 minutes. That is the cook time for your roast.
Cook roast for correct time, then turn off oven and leave for one hour in the oven. Do not open oven! This is very important if you want a perfect medium rare temperature.
After the hour has passed, remove from the oven and let stand before cutting.
You can make homemade biscuits or use the frozen type, and I serve with Jezebel sauce.
Jezebel Sauce
Jar of pineapple preserves
Jar of apple jelly
Horseradish
Mustard
Black pepper.
In a bowl, blend jelly and preserves. Add horseradish, mustard, and black pepper to taste. Blend well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled before serving.
At Christmas, I try to make dishes that are as much decoration as they are delicious. My Red Velvet Trifle is one of those perfect Christmas dishes in its red and white.
I serve it in a footed trifle dish and garnish heavily with fresh raspberries.
Red Velvet Trifle
Red velvet cake mix
1 box Velvet Cake Mix
2 blocks cream cheese, softened
2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake as instructed using 13- by 9-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Beat cream cheese at medium speed with mixer one minute or until creamy. Add yogurt, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Beat until smooth, and chill.
Cut cooled cake into squares, and arrange about one-third of cake pieces in a trifle dish. Spread one-third of chilled cream cheese mixture over cake. Repeat layers two times, ending with cream cheese mixture on top. Top with raspberries, and chill.
I also love to make holiday candy. Momma made haystacks every year, a butterscotch variety and a chocolate variety.
Butterscotch Haystacks
1 large bag of butterscotch chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 large container of crispy potato sticks
Melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter. Mix in potato sticks. Scoop teaspoon size pieces and place on cookie sheet. Chill.
Chocolate Haystacks
1 large bag of milk chocolate chips
1 large bag sweetened coconut.
Melt chocolate, mix in coconut. Scoop out teaspoon sized bits and place on cookie sheet. Chill.
I hope you and your family have an enjoyable and delicious Christmas season.
