7-Day Holiday Meal Plan

Oh, the holidays… a time for joy, celebration, and… stress? The holidays are a time when we may and should concentrate on the things that we have in common with one another and the things that we wish to celebrate together. But what if our friends and family members follow various diets or have varied tastes when it comes to food, and we are in charge of preparing the holiday meals?

Oh, the holidays… a time for joy, celebration, and… stress? The holidays are a time when we may and should concentrate on the things that we have in common with one another and the things that we wish to celebrate together. But what if our friends and family members follow various diets or have varied tastes when it comes to food, and we are in charge of preparing the holiday meals?

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Ramadan, or you simply want to spend time with friends and family, you may bring people together over a meal that you all enjoy and the values that you all hold in common.

In this article, we will concentrate on planning and cooking Christmas cuisine that is both tasty and healthful. In addition, we will look at how to extend these tactics to create a warm and welcome table for all of your visitors. The following are some suggestions for making use of leftovers, reducing the amount of effort required, or improving the nutritional profile of the dish just a little bit.

Sunday: Baked Salmon

This Salmon Tarator-inspired meal delivers exceptionally high benefits for very little labor by including a honey butter-glazed side of salmon that is baked in foil, drizzled with creamy dill sauce, and lastly topped with a sparkling Holiday “Tapenade.”

Ingredients

• 1.2 – 1.5 kilogram / 2.4 – 3lb salmon side (skin on, bones removed)
• 2 1/4 tsp salt , cooking/kosher (Note 2)
• 1 tsp black pepper

HONEY BUTTER GLAZE:

• 150g / 5oz butter , unsalted
• a half a cup of honey
• Three cloves of garlic, chopped very finely (garlic press or knife)

A CREAMY SAUCE WITH DILL

• 1 and a half cups of sour cream, full fat (low fat is too watery)
• a half a cup of fresh dill, cut very finely (lightly packed cup)
• grated half of an eschallot (also known as a French onion)
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp salt , cooking/kosher

HOLIDAY “TAPENADE”

• cranberries, dried, one cup’s worth
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup of roasted almond slivers, measure out
• 13 cup chopped parsley, plus salt and pepper to taste
• a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and pepper, each
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

FINISHING:

• a single pomegranate, with just the seeds
• a quarter of a cup of chopped parsley, about
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 lemons, extra, cut into 6 pieces each (for serving; this step is essential; omit if you want to skip it)

Instructions

SAUCE WITH CREAM AND DILL

In a bowl, thoroughly combine all of the ingredients. Hold in the refrigerator until it is needed.

HOLIDAY TAPENADE

To get fuller-looking cranberries, bring orange juice to a boil in a pot set over high heat. Stop the heat, add the cranberries, and cover the pot. Allow it sit for 15 minutes, then pour through a strainer (discard liquid). Cool. Cranberries, roasted almonds, parsley, salt, and olive oil should all be mixed together in a dish before serving. Maintain at room temperature.

COOKING SALMON

Prepare the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) (all oven types).

Prepare salmon: After lining the tray with a wide piece of foil (it is advised that you use two layers for added safety), cover it with baking or parchment paper. After placing the salmon on the paper, bring the edges of the aluminum foil up into a cup shape to prevent the glaze from dripping into the tray.

To make the glaze, combine all of the ingredients in a pot and cook them over medium-high heat. After it began to froth, reduce the heat to medium and allow it continue to foam for two minutes before removing it from the heat and pouring it directly over the fish.

To season the salmon, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, concentrating most of the salt on the parts of the fish that are more substantial.

Wrap: First, use a smaller piece of paper to wrap the salmon, and then cover it with foil. It is not necessary for the sides to be completely hermetically sealed in order to wrap the salmon in a package using folding and sealing techniques.

Bake 15 minutes. Remove fish from oven.

Remove the cover and fold any extra paper; then remove the paper, foil, and cover paper. In order to reveal the surface of the fish, crumple and fold the paper and foil. When the paper is tucked down, there is less of a chance that it may catch fire from the broiler.

To get a browned appearance, set the oven to the grill or broiler setting and turn it up to high. Put the salmon on the shelf in the center of the oven and broil it for seven to ten minutes, until the fish begins to caramelize largely on the edges and a touch on the top. Paper may easily catch fire if it is placed too near to a heat source, so keep it at a safe distance. Check to see whether the salmon is cooked through; you may either pry it open in the center to see inside or use a probe to measure the temperature inside

Transfer to plate: Immediately transfer the salmon to a serving dish by use the overhang of the foil (otherwise it keeps cooking). Slide the foil then the paper out from beneath the salmon (see the video at 1 minute and 24 seconds or the step photographs in the article), and make room on the dish for the liquids to pool (the juices are gold stuff!).

Monday: Glazed Ham

Ham with Maple Glaze is the perfect ham glaze to use when you want to give your holiday baked ham a particular touch while still maintaining its ease of preparation. This is THE Christmas Ham recipe that I prepare year after year to give as gifts and to bring to parties because it has the most wonderful sticky glaze with the delicate scent of maple and a dash of seasonal spices.

There is absolutely no need to let the idea of creating a glazed ham to make you feel intimidated in any way! If you have someone who can teach you how to do it, it won’t take you very long to figure it out.
Ham in the oven made simple! The most wonderful ham glaze there has ever been, with a delicate perfumme from maple and many spices associated with the holiday season.

Ingredients

• 5 kilogram / 10 lb leg ham, bone in, skin on
• 30 Cloves (for studding the ham, optional – mainly for decorative purposes)
• 2 oranges , sliced into quarters
• 1 mug (about 250 milliliters) of water GLAZE
• 1/4 cup (165 grams) packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (you can also use honey)
• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon all spice (or nutmeg)

Instructions

Remove ham from refrigerator one hour before serving. To get the oven ready, preheat it to 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit) with the fan on at 140 degrees Celsius. Put the shelf in the oven’s bottom third, so that the ham will be in the middle of the cooking chamber (rather than in top half of oven).

Put all of the ingredients for the Glaze into a bowl and mix them together well, using a whisk if necessary.
GET RID OF THE HAM RIND (SKIN) Pass a tiny knife around the handle of the bone, then along each side of the ham, and finally under the rind on the face where it was sliced. (Check out the video and the pictures in the post)

Move the tips of your fingers beneath the rind that is exposed on the sliced face of the ham, and then rock them back and forth to loosen it as you draw it back. If necessary, use a knife to slice any remaining rind off of the fruit. Cut shallow diamonds of about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) across the surface of the ham’s fat, going about 75% of the way into the fat. It is best not to cut into the flesh.
Put a clove into the hole that corresponds to the point where the cross of each diamond on the surface intersects (optional).

GLAZE AND BAKING

Put the ham in a big baking dish and put it in the oven. The handle should be propped up on the side of the pan, and the foil should be crumpled up so that the surface of the ham is level (for more even caramelisation). The trick to making the BEST Glazed Ham is to make sure the surface is flat so that it can caramelize evenly.

Over the ham, squeeze the juice of one orange, which should yield four quarters. After that, arrange them in a circular pattern around the ham in the baking dish, along with the remaining orange segments.
Brush or spoon half of the glaze all over the surface and cut face of the ham. You don’t need to bother about the bottom of the ham since the glaze will flow down into the pan.

After you have poured the water into the baking dish, put it in the oven to heat up. Bake for one and a half to two hours, basting very liberally with the remaining sauce and liquids in the pan every thirty minutes, or until the topping is sticky and brown. You may preserve areas that brown more quickly than others by using foil patches; just press them on softly, and the caramelization won’t come off with the foil.
Cracks in the brown sugar glazed ham adorned with foil.

At the very least, give it a rest for twenty minutes before serving. Before serving, be sure to give the ham several coats of glaze, as the glaze will thicken as it cools and “paint” the ham more effectively. However, make sure to save aside some of the juices from the pan so that they may be drizzled on top.

Tuesday : Slow Lamb Roast (Slow Cooker Recipe)

Your next Sunday roast is going to be elevated to a whole new level when you serve this Slow Roast Leg of Lamb. It is EXTREMELY SIMPLE to do and highly forgiving of mistakes. You will be rewarded with a soft lamb leg that can be taken off the bone, which will be served with a wickedly delicious rosemary garlic flavored sauce if you have the fortitude to wait it out.

If you want to roast a lamb leg in a manner that is far less difficult and stressful, a slow and low cooking method is the way to go. To carve this, you won’t use a knife at all. Simply use your tongs to remove the flesh off of the bone.

Roasting a leg of lamb with this method is incredibly forgiving and straightforward. It is not of the kind that requires carving since the flesh is so soft that it can be pulled off the bone with tongs. Because a leg of lamb is really rather lean, the most effective method for slow roasting a leg of lamb is to partly immerse it in liquid and roast it with the lid on for the most of the cooking period. In this method, flavor is imparted into the meat, and it is also able to absorb moisture.

NOTE: The lamb leg should only be roasted until it becomes a bright pink color and is juicy (according to this classic recipe for Roast Lamb), or it should be slow cooked until it falls apart, which may take several hours (this recipe). Everything in the middle is difficult and unpleasant! Explore the collection of recipes for additional ideas on how to cook roast lamb.

Ingredients

• 2.25 kilograms or 4.5 pounds of bone-in lamb leg (or shoulder) (Note 1)
• Both pepper and salt
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic head, peeled and halved lengthwise, with the cloves left intact
• 1 onion , quartered (unpeeled is fine)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (2 sprigs provide a hint of rosemary flavor, while 4 sprigs give a more robust flavor)
• 3 cups of beef stock or broth, with a reduced amount of salt (or homemade)
• 2 ounces of water

GRAVY:

• 4 teaspoons of flour (white)
• 1 ounce of water
• Add black pepper and salt to taste.

Instructions

Warm the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (standard) or 150 degrees Celsius. A metal roasting pan should have garlic, onion, and rosemary placed in it. Season lamb: Put the lamb leg on the pan with the skin side facing up. Salt and pepper it to taste after liberally sprinkling it with both spices.

After you have flipped the lamb over, position it so that the majority of it rests on the garlic and onion. Additional salt and pepper should be sprinkled on top, then rubbed in. Put in the liquids, then cover: Olive oil should be drizzled over the meat. When you pour the broth and water over the lamb, it won’t cover it completely, but that’s OK since the lamb will sink into the liquid. Wrap it in aluminum foil but don’t use a cover since you want some of the liquid to steam out.

Roast at a low temperature for about 4.5 hours in the oven after being placed there. Check the meat for: Take the dish out of the oven and remove the foil. Turn lamb over. Verify if the meat is soft enough that a small piece may be readily removed from the bone with a fork. If not, return the pan to the oven while it is covered. Lamb should be browned by placing it back in the oven uncovered and cooking it for another 45 minutes, or until it is well browned.

After resting, remove the lamb and liberally ladle the pan juices over it. Place on a dish, and tent with aluminum foil in a sloppy manner while you make the gravy (stays warm for 1 – 1.5 hours).

GRAVY:

The fat may be skimmed from the surface of the liquid by using a big spoon to remove and dispose of part of the fat that has accumulated there. Add flour: Put the pan on the burner, and turn the heat to medium high. After the liquid begins to boil, stir in the flour. Employ a whisk to incorporate it into the mixture; due to the reduction in liquid volume, this may take a few minutes.

Add water: When it reaches the consistency of sludge (as seen in the video), begin whisking in half a cup to one cup of water until the mixture reaches the desired thickness for your gravy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste — I seldom use more salt. After squeezing juices out of the onion and other ingredients, strain the gravy into a basin. Pour gravy into jug.

Wednesday : Juiciest Turkey Breast

Cooking turkey breast without using brine in a slow cooker is, without a shadow of a doubt, the simplest, most fail-safe, and most delectable method to prepare turkey breast. It is delicious and moist, the preparation just takes three minutes, and then you can simply allow it to simmer in your slow cooker (crock pot). Then create a killer gravy out of the fluids by using them!

Because turkey breast is often quite lean, the only way to ensure that it will remain juicy after being roasted in the oven is to brine it beforehand, using either a dry or a wet brine. Even if you use a meat thermometer, you will have a very tough time getting the turkey breast to the ideal doneness in the oven if you do not brine it beforehand.

After attempting many different recipes for turkey breast and being dissatisfied with the results (bland looking skin, dry meat, and subpar gravy), I came up with the idea for this Slow Cooker Turkey Breast dish. As a result, I decided to disregard what I had read and come up with my own recipe making use of a slow cooker instead. I’ve tried a few different techniques over the years, but this is hands down the juiciest turkey breast I’ve ever eaten.

This is by far the best approach. Even though the turkey breast was not brined in preparation, this method nonetheless managed to create the juiciest turkey breast possible. In addition, slow cooking is quite forgiving, which means that the cooking time does not need to be precisely measured out. SCALE RECIPE by using the slider located on the Servings tab in order to accommodate various turkey weights. Browse the new Thanksgiving Recipe Index to find the perfect dish to round off your meal.

Ingredients

• 2 kilogram / 4 lb turkey breast, skin on, bone in or boneless (if using frozen, thaw it)
• One garlic head, sliced in half lengthwise;
• One onion, brown, yellow, or white; not peeled; chopped in half;
• Five sprigs of thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 5 grinds of black pepper
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil together.
• Chicken stock or broth (or water), for topping out the liquid in the gravy
• 4 tablespoons (or 50 grams) of butter
• 1/4 cup (or 35 grams) of flour
• Both pepper and salt

Instructions

Put all of the ingredients for the Rub into a bowl and stir them together until they form a moist paste.
Using paper towels, thoroughly dry the turkey on both sides. Spread on the Rub, concentrating its application on the top and sides. In the slow cooker, lay the garlic cloves, onion slices, and thyme leaves face down. Position the turkey breast so that it is raised by placing it on top.

Slow Cook on LOW for six hours (do not use high), or until an inserted thermometer reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Celsius, whichever comes first. Do not use high. If you have the opportunity, check the interior temperature after five hours. Take the turkey out of the slow cooker (do not keep it in the slow cooker on the Warm setting), and after it has rested for 20 minutes, proceed to crisp the skin.

GET THE SKIN CRACKED UP! Turn the grill or broiler up to its highest setting. Put a shelf in the oven about 30 centimeters or 1 foot away from the burner. Take the turkey breast out of the slow cooker and place it on a serving dish that can withstand heat. Put on a shelf in the oven, and broil for three to five minutes, or until the skin is browned and crispy. Keep a close check on it since it will brown very soon if you don’t!
As soon as possible, serve, with the gravy on the side.

GRAVY

After crushing the garlic and other ingredients to release all of the flavor, strain the liquid into a measuring jug. If you don’t have enough liquid for two cups, you may make up the difference with chicken broth. I normally obtain two cups of liquid from a turkey breast that weighs four pounds or two kilograms. In a saucepan, over medium heat, butter should be melted. After adding the flour, stir everything well. Mix the liquid with the flour until it reaches the consistency of a paste and then add roughly a half cup of it. While swirling constantly, gradually add the remaining liquid.

If you need to, you may smooth up the gravy by using a whisk. Simmer until the mixture has thickened; however, remove it from the heat before it has reached the desired level of thickness since it will continue to thicken. Salt and pepper may be added to taste as a seasoning. To accompany the turkey, serve.

Thursday : Whole Roasted Snapper

The concept of preparing fish in any form might be intimidating for many people, but the idea of roasting and serving a whole fish may seem to be beyond of the horizon of possibilities for the typical home chef. To tell the truth, roasting a whole fish is one of the simplest ways to prepare it, and it makes for a really magnificent dinner presentation. The fish stays moist and luscious when it is roasted with the bones still in it, and there is some great culinary drama to be had when it is time to peel the filets off the bones and serve them.

It is my preference to serve the fish directly on the parchment paper on which it was roasted. To do this, I simply remove the fish and paper from the roasting pan, set them on a big, colorful plate, and surround them with fresh herbs and lemon wedges. So simple, and the appearance of a cool, laid-back dinner party created by the parchment paper that has been gently browned.

Ingredients

• An entire snapper weighing 1.5 kilograms (to 2 Kg)
• 1 bunch of cilantro (also known as coriander) that has been coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch of green spring onions (also known as shallots), cut roughly
• 2 individual garlic cloves
• 1 lemon, zest removed and juice extracted, whole
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
• 1 cup of chopped Italian flat leaf parsley, which is also known as parsley.
• 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

Put the oven on to a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Coriander (also spelled cilantro), onions, garlic, lemon peel and juice, salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to produce a paste. Blend all of these ingredients together.

Add a few drops of olive oil to the bottom of the pan and swirl it around. Make a few cuts across the fish with the knife. First, place the butter into the fish’s stomach, and then use the paste to coat the exterior of the fish completely, working it into the slits. Spread the olives all over the fish, then place it in the oven and bake it uncovered for 20 minutes. After that, sprinkle on the parsley, and continue roasting for another 5 minutes, or until the flesh separates from the bone. Relax for fifteen minutes while lightly covering yourself with aluminum foil. When ready to serve, drizzle with olive oil.

Note: If the fish weighs more than 2 kilograms, we recommend following the guideline that stipulates ten minutes of cooking time for every kilogram.

Friday : Country beef

The only step involved is placing all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and then leaving it alone until dinner time. There is no further preparation required. In terms of flavor, we are talking about good old-fashioned beef casserole, which is the ideal dish to warm you up throughout the winter.

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram of chunky beef gravy, split into pieces
• 2 tbsp gravox 1 tbsp ordinary flour
• 500 grams of baby potatoes
• 200 grams of button mushrooms,
• Two carrots
• Six shallots, diced, and
• 125 milliliters (half a cup) of water should be halved.
• 400 grams worth of chopped tomatoes in a can
• 225g jar tomato chutney

Instructions

Place the meat in the basin of a slow cooker and coat it with gravox and plain flour. On top of the steak, arrange the potato, mushroom, carrot, and shallot. The stock, tomatoes, and chutney should be poured over top. Cook for 8 hours on HIGH, or until the meat is cooked, whichever comes first. If preferred, serve with green veggies that have been steamed.

Saturday : Prawn cocktail platter

Ingredients

• 2 corncobs
• 1 kilogram of big, cooked prawns that have been peeled, deveined, and have their tails intact
• 1 big mango, with the flesh cut into slices
• 1 cubed cucumber from Lebanon, diced
• 6 heads of baby gem lettuce, with the leaves arranged separately
• Wedges of lemon to accompany the meal
• 1 big avocado, flesh cut
• 3 green shallots, cut very thinly

To accompany the cocktail sauce

• Slices of lime
• 80 milliliters (about one third of a cup) of heavy cream
• 80ml (1/3 cup) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 ml (two teaspoons) of Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce, to taste

Lemon garlic sauce

• 80 grams (1/3 cup) of mayonnaise made with whole eggs
• 65 grams (a quarter of a cup) of sour cream
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
• 1 lemon, peeled and shredded very finely, and juiced

Instructions

The first thing you need to do to prepare the cocktail sauce is put all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together until they are completely smooth. Cover and store in the refrigerator until it is required. Combine all of the ingredients for the lemon garlic sauce in a bowl and whisk constantly until the mixture is completely smooth. Cover and store in the refrigerator until it is required.

Bring a chargrill pan up to its maximum temperature. Place the corncobs in the pan and cook them over medium heat, flipping them regularly, for about ten minutes, or until they have a light charring all over. After setting aside to cool, cut the corncobs lengthwise with a tiny, sharp knife until you reach the center of the cob. This will allow you to extract the kernels.

Arrange the prawns, mango, cucumber, lettuce, and slices of lemon and lime on a wide serving tray. Separate bowls containing the corn, avocado, shallot, and sauces should also be prepared. Guests may build their own prawn cocktail by putting a prawn on a lettuce leaf and then topping it with their preferred ingredients and sauces. Guests can make their own prawn cocktail by placing a shrimp on a lettuce leaf.

In the end, celebrating the holidays with those we care about and making new memories together is what the season is all about. In certain cases, this requires having a flexible attitude and showing compassion for other people, particularly in situations when there are disparities. This does not imply that you have to make concessions with regard to your health or your ideals. Simply put, it indicates that the Christmas season is a good time to be especially considerate and charitable than during other times of the year.