A festive buffet - holiday dinners - Recipe

Sunset, Dec, 2000 by Linda Lau Anusasananan

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup raspberries, rinsed (see notes)

1. In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium-high heat, shake and tilt sugar until melted and amber-colored, 8 to 9 minutes. Immediately pour caramelized sugar into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and tilt pan quickly to let syrup flow over bottom (it doesn't need to cover surface completely).

2. In a bowl, whisk evaporated milk, condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Pour mixture into caramel-lined dish. Nest dish in a 12-by 17-inch roasting pan.

3. Set dish in pan in a 350[degrees] oven. Pour about 1 inch boiling water into outer pan. Bake until custard barely jiggles in the center when dish is gently shaken, 60 to 70 minutes (50 to 60 minutes in a convection oven).

4. Remove 9- by 13-inch baking dish from hot water and set on a rack to cool flan completely Cover and chill at least 24 hours.

5. Invert a rimmed platter or 12- by 17-inch pan over flan. Holding platter and flan dish tightly together, quickly invert. Hold in place until flan slips free and caramel sauce flows over flan. Garnish with berries. Cut into rectangles and transfer to dessert plates.

Per serving: 298 cal., 30% (90 cal.) from fat; 10 g protein; 10 g fat (5.5 g sat.); 42 g carbo (0.5 g fiber); 140 mg sodium; 136 mg chol.

* Mom's Stuffed Grape Leaves'

* Johnsons' Spinach-Artichoke Dip [*]

* Jalapeno Hummus with Pocket Bread Triangles

* Fattoush Salad [*]

Margaritas or Sangria

* Seafood Enchiladas [*]

* Cornish Hens with Mole [*]

* Chili-Chorizo Dressing with Tamales [*]

Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel

* Warm Corn or Flour Tortillas

* Flan with Berries [*]

(*.) recipe provided

countdown

Up to 2 days ahead: Bake stuffed grape leaves.

Up to 1 day ahead: Make spinach-artichoke dip and toast baguette slices. Toast pocket bread for fattoush salad; rinse and crisp lettuce. Assemble enchiladas. Make mole sauce, chili-chorizo dressing, and flan.

Up to 4 hours before dinner: Cut vegetables for salad.

1 hour before dinner: Roast Cornish hens.

15 minutes before appetizers: Reheat grape leaves. Prepare hummus.

5 minutes before appetizers: Reheat spinach-artichoke dip.

30 minutes before main course (while guests are having appetizers): Bake enchiladas.

10 minutes before main course: Reheat dressing.

5 minutes before main course: Mix salad. Reheat mole. Warm tortillas.

Just before dessert: Unmold and garnish flan.

Scandinavian Julfest

As a small boy Chuck Fowler loved the yearly Swedish Christmas celebration (Julfest) at his grandparents' big house. They would feast on a traditional smorgasbord, sing sacred and silly songs, and thoroughly enjoy each other's company. In 1976, Chuck and his wife, Karla, restored this cherished tradition at their home in Olympia, Washington. With recipes out of Karla's Danish and Norwegian ancestry, their Julfest now encompasses all of Scandinavia.

The Fowlers' lavish buffet starts with a series of smorgasbord courses: cheeses, salads and relishes, fish and meat, and breads. These are cleared, and a hot entree is brought out--in their case usually a fruit-filled pork loin with red cabbage and boiled potatoes rather than the more traditional lutefisk. Many of the foods are purchased; look in a Scandinavian delicatessen or well-stocked supermarket for the cold and hot specialties without an asterisk on our menu. Various family members bring the other dishes, making this a remarkably easy feast.