A merry feast for Christmas at The Westin
Seafood salad with celery and cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
½ pound cleaned squid
½ pound medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ pound bay scallops
½ pound cleaned octopus
½ pound cooked lobster meat, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 tails)
½ pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tbsp chopped fresh chives
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp chopped celery
10 small cherry tomatoes in half
Method
Bring 6 cups water and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add squid; cook 3 minutes or until squid is just tender. Remove squid from pan with a slotted spoon. Plunge squid into ice water; drain. Cut squid into 1-inch pieces. Place squid in a large bowl.
Add shrimp to boiling water; cook 3 minutes or until done. Remove shrimp from pan with a slotted spoon. Plunge shrimp into ice water; drain. Add shrimp to bowl with squid.
Place a vegetable steamer in pan. Reduce heat to medium-low. Arrange scallops in steamer; cook over simmering water for 6 minutes or until done. Plunge scallops into ice water; drain. Add scallops to bowl. Cover scallop mixture; chill.
Remove steamer from pan. Add octopus to simmering water; cover and simmer 2 to 2½ hours or until fork-tender (add additional water, if necessary, to cover octopus.) Plunge octopus into ice water; drain. Rub off skin. Cut octopus into 1-inch pieces. Add octopus, lobster, and crabmeat to scallop mixture. Add juice and next 4 ingredients (through garlic); toss gently to combine. Chill for at least 2 hours. Complete the dish with celery, cherry tomatoes and parsley.
Lobster bisque
Ingredients
½ pound lobster meat, cut into small chunks
2 tbsp minced shallots
2 tbsp chopped green onions
3 garlic cloves, crushed
¼ cup white wine (wine can be changed with vegetable stock, if desired)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp paprika
1 cup hot water
4 ounces tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp butter
Method
In a pan heat a little oil over medium high heat and sauté shallots, onions, and garlic for one minute. Deglaze the pan with half of the white wine. Add the Worcestershire, Tabasco, and thyme and sauté for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the remaining wine. Add the paprika, hot water and lobster base and combine well. Stir in tomato paste and add the bay leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and the butter and bring to a boil. Add the lobster and simmer until cooked through. Serve with crusty garlic bread.
Rosemary butter roasted turkey
Ingredients
5 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 tbsp each chopped fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme
2 large onions, cut into 8 wedges
2 stalks celery, halved crosswise
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 whole turkey (about 12 pounds), thawed if frozen, rinsed and patted dry, neck reserved (set aside giblets for stuffing, if desired)
Cornbread and sausage stuffing
4 to 6 large carrots, halved crosswise
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the lowest position. Make herb butter. In a small bowl, mix together 4 tablespoons butter with chopped herbs; season generously with salt and pepper. Prepare and stuff the turkey.
Loosen skin:
Working from the neck end, slide fingers under skin until you reach the end of the breast, being careful not to tear the skin; rub herb butter under the skin.
Fill neck cavity:
Place turkey breast side down. Fill neck cavity with stuffing; avoid packing. Close up by folding skin over and fastening with skewers or trussing needles.
Tuck wings:
Turn turkey over; bend wing tips underneath bird so they stay in place (you may have to break the bones). Loosely fill large cavity with stuffing.
Tie legs:
Using cotton kitchen twine, tie legs together securely (they will overlap) so bird retains its shape and moisture during cooking.
Cut neck into pieces; mix with carrots, onions, celery, and 2 cups water in a large roasting pan. Set the roasting rack over vegetables in a pan. Lift turkey onto rack; rub with remaining butter and season generously with salt and pepper. Cover turkey loosely with foil. Roast for 1 hour; then baste every 30 minutes with pan liquids, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh (avoiding bone) registers 125 degrees, about 3 hours.
Remove foil; raise oven heat to 400 degrees. Continue roasting, basting occasionally, until thigh reaches 180 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes more. Tent with foil if bird browns too quickly; add more water if pan becomes dry. Transfer turkey to a serving platter; cover loosely with foil, and let it rest at least 30 minutes before carving.
Vanilla kipferl cookies
Ingredients
140g flour
30g vanilla sugar
200g almond powder
1g salt, 80g sugar
100g butter, 80g icing sugar
50g egg, 30g vanilla powder
Method
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter until the size of small peas and mix in with your hands. Mix 120g sugar, egg, 15 teaspoons of vanilla sugar, and ground almonds into the flour mixture. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into several parts. Roll each section of dough into logs approximately ½ -inch thick. Cut the logs into 1-inch pieces, and bend the pieces into a crescent shape (just like a croissant). Place the kipferl on the baking sheet and chill them for 15 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly. Combine 80g icing sugar, 7g vanilla sugar and toss to mix. While still warm, carefully remove kipferl from the baking sheet and dip them in sugar to coat.
Panettone bread
Ingredients
500ml water, 20g yeast
100g for starter dough, flour
1000ml water
30g yeast, 40g salt
500g sugar, 20g vanilla
20g lemon zest
500g butter, 600ml egg yolk
800g sultanas, 400g orange peel
Method
For the starter -
Combine the starter ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, cover, and allow them to rest overnight (8 to 12 hours).
To make the dough, combine all of the dough ingredients except the fruit and the zest, and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer or bread machine — until you have made a soft and smooth dough. Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until it's puffy (though not necessarily doubled in bulk).
Gently deflate the dough, and knead in the fruits and zest.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a Panettone pan or other straight-sided, tall 1½ - to 2-quart pan. Cover the pan and let the dough rise until it's just crested over the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.
Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes; reduce the oven heat to 375°F and bake an additional 10 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil if the crust appears to be browning too quickly. Remove the Panettone from the oven and cool completely. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.
Recipes provided by and food prepared by The Westin Dhaka
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