Planning on hosting over the holidays? Still searching for tantalizing holiday menus? Look no further.
fig. a: Team Foodlab
As you can see, Seth and Michelle are featured in the December 2014 holiday edition of Châtelaine, and they've put together a wonderful (and wonderfully simple), sure-fire holiday menu featuring AEB's off-oven roast beef (pictured below); creamed horseradish; a purée of potatoes, celeriac, parsnips, and white turnips; braised endives with mornay sauce; radishes & crème fraîche; a green salad with apples, pecans, and cranberries; Foodlab's elegant variation on cheese & crackers (homemade oat crackers, fresh fromage blanc, honey, herbs, and flowers); and, last but not least, Bourbon-soaked pear crêpes.
fig. b: rosy roast beef
Frankly, the most involved recipe is probably the cheese course (pictured below), because it calls for you to gather a bunch of herbs and flowers and make your own oat crackers, but you could easily find a store-bought alternative, like Walkers Highland Oatcakes, if baking your own crackers seems like too much trouble (trust me: it isn't).
fig. c: Foodlab's crackers & cheese
None of the other recipes require any specialized techniques, many of them could be prepared well in advance, and all of them are guaranteed crowd-pleasers. As the accompanying article puts it, these dishes are beautiful, delicious, creative, and perfectly designed for a holiday dinner party that's full of good cheer.
fig. d: bourbon-soaked pear crêpes
You can find the entire menu HERE. The recipes are in French only, but you'll be able to figure them out easily enough with just a basic grasp of French, and the entire spread comes with both metric and imperial measurements.
But if you'd like Seth & Michelle to prepare this menu for you themselves, all you have to do is visit them at the Foodlab sometime between now and December 19--they've got this exact menu on tap until then, and they'd be happy to host you.
And, yes, Michelle's authentic Bohus sweater did take two years for her to knit, and she does wear it proudly at every occasion she can, including holiday parties.
Tout le monde à table! BYOB!*
aj
* Bring your own Bohus!