<p>My shopping is a total bust. I’m having a hard time thinking of things to buy for people who really don’t need anything so I am turning my thoughts to the holiday dinner I am hosting. The main dishes are a given - ham and a turkey breast but I could use some new side dish and dessert ideas. What the heck, I’ll even take appetizer ideas if you have them.</p>
<p>The guest list is all family, probably between 20 - 25 people. No one is expecting anything too fancy but I like to make it nice. So anyone care to share? Include recipes if you can.</p>
<p>I just tried the crashed hot potatoes from the Pioneer Woman Cooks. Pretty simple recipe and so delicious. I heard about them from a Thanksgiving thread on CC.</p>
<p>We have an old favorite spinach/egg/cheese dish:</p>
<p>1 stick butter- melted over medium heat
1/4 cup flour, stir in, keep over heat a minute or so
remove from heat
add 8 eggs, stir in one at a time
20 oz chopped spinach, either frozen- thawed & drained well, or fresh- microwave to wilt, chop and squeeze out water
2# cottage cheese-stir in
4 C shredded cheddar, we prefer sharp, stir in</p>
<p>place in 9" x 13"
bake 45-60 minutes in 350F oven
We like it well browned, the crunchy bits are most popular, if you like it less brown and more soft, then cook in a deeper casserole</p>
<p>Very 70s, but incredibly popular both at holidays and pot lucks</p>
<p>I think a gingery squash/carrot soup would go well with both the ham & turkey.</p>
<p>
I havent tried this one - I actually like the one Pacific foods makes so much, I havent felt the need to!
& personally I think the mint could be left out.</p>
<p>Id also look for some mango/cranberry chutney to go with the ham/turkey.
( & then the next day you can have leftover ham sandwiches with chutney, brie & arugula.)</p>
<p>2 PKG cherry jello 3 oz size
½ c red hots
1/4 c water
23 oz jar apple sauce
Melt red hots in water. Add jello and apple sauce. Set in fridge.</p>
<p>Made this for a change and Thanksgiving, instead of green beans - it was a hit.</p>
<p>Spinach casserole
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach/ good brand
8 oz cream cheese
1 small package slivered almonds
¾ stick melted butter
Crackers</p>
<p>cook spinach according to directions on package in microwave. Stir in almonds and cream cheese. put in casserole. melt butter/ pour on top. cover with crushed saltine crackers to absorb.</p>
<p>Amazing Salad</p>
<p>Chopped Salad
1 head lettuce/ chopped
1 sm head cauliflower
1 sm onion or chopped green onions
1 lb bacon, fried, crisp and crumbled
Boiled eggs 2 or 3
½ c shredded cheddar cheese
Toss these ingredients/ right before serving add
½ c sugar
1 C mayo</p>
<p>I am also hosting a Christmas party and I will be making strawberry shortcake parfaits in champagne glasses. Very easy. Macerate (marinate overnight in refrigerator) sliced strawberries in sugar and water. Cut store bought angel food cake or butter cake into small cubes. To assemble, layer cake, strawberries and top with whipped cream.</p>
<p>Squidgy chocolate log is my favorite must have dessert at Christmas; </p>
<p>Ingredients
Cake
5 ounces fine caster sugar
6 large eggs, separated
2 ounces cocoa powder
Filling
8 ounces dark chocolate ( plain)
2 large eggs, separated
10 fluid ounces heavy cream, whipped ( double cream)
2 tablespoons Cointreau liqueur (optional)
1 -2 tablespoon powdered sugar ( icing sugar)</p>
<p>Directions</p>
<pre><code>Line a tin measuring 9”x13" with baking parchment.
To make the mousse filling; In a bowl, whip the heavy cream until just going stiff.
Break the chocolate into another bowl, place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and leave until melted.
Remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, followed by the cointreau, if using.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the chocolate mixture, now fold in about 3 tablespoons of the whipped cream; Cover the bowl and chill for about an hour.
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350º F, place the egg yolks into a large bowl and whisk until they start to thicken, add the sugar and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens, but don’t let it get over thick.
Mix in the cocoa powder.
Using a clean whisk and bowl, beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, pour the mixture into the prepared tin, making sure you spread it evenly to the edges of the tin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until springy and firm to the touch; (The cake may shrink as it cools but that is normal).
When the cake is cold, turn out onto a rectangular piece of baking parchment, that has been liberally dusted with powdered (icing) sugar.
Peel off the parchment paper and using a spatula spread the chocolate mousse all over the cake, followed by the rest of the whipped cream.
Gently roll up the cake lengthwise, to make a roll.
Dust with more powdered sugar if needed.
Note that the cake will crack during rolling but that is normal and looks attractive.
</code></pre>
<p>This is a great thread! Side dishes with a “wow” factor are what makes a meal special.
I tried this recipe for butternut squash risotto over the weekend and it was delicious:</p>
<p>I’ve been making the Ruth Chris’s Sweet Potatoes for a few years. AMAZING and I don’t even LIKE sweet potatoes but oh boy is this good!!!</p>
<p>I usually make sour cream/cream cheese mashed potatoes for Christmas. I make Prime Rib and these are perfect with that but they go very well with turkey and ham too:</p>
<p>prepare mashed potatoes however you normally do
once soft, mash with some milk, sour cream, cream cheese. Add finely chopped green onions (about 1 bunch per 5 lbs of potatoes). I used 8 oz of cream cheese and 16 oz of sour cream for every 5 lbs of potatoes.</p>
<p>I make these the day before and let them sit overnight in the fridge. I make them a bit on the soupy side as the potatoes tend to soak up the liquid more overnight. I pull them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I put them into the oven to warm so they cook faster in the oven–about 30 minutes at 350 depending on how big the pan is. I’m going to try to reheat these in my crock pot this year. My MIL does hers in her roaster and they are just fine in that.</p>
<p>We have a lot of green bean casserole fans here so we always make that as well.</p>
<p>My easy Xmas dessert is to make meringue cookies ahead and then layer them in sundae glasses with peppermint ice cream and chocolate sauce. Butter cookies on the side.</p>
<p>the best way ever to serve Brussel sprouts. Very rich, but delicious.</p>
<p>SHREDDED BRUSSEL SPROUTS WITH PROSCIUTTO & PARMESAN</p>
<p>1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into slivers
2 lbs brussel sprouts, trimmed and shredded by cutting each into several thin slices
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C heavy or whipping cream
1 c light cream (half & half)
1/4 C sweet Marsala
1 tsp grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese</p>
<p>Preheat oven to 350F</p>
<p>Melt butter in large saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and prosciutto and cook, tossing for 4 minutes.</p>
<p>Add the brussel sprouts and continue cooking, tossing constantly, for another 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and toss to coat.</p>
<p>Gradually stir in the heavy cream, light cream, and Marsala. Reduce the heat and simmer until the brussel sprouts are just barely tender, about 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup of the parmesan and cook just until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat. (You can prepare the gratin to this point the day before you are serving it and refrigerate, covered, overnight. Bring the gratin to room temperature before baking.)</p>
<p>Transfer the mixture to a shallow 9 inch square baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup parmesan. Bake until bubbly and top is slightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve hot.</p>
<p>I’m struggling with all the other meals–we have family staying with us for four days. That’s a lot of food. I’d be grateful for suggestions of meals that can be made in advance or assembled quickly.</p>
<p>Lasagna freezes well. You can make that now and put in the freezer. Same with a variety of soups. I make roast beef a lot. It’s really easy, add mashed potatoes and a vege. Make extra beef and you can make soup for lunches. I season my roast first with Kosher salt and then with McCormick’s Steakhouse seasoning (in a grinder in the spice section). Put in the oven at 250° for 4-6 hours. I make gravy out of the drippings but you wouldn’t have to. You could make baked potatoes instead. The roast will fall apart as you take it out of the pan so be careful. </p>
<p>We will be doing fondue on Christmas Eve this year. It’s actually pretty easy. We have 3 fondue pots and lots of forks. We do one cheese and a couple flavored oil/broth ones. I get stew meat that is already cut up or get a chuck roast or something to cut up. Then we get a variety of bread and tear those up along with small red potatoes, various veges, etc. We sometimes do a chocolate one for dessert but that’s messy so only if it is just our family. For that we used cut up fruit, pound cake and marshmallows.</p>
<p>For lunches, have a variety of breads on hand–use the left overs for fondue–then a variety of lunch meats and pre-sliced cheese from the deli. Add some veges and dill dip and chips.</p>
<p>Chili is another favorite here. We also love this Irish Stew Recipe from Penzy’s:</p>
<p>• 1 TB. oil
• 2 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 lbs. stewing beef, cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 TB. flour
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 12 large pearl onions
• 11/2 Cups beef stock (or 11/2 Cups water + 2 tsp. BEEF SOUP BASE)
• 1 bottle dark stout beer (we use Guinness)
• 2 TB. dark brown sugar
• 2 TB. red wine vinegar
• 1 TB. BOUQUET GARNI
• 1/2-1 tsp. salt, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. PENZEYS FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER, to taste
• 6-8 cooked small red potatoes for serving, if desired</p>
<p>In an ovenproof pot, heat the oil. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon to drain on paper toweling. Do not discard the bacon drippings. Return the pot with the drippings to the heat. Add the beef and brown evenly; remove the beef and set aside. Add the chopped onion and flour to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes; be careful not to let it burn. Return the beef and bacon to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients except the potatoes, if using. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 90 minutes. Taste and add more seasonings if desired. Add a potato to each diner’s bowl and ladle stew over it. </p>
<p>As a Brussels sprouts lover will definitely try Zeebersmom’s recipe…thank you. Sop14’smom…chicken fajita or beef burritos are an easy, prepare ahead, large crowd food and tasty too.</p>