What’s the main dish for the big Xmas meal? I know some people do the big meal Christmas eve, others Christmas day, some do both. Whichever is the case, what are you going to have this year?
I usually like to make a nice whole beef tenderloin roast. Some mashed potatoes, haricot verts, crusty bread, red wine. Then freeze leftover roast and on New Year’s, make stroganoff with it. Yum.
I’m not sure yet. It was just determined last night that I’m doing Christmas dinner this year. My cousin is doing Christmas Eve, but I have no idea if she can cook or not (I suspect not; there are a lot of prepared foodlike substances in her pantry.) So now I have to walk a fine familial line of making a good meal that isn’t so great it will offend her if hers was crap the night before. So I’m thinking full Beef Wellington is out, but I don’t really want to do another Turkey…
I like** Alice the Goon**'s idea. I may steal that.
I make a huge pot of chili for our Christmas get together and leave it simmering all day. This does not tie us to getting everyone to sit down at the same time for a big meal.
My mother is a slave to tradition. Honey-glazed ham for us.
I do the Thanksgiving ‘Turkeyfest’ for the family. It’s a lot of work, but I do like to cook so I don’t mind.
For Christmas, we tone it down. A lot. I suspect we will order in Chinese food like last year and play some board games.
Not sure. I got burned on a prime rib last year; that was one weird chunk of beef. Maybe a crown pork roast or a rack of lamb.
If my farmer has leg of lamb available, I’ll be cooking that. If not, probably ham. Though I’ll be trying my hand at a roasted crispy duck later today. If that turns out good, maybe I’ll get another one for Christmas. She said on Tuesday she might have a goose or two, but those would be too big. I’m hoping for that lamb, though.
We probably will be served lasagna.
I didn’t vote.
Traditionally, I make roast prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, red potatoes, and some veg. This year we’re going on vacation the week before Christmas. We’ll probably be sleeping late on the 22nd, and I don’t know if we’ll be inclined to go out and shop for the traditional dinner. We’ll think of something.
Used to make Dungeness crab every year, but I don’t live anywhere near there anymore. 
Ditto - family tradition here. I use dad’s recipe that he got from his mother and I believe she brought with her from Sicily. Takes a day in advance just to prepare the meat sauce.
I am thinking seriously about Bon Appetit’s “porchetta” recipe.
I can’t fit a whole pig in my oven, so this is as close as I’m going to get at home.
These are big in parts of the Midwest. We used to have one every year when we went to my ex’s home in northern Minnesota. The butchers all have their own recipes. My MIL would buy these finger rolls to make small sandwiches on, heat in the MW and add a bit of mustard. Juicy, flavorful and tender. You can’t miss with this, and although we never had it as dinner, it would likely go over very well. Now I’m thinking perhaps I’ll give it a try meself.
We’re Jews so Chinese food.
There’s a fabulous local buffet that’s always open on Christmas Day. Chicken corn soup, spring rolls, marinated ribs, chow fun, duck, shu mai, sauteed bok choy and almond cookies are on my holiday dinner.
My mother-in-law usually hosts Christmas dinner, but this year they’ve moved into a smaller house. Luckily, it’s only 4 doors down the street from us, so we can still have Christmas at her house, but I can do the dinner because (1) I’m a much better cook, and she’ll tell you so, and (2) we can seat more people at our table.
So, I’m thinking about doing a Prime Rib Roast out on the rotisserie. For Thanksgiving, we do the turkey out on the rotisserie on the grill and have 6-8 side dishes. For Christmas I want to scale down the quantity and scale up the quality. What do you think about doing the roast with a horseradish cream sauce and pan gravy, haricot vert, and mashed potatoes the way Joel Robushon does them, and having a cookie/candy assortment for dessert? It will be my first time doing a beef roast that isn’t a pot roast.
We have Honey-Baked ham because my older brother sends us a gift card as our Christmas present. I ain’t complainin’.
We’re all about the traditions, very very English. Christmas Eve dinner is fish pie. Breakfast on Christmas Day is something smoked salmony, with champagne. Lunch is roast turkey for the carnivores, the world’s greatest nut roast for the veggies, with Christmas pudding (which I’m making with my daughter tomorrow) for afters. Tea is turkey sarnies, cheese and biscuits plus chips ‘n’ dips. Alcohol on constant feed, plus tradition dictates you need to have eaten most of the chocolate orange out of your stocking by lunchtime. There’s also a huge tin of chocolates on the go.
Essentially it’s an orgy of food and drink that disgusts any right-thinking person. I love it.
I’ll be trying my hand at making Timpano. It looks interesting and I think I can pull it off. Last year we did seafood and the year before was enchiladas. Meals are always accompanied by copious amounts of beer. Not good beer, either, but Natty Light because we are classy like that.
This year we’re spending Christmas at my boyfriend’s mom’s house, and she typically builds her meals around Walmart’s boxed potatoes au gratin
I’m going to very subtly offer to prepare Xmas Eve dinner and weave in my own family’s tradition of muffuletta and some kind of home made soup. We, in my family, almost value the Xmas Eve meal over the Xmas Day meal because Xmas day tends to be a little nutty and the meal that day, though special, is almost an afterthought to all the activity.