Wacky Anne's Christmas Kitchen: Main Dishes

Boar's Head

The traditional boar's head has long since given way to the turkey, but its pagan pageantry still intrigues us. Originally, the solstitial feast was a sacrificial ox. For cottagers and small-holders, though, a pig was a much easier and cheaper beast to raise. They could be let loose to eat acorns and beechnuts in the woods. Soon the boar replaced the pig, as the hunting and killing of a wild boar was a triumph of legend. The boar's head was also a much more impressive dish. It was decked with rosemary, and an apple (perhaps the apple of the medieval passion plays) or an orange (representative of the solstitial sun) was placed in its mouth. Unfortunately, the boar was hunted to extinction in both England and Germany, who replaced it with pig, turkey or goose, now plentiful. The Christmas boar lives on today in the boar-shaped loaves of Scandinavia, as well as the long cake with turned-up ends gracing the main tables of Estonia until New Year's Day, when it is distributed to the cattle. The Queen's College at Oxford still celebrates the boar's head ritual, with the trimmings of bay, rosemary and holly going to the choir, and the orange going to the soloist of the year. It is ushered it with the traditional carols and a fanfare of trumpets. Here is its marching song, the "Boar's Head Carol":

The boar's head in hand bring I
Bedecked with bays and rosemary
And I pray you my masters merry be
Quot estis in convivio
(All who are feasting)
Caput apri defero
(The head I bring)
Reddens laudes Domino
(Giving praises to God)

The boar's head I understand
Is the rarest dish in all this land
Which thus bedecked with a garland gay
Let us servire cantico
(Let us serve with a song)

If you so desire, here is a poetic recipe from the English cookbook by William King ("The Art of Cookery") written in the 17th century.

"At Christmas time be careful of your Fame,
See the old Tenant's table be the same;
Then if you wou'd send up the Brawner's Head,
Sweet Rosemary and Bays around it spread:
His foaming tusks let some large Pippin grace,
Or'midst these thund'ring Spears an Orange place,
Sauce, like himself, offensive to its Foes, 
The Roguish Mustard, dang'rous to the Nose.
Sack, and well-spic'd Hippocras the Wine,
Wassail the Bowl with ancient Ribbands fine,
Porridge with Plumbs, and Turkeys with the Chine."

Crown Roast of Pork

Serves 10-12.

9-10 lb crown roast of pork (20 ribs)
1 large clove garlic
1 lb ground veal
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/4 tsp thyme
2 tbsp minced green onions
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp chopped parsley
gravy

Wipe roast with a damp paper towel. Rub meat and ribs with cut garlic. Mix together the veal, pork, and the next 7 ingredients. Fill the center of the roast with the dressing and cover that with foil. Wrap each rib-top with a piece of foil to prevent burning, leaving the rest of the roast exposed. Place in an open pan on a piece of foil and protect bottom of bones with turned-up foil. Roast in a preheated 325°F oven about 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Remove all foil and place on a heated platter. Garnish upper ends of ribs with paper frills if desired. Serve with gravy.

Fondue

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cup milk
1 cup Chablis
1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
Camembert or Liederkrantz cheese
raw vegetables or bread

In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour; cook over low heat several minutes. Add milk, Chablis and bouillon powder. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture thickens. Add thinly sliced pieces of cheese until melted. Pour into fondue pot. Serve with raw vegetables and pieces of bread.

Roast Goose with Fruit Stuffing

Serves 8-10.

one 12-14 lb goose, ready to cook
1-1/2 cups chopped onions
6 tbsp butter OR margarine
2 quarts bread crumbs
2-1/2 cups peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped tart apples
3/4 lb pitted prunes, cut into small pieces
2 tsp sage
1 tsp basil
2-1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup apple juice

Remove any loose fat from inside the goose. Sauté onions in butter until tender. In a large mixing bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the onions, apples, prunes, seasonings, and apple juice. Stuff goose loosely and fasten with poultry pins. Truss and place goose on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast in a pre-heated 325°F oven (20-25 minutes per pound). Remove fat from pan as it accumulates during cooking. When goose is tender and crisp, place on a warm platter. Garnish and serve with gravy.

Holubtse (Cabbage Rolls)

Makes about 30.

2 cup boiling water
2 tsp salt
2 cup uncooked rice
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large cabbage
1 to 1-1/2 cups tomato juice
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

Combine the water, salt and rice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off heat and let stand until water is absorbed. In a frypan melt butter, adding onion. Sauté until onion is a light golden colour. Combine with rice and season with salt and pepper. Cool.

Remove core from cabbage. Place in a deep saucepan and add boiling water in hollow of core to cover completely. Let stand until leaves are soft and pliable. Drain and carefully take leaves apart. Cut off hard centre rib from each leaf and divide leaves into two or three sections. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a large covered casserole. Cover bottom of casserole with extra leaves. Place a spoonful of filling on the prepared sections of cabbage leaves and roll up tightly. Arrange in layers in casserole, salting each layer. Combine tomato juice, butter, salt and pepper. Pour over holubtse. The liquid should barely show between the rolls. To protect the top from scorching, place a large leaf of cabbage over top before covering tightly. Bake in 30°F oven for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until both cabbage and filling are cooked. Serve hot, with crisp bacon, sour cream or any favourite sauce.

Roasted Pheasants

Serves 4 to 6.

2 pheasants ~2-1/2lbs each, ready to cook
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1-1/2 cup chopped onions
1-1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2lb fresh mushrooms, chopped
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cup cooked rice
1 recipe Cranberry-Onion Sauce

Wipe pheasants inside and out with a damp paper towel. Sauté onions and celery in 1/4 cup of the butter. Add mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes more. Add seasonings and walnuts and toss with the rice; cool. Stuff birds loosely with rice mixture and fasten with poultry pins; truss and place in a roasting pan. Brush breasts, legs, and wings thoroughly with the remaining butter. Place in a preheated 325°F oven and roast for 1 hour, basting twice during the hour. Coat pheasants thoroughly with Cranberry-Onion Sauce and roast another 30 minutes or until tender. Remove to a heated platter and serve with the remaining sauce.

Tourtière (Pork Pie)

Serves 6 to 7.

1-1/2 lbs lean ground pork
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup boiling water
1 garlic clove, chopped
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery sat
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sage
pinch of ground cloves
3 medium sized potatoes

Combine in a heavy 3-quart saucepan all but the potatoes. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until meat loses its red colour and about half the liquid has evaporated. Cover, and cook about 45 minutes longer. Meanwhile, boil and mash the potatoes. Mix the mashed potatoes into cooked meat mixture; cool. Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare sufficient pastry for a 2-crust9" p9e. Roll out half and line a deep 9" pie plate. Fill with cooled meat mixture. Roll out remainder of dough and cover pie. Flute and seal edges and slash top crust. Bake in 450°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake for 30 to 40 minutes longer.

Turkey

Check back later for detailed information on cooking turkey.

My Christmas Kitchen: Christmas Recipes

Christmas Main Dishes