Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! The following is a sort of recipe-palooza! I think it's a pretty good sample of what we've been eating the past few days...and some was just too good not to share! I'm listing the recipes in chronological order, because, well, if you know me, that's how freakishly organized I am!

We went to my in-law's house on Christmas Eve, and their holiday trademark has got to be the fried oysters.  Seriously, everyone I tell about the oysters is like, "what?" Think clam strips on a larger scale...and they are VERY good with a cold glass of white wine! There is no actual "recipe" per se, but I got the "lowdown" from my mother-in-law: the oysters are purchased from the seafood department of the supermarket and are kind of a gray, gooey thing in a plastic container. I believe they can be dried with a paper towel and pounded out with a meat tenderizer to a nice big, flat "patty". Dredge them first in an egg and milk bath, then in flour. Now the secret touch: put them back in the egg and milk mixture and then into crushed saltine crackers. Then chill.  To prepare, heat a mixture of Crisco and margarine in a skillet and fry till golden. Oh my, and yum! My husband reheats leftovers the next day, but I think they are best when freshly made.

I tried something new Christmas morning: French Toast Casserole! I usually just throw some refrigerated cinnamon rolls in a baking dish on Christmas morning while the coffee is brewing, but saw this fairly simple recipe in Family Fun magazine, so....

French Toast Casserole

small loaf of firm, white bread

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon, or to taste

8 eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish.  Cut the bread into one-inch cubes.  Chop the nuts. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts.  Arrange half the bread in a single layer in the prepared dish, then sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over the top.  Add a second layer with the remaining bread and the sugar mixture.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the milk and vanilla extract, whisking until well blended. Starting from the sides of the dish and working toward the center, pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread.  With a spatula, gently press down on the bread to coat it with the egg mixture.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 hours.  Heat the oven to 350 and bake the casserole covered for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole turns a light golden brown and looks slightly puffed; about 30 minutes more.  Serve the casserole warm with maple syrup.

For Christmas Day lunch, I made pork tenderloin, au gratin potatoes, green bean casserole and crescent rolls. The pork tenderloin is a favorite at my house, and it is RIDICULOUSLY easy:

Simple Savory Pork Tenderloin (thanks to www.allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 Tbl. fresh rosemary (I used dried)

2 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds boneless pork tenderloin (mine was actually 2 1/2 pounds)

Preheat oven to 325. In a large resealable plastic bag, mix rosemary, garlic salt and pepper.  Place pork tenderloin in the bag, seal and toss until thoroughly coated with the spice mixture.  Transfer to a medium baking dish.  Cook for one hour in the preheated oven, or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. 

And let's not forget the ever-festive green bean casserole! If for some reason you don't have the recipe, here you go:

Green Bean Casserole

two 14-16  ounce cans french-style green beans
3/4 cup milk
10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 small can french fried onions

Combine milk, soup and pepper in a mixing bowl.  Add beans and 1/3 can of onions.  Pour into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Stir and top with remaining onions. Bake five additional minutes.

From my house to yours; Happy Holidays!