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Houston /©ailg WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2006 The Home Journal’s DINNER TABLE ■ Merry Christmas! We wish you all a very happy Christmas day, and some won derful holiday food. Remember that there's no such thing as a calo rie on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, provid ed you jog for 10 miles. Next Week We’re having Christmas holidays so next week’s food section will be published on Thursday. This is only for one week. Check it out for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day reci pes, as well as some lighter dishes to help us all start taking those holiday pounds off. Merry Christmas, every one! __ . Back home in Georgia Georgia is the featured state in our "Sea to Shining Sea” series, and for the very good reason that we’ve got a fresh crop of Georgia pecans. See Page 2C for some new ways with pecans, all the way from broccoli pecan casserole to chocolate bourbon pecan pie. Magic in the Kitchen Faye Jones has some wonderful last-minute Christmas recipes, including spinach balls, eggnog bread pudding, coconut macaroons and butterballs, a short bread cookie packed with pecans. See page 4C. Strata with beef Yes, you can make the popular breakfast cas serole with beef., and it might even turn out to be a family favorite. See Page 5C ' • N • ’|-' j Turkey gumbo Jean Rea gives detailed directions for making a great turkey gumbo, starting with the carcass from your Christmas feast. Also check out her recipe for “Texas catfish,” smoked turkey salad, and a smoked turkey casserole topped with slivered almonds. See page 4C Cranberries add zing to just about euerything By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Lifestyle Editor What would a holiday table be without cranber ries? Those beautiful red ber ries provide more than color. They have a tartness that brings other dishes to life, and can be used in countless ways. Most older southern ers grew up on the kind that comes from the can, already jellied, and plenty of tables will still feature that old favorite, while others have the whole berry sauce, fresh cran berry and orange relish, and cranberries in con gealed salads. Here are some special cranberry recipes for your holiday enjoyment - including a glaze for tur key that would go well on pork as well, a Cranberry margarita congealed salad (The tequila is optional), a delicious salad with pineapple and Cool Whip, some breads and a cran berry-apple crisp that fea tures gingersnaps. Roast turkey with cranberry honey glaze 1 cup Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce 1/4 cup honey 1 (8 to 12-pound) See ZING, page jC Cointreau recipes help show off culinary skills Special to the Journal This winter, you can show off their culinary skills, and impress your guests with these innovative Cointreau recipes created by New York based food stylist and artist Nir Adar. New English Trifle Layered with lemon orange curd, vanil la creme fraiche and winter berries, this trifle is an impressive offering for dessert. If you don’t have a trifle dish, they’re available in most housewares depart ments and aren’t expensive at all. For 8-10 servings 1/4 cup chilled unsalt ed butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 3 large egg yolks 3 large whole eggs 1/2 cup plus 1 table spoon Cointreau 2 1/2 cups sugar 3 tablespoons, freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice zests of 1 lemon and 1 orange 1 pint each: strawber ries, blueberries, rasp berries, blackberries, rinsed and trimmed 1 cup water 14 oz. sponge cake, cut into 1 inch cubes 7 oz. creme fraiche 1 vanilla bean fresh mint sprigs for garnish Make citrus curd: over double boiler, whisk together butter, egg yolks and whole eggs, 1/2 cup Cointreau, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons each lemon and orange juices. When mixture has thickened to texture of loose pudding, remove from heat and strain. Stir in zests of lemon and orange. Set aside in refrigerator to cool. Mash berries in mixture of 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 table Food 1 SB -,, c . afcjfe-. r iTMBy ■ J / _ .* Ocean Spray Cranberries brighten up holiday tables with glazes, sauces, salads, even desserts. spoon Cointreau. Make a simple-syrup by combining 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1/2 cup Cointreau. Stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Drizzle sponge cake with syrup. . Whip creme fraiche with scraped vanilla bean until thickened and forming soft peaks. In a clear glass trifle dish, layer each component. Garnish with fresh mint. English Cut Beef Short Ribs Slow cooked with red wine and Cointreau, these short ribs are served English style, and are easy to prepare. For 4 servings 4 lbs. English cut beef short ribs 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup beef stock 1 bottle fruity red wine 1/2 cup Cointreau 2 thick slices orange peel 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 cinnamon stick 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons mixed peppercorns 1 tablespoon, unsalted butter Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown ribs with oil in an oven- proof pan over high heat. Add stock, wine, Cointreau, orange peel, Worcestershire sauce, cinna mon stick, red pepper flakes and peppercorns. Bring to a boil. Roast covered in oven for 1 1/2 -2 hours or until meat is very tender. Strain braising liquid. Re duce down until consistency of a glaze. Finish glaze by whisking in butter. Brush on ribs. Glazed country ham Cointreau meets Country. This Southern ham is glazed r< * L * »» " * . . man I / Cointreau New English Trifle with orange brown sugar and served with a black eyed pea and collard green stew. You could save time by using frozen chopped col lards. 1 7- to 8-lb half (shank end) of a smoked, fully cooked bone-in ham 1 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup orange marma lade 1/2 cup Cointreau 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard Oranges, sliced 2 bunches collard greens, washed and chopped 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 15.5 oz cans black eyed peas, drained Preheat oven to 350 Cointreau Glazed country ham jF £ . degrees. In a saucepan, reduce brown sugar, orange marmalade, Cointreau and Dijon mustard. Set aside. Bake ham for an hour. Brush glaze on ham, anchor orange slices with toothpicks around the ham, brush more glaze on slic es and return to oven for another 30-45 minutes or until instant read thermom eter reaches 140 degrees. SECTION c For the stew: blanch the collard greens in boil ing water, drain. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add collard greens and black-eyed peas, cooking until beans are hot. When ham has rested for a few minutes, remove toothpicks, set orange slices aside, and slice ham. Gar nish glazed ham with cara melized orange slices.