Tips for Entertaining |Serving a Holiday Beef Roast

This post is a collaboration with Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. on behalf of the Beef Checkoff. I received compensation, but all opinions are my own.

The holidays have arrived, and it’s time to start thinking about holiday dinners with friends and family! Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, I usually serve a delicious beef Rib Roast with our Christmas dinner. I’m excited to share entertaining tips to dress up your holiday meal with a seriously drool-worthy beef Rib Roast!

Natalya of Mom’s Dish has shown us how to prepare a beef roast and your holiday menu (here is the beef roast recipe), so now I’m excited to step in and show you how to take the beef roast from the kitchen onto your holiday tablescape! I’ll be sharing details from decorating the platter to setting your holiday table! Be sure to read below as I’ll be sending you along for the perfect wine pairings with this delicious beef roast! 

When you start with such a delicious high-quality protein, not only are the culinary possibilities endless but it makes such a gorgeous holiday tablescape! There will be lots of “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” when this beef roast comes out of the kitchen! 

What I love about serving beef is that anyone can do it! All you have to do is roast your beef Rib Roast. Oven roasting is a simple cooking method because it generally uses a lower temperature over a longer period of time, allowing you to “set it and forget it.” This leaves plenty of time for prepping your holiday tablescape! 

Let’s start with the serving platter. You’ll want to move your beef roast from the roasting pan onto a large platter that has ample room for slicing and garnishing. I always find that a white platter coordinates well with all color schemes and shows off the colors well. Mine is trimmed in a bit of gold but a solid white platter will do the trick nicely as well. 

Beef Rib Roast Garnishes

Garnishing is the key to taking your beef Rib Roast from entree to centerpiece! I’ve made a list below of some of my favorite holiday garnishes. All you have to do is tuck them around the beef roast. There isn’t a “wrong” way so don’t worry too much about how you tuck in the holly, rosemary, cranberries, etc. The key is to add in pops of holiday flair around your platter. Use extra garnishes in lanterns or on the table itself. 

• Holly & Greenery Stems
• Rosemary 
• Thyme
• Tangerines, oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruit
• Lady Apples (small apples)
• Cranberries
• Grapes

Slice fruits like tangerines thinly and lay on top of your greenery stems. I actually have holly in my own yard, but you can often find it in “greenery” bunches where flowers are sold. The smell of the beef with fresh-sliced citrus fruit will make your dining room smell absolutely incredible! Nicely done, beef. You deck the halls with savory smells! 

If you want to serve your beef Rib Roast as your centerpiece as well, then plan accordingly and leave an open space in the center of your table. You can decorate the sides of your tablescape with florals, lanterns or other holiday touches. I love to add twinkle lights down the center of my table along with lots of shimmering votive candles.

Just be sure to leave lots of elbow room for carving and serving. Beef tastes amazing, and that taste belongs on my table, so I love to serve it straight from the table! 

I love a simple and elegant holiday tablescape in shimmering golds and whites. Layer gold and white charters and plates for a gorgeous place setting and tuck in a fresh sprig of rosemary to each place setting. The greenery will tie together with your beef roast platter garnishes beautifully!

Amp up the ambiance of the season with the Drool Log – yes, Drool Log! Why watch a fire crackling, when you can hear beef sizzle? Savor the Drool Log (like a yule log, just better). You can find more about the Drool Log at BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com.

If you’re new to cooking beef or want a few more ideas, I highly encourage you to check out Chuck Knows Beef! What is “Chuck Knows Beef”? Powered by Google A.I. Chuck Knows Beef is powered by Google’s Artificial Intelligence, and can share beef tips, ideas and knowledge with you. Plus, he has a fun personality (and delivers a good dad joke too – ha)!

Chuck Knows Beef is easily accessible. Chuck is available in multiple formats including ChuckKnowsBeef.com, Google Home or Amazon Echo. For Amazon Echo, simple say “Alexa. Activate Chuck Knows Beef”, and Chuck will chat with you. For Google Home, simply say “Hey Google. Activate Chuck.” My family loves to ask Chuck questions about beef all the time on our Alexa, I highly recommend checking it out! 

Next Up…

Now that we’ve learned all about setting your table with your beef Rib Roast, it’s time for wine pairings with Vindulge! Just head over to Vindulge.com to find out all the wine pairing details for your beef Rib Roast.