The (Nearly) Zero-Prep-Time Holiday Dinner Ideas

Nearly zero-prep time holiday dinner ideas will cut your prep time and not corners. These ideas include presentation.  Imagine eliminating hours of time preparing a holiday meal in record time.  The following ideas will spark your own creativity like subsitiute an Oven Roasted Turkey Breast (see recipe below) or Beef Tenderloin (see recipe below) for Ham. Read and see more, all courtesy of marthastewart.com: http://www.marthastewart.com/1043261/nearly-zero-prep-time-holiday-dinner/@center/276958/holiday-entertaining#224141

Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

(serves 8)
Ingredients:

 1 bone-in whole turkey breast (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), thawed if frozen
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cornstarch – for gravy
2 tablespoons cold water – for gravy

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325ºF.
Place turkey breast skin side up, in large shallow roasting pan.
Roast uncovered 1 hour.
Mix butter, wine, thyme, salt, paprika and garlic.
Brush turkey with half of the butter mixture.
Roast 30 minutes
Brush with remaining butter mixture.
Roast about 1 hour longer or until thermometer reads 165º F. 
Remove turkey from oven and let stand 15 minutes for easier carving.
For Gravy:
Meanwhile, pour pan drippings into measuring cup; skim fat from drippings.
Add enough water to drippings to measure 2 cups.
Heat drippings to boiling in 1-quart saucepan.
Mix cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water and stir into drippings.
Boil and stir 1 minute.

Easy Beef Tendeloin

1 (5 to 6 lb) beef tenderloin, trimmed 4 lb or untrimmed at 5 to 6 lb

Salt and pepper roast all around

Place in roasting pan. You might need to curve the roast to make it fit.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

Once the oven reaches temp and stays at temp for ten minutes put roast in oven.

Bake at 500 degrees for ten minutes.

Shut oven off -DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR and continue to cook for 50 minutes.

The key to this recipe is DO NOT OPEN OVEN door.

The roast is to cook for a total of 60 minutes – 10 minutes with oven on at 500 degrees and 50 minutes with oven off not opening the oven door.

(I cannot stress how important it is not to open the door!)

When 60 minutes is up – take roast out of oven let it sit for 5 to ten minutes and then slice to desired thickness.

You will have slices to suit every palatte -meduim rare -to well done.

Serve with a prepared horseradish sauce such as Reese, Ingelhoffer, Boarshead or Coleman and rolls.