New Year and Christmas are a magical time. Everyone begins to believe in a miracle. Especially that next year will bring much more joy, happiness and good luck.
However, in this pre-holiday period, “terrible” things happen. People are in the bustle of affairs. Many are looking for gifts to relatives and friends. Others think about how to decorate an apartment or house. Another one begins to puzzle over the preparation of dishes. All this is the components of the holiday.
But still, the main problem of the above is cooking. Because every year to cook the same dishes does not give any pleasure. I want something new and unusual.
Olivie
Let's start with the main course of the holiday. This is Olivier. Its origin dates back to the XIX century. And in subsequent years, many different ways of preparing it arose. In order for the holiday table not to be bored with the “ordinary” olivier, I suggest experimenting with its ingredients and serving.
1. The historical recipe Olivier Frenchman himself
For cooking, you need: boiled potatoes (1-2 pcs), boiled chicken or beef tongue (300 gr), boiled quail eggs (1-2 pcs), fresh cucumber (1 pc), olives (3-5 pcs), crab sticks (3-4 pcs), salad leaf (2-3 pcs), mayonnaise.
Lettuce leaves spread on the bottom of the dish, in the center we put boiled potatoes and eggs, cut in half. On the sides we lay out the remaining ingredients, diced. Pour abundantly with mayonnaise on top.
2. The correct olivier
For preparation you need: boiled chicken or turkey fillet (300 gr), blanched zucchini (1 fruit), cucumber (1 pc), low-fat or light mayonnaise.
Finely chop all the ingredients, season with mayonnaise (sour cream) and serve, you can sprinkle with herbs on top.
Snacks
The second most important dish is appetizers. Snacks are the basis of the entire festive table, as they are served at the beginning, and they are present on the table throughout the festive feast. Typically, sliced vegetables, ham, sausages of various kinds, as well as sandwiches, act as snacks. The main fillings of sandwiches are red fish and caviar. However, the banal spreading of oil on a baguette and decorating with these products does not cause delight. Therefore, I propose the following serving of sandwiches:
1. Fish pancakes
For cooking, you need: potatoes (400-500 g), onions (1-2 pcs), chicken egg (1-2 pcs), flour (3-4 tbsp), salmon or salmon (300 g), sour cream and vegetable butter.
Rub the peeled potatoes on a fine grater, then carefully squeeze the resulting mass from the water. Add eggs, chopped onion, flour and mix. Next, spread the spoon in a mass on a heated pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Grease the resulting pancakes with sour cream, put small pieces of fish on top and decorate with greens.
2. Tartlets (tartlets) with cream cheese and fish
For preparation you need: tartlets empty inside (15 pcs), salmon or salmon fillet (250 gr), cream cheese (250 gr), caviar.
Mix finely chopped fish fillet with cheese and spread in a tartlet prepared in advance with a spoon. Put caviar on top and sprinkle with herbs.
Hot meals
Cooking hot dishes takes a lot of time and always causes discontent. This includes dishes from chicken, meat, turkey, fish, as well as a side dish. The garnish in the vast majority of cases consists of potatoes, because many people think that rice or pasta is not suitable for a festive table. However, this is a misconception.
Dishes made from rice and pasta can be loved and look more delicious than from potatoes.
1. Baked Pasta
For cooking you need: pasta (300 gr), chicken (500 gr), onions (1-2 pcs), carrots (1-2 pcs), chicken egg (2 pcs), processed cheese (100 gr), milk ( 0.5 l), hard cheese (100 g).
Chicken fillet cut into small cubes. Grind the onion, and grate the carrots. Then fry the onions and carrots in a hot pan until golden brown.
For this dish, you need to prepare a milk-cheese mixture. To do this, mix the processed cheese, eggs, onions and carrots, milk to a homogeneous state in a blender.
We grease the baking dish with vegetable oil and spread the pasta, put the chicken fillet on top, pour the milk and cheese mixture. Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 ° C, then sprinkle with grated hard cheese and bake another 20 minutes.
2. Japanese oyacodon
For cooking you need: onions (1-2 pcs), chicken (400 gr), rice (200 gr), chicken egg (2-3 pcs), soy sauce (4-5 tbsp).
First of all, cook the rice in accordance with the instructions. Next, pour soy sauce into the preheated pan. After boiling the sauce, put the onion half rings and cook for 2-3 minutes.
We cut the chicken fillet into cubes - do not chop it much, otherwise the fillet will lose its juiciness. Put the chicken cubes in a pan and mix thoroughly. When the chicken turns white, gently turn over and simmer under the lid for 2-3 minutes.
In a bowl, beat the eggs until a light yellow mass forms, then pour it into the pan, trying to evenly cover the whole chicken fillet. And cook for 5 minutes. We stir only after the eggs are cooked.
The cooked dish can be decorated with greens.
Table setting
To make the festive table look not just beautiful, but elegant, you need to make some efforts.
To decorate the table and spend not a lot of money, you must do the following:
- Use a plain tablecloth and bright, large paper napkins. It can be just plain napkins or napkins with a colorful pattern. They need to be laid out over the entire surface of the table.
- In the middle of the table you can put a small decorated Christmas tree, as well as put fir cones on the entire surface of the table to give the New Year mood.
- Put brightly colored cloths next to the dishes. They can be not only folded in half, but figuratively. For example, by using circuits for addition. ( )
- At the end of the table must necessarily be a straw basket with fruits and sweets.
- You can also decorate bottles with alcohol and various drinks.
To summarize
As you managed to notice, in the offered dishes there are no specific products. Here are products that are sold in every store and have a low price.
New Year and Christmas are family holidays. This is the time when it becomes warm and cozy at home, when everyone around watches their favorite New Year’s movies and when only the closest people are nearby on this holiday.
The most important thing is to decide on the dishes. There are a great many of them. Probably everyone has specialties just for their family. The main thing is to cook these dishes with love. Because, whatever the recipe, if the dish is prepared without the investment of the soul, it will be tasteless.
Therefore, the dishes of our parents are always delicious. The warmth and love of parents is invested in cooking for us. As they say: you will not see the most important thing with your eyes, but you will feel it.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!