Hits & Misses in the Christmas Kitchen

Harpa · ‎03-10-2010

No misses for me!

The sirloin roast was perfect. The temp was 155. The juices from the sherry/balsamic vinegar made the oh! most flavorful gravy.

I ran out of pots, so had to roast my carrots & parnips. Then, because I just grabbed the first frozen pearl onions I saw, I added them in half-way. It was Bird's Eye's pearl onions in cream sauce. That came out so good!

My mashed potatoes are always sooo good, made with cream & butter.

My DH was especially happy to see cookies that I had baked and squirreled away in the tins.

Would love to hear how everyone's meal went!

LindaCinKY · ‎03-10-2010

My miss this year was the oven element bursting into flames and a 4" section disintegrating. The roast wasn't quite done (about another hour to go) but was cooked enough to be edible though a little tough in parts. Roasting veggies weren't half done, so I had to finish cooking them in the microwave. Thankful nonetheless that the fire was contained inside the oven and that after checking the breaker and turning the range switch back on, the stove still worked. I'm picking up a new element at walmart tomorrow. It was scary though. After I quit yelling "FIRE!" and "HELP" a few times, I grabbed a kitchen towel and soaked it with water in case I had to fight the fire which died quickly. Very little smoke and it cleared quickly with the doors open and fan on high. Next year, we're getting Chinese! YUM!

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

I had so much fun cooking! For Christmas, since we always go to DH's family for Thanksgiving, I always make a turkey dinner. I made so many sides, and I forgot one (green bean casserole) - my children reminded me, so we had it for New Year's Day! New Year's Day is when I had a ball! DH gave me Emeril's new cookbook for Christmas. I selected the pork with spaghetti squash recipe, then realized you were supposed to have a multi-cooker, which I don't. So I adapted it! It was great and everyone loved it. I also made a new salad from Paula Deen's magazine, and of course had our traditional black-eyed peas! DD found some new cookie recipes, so we had fun making those over the break too! Smile

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

On 1/2/2014 LindaCinKY said:
My miss this year was the oven element bursting into flames and a 4" section disintegrating. The roast wasn't quite done (about another hour to go) but was cooked enough to be edible though a little tough in parts. Roasting veggies weren't half done, so I had to finish cooking them in the microwave. Thankful nonetheless that the fire was contained inside the oven and that after checking the breaker and turning the range switch back on, the stove still worked. I'm picking up a new element at walmart tomorrow. It was scary though. After I quit yelling "FIRE!" and "HELP" a few times, I grabbed a kitchen towel and soaked it with water in case I had to fight the fire which died quickly. Very little smoke and it cleared quickly with the doors open and fan on high. Next year, we're getting Chinese! YUM!

Oh no! I'm sorry for what you went through, but it looks like everything turned out OK anyway. I'm glad you just need a new element and not a whole new stove! Smile

shannara · ‎03-10-2010

My dinner turned out beautifully and everything was done at the same time. The tenderloin roast was deep pink through and through which pleased everyone except for hubby who is the only one that likes his meat medium.

The disaster occurred the day before when making the butterscotch pie. I had a large saucepan full of bubbling and boiling brown sugar and butter. The recipe called for three 12 oz cans of evaporated milk which I opened with a can opener instead of just punching the holes with the bottle opener. I didn't want the milk to be glugging into the molten pot. I had to constantly stir with my right hand while pouring the milk with my left. When I picked up the third can it just fell out of my hand, hit the stove and poured over the stovetop, down the front and all over the floor. I didn't know if any had gotten into the pot or not. I had to turn off the burner (gas) and the boil stopped in midstream until I cleaned the scorched milk off the stove and off the floor, getting burned fingers in the process. When I was almost done cleaning it up and hoping the pie wasn't ruined, it occurred to me that I might not have an extra can of milk. Fortunately I did. Returned the pot to the stove and brought it up to a boil again and added the third can of milk. This was the first time I made the recipe and I think it might have set up a little more than it would with one boil instead of two. It was excellent anyway.

To make matters worse, I had spent two hours the week before, cleaning every speck of burned on stuff off the grates and windows. The stove looked brand new. If I ever make this pie again, I'm sure I will think of this mess even 10 years from now. Murphy's Law never fails.