Christmas dinner

[Johnny L.A.]

What are you having?

I'll start: For Christmas I make prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, boiled red potatoes, and brussels sprouts. Same thing every year, whether I'm alone or have guests. This year I think I'll make that green bean casserole instead of the brussels sprouts. Or in addition to. Or I might try something creative with brussels sprouts if someone happens to post a recipe.

I'm cheating this year. The Market had roasts with the ribs already cut off and tied back on. They also had some that were pre-seasoned. I asked what the seasoning was, and it turns out to be the same thing I use for my rub (rosemary, kosher salt, garlic, olive oil); so I reckoned 'Why not?' To steps saved, so there's basically no work involved!

[Johnny L.A.]

'Two steps saved'; not 'To steps'.

[silenus]

We are actually eating out this Christmas. The wife made reservations at the Mission Inn for dinner with my Mom. I can't decide between entrees!

[Johnny L.A.]

All three look good, but I'd go for a nice rare filet mignon. (And it comes with asparagus!)

[silenus]

But the halibut looks so gooooood!

I'll probably flip a coin when we get there. Or see what my wife orders and then get something else, so we can share.

[Johnny L.A.]

Indeed, the halibut would be my second choice. Good plan, sharing with your wife.

The dessert looks a little heavy. I've a recipe for wine-poached California pears in chocolate sauce (that I haven't tried yet) that looks like it would be good to finish that menu.

[Johnny L.A.]

Here's the recipe, BTW.

[DMark]

Lasagna - from dad's recipe that we had every Christmas growing up as a kid. Plus dad's recipe for Italian sausage in wine. Also, turkey-tortellini soup (compliments of Butterball recipes that I found online 12 years ago and keep doing every year) and if I have the time, will make the German rum balls for dessert - heavy on the chocolate and rum; two of those will knock you out for a quick nap.

[Johnny L.A.]

You, ah... wouldn't mind sharing that rum ball recipe, would you?

[Chefguy]

Prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, green beans with almonds. Desert will be a plum pudding. Or figgy. Not sure which.

[DMark]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

You, ah... wouldn't mind sharing that rum ball recipe, would you?

This recipe is pretty close and the picture is accurate.

In Germany, bakeries use left over cookies from the day before and crumble them to make the base a bit "thicker" than just the powder sugar. Many US recipes suggest using crushed vanilla wafers (Google "rum balls" to see the variations). Also, don't be stingy with the rum* and use the dark Captain Morgan Rum - packs a good punch.

They really do taste better the next day, after sitting in the fridge overnight, then bring them out and let them get to about room temperature.

*Then again, don't OVERDO the rum, or it is too soggy and wet to roll into balls - trial an error there, but nobody seems to mind making another batch and you can always add some more crushed cookies to "dry up" the texture.

[Cunctator]

We usually have some seafood (prawns, oysters), cold meats (turkey, ham etc) and salads. The plum pudding is warm though.

[salinqmind]

Christmas Day: (sigh) The eternal Ham, what else? (though actually I love a nice spiral cut ham). A mishmash of side dishes, though it's always potatoes in the end. I might bring couscous or rice for an alternative. No shrimp this year due to the eeeeconnnooommmmyyyyyy.
Christmas Eve: I always make lasagna (with hot italian sausage).

Dessert: lemon bars. chocolate pecan macaroons. yellow cake with pineapple and whipped cream. (my mother thinks we all need lots of extra cheap stuff to fill us up so she buys these awful apple or blueberry cheapie pies that are always on sale during holidays. And a plate of icky looking, damp wads of garnished dough from god knows who. Her cake is excellent, though. I take the ugly cookies home for "later".)

[ExTank]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

What are you having?

I'll start: For Christmas I make prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, boiled red potatoes, and brussels sprouts. Same thing every year, whether I'm alone or have guests. This year I think I'll make that green bean casserole instead of the brussels sprouts. Or in addition to. Or I might try something creative with brussels sprouts if someone happens to post a recipe.

I'm cheating this year. The Market had roasts with the ribs already cut off and tied back on. They also had some that were pre-seasoned. I asked what the seasoning was, and it turns out to be the same thing I use for my rub (rosemary, kosher salt, garlic, olive oil); so I reckoned 'Why not?' To steps saved, so there's basically no work involved!

Several years ago, my Mom tried to do a "traditional" Christmas dinner, and damned near gave herself a mental breakdown doing it. She would accept no help, and generally made everyone miserable that year.

So beginning the next year, we went potluck with "munchies," or finger foods/appetizers/etc. Mom was mellow (Dad's 100+proof egg nog didn't hurt), everyone was happy, "And there was much rejoicing!"

Yay!

So, over a decade later, our "Traditional Family XMas Dinner" has my oldest niece making a huge taco-dip platter, I'll do either my Steak Chili or Beef Burgundy, Dad ponys up a huge shrimp platter, my sister does either a roast "debris-style," or some quality deli-meats and breads on a platter, my brother-in-law kicks in some deer sausage, crackers, and some good cheeses, and so on.

[Zoe]

Lamb pasanda takeout from Sitar Restaurant if they're open.

We are making progress! One grandchild says that she is coming by on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to hang out for a while. This is the first time that the grandchildren have been in town at Christmastime in several years. Usually they are bustled off to the cabin in the Smokies.

But Zeldar and I always have fun together.

[flodnak]

Christmas Eve is our Norwegian Christmas. We'll be having ham, mashed sweet potatoes, Norwegian red cabbage, pickled red beets, and lignonberry jam. For dessert, rice cream with raspberry sauce. This menu is written in stone, as a sacred text, and does not change.

Christmas Day is our American Christmas. What we eat changes from year to year. This year it will center on a gorgeous hunk of prime rib that's sitting in the spare fridge looking absolutely delicious. The choice of side dishes has not been finalized yet, but it's looking like roasted potatoes, carrots, a big tossed salad, shallots, and mushrooms. Dessert will be gingerbread with whipped cream and any leftover raspberry sauce.

[vifslan]

I'll be having the Finnish pescovegetarian, gluten-free version. First course red beet salad and forest mushroom salad with different types of Baltic and Atlantic herring, probably gravlax and whitefish if I can find the time and energy to make or buy. Second course would have been lutefisk, but since most of my family hates it, I expect we'll sneak it in another day. Third course, baked ham for those who eat it, a lentil pate for those of us who don't (last Christmas made one with roast chestnut stuffing that was delish) gravy, red cabbage, and the potato, swede and carrot casseroles. For dessert, coffee, marzipan candy and puff pastries with plum filling.

Much like flodnak's experience with the Norwegian Christmas menu, this is pretty sacrosanct, without much room for experiment.

[China Guy]

anyone with a roasted potato recipe they want to share?

[Athena]

I'm all over trying to do stuff I can cook ahead of time for Christmas, so this year, it's a taco bar.

So far, I've got in the freezer:

- a huge pile of shredded pork, braised with some chilis and beer
- the juice off of the pork, save separately, for use with reheating it
- Cranberry-Chipotle salsa (had to have something with a traditional Christmas ingredient!)
- Poblano-Tomatillo salsa
- 3 different kinds of Christmas cookies

I'm going to make some shredded beef with Berbere and Lime juice as well.

If I get motivated, I'll make tamales this week.

All will be served with various condiments and tortillas. Yum!

[norinew]

The hubby's been wanting, for years to try something other than the "traditional turkey dinner" for Christmas. So this year, we managed to find a lamb roast (pre-seasoned) at Aldi that I will buy; I think I've found a decent mint sauce recipe online. There will also be a small ham for those who turn out to not like the lamb (my hubby loves lamb; I myself have, somehow, never eaten it. My SIL and middle daughter's bf will be here, and in the true tradition of guys in their early-20s, will eat just about anything. . .)
In addition, there will be dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, petite peas with pearl onions and mushrooms, gingered glazed carrots, some kind of rolls or biscuits. For dessert, there will be pumpkin pie, apple pie, and whipped cream.

Anyone who walks away from my table hungry on Christmas will have only themselves to blame!

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by China Guy

anyone with a roasted potato recipe they want to share?

I usually cut them in wedges, toss them with olive oil, season with seasoned salt (or just salt & pepper) and rosemary, then roast them in a 425 oven until crusty and done.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Our christmas dinner will be pretty simple. By request, I'm making two items:

Hot and sour soup, and Pork fried rice.

We'll probably add some egg rolls, some pot stickers, and some sushi.

What can I say? It's traditional in our house........

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Hot and sour soup...

I can't think of hot & sour soup without thinking of a cartoon I saw years and years ago.

The scene: Outside the back of a Chinese restaurant. One waiter is standing in the doorway. Another waiter is hunkered down next to a drunken derelict, holding a bowl in front of the derelict's face. The squatting waiter says, 'You tell American round-eye faggot he just have to wait for his hot & sour soup!'

[Flutterby]

Christmas eve.. well I need to ask my son what he wants (his birthday dinner).

Christmas day is at my aunt's and we have turkey with assorted trimmings (apple raisin stuffing, broccoli casserole, potatoes, squash, gravy).

Mmm can't wait..

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

I can't think of hot & sour soup without thinking of a cartoon I saw years and years ago.

The scene: Outside the back of a Chinese restaurant. One waiter is standing in the doorway. Another waiter is hunkered down next to a drunken derelict, holding a bowl in front of the derelict's face. The squatting waiter says, 'You tell American round-eye faggot he just have to wait for his hot & sour soup!'

Reminds me of an old "Dirty Duck" cartoon. The soup du jour was provided similarly by a drunk named Alf du Jour.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Reminds me of an old "Dirty Duck" cartoon.

Was it a Dirty Duck cartoon that had him reading his version of Trees?

I think that I have never bit
A thing as lovely as a tit
A tit whose taste is just as sweet
When properly addressed as 'teat'
I know this poem's a piece of shit
But only God can make a tit

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Was it a Dirty Duck cartoon that had him reading his version of Trees?

I remember the poem, I don't recall if that was DD or not.

Seems we've strayed off-topic just a tad......

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Qadgop the Mercotan

Seems we've strayed off-topic just a tad......

Well, someone could post a recipe for duck!

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Well, someone could post a recipe for duck!

Or weevil!

[faithfool]

Roasted turkey, grean beans with bleu cheese and bacon, a potato and onion torte, some sort of squash dish, asiago rolls and a pecan streusel pumpkin pie. There'll probably be another dessert too, but I haven't decided on what yet.

[Mrs. Cake]

Due to my husband's work schedule, tonight is Christmas for us, so I have planned a rosemary & garlic pork roast, gourmet mac & cheese, spinach souffle, and roasted asparagus served with a nice chianti, and apple pie al-la mode with Jamaican coffee for dessert.

[teela brown]

It's traditional at our house to go out on Christmas day and have dim sum. We go to the "Mayflower Restaurant" in Milpitas and have a big ol' dim sum brunch at 10 a.m. It gets crowded, and everyone's wishing each other Merry Christmas - it's fun!

But maybe at some point over the Christmas after-weekend I'll make a prime rib, Yorkshire puds and brussels sprouts, too.

[Taters]

Christmas Eve is celebrated at MiL's house, where we'll have turkey, mashed potatos, gravy, green bean casserole and I don't know what else.

Christmas Day I always make (and am again this year), prime rib roast that we buy preseasoned from the butcher shop. They are to die for.

Mashed red potatoes.

Gravy made with the drippings from the roast, red wine, a little consomme and broth, seasonings if required, and chanterelle mushrooms.

Asparagus. I haven't decided if I'll steam and then season or if I'll sautee them up.

Some kind of rolls. I'm not a fan of bread with dinner, but some in my extended family are, so I put them out.

Whatever desserts my guests bring.

I'll also have plenty of noshing food out before dinner is served.

[Lynn Bodoni]

My husband wants either manicotti or stuffed shells with meat sauce.

Sometimes I think he married me just because he thought that he'd get pasta for dinner five nights a week.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

My husband wants either manicotti or stuffed shells with meat sauce.

Sometimes I think he married me just because he thought that he'd get pasta for dinner five nights a week.

Reason enough, IMO.

[freckafree]

My 14-year-old son lobbied hard for something out of the ordinary, so when rack of lamb (or, as I prefer to call it, Lack of Ram) went on sale, the decision was made.

In addition to the Lack of Ram, I think I'll be making some sort of green salad and portabella mushroom caps filled with garlic mashed potatoes and served on sauteed baby spinach. Or maybe I'll skip the green salad and make some sort of salsa-y thing to go with the lamb. I found a recipe for a pomegranate mint salsa that sounds pretty good.

I'm undecided on dessert. I'm leaning toward some sort of pear flambe. Anybody got a recipe for something like that?

[Johnny L.A.]

Not a flambé, but Here's the recipe for the wine-poached pears and chocolate sauce I mentioned earlier.

[Proudest Monkey]

I love reading everyone's traditional and not-so-tradtional Christmas meals.

While turkey & fixings is set in stone for Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner is always up for deliberation at our house. I've done turkey, I've done ham, I've done prime rib, I've done restaurant. This year, it's going to be lasagna with sausage and pepperoni, fettucini carbonara, garlic bread and salad. If I get ambitious on Christmas Eve, I might attempt some minestrone. Pork products and carbs galore! My daughter is the dessert chef and will delight us with something containing chocolate (and no pork, I hope).

Christmas Eve dinner is always Chinese take-out. It surely has been so ever since the Magi followed that star to Jade Garden on their way to Bethlehem.

[freckafree]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Not a flambé, but Here's the recipe for the wine-poached pears and chocolate sauce I mentioned earlier.

Dang, that does sound good. I usually eschew desserts containing chocolate because of my husband's allergies, but how much real chocolate can fat-free chocolate syrup contain?

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by freckafree

Dang, that does sound good. I usually eschew desserts containing chocolate because of my husband's allergies, but how much real chocolate can fat-free chocolate syrup contain?

Chocolate and red wine just go together. Maybe you can make the recipe as-is for you and your son, and do something a little different for your husband. Like, maybe replace the chocolate with some sort of custard?

[Walloon]

• Sweet Potatoes with Prosciutto (NY Times)
• Carrots, Green Beans & Daikon (NYT)
• Polenta Cakes with Cranberries (NYT)
• Succotash of Fresh Corn, Lima Beans, Tomatoes and Onions (Epicurious)
• Rustic French Meat Loaf (Epicurious)
• Four-Cheese Stuffed Shells with Smoky Marinara (MyRecipes.com) (for the person who doesn't eat red meat)
• Prune Kumquat Sticky Pudding with Armagnac Toffee Sauce (Epicurious)

[Lamar Mundane]

Lobster tails, roasted red potatoes, and cole slaw.

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by freckafree

I'm undecided on dessert. I'm leaning toward some sort of pear flambe. Anybody got a recipe for something like that?

You might take a look at recipes for Bananas Foster and modify it to fit your tastes.

[that_darn_cat]

Christmas Eve: takeout sushi

Christmas Day: Pierogie made according to moi's family recipe. Also fresh polish sausage from the Warsaw deli and kraut for me.

[Walloon]

Originally Posted by freckafree

I'm leaning toward some sort of pear flambe. Anybody got a recipe for something like that?

You could easily adapt this recipe for Mangoes Flambé.

[elfkin477]

Some years we have turkey, others pork roast. This year we'll have turkey with the usual trimmings. I have no idea what we'll have for Christmas eve yet.

[Johnny L.A.]

Pork-stuffed turkey?

[bathsheba]

Antipasto patter with smoked barramundi, sushi, smoked salmon, jalapenos stuffed with cheese, etc. And whatever is looking good and fresh in the seafood section at the market on Christmas Eve.

Main course is a maple syrup glazed ham, cold roast turkey, potato salad (sour cream, fresh herbs and pepper!), caesar salad (with homemade garlic croutons), bocconcini and tomato salad, french bread. Husband is from Yorkshire so I'm fairly sure a stand pie wll sneak onto the table.

Dessert is Christmas cake (made in November and fed with brandy since), mince pies, shortbread, brandy butter and summer pudding.

And there will be an amazing cheese plate with all the best gear from Udder Delights and the market; brie, creamy blue, walnut cheese, dutch smoked, Port Salut.

[wolf-alice]

• Dad's French onion soup
• a turkey
• a haggis (possibly stuffed inside the turkey!)
• vegetarian option: crowd-pleasing leek & gruyère tart
• some stuffing
• potatoes: roast & dauphinoise
• carrot & turnip mash (very traditional in our house; this was cutting edge in the seventies)
• sprouts (roasted enticingly)
• honey parsnips (requested by dad)
• cranberry sauce
• gravy x 2
• Husband's festive wine crate and all the whiskey cocktails I can invent.

I am also going to set fire to a pudding from Harrods.

Point of Hilarity: I watched a Fanny Craddock marathon last week which has inspired me to dye my brandy butter pale green and pipe it into a heap. It's our first Christmas at our house, so we can make our own traditions - could do a lot worse than inventive culinary piping.

[Lynn Bodoni]

Originally Posted by Lynn Bodoni

My husband wants either manicotti or stuffed shells with meat sauce.

Sometimes I think he married me just because he thought that he'd get pasta for dinner five nights a week.

Originally Posted by Chefguy

Reason enough, IMO.

He shoulda checked to see if *I* like pasta five nights a week, though. As it happens, I don't eat pasta unless there is significant cheese involved, like lasagna, manicotti, and stuffed shells. Even mac'n'cheese has cheese.

Usually, I fix meat (sort of Bolognese but with only one kind of meat) sauce and some sort of pasta once or twice a week, and I take out the meat and veggies before I add the tomato sauce. I eat the meat and veggies (I'm not terribly fond of tomato sauce, either), with another veggie or fruit, and he gets his precious spaghetti. He really, really loves pasta, so I do fix it for him on a regular basis.

Now, if he'd wanted PIZZA five nights a week, I would have been fine with this. There is significant cheese, and not too much tomato sauce. Plus, you know, it's pizza.