The holidays create a special time to enjoy friends and family, bringing warmth and tender feelings inside. Hardly anything compares to the delicious food that makes us cheerful and satisfied. Why not try something new this holiday season? Add some class, sophistication and ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your meal….. Let’s make some holiday dishes, Gourmet.
I’m sure you are thinking: “I can’t cook gourmet because that’s what fancy chefs do.” Here’s a secret: gourmet is whatever you make it! Yes, that’s right; you can make your food gourmet by your technique, the ingredients used (normally high quality), and certainly a well thought out presentation. No wonder it’s called ‘haute cuisine’. Making food gourmet could mean only a few twists to an old favourite. The key is to take pride in the meal, transforming a plain dish into a refined 5 star meal.
Appetisers
Present a platter of snack sized bites: Mini beef balls, deviled eggs, smoked salmon or marlin and stuffed vegetables, like cucumber and tomatoes.
You can never go wrong with soup. Why not turn regular pumpkin soup into cream of pumpkin soup then garnish with a few sprinkles of thyme? What makes the soup different is the blending of ingredients and addition of cream which gives a lovely orange colour and smooth rich texture. This can also be done as a complete vegan/vegetarian option by using only vegetables, boiling your seasoning in a sachet and using coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
Poultry
Think roasted chicken or turkey stuffed with your favourite herbs and spices, presented decoratively on a platter of vegetables and garnishes. Top with a slow cooked aromatic sauce and voilà! Gourmet magic!
Seafood
If seafood for you means the same ole plain steamed snapper, you definitely need to amp up your gourmet skills. While there are ways to make it gourmet styled, try other options too like Roasted Salmon filet on a bed of vegetables, a beautiful paella with shrimp, scallops, lobster and whatever else you fancy.
Pork
Two pork dishes we can safely label as Christmas staples are none other than Roasted Pork and ham. Consider a gourmet twist with a meal of rolled pork tenderloin. This cut doesn’t take as long to cook and you can enjoy the benefit of stuffing it with any flavour combinations to suite your taste buds and pocket. Consider sage, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese as options.
Rolled Pork Tenderloin
• 6 lb. pork loin rolled with skin on
• 2 Tablespoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon black pepper
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup oil
• 6-8 thin slices of prosciutto
(pre-cooked bacon or other salted meat)
• 6 thin slices fresh mozzarella
(or other gooey cheese of your choice)
Method
• Butterfly the tenderloin – slice the tenderloin in half down one of the long sides, stopping a 1/2 inch before you’ve cut all the way through. Open the tenderloin like a book. Use a meat mallet or rolling pin to pound the tenderloin until it has a thickness of 1/2 inch all over. Open out the pork loin and lay it skin side down. Rub in 1 Tablespoon of the salt and all the pepper then scatter on the garlic and fresh herbs.
• Remove the leaves from the sage, rosemary, and thyme. Place the herb leaves in a food processor with the garlic and 3 Tbsp of the olive oil. Pulse the herbs until a finely minced rub is formed. Season the herb mixture with salt and pepper.
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