Christmas Dinner

My traditional Christmas Dinner is a rib roast with Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, and some kind of roasted vegetable and a great bottle of wine. I thought about changing it this year, but my wife convinced me not to because she knows how much I enjoy it and I don’t normally make roast beef at any other time in the year.

I picked up a roast that was about 5 pounds and was perfect other than the fact that it had two rib bones and I have three dogs. A good roast beef is something that you don’t really need t mess with. Salt and pepper and proper roasting are all that’s really required. I subscribe to the “start the roast at a high temperature to get a crust and then lower it” school of thought. Opinions vary, but this has always worked well for me so I stick to it. I normally start the roast at about 450 or so for the first 15 minutes and then lower it to about 325 and cook it until it’s rare in the middle. It does need to rest for 20 minutes or so before slicing but this is generally fine since the Yorkshire pudding needs to cook for 20-30 minutes around 400 which requires putting it in after the roast has come out.

I stick with pretty traditional side dishes and don’t generally want anything to steal the thunder form the roast. This year we also had a potato and celery root puree (or mashed potatoes with celery root if you don’t like the fancier name), roasted vegetables which where a mix of parsnips, carrots, onions, and Brussels sprouts, and the Yorkshire pudding. We had a friend over who’s vegetarian but eats fish so I also sautéed some shrimp with olive oil, garlic and white wine. I also made a horseradish sauce with sour cream and a little Dijon mustard and baked some cheddar oat rolls as well.

I still have some 1986 Red Bordeaux from when I worked in the wine business in NY. 1986 was a great year, but the wines were incredibly tannic and most required long aging. It’s tough to beat old Bordeaux and roast beef. In fact old Bordeaux almost demands something rich like a good roast. I pulled my last bottle of Chateau Leoville Barton. My wife and her friend weren’t drinking wine and instead chose to drink some dry Irish stout (proof that women like dark beers and not just fruit beer), so I didn’t have to share the Leoville Barton. It was leaner than other vintages I’ve had, but had rich currant, cassis and dark fruit flavors. There was a very slight cedar note, but it was a classic Bordeaux flavor profile and perfect with the food. It still had some tannin and good acidity to cut through the rich roasted flavors of the meat and the vegetables. It really was an exceptional bottle and was still very vibrant. It was a testament to how well the 86’s have aged. I still have a Gruaud Larose and Lynch Bages and a few others, and will need to drink them soon, but this wine had gone the distance and aged into a beautiful fully mature wine. It was a present to myself.

For dessert we had pumpkin pie that our friend had made and I had some Grahams Six Grapes Port with it. I love good port and am very fond of Grahams although it does tend to be a little sweeter than some of the other well known houses. The Six Grapes is a non-vintage blend but is still a great Port and a great value. It was a little big for the pumpkin pie and perhaps a late harvest white would have been better, but it was still very nice and an excellent end to a great meal.