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A Holiday Lunch

Now that S&Z are taking a nice, long midday nap, we decided to take advantage of this time to make a Christmas lunch for ourselves before Derek went to bed for the day. We decided to pick up a couple of rib eye steaks from Whole Foods for the occasion. My mom would often make steaks and twice-baked potatoes on Christmas Eve after we went to church, so this food is filled with holiday memories and tradition for me. Our menu today included,

Rib eye steaks
Twice-baked potatoes
Roasted asparagus
Bordeaux

There are some good recipes for twice-baked potatoes but I winged it when I put these together on Christmas Eve. They turned out fabulous. One of the things I like about TBP is that you can make them a day or two in advance and have them all ready to go into the oven ~ 30 minutes before you're ready to eat.

Twice-Baked Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
6 slices of bacon
A few handfuls of shredded cheese of choice, I used a combination of cheddar and colby jack
Scallions, finely chopped
A few spoonfuls of sour cream
Milk, butter, whatever else you might put into mashed potatoes
Salt and pepper

1. Poke a few holes in each potato and cook them for ~ 1 hour on 425 degrees.
2. Chop and cook the bacon, drain on paper towels and reserve.
3. Remove potatoes from the oven once cooked through and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
4. Slice the tops off the potatoes. Using a spoon, scoop the flesh out of each potato into a bowl, leaving about a 1/4-inch-thick shell.
5. Mash the potato flesh until smooth. Stir in the cheese, sour cream, other dairy of choice, scallions and bacon. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Carefully spoon the potato mixture into the shells. Top each potato with shredded cheese. If making ahead, cover tightly with saran wrap and bring to room temperature before heating in the oven.
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until mixture warmed through and cheese melted.

Roasted Asparagus
This is one of my favorite, go-to vegetable recipes, especially when entertaining.

1 bunch of asparagus, rinsed and woody ends trimmed
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove ~ 1-1/2 to 2 inches of the fibrous ends of each asparagus stalk. Line a baking sheet with tin foil, arrange the asparagus in a single layer, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast asparagus for 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately.

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