Christmas Eve Supper

Most years, when we were growing up, we spent Christmas Eve having a quiet night with just the immediate family—our parents, the two of us and our younger sister. Our mother was always up to her ears in stuffing and pies, getting ready for a big Christmas Day feast for extended family and friends. So we watched reruns of It’s a Wonderful Life and ate takeout Chinese before heading to midnight mass.

Now that we have families of our own, our Christmas Eve tradition has evolved. With seven children among the three of us Riegel girls, our side of the family does our gathering on Christmas Eve, which includes evening mass, dinner and the exchange of gifts.

Our cardinal rule is to keep the dinner menu simple and make dishes that can be prepared in advance. This allows everyone to relax and relieves any one person from having to shoulder the entire burden. We also like to keep the menu somewhat light. That said, we also like it festive and elegant enough for the occasion.

A festive Champagne Cocktail gets things off to a great start. This one is a perfect aperitif that will enhance your appetite without overpowering your palate. It’s got orange bitters, with just a touch of sugar, and it can be prepared using an inexpensive brut sparkling wine.

For the main course, Redfish Courtbouillon has become one of our favorites. It is a traditional Creole dish and one that really makes us think of New Orleans. The rich tomato- and roux-based sauce complements the light flakey fish perfectly. Tracey has updated this old classic and made it easy to prepare. You can do most of the work in advance then finish it off in the oven, freeing you up to relax and sip Champagne Cocktails with family around the Christmas tree.

The Haricots Verts with Crushed Garlic and Chili Oil is an easy, healthful side dish. It also goes well with the fish, to say nothing of the seasonal color combination the green beans make with the rich, red gravy.

To finish off the meal, Tracey has created a decadent Sticky Toffee Pudding. It’s an English dessert and truly one of England’s best contributions to the culinary world, in our opinion. It is lightly spiced with a hint of cinnamon and ginger and is moist and sweet from pureed dates. It can be prepared in advance and warmed in the oven before serving, and it’s topped with an irresistible Warm Toffee Sauce.

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate one of the most special nights of the year!

Champagne Cocktail
Baked Redfish Courtbouillon
Haricots Verts with Crushed Garlic and Chili Oil
Sticky Toffee Pudding

Serves 6.

Good quality brut champagne or sparkling wine, chilled
6 sugar cubes
Bitters
Orange or lemon zest for garnish

1. Right before serving, pop the well-chilled champagne and pour into champagne flutes.
2. Place a sugar cube on a spoon and douse it with 3 to 4 dashes of bitters.
3. Gently drop the cube into a glass of the champagne and garnish with a piece of the zest.
4. Serve immediately.

Serves 6.

1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. flour
˝ cup chopped onion
˝ cup chopped green onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Ľ cup dry white wine
2 (14.5-oz) cans petite-diced tomatoes
Ľ tsp. salt
Ľ tsp. black pepper
Ľ tsp. thyme
˝ tsp. chopped parsley
Ľ tsp. allspice
2 bay leaves
6 (4- to 6-oz.) redfish filets (any light white meat fish will do)
1 tsp. Creole seasoning

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add in the vegetable oil.
2. Sprinkle in the flour and stir over medium-high heat until the roux becomes the color of peanut butter.
3. Add onions and green onions to the roux and sauté until vegetables are soft.
4. Whisk in the chicken broth and wine until smooth and add in the diced tomatoes with their liquid.
4. Add in the salt and pepper along with the thyme, parsley, allspice and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.
5. Allow the sauce to simmer 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool. (This can be made a day in advance).
6. When you are ready to cook the Courtbouillon, place half the sauce into a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.
7. Season the fish filets with the Creole seasoning and place them on top of the sauce in the baking dish.
8. Pour the remaining sauce over the fish filets and bake in a preheated, 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish are cooked through and the sauce is beginning to bubble.
9. Serve over brown or white rice.

Serves 6.

˝ tsp. salt
2 lbs. clean and trimmed Haricots Verts green beans
4 cloves crushed garlic cloves
˝ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil
2. Add in the ˝ tsp. of salt and throw in the haricots verts.
3. Blanch the haricots verts for 2 to 3 minutes or until they turn bright green and are becoming tender, but are still very crunchy.
4. Drain the haricots verts well and run them under cold water to stop them from cooking any further.
5. In a saucepot, place the garlic, pepper flakes and olive oil and heat over medium heat until the garlic begins to bubble and become fragrant.
6. Remove the garlic chili oil from the heat. Pour it over the haricots verts and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

2 cups pitted dates
1˝ cup apple juice
˝ cup dark rum
˝ tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Ľ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 cup dark brown sugar
ľ cup white sugar
1 stick softened butter
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish and set it aside.
2. In a saucepot, combine the dates, apple juice and rum and bring the mixture up to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to simmer the dates for 15 to 20 minutes or until the dates have become very tender.
4. Remove the date mixture from the heat and add in the baking soda. (The mixture will fizz up when you do this.) Stir the mixture well and set it aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ginger and set it aside as well.
6. Place the cooled date mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is well pureed.
7. Using an electric mixer in a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
8. Add the eggs one at a time into the creamed butter and sugar, beating well after each one. Finally, stir in the vanilla. Note that the mixture will look a bit broken at this point.
9. Using a spatula, fold half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and then half the date puree. Continue folding with the remaining flour and date mixture until all is well combined.
10. Pour the sticky toffee pudding batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The pudding is done when an inserted toothpick comes out with a few wet crumbs attached. Serve warm with toffee sauce.

Serves 6 to 8.

1 stick butter
ľ cup brown sugar
Ľ cup Stein’s cane syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

1. In a medium saucepot, melt the butter.
2. Add in the brown sugar and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the cane syrup, vanilla and cream. Continue to simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken and coat the back of the spoon.
4. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool a bit. Serve the sauce warm over the warm pudding.

˝ cup chopped onion?

˝ cup chopped green onion?

2 cloves minced garlic?

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth?

Ľ cup dry white wine?

2 (14.5-oz) cans petite-diced tomatoes?

Ľ tsp. salt?

Ľ tsp. black pepper?

Ľ tsp. thyme?

˝ tsp. chopped parsley?

Ľ tsp. allspice?

2 bay leaves?

6 (4- to 6-oz.) redfish filets (any light white meat fish will do)?

1 tsp. Creole seasoning?

1 In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add in the vegetable oil.?

2 Sprinkle in the flour and stir over medium-high heat until the roux becomes the color of peanut butter.?

3 Add onions and green onions to the roux and sauté until vegetables are soft.?

4 Whisk in the chicken broth and wine until smooth and add in the diced tomatoes with their liquid.?

5 Add in the salt and pepper along with the thyme, parsley, allspice and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.?

6 Allow the sauce to simmer 5-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool. (This can be made a day in advance).?

7 When you are ready to cook the Courtbouillon, place half the sauce into a 9-x-13-inch baking dish.?

8 Season the fish filets with the Creole seasoning and place them on top of the sauce in the baking dish.?

9 Pour the remaining sauce over the fish filets and bake in a preheated, 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fish are cooked through and the sauce is beginning to bubble.?

10 Serve over brown or white rice.?

Serves 6.?

˝ tsp. salt?

2 lbs. clean and trimmed Haricots Verts green beans?

4 cloves crushed garlic cloves?

˝ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes?

1/3 cup olive oil?

1 Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil?

2 Add in the ˝ tsp. of salt and throw in the haricots verts.?

3 Blanch the haricots verts for 2 to 3 minutes or until they turn bright green and are becoming tender, but are still very crunchy.?

4 Drain the haricots verts well and run them under cold water to stop them from cooking any further.?

5 In a saucepot, place the garlic, pepper flakes and olive oil and heat over medium heat until the garlic begins to bubble and become fragrant.?

6 Remove the garlic chili oil from the heat. Pour it over the haricots verts and toss to coat. Serve immediately.