Orthodox Christmas Day

If you are a Catholic or an unorthodox/Progressive Christian, you have already celebrated Christmas during December. 

Many Orthodox Christians annually celebrate Christmas Day on or near January 7 to remember Jesus Christ’s birth, described in the Christian Bible. This date works with the Julian calendar that pre-dates the Gregorian calendar, which is commonly observed among the general public.

If you are celebrating Orthodox Christmas Day ,no Christmas Day celebration can be complete without some traditional Orthodox Christmas Day dishes. 

In this blog post, I will be sharing two of my favorite recipes; my Never-fail homemade bread braid recipe and my Linguine Marinara with clams. 

May this holiday season be filled with family, love, and Gods blessings. 

Merry Christmas and a very Blessed New Year! 

Never Fail Home Made Bread Braid Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 Cups purpose flour or 3 cups all-purpose and 3 cups wheat flour
• 2 packages of yeast
• 1/2 cup oil or, 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups warm (not hot) water

Cooking Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, put 2 cups of warm water.
2. Add yeast, salt, sugar, and oil or butter.
3. Stir or let stand for 1 minute until all ingredients are mixed well.
4. Add 3 cups flour and mix well with an electric mixer or hands.
5. Gradually add 3 more cups of flour, stirring well.
6. Pour onto a floured surface.
7. Knead well for 10 minutes
8. Put in a greased bowl, and cover with a cloth.
9. Put it in a warm place and let it rise until it doubles in size.
10. Shape dough into three to six long strips.
11. Make a braid with strips.
12. Let rise again
13. Bake at 375F until brown (about 12-15 minutes)
14. Serve.

Linguine Marinara with Clams Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups tomato and basil pasta sauce
• 1/2 pound chicken, cubed
• 2 pounds fresh hard-shell clams, cleaned
• 1/4 cup loosely packed Italian parsley, chopped, divided.
• 1/2 pound linguine, uncooked

Cooking Directions

*How to clean the uncooked clams; Discard any clams with chipped or cracked shells. Gently tap any clams with open shells; discard clams that do not close their shells. Scrub remaining clams; place in a large bowl. Add enough water to completely submerge. Let clams stand for 30 minutes, to remove the sand from inside the shells. Remove clams from the water, then cook as directed. 

1. Cook cubed chicken in 1/2 cup of water 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, until done. Set Chicken Aside. Preserve juice.
2. Add garlic to reserved juice in a skillet and cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in pasta sauce, clams, and half of the parsley; cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until clams open.
4. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed on the package, omitting salt.
5. Drain pasta; place in a large bowl. 
6. Discard any clams that do not open. Spoon remaining clams and sauce over pasta; top with remaining parsley and cubed chicken.

Serve. 

Servings:4