A Well-read feast: Christmas menu takes cues from great literature

Baked Glazed Ham
Baked Glazed Ham

Some of our most memorable Christmas feasts can be found between the pages of a book.

There's the Ingalls and Wilder families' oyster soup, roasted stuffed hen, mashed potatoes, mashed turnips and crisp roasted pig; Harry Potter's delight at the "fat, roast turkeys," "mountains of roast and boiled potatoes," platters of sausages and "tureens of buttered peas" and "silver boats of thick, rich gravy"; Fezziwig's party featuring cold roast, mince pies, cake and warm wine and of course the Cratchit's goose and gravy, mashed potatoes, applesauce and flaming pudding.

The idea of choosing just one of these meals was too difficult, instead we selected a dish here and a dish there to create our own menu influenced by some of our favorite culinary passages and the cookbooks they inspired:

Oyster Stew

Cranberry Sauce

Mashed Potatoes

Buttered Peas

Baked Glazed Ham

Spice-Rubbed Roast Turkey

Easy Turkey Gravy

Sugar-and-Spice Cake

Smoking Bishop

Oyster soup was on the menu throughout Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, most often during the winter holidays of Christmas and New Year's.

The best description being when the Ingalls had New Year's dinner with the Boasts in By the Shores of Silver Lake.

In all her life Laura had never tasted anything so good as that savory, fragrant, sea-tasting hot milk, with golden dots of melted cream and black specks of pepper on its top, and the little dark canned oysters at its bottom. She sipped slowly, slowly from her spoon, to keep that taste going over her tongue as long as she could.

And with this soup, there were little round oyster crackers. The little oyster crackers were like doll-crackers, and they tasted better because they were so light and small.

Oyster Soup

2 (8-ounce) cans oysters

½ cup crushed oyster crackers, plus more for serving

1 tablespoon butter

2 cups whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

Pinch ground mace

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch ground black pepper

Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce, optional, for serving

Drain the liquid from the oysters into a measuring cup and add enough water to make 2 cups. Combine oyster liquid, crushed crackers and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as mixture begins to boil, add the oysters and reduce heat and simmer 1 to 2 minutes. Add the milk, cream, spices. Ladle into bowls and serve with additional oyster crackers and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods From Laura Ingalls Wilder's Classic Stories by Barbara M. Walker

Cranberry sauce is mentioned in numerous books including Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone and the Little House books. The cranberry jelly that Laura and Carrie made in The Long Winter was a simple combination of cranberries, water and sugar. Although J.K. Rowling didn't go into details about the cranberry sauce at Hogwarts, we imagine it may have tasted like this one.

Cranberry Sauce

3 clementines, zested and juiced OR 1 large orange

½ to ¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cinnamon stick

3 cardamom pods, bruised OR scant ¼ teaspoon ground cardamon

1 pound cranberries

2 tablespoons port or red wine, optional

Combine the clementine juice and sugar in a shallow saucepan and bring to boil; boil gently until sugar melts and turns amber. Scatter the zest and add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and cook for 1 minute. Then add the cranberries and port, if using. Cook over medium heat until cranberries burst and mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Chill before serving.

Makes about 8 servings.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

The dining-table had been turned around and pulled out till it was almost as long as the dining-room, and every inch of it was loaded with good things to eat.

Almanzo bowed his head and shut his eyes tight while Father said the blessing. It was Christmas Day. But at last Almanzo could open his eyes. He sat and silently looked at the table.

He looked at the crisp, crackling little pig lying on the blue platter with an apple in its mouth. He looked at the fat roast goose, the drumsticks sticking up, and the edges of dressing curling out. The sound of Father's knife sharpening on the whetstone made him even hungrier.

He looked at the big bowl of cranberry jelly, and at the fluffy mountain of mashed potatoes with melting butter trickling down it.

from Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Mashed Potatoes

6 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

Salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

6 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes, divided use

1 cup half-and-half OR whole milk

In a medium saucepan, combine potatoes and about 1 teaspoon of salt. Add cold water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes in a colander.

Return drained potatoes to pot. Place pot over medium-low heat and cook, shaking pan, to evaporate any remaining excess moisture. Turn off heat. Mash potatoes using a potato masher. Season with ground black pepper. Add 4 tablespoons of the butter and ¼ cup of half-and-half and stir to combine. Add the remaining milk or half-and-half a few tablespoons at time, whisking, until potatoes reach desired consistency. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

Transfer to serving dish and dot with remaining butter, letting it melt into the crevice and valleys.

Makes 6 servings.

Buttered Peas

1 pound frozen peas

1 cup water

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter

Combine the peas and water in a small saucepan and bring them to a boil, stirring occasionally, over medium heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, or until peas are tender. Drain and transfer peas to a large serving bowl. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and butter, tossing to coat. Serve immediately.

Makes about 6 servings.

Adapted from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz

We couldn't find any passages describing a glistening glazed ham for Christmas dinner, but we always imagine a ham among the platters of plump roast turkeys and mounds of mashed potatoes.

Baked Glazed Ham

1 (7- to 9-pound) fully cooked, spiral sliced smoked ham (see note)

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

4 to 6 ounces jarred mango chutney such as Major Grey's

¼ cup Dijon-style mustard

½ cup packed light brown sugar

Zest and juice of 1 clementine

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a roasting pan with foil or parchment paper. Place ham, pointed end up, in roasting pan.

In a food processor, combine garlic, chutney, mustard, sugar, clementine zest and juice. Whirl until smooth. Pour over ham. Bake ham, uncovered, for 1 hour or until ham is heated through and glaze is well browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 12 to 15 servings.

Note: If you can't find an unglazed ham, opt for one with neutral or complementary flavors such as honey or brown sugar.

Recipe adapted from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol: A Book-to-Table Classic with Recipes by Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Trisha Yearwood

Whether you're dining in frontier America or jolly old England, no Christmas spread is complete without a roasted bird.

Spice-Rubbed Roast Turkey

1 (14- to 18-pound) turkey, neck and giblets removed

1 ½ tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper

Olive oil, for basting

Fresh herbs, orange wedges and/or cranberries, for garnish, optional

Pat turkey dry with paper towels. Place on a sturdy, rimmed baking sheet; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano, ¼ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Using your fingers, gently separate the skin from the flesh of the turkey. Rub the spice mixture under the skin and inside the cavity. Tie legs together and tuck wings under breast. To cook immediately, let turkey stand at room temperature while you heat the oven. To cook later, cover turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Place turkey on a rack in a roasting pan, breast side up. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 30 minutes at 375 degrees, then reduce temperature to 325 degrees and continue roasting (if breast browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil) until internal temperature (insert thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone) reaches 165 degrees, 3 ½ to 5 hours more, depending on the size of the turkey. (Reserve pan drippings for gravy, if desired). Let rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

Makes about 8 servings with leftovers.

Easy Turkey Gravy

Pan drippings from roasted turkey

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

Salt and ground black pepper

Transfer pan drippings to a 1-quart saucepan; skim fat. Whisk in ¼ cup all-purpose flour until smooth. Whisking constantly, add broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 3 cups gravy.

Sugar-and-Spice Cake
Photo by Thomas Metthe
Sugar-and-Spice Cake Photo by Thomas Metthe

This spice cake recipe is from a Pride and Prejudice cookbook, but we imagine it could have been the very same enjoyed by a young Ebeneezer Scrooge at Fezziwig's Christmas party.

Sugar-and-Spice Cake

Butter or shortening, for greasing

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Scant ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1¾ cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1¼ cups whole milk

Frosting and filling:

2 cups cold heavy cream

1 pound mascarpone cheese

½ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted to remove lumps

1 to 1½ cups seedless blackberry jam, stirred to loosen

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 (8-inch) cake pans with butter or shortening. Line pans with parchment rounds.

Into a medium bowl, sift both flours, baking powder, spices and salt.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth, about 1 minute.

Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks to cool completely.

For the frosting: In a large bowl, beat cream with an electric mixer on medium-high until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl, beat mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Set aside.

With a long, serrated knife, split each cake horizontally into two layers. Transfer a layer to a cake stand or platter. Spread evenly with ½ cup jam, then spread 1 cup of the frosting over the jam. Add another cake layer. Spread with ¼ to ½ cup jam, followed by 1 cup frosting. Repeat layering cakes and spreading with jam, then frosting, leaving the sides of the cake naked. Spread the remaining frosting over the top layer of cake. Whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar evenly over frosting. Refrigerate until frosting sets, about 10 minutes.

Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Recipe adapted from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice A Book-to-Table Classic with recipes by Martha Stewart

Smoking Bishop
Photo by Thomas Metthe
Smoking Bishop Photo by Thomas Metthe

"Merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. "A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I'll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot an i, Bob Cratchit!"

— from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Smoking Bishop aka Mulled Wine

1 medium orange

20 whole cloves

1 (750-milliliter) bottle ruby port

1 (750-milliliter) bottle red wine

1 cup water

¼ to ½ cup granulated sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Pinch fresh grated ginger

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch ground allspice

Clove studded orange slices, optional garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash the orange and press the cloves into its skin.

Place the orange on a baking dish and bake until the skin is lightly browned, about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool.

Combine the port, wine, 1 cup water, sugar and spices. Heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, until steaming. Do not boil. Cut the baked orange into slices and add it and its juice and stir well. Serve in toddy glasses or mugs garnished with a clove-studded orange slice.

Makes about 6 servings.

Food on 12/19/2018

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