Tangy Pecan-Crusted Pork Tenderloin
Potatoes Au Gratin
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots with Pecans
Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Coconut Cool Whip Cake
Old Fashioned Boiled Custard
This crowd-pleasing menu is one you’ll find yourself turning to again and again throughout the holiday season. Centered around a tender, pecan-crusted pork loin and paired with brown sugar–glazed skillet carrots, creamy potatoes au gratin, and a crisp winter spinach salad with blue cheese and grapes, it’s elegant enough for an intimate dinner party yet comforting enough for a laid-back Sunday lunch.
TANGY PECAN-CRUSTED PORK TENDERLOIN
The cruncy pecan coating elevates this simple cut of meat to another level—it’s definitely dinner-party worthy for the holidays.
1 1-pound pork tenderloin
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
⅔ cup pecans, chopped
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine sugar, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic; rub over pork. Roll pork in pecans. Place tenderloin on a foil-lined pan or a broiler-pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving.
POTATOES AU GRATIN
Creamy, and oh so simple to prepare, this classic dish never disappoints.
butter, to grease the baking dish
2½ cups heavy cream
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 large Russet potatoes (about 2¼ pounds), peeled and sliced very thin
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Grease baking dish with butter.
Whisk together the cream, salt, and pepper. preferably in a bowl with a spout for pouring. Arrange some of the potato slices, edges overlapping, in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle with ¼ of the cheese and pour about ¼ of the cream mixture over the top. Repeat process forming 4 layers. Pour any leftover cream over the top and sprinkle with additional cheese.
Place in the oven and bake, uncovered, for about an hour, or until the potatoes are tender and golden brown.
Variation: Chopped garlic or sliced onion may be added in the layers, if desired.
BROWN SUGAR GLAZED CARROTS WITH PECANS
Crunchy and sweet, the simple recipe is a perfect complement to holiday main dishes such as ham, turkey, or roast.
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups peeled carrots, diagonally sliced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 cup brown sugar, packed
salt and pepper to taste
1½ cups pecan halves, toasted
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and ginger, stirring until sugar melts, about 2 minutes. Add in pecans and cook until carrots are cooked to desired tenderness when pierced, and mixture is glazed in sugar, 3 to 5 minutes.
SPINACH SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE AND BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE
2 bags fresh baby spinach leaves
2 to 3 cups red grapes (mandarin oranges can be substituted)
½ cup sunflower seeds (not dry roasted, and pine nuts can be substituted)
5 to 8 ounces blue cheese crumbles, to taste
olive oil, to taste
balsamic vinegar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Toss and serve.
Serves 12.
COCONUT COOL WHIP CAKE
This is a wonderful make-ahead cake to have on hand for holiday gatherings or dinner parties.
1 yellow butter recipe cake mix
1 8-ounce container sour cream
1 16-ounce package of frozen coconut
1 8-ounce container of Cool Whip
1½ cups sugar
Make cake according to package directions. Allow to cool and slice each layer in half, making 4 layers.
For filling:
In a medium bowl, mix sour cream, sugar, and coconut together. Reserve 1 cup for frosting. Gently spread filling between each layer of the cake.
For frosting:
Fold the cup of reserved filling into the Cool Whip. Frost entire cake with Cool Whip mixture. Place cake in an airtight container and allow to chill several hours, or overnight before serving.
OLD FASHIONED BOILED CUSTARD
A generational favorite of our editor-in-chief Cindy Coopwood’s family. It is regularly served at Thanksgiving and for Christmas Eve dinner—often with homemade coconut cake. There is nothing better!
4 cups milk
6 yolks, plus 2 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
¼vteaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
In top part of a double boiler, scald milk over direct heat—right on the burner. (Be sure the bottom part to fit double boiler has water simmering in it on another eye at this time) Beat yolks and eggs, then add one cup sugar, and salt to egg mixture.
“Temper” the egg mixture with the scalded milk by slowly pouring milk into the egg mixture stirring constantly to mix well. Do not skip this step—if the egg mixture is poured into the hot milk, the eggs will curdle! After tempering the eggs, pour the whole mixture back into the top of double boiler, place on eye over bottom of boiler, which has simmering, not boiling, water.
Cook the custard until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When ready, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm or cold with poundcake, coconut cake, or with cookies for a special holiday dessert.
TIPS FOR PERFECT BOILED CUSTARD
- Carefully scald milk in top of double boiler directly on eye until a skin forms—be careful not to scorch it!
- Blend egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar.
- Temper the egg mixture by stirring the scalded milk into the egg mixture before adding back into the top of the double boiler.
