This will be the first time in almost 20 years we’ve been home for Christmas, and it will only be three of us. Truthfully, I am looking forward to an old-fashioned meal the way we used to have it, and, because for once I am controlling the menu, that’s what we are having: spiral ham, cornbread dressing, roasted veggies, that crazy marshmallow/Cool Whip/ fruit “salad.” Chocolate pie for dessert. That morning, ds2 will make pigs in a blanket. We LOVE pigs in a blanket. The new tradition: blood orange mimosas!
In years past, Christmas Eve has been chicken tortilla soup or lasagna, but I have no idea what to do this year. I hadn’t planned that at all. Maybe we do Christmas lunch on Christmas Eve? I’ll ask the guys tonight what they want. I am getting excited!
We always host my parents on Christmas Eve and traditionally, dh makes homemade ravioli and I make the sauce, then we have salad, garlic bread and homemade tiramisu.
This year, my parents are obviously staying home and dh announced he was tired of cooking and does not feel like making ravioli because it is so much work. I had to laugh, because this is the one year that he has all the time in the world to cook, but whatever.
Because our restaurants are suffering huge losses (we live in a tourist town and all our big tourist events were canceled), we decided to support a locally owned restaurant that was offering family style meals. We chose three different pastas, three different sauces and it come with salad and fresh bread. Feeds six for $60. Can’t beat that. We will tip well. We will still be making tiramisu.
Christmas Day my father normally prepares a Sicilian meal. We are not going there, so instead, we are staying home and having beef tenderloin, gruyere scalloped potatoes, and asparagus. Possibly creme brulee for dessert-have not decided.
Christmas breakfast has always been Pillsbury cinnamon rolls out of the can. When I offer to make something homemade (I am a good baker, I swear!), I get all kinds of resistance. It is also a tradition that each kid gets their own box of junk cereal. Growing up, my mom never bought sugary cereal except for Christmas, so I’ve continued that. I would prefer to make some sort of egg bake or savory breakfast dish but it always gets vetoed.
Ok…we changed our minds about Christmas Eve. In addition to appetizers, I’m making stuffed shells and a nice salad for dinner…and so good crusty Italian bread. I was going to make lasagna, but shells are just so much easier to handle!
I LOVE reading everyone’s food traditions, must-haves, splurges, jettisons, and modifications. I think that’s what holidays are for – making and enjoying your definition of a feast, and it looks like the pandemic is giving many an opportunity to enjoy the meals they really want without the stress of cooking for a crowd.
We don’t have a Christmas Eve dinner tradition but, this year, I’ve decided to do a Christmas Eve afternoon tea in our courtyard with my mother (who believes COVID is a hoax and has taken zero precautions, so we can’t be inside with her). I am trying to decide what to serve and am thinking madeleines and either lemon tea cake or eggnog bread.
I’ve posted several times that I am having a hard time getting into the spirit this year because our son can’t be with us, but baking and cooking help, and reading about what others are planning is fun, so I’m enjoying this thread.
Our son can’t be with us this year either…and he is the family fabulous cook. We look forward to his annual Christmas present dinner. It won’t be happening this year.
We like the appetizers for Christmas Eve. But decided to add the stuff shells. That way it’s a real meal.
Anyone have a great egg casserole recipe? Can be overnight. The girls will fuss at the change from scrambled eggs, so I’m hoping for more eggy than, say bread pudding-ish.
5 of us will be spending Christmas Eve together. Years past when entire family was together we’d make lechon, rice, beans, yucca, muduros. With smaller gathering of just immediate family, I’ll be Making prime rib, mashed potatoes, breaded asparagus and flan for dessert.
In the big picture, happy we’ll all be together and we’re all safe and healthy.
Yep. We are doing seven fish “dinner box”. DH will pick it up tomorrow.
Course 1: Seafood salad: shrimp, calamari, octopus, scungilli (That’s 4)
Course 2: Stuffed Squid (seems to me we’re still at 4, squid =c alamari no?)
Course 3: Shrimp Francese (still 4) and Cippino cod, mussels, shrimp, squid (up to 6 since two are repeats)
Dessert: Tiramisu and Cheesecake
We could have enhanced the meal with caviar (which would be 7 if roe counts) or a seafood cocktail with lobster, but I think we just enhanced with cocktails in a mason jar. (Just add ice!)
It’s been a long time since we’ve eaten at this restaurant, but we had a good meal then. But I have this nagging feeling I need to add the seventh fish! LOL.
@lookingforward how about a frittata? Light and fluffy like scrambled eggs. Maybe not an overnight recipe but pretty
Easy to throw together in the morning.
I second this suggestion, @lookingforward. Frittatas are very easy to make and can usually be thrown together with ingredients already on hand. I make mine with spinach and cheese—I prefer Gruyere or smoked Gouda—and add bacon or sausage, if available. A splash of milk with salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste.
Christmas eve is always appetizers and monopoly after church. Christmas morning is always raspberry French toast casserole. Typically we would do a huge mash-up Christmas dinner of our Slovak and Southern traditions, but since it’s only 3 of us this year, we decided to do a low country boil. Mixed emotions of missing our food traditions and being really excited to just relax and cook dinner in under 30 minutes.
Yes, it’s huge here, our area has a very large portion of Italian Americans. Growing up here I was so jealous of my friends and their Christmas Eve. dinners (my German/Scottish extended family had ham and potatoes for Christmas Eve., sauerbraten on Christmas Day).
Am I the only one learning that Christmas Eve special dinners/snacks is a thing for many people? (Aside from cookies left out for Santa that someone needs to eat…)
No one on either side of my family, including extended family, nor anyone on H’s side of the family (completely different region of the US) does anything out of the ordinary, aside from church, Christmas Eve - and the Santa stuff when there are young kids.
