Christmas recipes from our ranch to yours
By Cowgal Madeline
It’s a frosty morning and i’ve made my way into the living room to find my stocking full of goodies from St. Nick. Mom is throwing together monkey bread and pillsbury cinnamon rolls while the boys and I eagerly await to open gifts. But wait… we have to go feed cows first. Annoyed that the cattle get to enjoy their Christmas before me, I walk myself to the pickup with my Christmas pjs, rubber boots and rain jacket. We all load up and feed together and come back to the house a little while later. It’s a rainy day and we’ll open gifts and head to the Chamberlain family Christmas. While the Chamberlain’s weren’t family by blood, they were the closest we had up by us to family. Every Christmas was spent playing the gift game, pretending we were in Narnia and getting soaked in our pjs from the rain. We also shared a giant meal. Appetizers, drinks, hams, prime ribs and more. Everyone brought the best thing they made and then we all ate as one big family.
Food is always an important piece of the holidays and while they can be quite stressful, the meals, laughter, memories and quality time is completely worth the stress. While I can’t make your day stress free, I can offer some tried and true recipes of ours that are sure to melt the stress away and please any crowd!
Now this is where I shine. Since high school i’ve been known for my charcuterie boards. If you want something that will hold the gang over until dinner, this is it. Filled with cured meats, pickled vegetables, fresh fruits, savory crackers, salty nuts, delectable dips and spreads, nutty and creamy cheeses and some sweet treats. There are a few keys to a perfect, eye appealing charcuterie board: 1. NO OPEN SPACE! I repeat, no open space! Make sure you are not seeing the board. This is probably the biggest tip I can offer you. The more you can fill in your board the better. Invest in your cheese. Buy blocks, wedges and soft cheeses to place on your board accordingly. If you buy a block of cheddar it will be best served cubed. If you have a cheese like dubliner you’ll want to chunk it off instead of cubing it. For a cheese like gouda, take off the wax and cut from side to side so you end up with little triangles and for a cheese like brie, you can bake it in puff pastry, top it with jams, sweet treats and anything else you feel compelled to add! Use different heights of cups and jars to hold spreads, pickled items and anything else. Make that salami and prosciutto river. Don’t just place it on the board, trail it through like a river and fold it. Pinterest, instagram and TikTok have lots of great resources to help build your perfect board!
This may lose me some credit but I am not a green bean casserole type of gal. Maybe it’s the fact that my family just didn’t make it or the texture is slightly weird, but we had something so much better. Bacon green beans. I may have been able to coax my mom into making these more than once a year but not typically. One year the green beans were forgotten and I was absolutely heart broken. I don’t remember the turkey over the years or grabbing seconds of the mashed potatoes but you bet I will be grabbing more bacon green beans. Not only are these delicious but they’re ridiculously easy as well. These green beans are savory, buttery and peppery with bacon and some onion. They are a delicious side, if not THE side to have on your plate for the holidays.
I remember the first time we went to Ruth's Chris Steak House. I was pretty young and not a sweet potato lover. I ordered creamed spinach as my side since I was a spinach lover and mom encouraged me to try her sweet potato casserole. Life was changed at that moment. Our typical Thanksgiving sweet potato dish was canned sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows and they were pretty good, especially the crispy marshmallows on top. But, those Ruth's Chris sweet potatoes were basically a dessert. The brown sugar and pecan topping is sweet and buttery while offering some crunch where the casserole itself is creamy and sweet making it a great, comforting side for your meal.
Now I may be the meat aficionado of the family in a butcher and production sense but my mom, she is the cook. Brisket, carne asada, prime rib you name it, she does it. She is very well known for making carne asada after branding’s but she’s also known for her holiday prime ribs. Coming from a family that has raised cattle, it’s only natural that we have beef on our table. Mom and I tag team the prime rib. I help break down the beef in the butcher shop and she cooks it. We tend to purchase our prime rib from whichever butcher shop i’m working at for the moment to test out the product. I prefer my prime ribs from the Chico State University Meats Lab in Chico, California and from 307 Meat Company in Laramie, Wyoming. The key to a perfect prime rib is love….. And quality ingredients, cooking technique, resting periods etc. I have never cooked a prime rib a day in my life but I have eaten many and let me tell you I am a prime rib snob. Momma V sure can throw down when it comes to prime rib and that is why I am sharing the recipe she uses with you!
I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating pepper jams (think blackberry habanero) over the top of cream cheese with wheat thins as a frequent snack. This is the hot older brother that comes around during the holidays and catches you off guard of pepper jams. This cranberry and jalapeno dip is sweet, tart, a little spicy and savory on top of cream cheese makes it the ideal mid day, Christmas snack.
Remember this Christmas to take a minute to enjoy yourself, count your blessings and remember the reason for the season! Forget about the stress of everything and take a moment to look around and notice what you’re thankful for. Take the time to enjoy your family, friends, food and all else. Have a very Merry Christmas!