Flay's Christmas Meals

For Christmas, The Early Show's resident chef Bobby Flay suggests we settle into what he considers the sweet and savory flavors of the Yuletide season.

Unlike the culinary traditions of Thanksgiving, meals at Christmas tend to be less rigid for many families. However, certain familiar flavors grace the table each year. Still, at Christmas, one often finds the home cook is more apt to change up on the dinner meal staples from time to time.

Flay's selected menu are dishes that celebrate the fresh flavors and familiar smells of the season. He shared his recipe for roast pork with apricot-mint glaze; twice-baked potatoes with goat cheese and green onion; roasted Brussels sprouts with pomegranate and walnuts; arugula salad with fennel and orange; and gingerbread and lemon curd trifle with blueberry sauce.

The Recipes:

Roast Pork With Apricot-Mint Glaze
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 bone-in pork loin, bone-in, chine bone off
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
4 cups red wine vinegar
3 cups granulated sugar
8 dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup mint chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Season pork with salt and pepper and place on a rack inside a baking pan. Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat 350 degrees F and continue cooking until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F (about 1 hour). Brush with the glaze every 5 minutes during the last 30 minutes of roasting. Remove from the oven and brush with more of the glaze and let rest 20 minutes before slicing.
2. Heat oil in a large non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and ancho powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved and continue cooking until reduced by half. Add apricots and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat and add mint.
3. Place the mixture in a food processor and process until smooth. Strain the mixture into a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Green Onion
Serves 8

Ingredients:
8 Idaho potatoes (scrubbed well)
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups hot milk
8 ounces soft goat cheese
3 green onions, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until soft, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let the potatoes cool slightly then slice each potato in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh of the potato into a large bowl, keeping the skin intact. Add the butter and hot milk to the potatoes and mash the potatoes with a potato masher or mix with a hand-held blender until smooth. Fold in the goat cheese and onions and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Fill each potato skin with the potato mixture then place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until the potatoes are golden brown on top (about 15-20 minutes).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate and Walnuts
Serves 8

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Brussel sprouts and par cook (about 5 minutes). Drain well and place them in a large roasting pan. Toss the sprouts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper taste. Roast the sprouts for 5 to 7 minutes or until just cooked. Remove from the oven and toss with the butter, pomegranate seeds and walnuts.

Arugula Salad with Fennel and Orange
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
4 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 cup pure olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound arugula
1 small fennel bulb, peeled and thinly sliced
2 oranges, segmented

Method:

1. Heat oil in a medium non-reactive saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until soft. Add orange juice and fennel seeds and increase the heat to high. Cook the mixture until the juice is reduced to 3/4 cup. Place the mixture in a blender and blend for 20 seconds. With the motor running, slowly add the oil until emulsified. Add the honey and season with salt and pepper.
2. Toss the arugula with 1/4 cup of the orange vinaigrette and arrange on a large platter. Scatter the sliced fennel and oranges over the top of the salad and drizzle with more of the vinaigrette.

Gingerbread Cake Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup molasses
1 cup boiling water
2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Method:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray two sheetpans with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; spray paper. Sift flour and next 6 ingredients into medium bowl. Mix in crystallized ginger. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in brown sugar. One at a time, beat in eggs. Gradually beat in molasses, then 1 cup boiling water. Mix in grated lemon peel. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean (about 20 to 25 minutes). Transfer pans to rack and cool 15 minutes. Run knife around pan sides. Turn cakes out onto rack; peel off paper. Cool and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Lemon Curd Ingredients:

8 lemons
4 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Method:

1. Finely grate enough zest from the lemons to equal two teaspoons and squeeze enough of the juice to measure 1 cup.
2. Place the juice, zest, yolks and sugar into a medium non-reactive bowl and whisk until combined. Place the bowl on top of medium saucepan filled with simmering water set on medium heat. Whisk the mixture until it thickens (about 10 minutes). Remove the curd from the heat and whisk in the butter. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool for about 30 minutes.
3. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the lemon curd.

2 cups fresh blueberries, picked over or frozen blueberries thawed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over high heat until the berries are soft. Carefully transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature or place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble:
Gingerbread, cut into cubes
Lemon curd
Blueberry sauce
Heavy cream, lightly whipped

Place a few cubes of the gingerbread in each glass and top the cubes with some of the lemon curd and a blueberry sauce. Repeat to make several layers. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.