Now that Thanksgiving's Over, What's for Christmas Dinner?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I love spending Thanksgiving afternoon in the kitchen, but Christmas afternoon, not so much. The side dishes are fewer in number and simpler in preparation, and I let someone else cook the big dish. My tentative menu:</p>

<p>Mozzarella/tomato skewers (appetizer)
Honeybake ham
Garlic mashed potatoes
Green bean casserole
A sweet potato dish (possibly)
Cranberry relish
Rolls (I buy the frozen yeast dough rolls, and then embellish)
Fancy olives
Pies (mincemeat, and either pumpkin or apple)
Russian tea cakes</p>

<p>What’s on the menu at your house? Please share even if your mid-winter holiday is something besides Christmas. :)</p>

2

<p>Wow–Can I come?
We have a big family tradition of Christmas Eve dining out.
Christmas day everyone is to make a dish (that dinner is just H, D and myself).
I make crab cakes. I do not care what H or D decide to make.
Now ask me about having 17 or so NYE and I will have a longer food list.
I did decide my Christmas requirement of each making a dish after an incident 10 years ago when no one did the dishes and I slammed TWO Waterford wine glasses in the sink :))) It has been much nicer since.</p>

3

<p>Since I don’t like spending Christmas in the kitchen I follow a tradition that I learned from an old boyfriend’s family…</p>

<p>On Christmas Eve we have the big dinner (Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, etc). </p>

<p>On Christmas Day, I do serve a big breakfast. But from then on it’s all finger foods for the rest of the day. Things like meatballs in marinara/grn pepper/onion sauce in a crockpot with Costco rolls to make little sandwiches, cut-up veggies and hummus, cheese & salami and nicer crackers, and so forth. I usually also keep a crockpot full of cider…and eggnog in the fridge (my kids love eggnog)</p>

4

<p>Rock cornish game hens. Yum.</p>

5

<p>Salmon. We will be in Scotland, so gotta go with the local.</p>

6

<p>We have our big Christmas dinner on Christmas eve. Usually ham, potatoes, veggie, a few other sides and dessert. Dinner is early or late depending on which church service we attend. Christmas day is a big breakfast, then a restaurant for lunch before attending a movie. It’s just the four of us.</p>

7

<p>I think I’m going to make bouillabaisse with rouille this year. I often make shrimp etouffe, or a Thai dish like seafood with thai basil.</p>

<p>Dessert will probably be a dark chocolate torte made with jut chocolate, butter, and eggs, or possibly a sugar-free chocolate espresso cheesecake.</p>

8

<p>Son will be visiting w/wife and 1-year old daughter from Spain. Our daughter will be here as well.</p>

<p>I will do a roast surrounded by onions, carrots, green peppers. Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole. This is all by request.</p>

<p>Appetizers of crab claws and cheeses. Dessert of apple pie/ice cream.</p>

9

<p>Big breakfast with homemade bread, then lasagna for dinner. I love that because I make the lasagna the day before.</p>

10

<p>We usually keep Christmas dinner simple. I change it up every year, since my Mom died. We broke away from tradition as a way of coping. Now it has become our tradition. Sometimes its Chinese restaurant/takeout( a Christmas Story), maybe Lasagna or Surf and Turf or lots of appetizers then a movie. We usually discuss this shortly after Thanksgiving and majority wins. Just H and D. Christmas eve, we may go out to dinner then Midnight Mass.</p>

11

<p>then lasagna for dinner. I love that because I make the lasagna the day before.</p>

<p>that’s a very good idea…lasagna, salad, Italian bread…dinner is done!</p>

<p>I like to include some slices of zucchini and yellow squash in my lasagna so veggie side dish not needed.</p>

12

<p>Christmas Eve–steak and lobster on the grill…no, you can’t come…That was a fit of extravagance from years ago but nobody wants to abandon it. Baked potatoes, coleslaw, garlic bread and key lime pie. Doesn’t matter if Santa comes or not…
Christmas–egg casserole with mimosas and muffins, yummy ham (appetizer type) sandwiches for lunch and then turkey with the trimmings. And yeah, we’re stuffed but the leftovers are the type that keep us happy with no cooking for at least a few days.
And just about everything (casserole, sides, appetizers) is cook ahead–so Christmas day isn’t hard at all.</p>

13

<p>Crudites (carrots, red pepper, olives)
Rack of lamb
Mashed potatoes
Green vegetable (usually green beans with almonds or roasted brussel sprouts)
Salad
Christmas cookies</p>

<p>Christmas breakfast is usually bacon and waffles cooked by dh. Whatever fresh fruit looks good.</p>

14

<p>Christmas Eve…party with nothing to stain rugs. </p>

<p>Christmas Day dinner: prime rib…and the usual stuff…dessert buffet.</p>

<p>And the best part? My family (this sounds so trite…but it is true.)</p>

15

<p>egg casserole</p>

<p>I love those make ahead egg casseroles and hashbrown casseroles. </p>

<p>Here’s a link to a number of make ahead egg dishes
[Our</a> Best Make-Ahead Egg Bakes - Betty Crocker](<a href=“http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/courses/breakfast-and-brunch-recipes/our-best-make-ahead-egg-bakes]Our”>http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/courses/breakfast-and-brunch-recipes/our-best-make-ahead-egg-bakes)</p>

16

<p>Christmas eve…appetizer “buffet” with beverages. We started that a few years ago and it was a much bigger hit than a sit down dinner.</p>

<p>Christmas Day…</p>

<p>Breakfast- make ahead French toast strata. Or omelettes…or quiche. </p>

<p>Dinner- standing rib roast, green beans almondine, potatoes romanoff, salad. Multiple desserts.</p>

17

<p>Thumper…we do the reverse. Sit down Christmas Eve, buffet lunch/dinner. Of course we do the breakfast casserole ( assembled the night before) which bakes as we open gifts. Champagne and mimosas throughout the morning/afternoon.</p>

18

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<p>Bev, that is totally the best part :)</p>

19

<p>Christmas eve - Cheeseburgers on the grill with all the fixin’s. Yes, we live in CT. This tradition goes back to H and my first married christmas…I wanted to make something fancy on Christmas eve, since we would be spending Christmas day with our families. But, we were still “starving students” and couldn’t really afford anything fancy. So we cooked cheeseburgers on the hibachi, on the fire escape of our apartment. It’s stuck since then. I love going to the local butcher shop and standing in line, among all the folks getting their standing rib roasts and such, and asking for 2 pounds of ground chuck… :)</p>

<p>Christmas day…Breakfast of egg casserole, fruit salad, cinnamon rolls, cookies…dinner is turkey and the trimmings.</p>

20

<p>Prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, green beans/trumpet mushrooms saut</p>