Holiday Menu 2012

[jpcher]

so last year I made beef rouladen, spatzle and gravy, and some red cabbage.

Yummm! Can I come to dinner at your house last year? 


Christmas eve is traditionally orange glazed cornish hens stuffed with white-castle stuffing and a salad.

Christmas day is wild rice soup made with the leftover cornish hens.

New Years even is surf & turf -- filet mignon wrapped in bacon with a dollop of herb butter and a lobster tail.

[ladyknight1]

Since we are off beginning the 22nd and will have more time, we are going to do a seafood feast on the 23rd. Fresh crab, mussels, oysters, shrimp and fish from our port. It also gives me an excuse to go to the beach!

New Year's Day will be black eyed peas with the ham from Christmas, fish, rice, vegetables and dessert fondue.

[Stanwyck]

Our traditional*, since 1968-ish, Christmas dinner is fondue.  Cubes of meat cooked in hot oil and two kinds of cheese dip (swiss and colby).

We also have our traditional Norwegian cookies - krumkaker, fattigman, sunbukkles, cardamom waffles and thumbprints which are nibbled on all day.

*There was the year when Sister #2 hosted. She doesn't like fondue so she served a roast beef dinner. Since I hate beef in any form, I was glad when everyone decided that it just wasn't Christmas without the fondue. Sis will just have to suffer one day of the year.

[Lynnv]

Christmas Eve is usually DH and I.  So probably steak or shrimp on the grill.

Christmas with the family varies pretty wildly (both in date and composition).  If I am doing it, I think lasagna sounds good.  With green salad, garlic bread and something chocolate.   If mom or sis is doing it, I will probably be on the hook for pie.   If family day is not the 25th, then I will probably do chili or chicken and dumplings for the actual day.   

[AngelicGamer]

I'm trying to push for lasagna.    Wish me luck!  It's that or cornish hens with sides and such.  Considering that the traditional x-mas eve party has been pushed to earlier in the day, lasagna made on the 23rd, doing the little things on the 24th for the party, and then an easy day of getting up, throwing it in the oven when we want to, and just going about the day sounds heavenly.

[magdalena]

We're spending Christmas with the ILs, so the menu will be either raclette or meaty fondue, with lots of yummy things.

But, we're doing a traditional Finnish Christmas Dinner in my house this Saturday. I've been cooking and baking up a storm. So har we have:

As little nibbles as the guests arrive we'll have

Thin crispy rye bread with cold smoked reindeer
Spicy Christmas bread with ricotta and caramellized onions
And glögg to drink

Then the actual meal

Salted ham cooked on the barbeque by my husband, mustards
Karelian meat stew
Sweet, Tavastian potato casserole
Carrot casserole
Rutabaga casserole
Karelian rice pastries
Red beet salad
Herring
Boiled potatoes
Green salad
Home made cheese
Tiny meatballs
Lingonberries, other preserves

to drink: milk, butter milk, home made "beer", berry juice

Desserts:
Prune quark

Coffee and gingerbread cookies. Possibly plum tarts.

The mixture of foods is what we'd have at home, with my family, or if cooking just for us here.

[Outdoor Girl]

Thin crispy rye bread with cold smoked reindeer

You're eating Rudolph?!?!?   

 

Reminds me of the year my brother shot a moose in the fall and my Dad mounted the antlers for him.  They were ready for Christmas but we didn't have room in the car for them so Dad put the roof racks on top, tied the antlers up there, with canvas covering the hair part.  Then he got a rolled up pair of red socks and pinned them to the canvas.  He got a lot of looks when he went to get gas before we left and we got a lot of looks from the people next to us at the traffic light when we were approaching my brother's place.

[magdalena]

Thin crispy rye bread with cold smoked reindeer

You're eating Rudolph?!?!?   

 

Yup, and his hide is hanging on the wall. Rudolf is delicious. As is Bambi

[Anniissa]

It will be a fairly traditional English Christmas for me. Christmas Day will probably begin with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast (or croissants for those who don't fancy eggs) and a glass or two of Bucks Fizz (champagne and orange juice). Christmas lunch is usually served around 2-2.30ish and will probably be turkey, pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted in the over), roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mashed potato, mashed carrot and swede, brussel sprouts, some broccoli and other green veg, cranberry sauce and gravy. Dessert is usually Christmas pudding with brandy butter/custard or another option for those who don't like Christmas pud (maybe pavlova/something meringue-y). After all that food and the wine that accompanies it, there is usually a bit of a break for a walk or a snooze, before the cheese and port is brought out. Most people are too full for much in the evening so there is usually a lighter supper later in the evening (usually around 8.30ish) which is often nibbles - more cheese and crackers, mini chicken skewers, maybe some antipasti type bits in front of the christmas telly - just got to get everyone to agree on what to watch 

[Redwing]

We celebrate Christmas dinner with my husband's family and after many years of different things, we have settled into two different recipes of Cincinnati chili, the family recipe mac n cheese, garlic bread, salad, and whatever yummies we've made.  The entire family are chili fanatics, so it works well for us.

For breakfast, I usually make a sausage egg casserole and we have sweet rolls, donuts, coffee cake, etc. 

[Hmmmmm]

It will be a fairly traditional English Christmas for me. Christmas Day will probably begin with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast (or croissants for those who don't fancy eggs) and a glass or two of Bucks Fizz (champagne and orange juice). Christmas lunch is usually served around 2-2.30ish and will probably be turkey, pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted in the over), roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mashed potato, mashed carrot and swede, brussel sprouts, some broccoli and other green veg, cranberry sauce and gravy. Dessert is usually Christmas pudding with brandy butter/custard or another option for those who don't like Christmas pud (maybe pavlova/something meringue-y). After all that food and the wine that accompanies it, there is usually a bit of a break for a walk or a snooze, before the cheese and port is brought out. Most people are too full for much in the evening so there is usually a lighter supper later in the evening (usually around 8.30ish) which is often nibbles - more cheese and crackers, mini chicken skewers, maybe some antipasti type bits in front of the christmas telly - just got to get everyone to agree on what to watch 

Your day's menu sounds great.  I've never heard of champagne and OJ referred to as Buck's Fizz.  We always call them mimosas.

[Black Delphinium]

Breakfast is always Alton Brown's french toast, dinner is whatever, often lamb.

[Roe]

Christmas breakfast always has tamales, no matter what else we eat, we gotta have the tamales. 

[Anniissa]

It will be a fairly traditional English Christmas for me. Christmas Day will probably begin with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast (or croissants for those who don't fancy eggs) and a glass or two of Bucks Fizz (champagne and orange juice). Christmas lunch is usually served around 2-2.30ish and will probably be turkey, pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted in the over), roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mashed potato, mashed carrot and swede, brussel sprouts, some broccoli and other green veg, cranberry sauce and gravy. Dessert is usually Christmas pudding with brandy butter/custard or another option for those who don't like Christmas pud (maybe pavlova/something meringue-y). After all that food and the wine that accompanies it, there is usually a bit of a break for a walk or a snooze, before the cheese and port is brought out. Most people are too full for much in the evening so there is usually a lighter supper later in the evening (usually around 8.30ish) which is often nibbles - more cheese and crackers, mini chicken skewers, maybe some antipasti type bits in front of the christmas telly - just got to get everyone to agree on what to watch 

Your day's menu sounds great.  I've never heard of champagne and OJ referred to as Buck's Fizz.  We always call them mimosas.

Thanks - its all pretty yummy but practically obligatory to eat large amounts of food and then try and find something a little more active on Boxing Day to help work it all off!

Yes, mimosas are the same thing. Typically, in the UK I think they are much more likely to be called Bucks Fizz but you might see them in some places referred to as mimosas. I think they sound far more exotic and tropical as mimosas!

[Hmmmmm]

It will be a fairly traditional English Christmas for me. Christmas Day will probably begin with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast (or croissants for those who don't fancy eggs) and a glass or two of Bucks Fizz (champagne and orange juice). Christmas lunch is usually served around 2-2.30ish and will probably be turkey, pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted in the over), roast potatoes, roast parsnips, mashed potato, mashed carrot and swede, brussel sprouts, some broccoli and other green veg, cranberry sauce and gravy. Dessert is usually Christmas pudding with brandy butter/custard or another option for those who don't like Christmas pud (maybe pavlova/something meringue-y). After all that food and the wine that accompanies it, there is usually a bit of a break for a walk or a snooze, before the cheese and port is brought out. Most people are too full for much in the evening so there is usually a lighter supper later in the evening (usually around 8.30ish) which is often nibbles - more cheese and crackers, mini chicken skewers, maybe some antipasti type bits in front of the christmas telly - just got to get everyone to agree on what to watch 

Your day's menu sounds great.  I've never heard of champagne and OJ referred to as Buck's Fizz.  We always call them mimosas.

Thanks - its all pretty yummy but practically obligatory to eat large amounts of food and then try and find something a little more active on Boxing Day to help work it all off!

Yes, mimosas are the same thing. Typically, in the UK I think they are much more likely to be called Bucks Fizz but you might see them in some places referred to as mimosas. I think they sound far more exotic and tropical as mimosas!

As someone with mimosa trees in her front yard, I am much more preferring the Buck's Fiz and plan to call them that tomorrow at my tamale making party.

And I completely skipped over your description of pigs in a blanket.  For us, that usually refers to sausages wrapped in some type of pastry and then baked.  I absoutely love the idea of wrapping in bacon and then roasting.