An Easy Christmas Dinner In About 1 Hour
Dear Santa, I Want An Easy Christmas Dinner This Year!
An easy Christmas dinner is on my list this year. I don’t know about you, but when Christmas Day comes, after all the gifts are done, after the delicious Christmas Brunch is eaten, after Grandma and Grandpa pass out for their first of at least 6 naps, after the kids have proclaimed that they are bored after having just opened 1000 new gifts, I am not much for cooking a massive Christmas dinner feast. I enjoy being in the kitchen as much as the next guy and I enjoy having everyone help out to make the cooking easier, but this time I want a simple, delicious menu that can be put together easily so more time can be spent playing with my toys and chatting with whomever is in the room. Dinner will be simpler, the mealtime will still be full of holiday chit chat and clean up won’t be so bad. To help make this happen, we have put together an easy Christmas dinner menu that is sure to please. It is not only easy to do, it can be done within about an hour. Of course, you can add as much or as little to this easy Christmas dinner menu to make it your own. We will make some suggestions on the way for those interested. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Duck Breast A l’Orange
Duck A l’orange is easy to make and special enough to serve at Christmas dinner. It takes about 30 minutes to cook. While the duck is cooking, the sauce can be made on the stove. If there will be no duck fans at the table, the duck breasts can be swapped for chicken breasts.
- 6 boneless duck breasts
- 8 tbsp of sugar
- 3/4 cup of white wine vinegar
- 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 oranges
- 2 tbsp of orange liquor
- butter (optional)
- In a small pot, stir the vinegar and sugar together. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Allow the mixture to boil until the sugar just starts to turn amber. Turn off the heat and add 2 ice cubes to the gastrique to cool it quickly. Set the gastrique aside.
- Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the duck breasts in in a cross hatch pattern being careful to cut only the skin. Technically, you don't have to do this, but it helps render the fat from the skin.
- Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper.
- Place the duck breasts skin side down in a cold pan large enough to hold the duck breasts. Place the pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Let the skin of the duck breast slowly cook until deep golden brown and crispy - about 15 minutes. When the skin is crisp, flip the breasts and continue cooking until the meat is medium well - at least 165F on an instant read thermometer, another 18-12 minutes depending on thickness. If your duck breasts are large, after searing them, you can finish cooking them in a 400F oven until they are cooked through - 10-12 minutes. Make sure your pan is appropriate for cooking in the oven.
- When the duck breasts are done, remove them from the pan to a plate and tent them with foil to keep them warm. Pour off the duck fat from the pan reserving for another use (like fried potatoes!).
- Zest the oranges. Using a reamer, juice one of the oranges. Using a sharp knife, peel the other orange and cut out the orange supremes reserving any juice in a bowl.
- Place the pan that the duck breasts have been cooked in on the stove over medium heat. Add the stock and bring to a simmer scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the orange juice and orange zest. Bring the mixture to a simmer and reduce by 1/2.
- Drizzle in the gastrique to taste.
- Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the orange liquor. Bring the sauce back to a simmer being careful as the alcohol could flame. Let the sauce reduce until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Add the orange supremes and heat them through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- If you want a richer sauce, remove the sauce from the heat and 2 tbsp of cold butter swirling it in the sauce.
- Slice the duck breast thinly and spoon the sauce over the duck. Serve hot.
- Duck a'la orange is nice served of wild rice.
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Other Main Dish Options To Consider
If you want to cook something even simpler, try sweet and spicy chicken legs. A glazed salmon would also be a delicious main course for an Easy Christmas Dinner.
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Parsnip Puree
Parsnip puree is a very good mashed potato replacer. It is equally delicious and a perfect accompaniment to the main course. The sauce of the duck goes very well with parsnip puree! Parsnip puree does meet the “easy” requirement, too. Just peel, dice, boil and mash. All done on the stove top so the oven is clear for roasting the duck.
If you want to add an extra dish, try Potatoes Anna. These crunchy, buttery stacks of potato are delicious. They take a little extra prep time due to the slicing and baking of the potatoes, but they are worth it. You can also try fondant potatoes. They are sure to please, too.
- 2 lb of parsnips
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 cups of vegetable stock or water
- 1 cup of cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 tbsp of butter
- salt and pepper
- Peel and dice the parsnips into medium dice making the pieces as even in size as possible.
- Peel the garlic.
- In a medium pot, add the stock, cream, and bay leaf. Turn the heat to medium add the parsnips and garlic clove. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Simmer the parsnips 15-20 minutes until the parsnips are soft and the liquid is reduced by 3/4ths.
- Using a potato masher or food processor, mash the parsnips into a smooth puree.
- Add the butter and mash it into the puree.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot.
- Carrots can also be used in this recipe.
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Other Side Dish Options To Consider
If you want to add an extra dish, try Potatoes Anna. These crunch, buttery stack of potato are delicious. They take a little extra prep time due to the slicing and baking of the potatoes, but they are worth it. You can also try fondant potatoes. They are sure to please, too.
Easy Christmas Dinner – Brussels Sprouts with Pecorino Cheese and Pancetta
Even an Easy Christmas Dinner needs a vegetable. What better than Brussels Sprouts! They are delicious roasted on their own, but when mixed with some crisp pancetta and pecorino cheese, they really shine! Most of the time spent on this recipe will be the roasting of Brussels sprouts which can be done before or after the duck is finished. The sprouts can also be steamed.
- 2 lb of Brussels Sprouts, cleaned
- 8 rounds/slices of pancetta
- ¼ cup of grated pecorino cheese
- Olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Place the sprouts in a large bowl. Toss the sprouts with olive oil to coat.
- Roast the Brussels Sprouts for 20-25 minutes until just tender.
- While the sprouts are roasting, brown the pancetta over medium heat in a non-stick pan until crisp.
- Drain the pancetta on paper towel. With a sharp knife, chop the pancetta into medium pieces. Add the pancetta and cheese to a large bowl.
- When the Brussel sprouts are done roasting, toss them with the cheese and pancetta. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately.
- The pecorino can be replaced with parmesan cheese. Pancetta can be replaced with bacon. The pancetta can also be baked.
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Other Vegetable Options To Consider
There are many vegetable options to try that are just as easy. A nice Brussels Sprout Slaw would be a tasty addition as would Kohlrabi Slaw or roasted broccoli!
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Dessert Of Cookies and Gifts
Aaah…Dessert. To keep in the time frame of about an hour and still have a dessert that fits is a bit of a challenge. Sure you can make a dessert ahead, but that falls a little out of the spirit of an easy Christmas dinner in about an hour. Instead, the easiest thing to do is to break out all of those lovely Christmas cookies or other sweet treat gifts you received and serve them up. No, it won’t be a bouche noel, aka a yule log, but it will be easy and delicious!
An Easy Christmas Dinner – Other Dessert Options To Consider
If you don’t think you can get away with just serving Christmas cookies, there are plenty of options that will add a little time to the effort, but will be worth it! You can try your hand at spritz cookies. Apple Roses are a lovely dessert that does not take a lot of time to prep. Apple and dulce de lech mini pies are also nice! Of course, if you still want something simple, try making shortbread or dipping some shortbread cookies in caramel and chocolate sprinkles! Your guests will love it!
I Hope You Enjoy and I Hope Your Christmas Is Easy and Delicious!
