Christmas

Vegan EggnogIt is a mystery to us why Egg Nog is so popular (even though we are big fans of dairy over here), but this recipe by Pure Bar Founder, Veronica Bosgraaf’s has us intrigued. It can be found in her cookbook, Pure Food, and seems to capture all the flavors of the season without all of the calories. It's more like an almond milkshake without the rum (that's why it's called nog), but to each their own. Cheers!

Vegan Eggnog (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 cups almond milk, homemade or store-bought
1/4 cup spiced rum (optional)
1/2teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 to 1 cup ice

In a blender, combine the almond milk, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, salt, and ice. Blend on low speed until smooth and serve immediately.

 

Elegant Entertaining

by Holly Palance

jolly3.jpgAll I want for Christmas is my caviar pie. Which is a jolly good thing, since it's the only dish I take joy in creating.

Born without the cooking gene, my talent was always for producing and managing parties, until Brent Power, my best friend from grade school served up a delectable dip Christmas Eve 1982 at my wedding shower and I was hooked. I actually broke down, copied the recipe (my first ASK ever) and have been serving it and bringing it as my pot luck contribution ever since to ooh's and ahh's.

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Holly's Foolproof Caviar Pie

Clam Jam Dip

eggplant-dip-or-spread.jpg Ina Garten’s Roasted Eggplant Spread

Lila's Guacamole

Hummus

Leek & Saffron Broiled Oysters

Rebecca’s Simple Ricotta Spread with Garlic Bruschetta

Felicite's Shrimp Tapas

We asked some of our contributors to tell us their favorite things that come in the mail at Xmas. We always think that one of the nicest things to do, if you can’t be with someone at the holidays, is to send something that can be part of their holiday meal, Xmas dinner, Xmas breakfast. A favorite jam, a basket of muffins, crab cakes, caviar (although this may not be the year for that), an apple pie, candleholders, a smoked ham or turkey, or even barbecued brisket!

panettone01.jpgEvery Christmas, we receive a large Italian Panettone Cake from Dino and Martha De Laurentiis. It looks good in its elaborate wrapping, and tastes good, too, especially as French toast. But the reason we love it so much has more to do with its power to remind us - like a photograph - of the many evenings we’ve spent with this remarkable family - here in LA, in Florence, and, on the eve of the Millennium in, of all places, the South Pacific.
Steven Zaillian

grater.jpgMy sister in law gave me a Microplane Grater as a Christmas present a few years ago, and I use it constantly. It's wand shaped, which makes it really fun to use. Sometimes I like to pretend it's a violin bow while I zest lemons and such. It also has a scabbard, and that's cool. The best thing about it is that your arm doesn't get tired, but your parmesan turns into fluffy, salty snow. It would fit nicely in a stocking, and you should seriously get one if you haven't already.
Agatha French

Besides wine, the best gift we get every year is a 6-pk of petite filets from Omaha Steaks. They are the perfect size for relatively guilt-free meat consumption and are always tender and delicious regardless of how rare or well-done you like yours cooked. They turn a regular steak dinner into something special. 
Lisa Dinsmore

pistachio_nuts.jpgI have a friend who sends me a bag of California Pistachios each year and it has become one of the highlights of the holiday season for me. While others herald the arrival of mail at this time of year, bringing cards and letters from family and friends, I anxiously await the postman's delivery of a package filled with these delicious nuts. I don't know what it is about them (they're a pain in the neck to open and I don't eat them at any other time during the year), but to me the arrival of the pistachios (like the lighting of the tree at Rock Center or the first of a gazillion broadcasts of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE) lets me know that the holidays have truly begun.
Seale Ballenger

macaroons.jpgA beautiful box of Ladurée Macaroons to share with your sweetheart over a pot of Darjeeling tea and great conversation... That is what I would like my FedEx driver to deliver. (Just the Macaroons.)
Brenda Athanus

apron.jpgPretty much every Christmas since the start of the Bush administration, (though I still haven’t figured out the connection), someone gave me a fabulous apron. The blue one with the white polka dots, for example, is from Amy; the sheer, short vintage one with the letter “M” embroidered on the right breast – a gift from my stepdaughter Sal; the white-on-white striped one with the pink rickrack and the yellow, green, purple and rose circles – courtesy of my niece Jennifer. The point is not that I don’t have any; the issue with me and aprons is that I don't put one on til after the barn door is closed. When de Kooning dots of marinara dribble from my tasting spoon onto my best white blouse (the one with the trumpet sleeves, and I still don’t know how that happened because I swear I was holding that spoon right over the pot), after Rorschach blots of dark brown gravy appear on my favorite navy crepe dress, as a constellation of hot caramel from the Tarte Tatin splatters from my cast iron skillet onto my red cashmere cardigan – only then do I decide to tie on an apron. This is not good. This is not why God invented them. If only someone would call and remind me that in a battle between Minestrone and me, the Minestrone will always win – now that would be a perfect Christmas present.
Katherine Reback

loaf_peach_big.jpgThe best peach bread you will ever put in your mouth is from the shop Breadwinner. It is the gift I give all my friends who have everything. It has been featured on the "Today Show," among others. I am lucky I live down the street from the store. Trust me, order it and and you will become addicted. Everything they have is one of a kind but I truly adore their peach bread.
Laura Johnson

trovel.jpgWhat I like to receive during the holiday season is a small shovel that I can use to dig a hole in my backyard and bury all the holiday cakes, candy and long interminable accounts of what the year was like for everyone in their family that are sent our way. 
  Alan Zweibel

mexicancookies.jpgMy college roommate's mother bakes the most delicious Mexican wedding cookies in the world and every Christmas sent us a care package full of cookie tins all carefully labelled in her elegant handwriting. We weren't exactly good little girls in college, but we still managed to earn Mrs. Hinojosa's cookies. I would like to repeat college for a variety of reasons; receiving these cookies every year would be chief among them.
Emily Fox

My husband and I love the Chesapeake Crab package...when it arrives I call my doctor/friend who comes over and both our families drink wine and dine on the crabs.
Susan Dolgen

laburdick.jpgI am like a child when I get food in the mail (to the extent that I have been known to fight with my son over who gets to open the package), and I have to admit that I'm always disappointed when it isn't chocolate. The best food gift I've received was a one-pound box of assorted chocolates from L.A. Burdick's, a superb chocolatier based in New Hampshire. Their handmade bonbons are beautiful to look at and delicious. I savored that box for a long time – and I even shared.
Andrea Pyenson

I love getting bar-yochi, those carob bars because they're the sweetest, most delic treats on earth, bar-none!
David Israel

fairytalebrownies.jpgThe best food thing I've ever gotten in the mail: a delectable assortment of gourmet brownies from Fairytale Brownies, which Random House Films sent me once the contracts were signed. They were rich and decadent, individually packaged little brownies in flavors like toffee crunch, peanut butter, pecan, and caramel, and the lovely sparkling fairytale packaging just added to the magical feel of it. Really, imagine opening a box and being confronted with chocolate and fairies. There is nothing better!!!
Carolyn Turgeon

I think everyone could use cute heart shaped Alessi Coffee & Tea Spoons!
Maia Harari

lecreuset.jpgAlthough it is always a nice surprise to get something edible in the mail during the holiday season I love to give and receive kitchen utensils, equipment, and gadgets as gifts. One year a box from my sister arrived with an Italian espresso maker and to this day every time I make a piping hot cappuccino or espresso shot I am reminded of her generosity. Cookware and electronic or technical equipment are a welcome addition to any home and make a lasting impression in their utility. In my experience, kitchens could always use an upgrade or expansion and the holiday season is a perfect excuse to shop for yourself and others, especially if it means new Le Creuset cookware!
Jackson Malle

zabarsbabka.jpgOne year my best pal in NY sent me a large hunk of Barney Greengrass' whitefish and several chocolate babka muffins to appease my eternal, if lowgrade, homesickness for NY (yes, I am the living cliche after almost thirty years in LA). Then, just when I thought such a gift could not be out done, I received three huge pieces of Zabar's herring with cream and onions, a half-pound of nova, a few H&H bagels and cream cheese, and a Zabar's entire chocolate babka from my step-mother. I was supposed to share with my husband. Not a chance!
Pamela Felche

sevenfishestunapastaWhen I was a kid growing up in Rhode Island, I never could understand all the fuss some families made about Christmas Day dinner. It always seemed weird to me. After all, who could eat a huge ham or turkey dinner after a gargantuan Christmas Eve feast?

Of course, when I got a little older, I realized that not everyone celebrated the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. I thought that was weird too.

Turns out it's not weird at all. The Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes, is celebrated primarily among southern Italians. And Rhode Island, the state with the highest percentage of Italians, is home to many southern Italians.

This centuries-old feast celebrated on Christmas Eve has its roots in Medieval Italy and the Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence. When Catholics abstained from meat on holy days, they typically ate fish. Why seven types of fish? Historians believe it may be symbolic of Roman Catholicism's seven sacraments. Why Christmas Eve? Because Catholics would await the stroke of midnight, which was the time for the birth of the baby Jesus. That also explains why so many Italians attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Of course, it's not always easy staying awake after savoring a seafood dinner of epic proportions. Though most families enjoy classic southern Italian dishes such as fried smelts and linguine with white clam sauce, many families (like my husband's) have their own specialties, such as Gram's stuffed squid in tomato sauce.

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roastgoose.jpgSome people think Roast Prime Rib is tradional for Christmas and lots of people just go with Roast Turkey – stuffed, brined, fast-cooked or whatever – but we thought it would be fun this year to serve duck or goose. Here's to hope, change and peace in the New Year. Happy Holidays from all of us at One for the Table.

Bacon-Wrapped Roasted Duck

Beijing Duck Redux

Braised Duck with Turnips

Duck Breasts with Quince Sauce

Duck with Port-Cherry Sauce

Easy Duck

Honeyed Duck

Ina Garten's Roast Duck

Christmas Goose

Roast Goost with Fruit Stuffing

Steam-Roasted Goose