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Christian O’Dowd’s Famous Holiday Recipes
Poppy Sesame Dressing
Cantering Caterer’s original recipe! This salad dressing is a favorite of many of Christian O’Dowd’s clients.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbs. poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp. minced red onion
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire
1/4 oz. dry paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Creamy Horseradish Dip for Ravioli
Ingredients:
1.5 cup mayo
1.5 cup sour cream
4 scallions, sliced thin
½ cup prepared horseradish, squeezed of excess liquid
2 tbs. minced fresh parsley
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate at
least one hour. Serve cold with crudités. Can be made up to two days in
advance. Makes three cups
Port-Glazed Walnuts with Stilton
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups walnut halves (9 oz.)
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup ruby port
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
one 1 lb. wedge of Stilton Cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spread walnuts on rimmed baking sheet and
toast for eight minutes or until lightly browned.
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, port, pepper and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cook over moderate heat stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, three to four minutes. Discard bay leaf.
Add walnuts to saucepan stirring to coat them. Using a slotted spoon, drain the nuts very well. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread nuts out in a single layer.
Bake for 12 minutes, stirring once, or until the nuts are mostly dry; let cool. Separate nuts that stick together.
Simmer the syrup over low heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; about three minutes.
Set Stilton Cheese on serving platter and place walnuts in a separate bowl. Drizzle the port syrup over the cheese and serve with the nuts. Guests cut small chunks of the Stilton Cheese and dip into the port syrup.
Makes 12 servings; 15 minutes prep time.
Fruit Compote
This is a great accompaniment to any cheese!
Instructions:
Use pears, figs, apples, apricots, cherries, plums, prunes, raspberries,
or any combination.
Peel the fruit when appropriate. Cut the fruit into smaller pieces. Poach
the fruit in a vanilla simple syrup. Recipe follows. Add a few cloves
or a dash of cinnamon. Stew the fruit until soft and set aside to cool.
Vanilla Simple Syrup
Instructions:
Dissolve two cups of sugar into one cup of water in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to
the mixture. Let it simmer for five minutes – very slow on a low temperature. Remove
from heat, strain, and allow to cool. This will stay good in your refrigerator
forever and is the basis for many cocktails.
Wine Reduction Sauce for Ravioli
Instructions:
Take one fresh shallot or two tablespoons of fresh yellow onion, minced,
and sauté with a dot of oil until translucent. Take one bottle of white wine
and add to the shallots in a small saucepan, bringing to a. When it is reduced
to half of its original quantity, add two tablespoons of butter, salt, and pepper
to taste.
