Christmas Eve Dinner: Keep it simple, grill a steak!

     I get emails all the time from all the recipe sites I subscribe to persuading me to tackle a standing rib roast or rack of lamb on Christmas eve. I don't have children, but I still have a lot on my plate on Christmas Eve. I gotta finish wrapping, last minute shopping, getting my pretzel trays together. Last thing I need is to make a mess or slave over a stove when I just want to drink some rummy eggnog and open presents. Christmas Eve is the only night Rob and I get alone so this is "our Christmas".

     I'll never forget the first Christmas I was dating Rob. I wanted to impress him so I bought this big roast beef and roasted the you know what out of it. I never over cook anything but I was not used to his electric oven which cooks way faster than gas. He was a good sport and ate it anyway. This year, I decided to keep it simple with a steak on the grill. I bought a 2 lb. sirloin and had Rob grill it while I prepared the rest. What's great is that we still have yummy meaty leftovers to munch on between family visits on Christmas day!

     You can't just live on meat alone so I decided to make Yams Gratin with Gruyere. Easiest recipe ever and I actually followed it. It boasts a whopping 3 ingredients too! Rob hates scalloped potatoes but I pleaded with him to let me make this dish. It was so easy and very tasty. What's great about this recipe is that Wegman's actually carries the yams pre-sliced! YAY! No fussing with the mandoline tonight! I cut up some red onions and mushrooms and sauteed them in butter, white wine, and a pinch of sugar to carmelize them. This was a great topping for our steak. I also defrosted some frozen shrimp and tossed them in some butter and finished it with some pre-made Wegman's remoulade sauce. For our veggie I made a bangin spinach salad with fresh baby spinach, homemade croutons (gotta do something with a stale french batard), bacon (pre-cooked), diced gala apples, and blue cheese crumbles (thanks mom). That's it! Opened a nice bottle of Spanish red and served it on my mom's Christmas dishes! I believe my husband gave me a 10.5 on this one!!! Wooohooo!

     It's been a great Christmas so far! After 2 years of begging, I FINALLY got my pizza peel so keep your eyes open for a grilled pizza post soon! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember you don't always have to go all out making a fancy holiday dinner. Keep it simple and enjoy the people in your life! Cheers!

P.S. The Cruzan rum cream rocks in coffee! :)