Bringing out the magic of Christmas Eve

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 00:00

Remember Christmas Eve when you were a child? The anticipation of the next morning, wondering if you will hear Santa on the roof?

It was just so magical. I suppose we still enjoy it, differently though, and through the eyes of our children.

We would have a special Christmas Eve dinner at Gramma Izzo’s. On the ride over, Mom and Dad would play their favorite Sinatra Christmas songs on the 8-track player, and the three of us would be singing away in the back seat of the blue Pontiac stationwagon. Almost all houses were decorated with colorful lights that looked like a Christmas wonderland.

Gramma’s house was decorated beautifully with colored lights too, and a painted wooden Santa in his sleigh on the roof. As soon as the front door opened, the aroma of garlic, cheese and a roasted something was overwhelming and welcoming at the same time. The house was extremely small, and our family is quite large with lots of cousins, aunts and uncles.

The presents were everywhere, stacked up against the wall, all around the room. Each family member had a pile of presents with their name on it, and took our turn opening our gifts as everyone waited impatiently for their turn.

It’s not only about presents, but more about the special gifts we give each and every day to our friends, family and maybe even a stranger.

Happy Holidays to all and best wishes for the New Year.

Visit us at TwiceBaked Twins.com for all your holiday recipes, and feel free to share a recipe or two with us at TwiceBakedTwins@aol. com.

Filet mignon with silky Bernaise sauce

This wonderfully silky sauce is a family favorite; we even use it on our eggs Christmas morning!

1 beef tenderloin

4 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper (we call it S’wepper)!

Mix all ingredients together and rub onto roast. Let sit in fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 500º. Place filet in roasting pan and cook for 15 minutes at this temperature, which gives you this wonderful crust. Reduce heat to 450º and continue roasting for another 15-20 minutes according to the weight of the beef.

Using a meat thermometer, the temp should be at about 140-150 for medium rare. Don’t overcook it! We have followed this way of roasting for years, and its perfect every time.

Bernaise sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons white wine

1/4 cup shallots

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon dried tarragon

1 tablespoon water

3 egg yolks, room temperature

1 stick COLD butter (keep this cold until ready to use) into cubes

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

kosher salt to taste

In medium saucepan, on medium heat, add vinegar, white wine, shallots and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about half. Add the yolks and 1 tablespoon of water to the pan and whisk constantly. Add 1-2 cubes of the cold butter and whisk until melted and repeat until all the butter is used. Add lemon juice, stir.

Season with the salt and tarragon. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper or a bit more lemon, but use the zest at this stage of the sauce. If the sauce breaks or separates, try adding one yolk and whisk in to see if it comes back to a silky texturgar.