Well, not that complicated, but not your bog-standard Christmas dinner, either. Here’s why.
My wife and I are going on a little vacation just before Christmas (Buenos Aires - yay!), leaving on the 19th. We will land in MIA around 4 in the morning on Christmas Day, so probably be home around 8 or 9 AM. I’m working with our daughters to create a plan whereby they will decorate the house, buy a Christmas tree, and maybe even do a little work on dinner, so that when we get home the house will be festive and, well, Christmas-y. My wife has been working her ass off for the last few months, and traveling an insane amount, so I thought it’d be nice to give her this little surprise.
So, I need to be thinking about Christmas dinner. Ordinarily, I would do a lot of prep work over the day or two prior, and then a lot of assembly/cooking/re-heating Christmas Day. I need to be planning things that I can either make ahead of time and freeze, or dishes that are relatively simple to do the day of, or things the girls can partially do/prep and I finish when we get back.
Complications include:
[ul]
[li]Our daughters are 30 and 24. The older one is living with us at the moment, so is around all the time and can supply labor. Unfortunately, she is an utter disaster in the kitchen. I’m going to try tasking her with more of the decoration stuff. The 24-year-old is becoming a reasonably competent home cook, but I’m not sure how much time she’ll be able to devote to the whole project.[/li][li]Even though Christmas is a time for indulgence, we’re really trying to eat reasonably healthily. My wife in particular has become concerned over her lack of exercise and a diet of hotel restaurant food of late, so I want to “lighten up” Christmas dinner some. Too heavy and starchy and she’ll be feeling guiltier than usual in the aftermath.[/li][li]Anything I cook or prep ahead of time will have to hold for a week in the refrigerator or freezer.[/li][/ul]There will only be five of us, so I don’t need to do a ton of stuff. I have a fresh capon on order, and I can leave brining instructions for the girls, so the bird is taken care of. I did a green bean casserole from Cooking Light at Thanksgiving that goes together pretty quickly; I think I can just do that the day of. Same for dressing - I think I’ll just do a basic sausage/herb/bread dressing that day (the girls can maybe even do that part the night before). I’ll have orange juice and sparkling wine laid up for mimosas, and other adult beverages for later.
So, any suggestions for other simple side dishes? I would do some quick mashed sweet potatoes, but my wife and I are the only ones who like them (still might do them). Any tips/tricks/things I need to consider about a project like this?