Christmas Dinner Main Dishes

Prime Rib
Why It’s Special: Prime rib is one of the most tender and succulent cuts of beef you’ll ever eat.
Why It’s Easy: Essentially, all you need to do is throw it in the oven, take it out and accept tons of kudos

Make a spectacular treat that'll rival any restaraunt meal - prime rib. It's easy and flawless.
Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, minced
1-15 pound rib roast
2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons ground pepper
Cooking Instructions
Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Rub garlic evenly over roast. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F. After 2 hours, and every 15 minutes thereafter, check temperature in the thickest part of the roast. When temperature is 125 degrees F (for rare), remove from oven and cover loosely with foil. Let rest 30 minutes before carving.
If desired, serve with horseradish sauce.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time:
2½ hours

Ready In:
3 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 12

Apple-Glazed Turkey
Why It’s Special: Roast turkey requires a crowd. So surround yourself with friends and family, and celebrate the season.
Why It’s Easy: Four ingredients and you’ve made a feast!

Apple-glazed turkey is a snap to make and a delight to eat. A sweet glaze with a touch of heat, that takes just a minute to make, is brushed on the turkey just before it's removed from the oven.
Ingredients
1-12 pound turkey
½ cup apple jelly
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼-½ teaspoon ground red pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Cooking Instructions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove giblets and neck from cavity. Place giblets and neck (not the liver) in the roasting pan. Place rack in pan and put turkey on rack.
Roast turkey until the skin is browned, about 2½ -3 hours. Tent turkey with aluminum foil. Continue to roast until temperature in thickest part of thigh is 175 degrees F., about ½ hour more.
In a small pot, melt apple jelly. Stir in cinnamon and pepper to mix. Brush turkey with apple glaze and broil 4 inches from heating element about 3 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
Remove turkey from oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving.
Substitution(s)
Instead of using a rack, cut 2 onions into ½-inch slice and place in bottom of roasting pan. Place turkey on top of onion slices
Preparation Time:
10 minutes

Cooking Time:
3 - 3 1/2 hours

Ready In:
3 hours and 40 minutes to 4 hours and 10 minutes

Servings: 12

Baked Honey Ham
Why It’s Special: A glazed ham adds a festive sparkle to your holiday table.
Why It’s Easy: It’s already cooked. You’re just glazing it and warming it up. But no one needs to be told that it was that simple.

Who can resist a beautifully glazed baked ham on the holiday table? This one is subtly flavoured with both honey and orange -- an unbeatable combination.
Ingredients
10 lb (5 kg) fully (or partially) cooked bone-in smoked ham
whole cloves, if desired
1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar
2/3 cup (150 mL) orange juice
1/3 cup (75 mL) honey
2 tbsp (30 mL) Dijon mustard
2 tsp (10 mL) grated orange zest
Cooking Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
If the ham has thick skin, slice off the top layer, leaving about 1/4-inch (.5 cm) of fat on the meat. Place, fat-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. With a sharp knife, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern and poke a whole clove into each square, if desired. Pour water into the roasting pan to 1/4-inch (.5 cm) deep. (The water should not touch the ham -- if the rack is too low, just add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.) Place in the oven and roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes per pound or approximately 3-1/2 hours.
While the ham is roasting, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, orange juice, honey, mustard and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
About 45 minutes before the ham is finished roasting, brush with some of the glaze. Continue to baste with the glaze every 10 minutes until the ham is done. (A meat thermometer should read 135 degrees F or 57 degrees C when poked into the thickest part of the ham.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving

Rosemary Garlic Roast Turkey
Why It’s Special: If Italians had invented roast turkey, it would turn out something like this. Wonderfully fragrant with garlic and rosemary, this savory roast turkey makes an impressive holiday feast that’s sure to wow your guests.
Why It’s Easy: Ten minutes prep time and you’ve got a feast.

If Italians had invented roast turkey, it would turn out something like this. Wonderfully fragrant with garlic and rosemary, this savory roast turkey makes an impressive holiday feast that's sure to wow your guests.
Ingredients
8 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup (50 mL) chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 tbsp./30 mL dried)
1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil
1 tbsp. (15 mL) coarse salt
1 tsp. (5 mL) black pepper
12 to 15 lb. (5.5 to 7 kg) whole turkey, fully defrosted if frozen
Cooking Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
In a small bowl or food processor, mash together garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper so that it forms a thick paste.
By hand, gently pull the skin away from the turkey breast at the front of the breast (near the neck opening) to form a sort of pocket. Rub some of the rosemary garlic paste onto the breast meat under the skin, reaching in as far as you can without tearing the skin. Rub the remaining rosemary garlic paste all over the skin of the turkey and in the cavity. Add the stuffing, if you're using it, and place the turkey, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string.
Place the turkey into the preheated oven. Do not cover the pan. Roast, basting every 15 to 20 minutes with the pan juices, until a meat thermometer inserted into the inner thigh reaches 170 degrees F (77 degrees C) and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a skewer. This will take anywhere from 3 to 4-1/4 hours (depending on the size of the turkey and whether it is stuffed or not). The only definite way to know if the turkey is cooked is by using a meat thermometer. Remove roasting pan from the oven and let the turkey rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes before carving.
Serve turkey with pan juices or use the juices to make gravy (recipe follows).
Rosemary garlic gravy:
1/4 cup (50 mL) fat from the roasting pan
1/4 cup (50 mL) flour
2 cups (500 mL) defatted turkey pan juices, turkey broth, water, or a combination
In a saucepan, combine the fat from the roasting pan and flour. Cook, stirring to eliminate any lumps, for just a minute or two. Whisk in turkey juices, broth or whatever liquid you're using and cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens. Let simmer over low heat, whisking occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes. Serve hot.