3 Decadent Holiday Meals

By Produced by Diana McMillen. Photographs by Mark Thomas
June 01, 2012
A holiday deserves more than one special feast - so make three meals to remember: Breakfast, main meal and soup supper.
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Our plan for a decadent day

This special holiday menu helps ambitious cooks impress guests with a morning-to-evening string of delicious dining, including our Red Velvet Cheesecake.Red Velvet Cheesecake recipe

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Warm beginnings

You'll definitely want to try this amazing breakfast: baked eggs and potatoes, breakfast meats and fruit crisp alongside gingerbread and chocolate (next slide). Our make-ahead instructions help you sleep in a bit. A snowy centerpiece of white-tipped trees on a white tablecloth provides a fun backdrop to our breakfast dishes.

Herbed Egg-Potato Bake recipe

Sugared Bacon-Wrapped Smokies recipe

Cranberry-Apple Crisp recipe

Gingerbread Scones recipe

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Chocolate-Pistachio Wreath Bread

We created this moist chocolate bread with a frosting that adds even more chocolate. You could serve it warm or cool. Chocolate-Pistachio Wreath Bread recipe

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Turkey and sides to crave

Our main dish gets an extra sparkle of flavor from tomato pesto with herbs, salt and pepper slipped between the skin and meat of a turkey breast. The mashed potatoes mix yellow and sweet potatoes with a hearty combination of cream cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon and canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. The Brussels sprouts are skillet-roasted and tossed with seasoned mushrooms.

Tomato Pesto Turkey recipe

Chipotle Smashed Potatoes recipe

Brined Brussels Sprouts with Lemony Mushrooms recipe

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A colorful burst of flavor

It takes time to peel and section or slice fruit for our holiday salad. But the result is a colorful burst of fresh flavor that's worth the effort. To save time, use 2-3 cups jarred, drained, sectioned citrus fruit in place of the 4 oranges. Cornmeal Dinner Rolls add a soft touch to the salad plate.

Persimmon, Blood Orange and Pomegranate Salad recipe

Cornmeal Dinner Rolls recipe

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Sweet endings

Make-ahead Pumpkin Trifle layers cranberries, cake and pumpkin. Packaged ingredients such as canned pumpkin, frozen pound cake, canned cranberry sauce, toffee candy bars and instant pudding mix help speed prep time. You can also offer your guests Red Velvet Cheesecake (pictured on first slide). Don't let the red color fool you; the flavor is all chocolate.

Pumpkin Trifle recipe

Red Velvet Cheesecake recipe

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A special supper

Even after a big meal earlier in the day, families get hungry when the sun goes down. This supper satisfies with comforting Veggie-Cheese Chowder or Smoky Chili, plus a light slaw salad that combines red cabbage, apples and red or green onions with a sweet-and-sour dressing. Just leave room for the final decadence -- chocolate pie (next slide).

Veggie-Cheese Chowder recipe

Smoky Chili recipe

Festive Red Slaw recipe

Honey-Wheat Pan Rolls recipe

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Fantasy Chocolate Pie

Dream about all the ingredients you'd like to see in a dessert, and you'll see why we named this Fantasy Chocolate Pie. It's made with three kinds of chocolate pieces (milk chocolate, semisweet and semisweet-and-white-chocolate swirled)-plus coconut, pecans and almonds. For extra indulgence, top with whipped cream and chocolate curls. Fantasy Chocolate Pie recipe

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Set the scene

Showcase your holiday meals with a pretty table setting. First, you can put red berries on wired stems to form a halo on purchased twig wreaths for chair backs. A yard of soft white fabric tied in a square knot dresses up each seat. Fat red ribbons with glued nametags hold wreaths in place.

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A present at every place

Small gifts are a fun way to greet guests.

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Sparkling centerpiece

Spectacular, yet easy, our long-stemmed amaryllis centerpiece sparkles in its tall glass vase. A length of sheer ribbon holds the stems together.

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Red-and-white cheer

Carnations peek from a rectangular glass vase covered with candy canes (attach candy canes to the vase with a glue gun; anchor flowers in floral foam). If you like, spray canes with coats of clear acrylic spray to avoid stickiness. Finish with ribbon and mint.

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Gifts from the kitchen

Send your guests home with some gifts from the kitchen tucked in a festive box. Lemony Spritz Cookies, Chocolatey Shortbread Bites and Sugared Almonds will bring back fond memories of your perfectly decadent day

Lemony Spritz Cookies recipe

Chocolatey Shortbread Bites recipe

Sugared Almonds recipe

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By Produced by Diana McMillen. Photographs by Mark Thomas