Perfect Roast Potatoes

2 1/2 oz goose fat or duck fat or 5 tbsp olive oil
coarse sea salt
2 lbs even-size potatoes, peeled
8 fresh rosemary sprigs to garnish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the fat or oil in a large roasting pan, sprinkle generously with sea salt, and place in the oven.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until parboiled. Drain well, and if the potatoes are large, cut them in half. Return the potatoes to the pan and shake vigorously to coarsen their outsides.

Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in the hot pan and roast for 45 minutes. If they look as if they are starting to char around the edges, lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Turn the potatoes over and roast for an additional 30 minutes, until crisp. Serve garnished with sprigs of rosemary.

Creamed Peas

4 T. butter
4 T. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 c. milk
16 oz. pkg frozen peas
1 t. onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large skillet over low hear; blend in flour until smooth. Increase heat to medium and add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, until thickened. Stir in peas and onions; add onion powder, salt and pepper. Heat through.

Cranberry Glazed Pork Roast

2 t. cornstarch
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
1/2 t. orange zest
2 T. orange juice
16 oz. whole berry cranberry sauce
4 lb. boneless pork loin roast

In a small saucepan, stir together all ingredients except pork. Cook, stirring over medium heat until thickened; set aside. Place roast in shallow baking dish. Roast at 325 degrees for 45 mins. Spoon 1/2 cup glaze over roast and continue roasting for 30-45 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 155 to 160 degrees. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serve with remaining sauce.

Note: Instead of using all of the ingredients above I made the cranberry sauce from the previous post and used it to cover the roast. I also browned my pork roast in a skillet before roasting to give it a nice golden color. The golden color was covered by the cranberry sauce but I felt better knowing it had been browned.

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz bag of cranberries
1 orange
1/4 tea. ginger
1 cup sugar

Wash and sort cranberries - throw out squishy ones. Grate orange rind. Squeeze juice from orange and add enough water to make one cup. Add cranberries, sugar and orange rind. Let stand 5 min, Cook for 5 min, take off heat and let stand for 5 min, cook 5 more min, and cool.

Raspberry Slush For A Crowd

3 packets unsweetened raspberry punch powder
4 cups sugar
4 cups warm water
1 46-ounce can pineapple juice
1 12-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 6-ounce can frozen lemon juice
3 20-ounce bags frozen raspberries
1 2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda

In a 3 gallon container, dissolve raspberry punch powder in sugar in warm water. Add pineapple juice, lemonade concentrate, lemon juice, frozen raspberries, and enough water (about 3 1/2 quarts) to make 2 gallons punch. Stir until blended. Pour mixture into large freezer containers and freeze. When ready to serve, thaw mixture until slushy. Pour mixture into punch bowl or individual punch cups and add lemon-lime soda. Makes 75 half-cup servings. PS: I omitted the frozen raspberries and served it in individual glasses, not a punch bowl. I also added a titch of almond extract...Enjoy!

Christmas Dinner

Here are the recipes I used for Christmas Dinner this year. All of the recipes were new to me. I will definitely use all of them again.

[Menu Items]

Lion House Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter
Raspberry Slush for a Crowd
Cranberry Glazed Pork Roast
Creamed Peas
Brown Sugar Carrots
Perfect Roast Potatoes
Deviled Eggs