Turkey dinner on Thanksgiving may be a prime example of this, although there are probably a few people that cook a turkey 2 or more times a year, I don’t know any.
For me, the classic example of this is chili. I love chili, but since I live in Florida it’s not a meal that fits often with the weather. And when I do make this it’s a huge batch that lasts for several meals until the fumes are too much, if you know what I mean.
So what’s your once a year concoction?
hm, we really don’t have one. I know most people only do the classic Thanksgiving turkey gorge once a year, but we do one 4 or 5 times a year, we all love turkey in the house. We like lamb, so we do it more than just Easter. We like ham, so it is more than just Christmas.
We like to do at least 1 ‘elaborate’ meal per month, for Christmas this year we are doing roast duck though we had duck in September as a shared birthday dinner, New Years is going to be our usual fondue fest, with broth fondue for meat and veggies, a melted cheesy fondue for breads and veggies, and chocolate for dessert - fruit and cake bits. It is sort of a family tradition, but we will randomly do one around the other seasons as well. I think in Feb we will probably hit the london broil again, it is one of my moms favorites and will do nicely for her birthday. But we will do these ‘special meals’ for no reason as well =)
Tourtiere would be mine. There’s just too much work involved with making the filling and the pastry, plus the homemade ketchup that is the traditional condiment for the pie. It’s an all-day affair that I just don’t have the time or energy for.
Actually, since I tend to make it only every couple of years or so, it’s not even a one-a-year meal for us.
Another one is latkes. Love eating them, hate making them. As if the giant pile of potatoes and onions to be grated wasn’t a big enough hassle, there’s the extra pain-in-the-ass aspect of shallow-fat frying said giant pile of grated potatoes. Plus they taste best fresh out of the oil, which means you’re always standing over a hot pan while your guests gobble down the latkes as fast as you can fry them.
Corned beef and cabbage. After I’m finished eating it I remember why I only have it once a year but it sure is tasty.
On New Year’s Day, I make my grandmother’s cabbage roll recipe, to satisfy the pork and cooked cabbage for luck on New Year’s Day requirement. I have never encountered another cabbage roll recipe like it. It doesn’t have tomato sauce. These are supposedly Hungarian. My grandmother got the recipe from a Mrs. Farkus. I don’t think she was related to Scut.
The filling is a mixture of ground beef and ground pork with onion and rice. After getting rolled up in cooked cabbage leaves, the bundles are placed in a baking pan on a bed of sauerkraut. Add beef broth, cover, and bake. When the rolls are done, use a turkey baster to suck out the cabbage-y sauerkraut-y broth and make a brown gravy from it. Serve with mashed potatoes.
I hate sauerkraut, but I do love these cabbage rolls!
Which makes them the ultimate Jewish Mother dish! “No, no…you go ahead and eat them! If I’m still able to stand after two hours at the frying pan, I’ll have one then, if there are any left.”
Hell no, it’s mine! menaces Mahna Mahna with a fork
Québec-flavoured Christmases are new to me, and I don’t mind saying that tourtière beats the pants off of ham.
We don’t have any once-a-year meals in our house, really. Roast rack-of-lamb comes closest. I don’t go in for turkey or ham for dinner parties.
When I first saw the title of the thread, I immediately thought “breakfast”, but I see you were looking for a more specific answer. :smack:
Handmade breakfast pizza. Only on Christmas morning.
Fried fat back. What used to be a weekly dish in my youth is now relegated to New Year’s Eve and day.
It’s still yummy and mouth puckering salty, but dang, all that fat and salt just does me in anymore.
Just got done saying goodbye to everyone and cleaning the kitchen after another successful serving of beef wellington.
What a pain in the ass…
Recipe please? 
Recipe? This sounds interesting. Or if not a recipe per se, what do you top a breakfast pizza with?
Breakfast pizza:
Roll out your crust or have it pre baked.
I top mine with scrambled eggs, green peppers and sausage. I fry the sausage first and make a biscuits and gravy sort of gravy out of the grease and remnants. I use that for the sauce in lieu of tomato sauce.
Cover the pizza in cheese and bake just like a regular pizza. 10-15 minutes at 350 should do. I wonder how wide spread the concept of b-fast pizza is. Here in Iowa, all of the grocery stores sell their own fresh made versions and many of the pizza joints do the same.
I love Moussaka and have a great recipe, but it is such a pain in the ass to make that after I finish, I remember why it took me a year to make another.
As far as holiday food, I make lasagna every Christmas and not really sure why I don’t make it more often - lasagna was always a Christmas tradition at our house growing up and I guess it would seem weird to make in August - although, why not?
Turkey most certainly only in cooler weather - can you imagine an oven being on in your house for 4 or more hours here in Las Vegas in the summer when it is 114 degrees outside?! However, every buffet in town offers roasted turkey every single day, so if I am ever in the mood it is easy enough to find.
I make scampi only on Christmas Eve; jambalaya only on Super Bowl Sunday, and Portuguese sopas on a Sunday in July.
Hoppin’ John. Black-eyed peas, rice, fatback, green peppers, onion and some spices. Served with collards. Yum!
Made from scratch collard greens on New Year’s Day.
Damn family. :mad: