'My Top Tips For Easy Holiday Dishes'

August 09, 2024

Looking to cook something different for Christmas dinner this year?

Newsweek spoke to Rachael Ray, celebrity chef, and host of The Rachael Ray Show, who shared these easy recipes for her favorite non-traditional holiday dishes.

How To Make Warm Winter Panzanella

Serves: 4 to 6

"I call this a statement salad," Ray told Newsweek. "This is a salad that makes a statement, and its statement is 'I am delicious!'"

"Feel free to swap in whatever toasted nuts you like, such as almonds or pistachios. It's important to toss the salad for about a minute so the juices and dressing evenly saturate the bread."

Ingredients:

6-8 cups torn or diced stale white peasant bread
8 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
Non-aerosol extra virgin olive oil cooking spray
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons plus about 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound diced butternut squash (prepped in the produce section or cut your own)
Freshly grated nutmeg (about 1/8 teaspoon)
1 small red onion, quartered and sliced
3 radicchio or 2-3 Treviso, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon sumac and/or smoked paprika
2 cloves pasted or minced garlic
3 tablespoons aged balsamic or sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Zest and juice of 1 small blood orange or small seedless orange
1 tablespoon acacia honey or light agave
1 cup packed mint and flat-leaf parsley combined, torn by hand
½ cup pomegranate seeds
½ cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
Two 1-inch-thick slices of provolone, mild provolone, or halloumi cheese

Method:

Heat oven to 425°F, with rack at the center. Toast bread while you prep the tomatoes by arranging on foil- and parchment-lined baking sheet.
Spray tomatoes with oil and season with salt, pepper, and thyme.
Transfer lightly golden toasted bread to bowl and add tomatoes to oven, raise heat to 450°F and slump and brown tomatoes, 15 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and cook squash 8 minutes until lightly brown, seasoning with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add onions and radicchio and season with sumac or paprika, salt and pepper, then toss 4 to 5 minutes more until tender crisp and edges are charred.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic, vinegar, salt, and pepper, in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Whisk in molasses, orange zest and juice, honey or agave, and remaining extra virgin olive oil. Pour cooked squash and Treviso over bread, and add tomatoes, herbs, seeds, nuts, and dressing. Lastly, heat a small nonstick pan with a little cooking spray, add cheese, and brown, for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove, dice, and top salad. Toss salad for at least a minute and serve.

How To Make A Pork Roast with Sauteed Apples or Pears

Serves: 4 to 6

"So easy, so pretty and so yummy," Ray said. Plus, it's more budget-friendly than beef or lamb. The pork is called 'drunken' because it's cooked with grappa or brandy and red wine, which lends lots of flavors.

The television chef suggests plating the sliced meat and fruit on a bed of carrots that have been cut on the bias and simmered in bone broth.

Ray also serves this with her spaghetti with pancetta and onions dish alongside the pork or as a first course. "For me," she said, "it really is the perfect holiday meal."

Ingredients:

3-pound pork loin roast, tied
Salt and pepper
About 1/8 teaspoon of grated nutmeg
7 or 8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup flour, to dredge
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grappa or brandy
2 cups red wine, such as Barbera d'Alba
2 bay leaves
1 cup beef broth
4 or 5 apples or apples and pears, sauteed in butter with thyme, salt, a pinch of grated nutmeg, and a little lemon juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Season meat with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then make several slits in the roast and stuff with garlic.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat with oil.
Serve with sauteed apples or apples and pears.

How To Make Pasta with Braised Red Onion Sauce and Crispy Kale

Serves: 4 to 6

"It looks very festive," Ray said of this dish's red and green color scheme; "It's so pretty." Plus, it's also a great vegetarian option for the holidays. If you'd like to add a bit of meatiness, top the pasta with crispy prosciutto or speck along with (or instead of) the crispy kale, the chef suggested.

Ingredients

6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 red onions, chopped
Salt
2 large fresh bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, chopped or grated
Pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or a pinch of ground cloves
¼ cup tomato paste
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef or roasted vegetable stock
A drizzle of aged sweet balsamic vinegar, optional
1 bunch of flat kale, stemmed
Extra virgin olive oil non-aerosol cooking spray
1 pound pasta (Rachael likes to use a red onion-flavored kind for this recipe, but plain bucatini or rigatoni would be fine!)
Grated pecorino cheese

Method:

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt, then add bay leaves, cover and soften for 10 minutes. Add garlic, pepper, and allspice or cloves and stir for a minute or two. Add tomato paste, stir, and let cook a minute. Add red wine and increase the heat to reduce the wine slightly. Add stock and cook at a low simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours, then remove the bay leaves and add vinegar.
Spray a single layer of stemmed kale with oil, season with salt and broil or bake at 500°F on a foil-lined baking sheet until very crisp and browned. Cool to handle. Season again with salt and crackle into pieces.
Undercook pasta for a minute less than directions in salted water and reserve ½ cup of the liquid.
Add cooking water and 2 tablespoons butter to pasta and combine with sauce and a handful of cheese. Serve in shallow bowls topped with crispy kale.

How To Make Salmon en Croute with Spinach Filling

Serves: 4

Ray gives salmon the VIP treatment by baking it "en croute" (in a pastry crust), a method that's delicious and deceptively easy—basically the seafood version of her beef wellington dish.

"This is a beautiful holiday meal, or date night meal, or just a special supper," the chef said. "I serve this with roasted broccolini, or I make a simple sautéed vegetable medley."

Ingredients:

For the spinach filling:

1 pound spinach, stemmed, or one 16-ounce package frozen spinach, defrosted
Salt and white pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
A splash of white wine
Freshly grated nutmeg
Juice of ½ lemon
½ cup crème Fraiche or 4 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup toasted breadcrumbs

For the salmon and pastry:

1 tablespoon softened butter
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted in fridge 2 hours before rolling

Flour, for puff pastry:

Four 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
1 egg

Method:

Preheat oven to 425˚F with rack at the center.
For fresh spinach, wash and stem the spinach, then bring a pot of water to a boil and place an ice water bath in a large bowl on the counter and a strainer in the sink. Salt the boiling water, cook spinach for 1 to 2 minutes, then strain, add to the ice bath to shock, drain and wring out excess liquid in a clean towel, then chop. For defrosted frozen spinach, wring out all excess liquid and finely chop, then loosen up with your fingers.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, add shallots and garlic, and season with salt and white pepper. Add wine, and let it absorb. Add spinach, nutmeg, lemon juice, Crème Fraiche or cream cheese, Parm, and breadcrumbs, then remove from heat to cool.
For the salmon and pastry, combine butter, mustard, thyme, and dill. Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface just a bit to smooth seams, then cut each sheet in half across to form rectangles. Place 2 rectangles each on a parchment-lined baking sheet sprinkled with a little flour. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
Place a piece of salmon on each piece of pastry and top with ¼ of the Dijon and herb mix, then turn over. Top each bottom side of the salmon with a layer of ¼ of the spinach and gently set in place with your hands. Make an egg wash with 2 teaspoons of water and a fork-beaten egg.
Brush the egg wash onto the puff pastry, then fold in long sides to overlap in the middle, stretching the puff pastry gently if needed, to form a seam.
Press the ends to seal, then trim the ends a bit and fold in to seal the packet, then turn and score the top in a crosshatch using a paring knife to vent to add to the plate presentation. Brush completed packets with egg wash and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

How To Make Cicchetti

Cicchetti is Ray's favorite Italian snack for a cozy New Year's Eve night at home. "These are a couple of small snacks to serve with cocktails, olives, nuts, chips, and small bar bites," Rachael says. "There are endless recipes for Cicchetti, but these are two of my favorites."

Ingredients

For the eggplant croquettes:

About 2 pounds of firm eggplant, peeled and finely diced, then salted and drained on towels for 30 minutes to remove excess water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
3 tablespoons currants, plumped in warm water and drained
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, chopped
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano and/or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 whole eggs and 3 whites
Frying oil, such as safflower or peanut
1 cup flour
1 cup breadcrumbs
About ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Lemon wedges or warm tomato sauce, to serve

For the fried stuffed sage leaves:

Large sage leaves
Small pieces of Taleggio, soft Fontina, or Gorgonzola Dolce cheese
Flour
Beaten egg
About 1 cup of breadcrumbs
Grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
½ cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Frying oil, such as safflower or peanut
Lemon wedges, to serve

Preparation

For the eggplant croquettes, sauté the eggplant for 7 to 8 minutes in EVOO over medium heat and add red pepper, oregano, and garlic, stir another minute or so, remove from heat and add currants and nuts, cool and combine with half the cheese and 2 beaten egg whites.
Heat ½ inch frying oil over medium to medium-high heat.
Place flour in a shallow dish and whisk up 2 eggs and 1 egg white in another dish. Combine breadcrumbs with remaining cheese, nutmeg, zest, and parsley in a third dish.
Form 24 croquettes or small eggplant patties and coat in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, then fry to deep golden, drain, and serve with lemon wedges or warm tomato sauce.
For the fried sage leaves, match up large sage leaves and sandwich a small piece of ripe Taleggio, soft Fontina, or Gorgonzola Dolce between the 2 leaves and take care to seal the leaves at the edges.
Toss the stuffed leaves lightly in flour, then turn in beaten egg and bread in breadcrumbs mixed with a little nutmeg, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley, and ½ cup Pecorino or Parm, per 1 cup breadcrumbs.
Fry in 1 inch of safflower or peanut oil over medium to medium-high heat to golden, then drain and serve with lemon wedges.

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