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HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING WITH HERBS
Coleen French
Remember to invite herbs to your holiday table! Start with a nice herbal punch to welcome your guests. Wrap rosemary sprigs with floral wire and bend them into napkin rings, or just lay sprigs of lavender, rosemary, sage or other fresh herbs beside each dinner plate. This will decorate your table, and add lovely fragrance to your room at the same time.
No need to learn all new recipes. Adding herbs to your standard recipes will add flavor dimension and flair to some recipes you are already familiar with. If your family or friends feel uneasy about eating herb-enhanced dishes, grab your blender! Pulverize those herbs until they are ground quite finely, and your guests won't notice them. But they will think you are a fantastic cook! Add finely ground herbs to melted butter and brush the mixture over store-bought rolls or refrigerated biscuits before baking. They will turn out fragrant, delicious and beautiful!
Here are more ideas:
ROSEMARY PINEAPPLE PUNCH
I have served and have been served many variations on this recipe. It's easy to make and fresh rosemary is available at most grocery stores all year long. If you don't like ginger ale, try this with 7 Up or Sprite.
5 four inch sprigs of fresh rosemary (or 2 tablespoons dried rosemary)
1 46 ounce can pineapple juice
1/2 cup sugar
6 ounce can frozen lemonade
4 cups cold water
2 liter bottle of ginger ale
Heat the pineapple juice, sugar, and rosemary until just boiling. Simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it steep for an hour. Strain out the rosemary, and chill the punch. You can make this punch base the day before if you wish. Just before serving, add the can of frozen lemonade, cold water, and stir well to mix thoroughly. Then add the ginger ale and serve over ice. Garnish with fresh rosemary if desired. This is a great non-alcoholic punch, but also makes a nice herbal base for adding rum or whiskey.
HERB CRUSTED SALMON FILETS
Skinning the salmon is worth the effort and the result is a milder flavor. It does take some wrestling! Use a sharp knife and be careful of your fingers!
2 pounds salmon filet, skinned
1 cup soft bread crumbs (see note)
2 level teaspoons dried herbs of your choice (garlic, oregano, rosemary, and a pinch of sage are nice)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese (fresh grated is best)
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Place the filet on a lightly greased cookie sheet
Mix the bread crumbs, herbs and cheese together. Pat this mixture on top of the salmon filet. This will cover the filet top about 1/2 inch deep. I like to pat the mixture fairly firmly onto the salmon, so it holds together.
Bake in the preheated oven at 425 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Check to see if the salmon is cooked through by cutting into the thickest part of the filet. If the salmon is a nice even light pink (no longer red), it's done. Your cooking time will depend on the thickness of the filet, and whether it is chilled or room temperature when you put it in the oven.
This recipe is so delicious every bit will disappear. I've caught guests sneaking into the kitchen to scrape the last bits off the cookie sheet!
NOTE: Easy bread crumbs: break one slice of bread into 3-4 pieces. Pop them into your blender, whirl for about 10 seconds. Voila! Easy Bread Crumbs!
Happy Holidays!