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Christmas/Yule/Festivmas/etc menu

prairiewindmomma

By prairiewindmomma,
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marbel

marbel

Posted
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We always have a bunch of appetizers on Christmas Eve.  Mini quiches and stuff like that.

Christmas Day has always been a roast beef, usually prime rib or similar. This year our regular grocery stores are not offering any specials on beef roasts as they always have. Rather they are pushing ham and pork loin this year, neither of which are special meals to us. So, I'm rethinking because beef (other than ground or maybe chuck roast, which are not feast-worthy to me) is probably just not affordable right now. Along with the roast we usually have scalloped potatoes, some form of green vegetable, and a brussels sprout salad. 

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rutheart

rutheart

Posted
Posted (edited)

Christmas Eve Breakfast: apple walnut oatmeal

Christmas Eve Lunch: chicken lo mein with kohlrabi, bok choi, and snow peas

Christmas Eve Dinner: Costoletta chicken, mashed potatoes, veg

 

Christmas Breakfast: sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, english muffin w/butter and jam, sliced tomato, cocoa

(our kids have always slept in on Christmas morning, so we wake them up with the hot breakfast, around 8-9am)

Christmas Lunch: leftovers

Christmas Dinner: baked tacos

 

We like to spend less time in the kitchen on Christmas, so our fancier meals are always a few days before. On the 20th, I'm baking a fougasse, served with smoked sausage, Boursin cheese, hummus, and an assortment of fresh vegetables.

ETA: Fougasse with garlic Boursin is the best bread/cheese pairing I've ever had, plus it's easier to make than breadsticks. I served the raw veg (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and radish) while the fougasse was baking, so we filled up on veg before delving into the fougasse. This was a great holiday meal!

Edited by rutheart
how the fougasse turned out
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JFSinIL

JFSinIL

Posted
Posted (edited)

Eve always a jar of herring for hubby, cheese pizza from our favorite local place for rest of us. Salmon if I see a nice piece in the store.  Christmas is beef tenderloin, wild rice (etc*) pilaf, homemade yeast rolls, veggies, more cranberry sauce since the dudes love it.  Note this year all the tenderloins have been much more costly, AND very slender compared to prior years.  Usually I have to fold over and tie the narrow end of a loin to make it as thick  the bigger end, to achieve an even medium rare throughout.  This year I swear I may have to double or triple up the entire loin (I got three to work with since so slender) and have bought extra cotton cooking string to tie it up with.  Wish me luck!

 

* I like to use wild rice AND brown rice AND jasmine rice (our regular rice) cooked in broth for flavor, with sauteed minced veggies of course stirred in.

 

With luck, we have leftovers for days!  Cold tenderloin in a homemade yeast roll is divine!

 

Oh, and before she passed on, my MIL would bring her wonderful lasagna to serve as a starter.  With fresh mozzarella from her local Italian deli.  We miss it (and her).

Edited by JFSinIL
typos galore
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chiguirre

chiguirre

Posted
Posted

We're spending Christmas in an Air BnB in Pensacola this year so I preordered all my holiday stuff from Fresh Market. I've got a ham dinner plus a turkey breast and sides, tamales, oysters Rockefeller, quiche and baked Brie (for my vegetarian) and a Yule Log cake. I'm thinking we'll do the tamales, oysters and baked Brie for Christmas Eve and the ham and turkey for Christmas dinner.

We'll have plenty of leftovers for at least several days.

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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

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For my meat eating menfolk I'm planning on doing a roast on the 23rd, a ham on the 24th, and hopefully will have plenty of leftovers for the 25th. I haven't yet decided on the sides, other than I'm going to throw a whole bunch of sweet potatoes in the crock pot on the 22nd. They're handy since they keep for several days and are easy to reheat.

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Faith-manor

Faith-manor

Posted
Posted

On Christmas Eve, we are having Smorrebrod: Light Smorrebrod. I am not a natural born Dane and will die if I have to cook that much

Pulled, savory pork

Roast Chicken

Seafood Spread

Roast beef sliced

Smoked Salmon and Creme Freiche

Cheese board - Danablue both block and as a spread made with heavy cream and all that good stuff, two kinds of Havarti, Smoke Ghouda, Sharp Cheddar

Three kinds of crackers, three types of home baked bread

Horseradish sauce

Butter

Pickles, sliced radishes, sun dried cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions, lettuce

Pickled beets

Stuffed Mushrooms

Baked mashed potatoes and turnips with guyere and creme

Fingered pears

Rismalade (cherry sauce on the side)

Five kinds of berries with kiwi slices

Vanilla Custard

Vaniljekranse

Pebernodders

Kringle

Jodekager

Brandy Cake

Rhubarb infused Akvavit

Glog

Hot cocoa for the kiddos

Then on Christmas day, leftovers plus a spiral sliced ham. This way we don't have another huge clean up, and can just open presents, visit, mill about, have a food coma, and nap.

 

 

 

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alysee

alysee

Posted
Posted

This is our first Christmas as vegetarians.

Christmas Eve: Flatbread pizzas

Christmas breakfast is going to be a Hashbrown Egg Bake & Fruit Salad

Christmas Dinner is going to be Veggie Pot Pie w Biscuits, Broccoli Quinoa Casserole and roasted Veg and Peas.

Christmas dessert is glutenfree Caramel Apple cheesecake and ice cream

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HS Mom in NC

HS Mom in NC

Posted
Posted (edited)

This year is brunch at 11 with sugar and spice crusted pork loin, lime jello salad, glazed carrots, Mormon funeral Potatoes, green beans, baked pears with cinnamon and nuts, and cinnamon rolls for dessert.

Snacky dinner starts around 5ish will be spiral ham, a variety of cheeses, nuts, a variety of crackers, leftovers from brunch, and a tray of various store bought cookies because my tennis elbow on both sides is acting up so badly I'm on steroids and restrictions all week.  I was going to make a batch of each person's favorite cookies in the freezer and spend the day before baking.  This is not the year.

ETA: New Year's Eve is the turkey pot pie in the freezer I made from leftovers after Thanksgiving. We're not going out anywhere.

Edited by HS Mom in NC
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Loowit

Loowit

Posted
Posted

Christmas eve brunch: monkey bread, scrambled eggs, and sausage

Christmas eve dinner will be our big meal with just us and our kids: prime rib roast, mac&cheese, veggie tray, and some sort of homemade bread or rolls.  I think DD is also making a cake.

Christmas morning breakfast: No idea yet - we usually do cinnamon rolls but since we are hosting I don't want the mess.

Christmas "dinner": We are having my side of the family over and doing an appetizer/dessert thing.  I am making hot chocolate in a crock-pot w/ a tray of add-ins on the side, some sort of punch, baked brie, mozzarella sticks, yulekake, and plenty of cookies we have been baking.  My mom is bringing chicken wings and rice crispy treats.  My sister is bringing bacon wrapped figs and gluten free Brazilian cheese bread.  My brother will bring lots of the candy he makes every year like special fudges, chocolate covered cherries, etc.

Christmas evening food after the festivities is still a work in progress.  Probably leftovers, but some of my family don't eat leftovers, so I may have a couple frozen pizzas or something around for them.

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ScoutTN

ScoutTN

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Christmas Eve with Dh’s family is always beef tenderloin with a zillion yummy sides.

Christmas breakfast/brunch is egg and sausage casserole, cinnamon rolls, fruit, and coffee.

Christmas dinner had varied widely over the years.

We usually have a big dinner mid afternoon, but my mom cannot come to my very small, very not-ADA-compliant house bc she is in a wheelchair, so we will eat lunch (mostly just visit since we will have had a nice b’fast a couple hours before) at her AL place midday. They are serving ham. We’ll see how this goes and change it up next year as needed. I would rather get Chinese take out and eat mid-afternoon, but mom already had a plan for this year so I am not arguing.

I want our evening meal to be substantial, but not fancy and not tons of work. Thinking a hearty soup or chili, bread, and salad. 

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Ditto

Ditto

Posted
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2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

For my meat eating menfolk I'm planning on doing a roast on the 23rd, a ham on the 24th, and hopefully will have plenty of leftovers for the 25th. I haven't yet decided on the sides, other than I'm going to throw a whole bunch of sweet potatoes in the crock pot on the 22nd. They're handy since they keep for several days and are easy to reheat.

Would you please tell me how you cook the sweet potatoes in the crock pot?   I am really hoping you say I can just stick the entire sweet potato (peel and all) in there and cook them that way!   

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DreamerGirl

DreamerGirl

Posted
Posted (edited)

We've spent a lot of Christmases in the UK with our BIL's family there and usually we make a menu of English/Indian dishes. We were supposed to go for Christmas again, now no. So it will be a basic British menu with Indian sides.

Christmas Eve - Appetizers - Samosa (veg , chicken, goat), Kabobs, Pakoras, Lentil fritters (similar to Falafel), stuffed veggie flat breads, meat pies (British) with some chutneys, dips and sauces.

Christmas Day - Air Fryer Cornish Hen (heard a lot about this, want to try it) with Indian spice masala, Yorkshire pudding, red cabbage, Gobi Manchurian (cauliflower dish), Roast regular and sweet potatoes, some paneer dish (not sure what), white or brown gravy.

Dessert - Watching a lot of steamed puddings with Mary Berry. Probably chocolate and orange and ginger pudding, gulab jamun and home made ice cream.

 

Edited by DreamerGirl
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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

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1 hour ago, Ditto said:

Would you please tell me how you cook the sweet potatoes in the crock pot?   I am really hoping you say I can just stick the entire sweet potato (peel and all) in there and cook them that way!   

You got it! I just scrub them good and put them in the crock pot until they're done.

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MooCow

MooCow

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Posted

We're hosting Christmas Eve, I'm making Curry, basmati rice and a yogurt sauce.

I'll bake a few things. 

I told everyone to bring their favorite thing to eat for sharing. 

Christmas Day we're going to my oldest's house. He's doing a honey baked ham and I assume I'm bringing everything else đŸ˜‚

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Ditto

Ditto

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1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

You got it! I just scrub them good and put them in the crock pot until they're done.

This is life changing!  I had no idea you could cook them this way.   I can't wait to make them for Christmas this way.

One more question, can they stacked up or must they be single layer (surely stacked, right?)?

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Pawz4me

Pawz4me

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8 minutes ago, Ditto said:

This is life changing!  I had no idea you could cook them this way.   I can't wait to make them for Christmas this way.

One more question, can they stacked up or must they be single layer (surely stacked, right?)?

Yes, you can stack them. If you stack a lot of them, especially if they're large, it can take a long time for all of them to get thoroughly cooked. So allow plenty of time. And probably you should pierce each one a couple of times with a fork. Sometimes I forget and it doesn't seem to make a noticeable difference, but I'm thinking it's probably best to do it. 

I've read some articles that say you should put a little water in the bottom of the crock pot and then make some aluminum foil balls to form a platform to keep the sweet potatoes a little above the water. But I've always just put the sweet potatoes right in the crock pot with no extra liquid. I don't dry them after scrubbing, though, so they're still a little damp.

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cabercro

cabercro

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Terabith said:

I've never done it before, but I'm pondering making Sun Bread for the solstice this year with my niece/ nephews.  

We did this last year! The book is adorable and making the bread was a lot of fun, but the recipe in the back of the book turned out horrible for us. It looked nice, but tasted awful. That said, I am admittedly not a great baker so it could have just been my ineptitude.Â đŸ˜œÂ Just wanted to throw out a caution in case you're planning to use it!

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Terabith

Terabith

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Posted
2 minutes ago, cabercro said:

We did this last year! The book is adorable and making the bread was a lot of fun, but the recipe in the back of the book turned out horrible for us. It looked nice, but tasted awful. That said, I am admittedly not a great baker so it could have just been my ineptitude.Â đŸ˜œÂ Just wanted to throw out a caution in case you're planning to use it!

That is good to know!  Might just stick with a regular bread recipe and shape it into a sun?

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Ditto

Ditto

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@Pawz4me...Thank you for giving me such good directions.   I am very excited to try this method.    

For our menu we are having:  chili,  cornbread muffins, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes.   Sweets are:  chocolate peppermint muffins,  million dollar shortbread (first time I have made this and I am using a vegan recipe), and snickerdoodles.

For me:  Prosecco and OJ.

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Eos

Eos

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Oh dear, by now I should know but haven't sorted it out yet.  We usually do appetizers for Christmas Eve, then Dutch Puffs and some sort of beef for dinner but I am at my mother's for the first time in 38 years so my planning brain isn't kicking into gear.  Thanks for all the replies, it's helping!

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fraidycat

fraidycat

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Posted

Our tradition is perogie & cabbage rolls, turkey & ham. So that is what we are having on Christmas day with my FOO. Mom is doing homemade perogies + GF ones for me. My SIL is doing cabbage rolls. My sister is doing turkey + dressing, I am doing ham + GF dressing.

I think for Christmas Eve we are doing dips + crackers, chips, and whatever other snacks we grab. That will just be my Mom, sister & my family.

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Storygirl

Storygirl

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Christmas Eve: Lasagna (homemade and frozen, just reheat), salad, garlic bread, selection of cookies

Christmas Day breakfast: quiche (homemade, frozen in advance), accompanied by either pumpkin muffins (homemade) or holiday donuts (will buy in advance and put in freezer) or maybe Pilsbury cinnamon rolls. Mulled cider.

Christmas dinner: Will be at FIL's this year, which is a two-hour drive. We were hoping to do appetizers as a meal, but he wants a full dinner. He will heat a ham, and the rest will be brought by others. I'm taking broccoli and cauliflower casserole, because the side dishes from everyone else will be carb heavy (beans, corn, potatoes). I'll also bring my traditional offerings of cranberry rolls and a selection of cookies, and will probably add some appetizers (deviled eggs and/or Pioneer Woman's bacon-wrapped crackers). SIL is also bringing a pie.

 

 

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Pippen

Pippen

Posted
Posted

Christmas Eve we do appetizers plus roast beef sandwiches, using a much loved family recipe. 

Christmas morning I don't do make breakfast. I always bring homemade rolls and they're coming out of the oven in the morning and my kids are thrilled with those and some hot cider. 

Christmas Day we go to in laws for a traditional ham dinner.  I usually bring hot spiced fruit, rolls and one other dish. 

The next day we do leftovers but when my mom was alive we'd often do take-out from a Mexican restaurant. Spicy food is a nice break. 

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Carrie12345

Carrie12345

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, Carrie12345 said:

mostly sugar until some charcuterie comes out,

 

1 hour ago, Eos said:

Love this!

Lol.
I gave up on trying to serve a decent breakfast AGES ago. Stocking sugar has kept the kids from dragging us out of bed right away, cookies and holiday bread sustain us through gift opening, and then I might be able to catch a short rest before getting the main meal started. Until then, no one wants to sit at a table or even use forks!

I used to think Christmas mornings would get less chaotic as the kids got older, but it absolutely has NOT. 

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Pippen

Pippen

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23 hours ago, Storygirl said:

Christmas Eve: Lasagna (homemade and frozen, just reheat), salad, garlic bread, selection of cookies

Christmas Day breakfast: quiche (homemade, frozen in advance), accompanied by either pumpkin muffins (homemade) or holiday donuts (will buy in advance and put in freezer) or maybe Pilsbury cinnamon rolls. Mulled cider.

Christmas dinner: Will be at FIL's this year, which is a two-hour drive. We were hoping to do appetizers as a meal, but he wants a full dinner. He will heat a ham, and the rest will be brought by others. I'm taking broccoli and cauliflower casserole, because the side dishes from everyone else will be carb heavy (beans, corn, potatoes). I'll also bring my traditional offerings of cranberry rolls and a selection of cookies, and will probably add some appetizers (deviled eggs and/or Pioneer Woman's bacon-wrapped crackers). SIL is also bringing a pie.

 

 

Cranberry rolls sound interesting. Would you mind sharing the recipe?

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Moonhawk

Moonhawk

Posted
Posted (edited)

Christmas Eve: My mom is bringing sour cream enchiladas, I am hosting. IDK if I'm going to go full Mexican and lean into this or just make stuffing and chicken (turkey?) and cranberries and mashed potatoes, etc. 

Christmas: cinnamon rolls and then either tamales if I went full Mexican for Christmas Eve (to fill in with the leftovers) or just leftovers if I did non-Mexican.

Please vote if I should do Mexican or not if you have any inclination, I have put this off for a couple weeks and really need to make a decision, lol. 

Edited by Moonhawk
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1234

1234

Posted
Posted

I’m doing baked ziti Christmas Eve and we’ll have leftovers Christmas Day. We will also have sausage balls for breakfast all weekend, lots of sweets (mini cheesecakes, mini pecan pies, and cookies), cheese and crackers, and a veggie tray.

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alisoncooks

alisoncooks

Posted
Posted

We’re with my MIL for Christmas Eve, and she normally does baked ziti. 

Christmas Day is with my extended family, and it tends to be traditional fare, done potluck style. 

We always have appetizers for NYE. Lots and lots. I’m making my plans — the bacon jam mentioned on a recent thread might make the cut. 

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Janeway

Janeway

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Posted
40 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

Christmas Eve: My mom is bringing sour cream enchiladas, I am hosting. IDK if I'm going to go full Mexican and lean into this or just make stuffing and chicken (turkey?) and cranberries and mashed potatoes, etc. 

Christmas: cinnamon rolls and then either tamales if I went full Mexican for Christmas Eve (to fill in with the leftovers) or just leftovers if I did non-Mexican.

Please vote if I should do Mexican or not if you have any inclination, I have put this off for a couple weeks and really need to make a decision, lol. 

Go full Mexican! I was reading this thread to get ideas....and I like yours! I might do that!

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Janeway

Janeway

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We always do Eggs Benedict for breakfast. I like to have juice and maybe melon with that. My one son has been loving on pretzel crusted chicken lately so that will be one meal, likely Christmas day. I am unsure what to do on Christmas Eve. We usually always have lasagna. but I feel like the meals are so heavy, I am feeling 20 pounds heavier just typing about it. We always do fondue on New Years Eve. I have considered Mississippi Pot Roast, but now that someone has mentioned Mexican food, I might look in to going that direction. 

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Storygirl

Storygirl

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Pippen said:

Cranberry rolls sound interesting. Would you mind sharing the recipe?

https://rhodesbakenserv.com/cranberry-cream-cheese-pull-aparts/

These are yummy and have become one of my signature dishes.

Full disclosure: I did have a friend who tried them and didn't like the cream cheese component, which looks gloopy when you pour it on and creates a sticky texture when done. But she was an aberration; everyone else has loved them.

For holidays, I will place the frozen rolls in the pan overnight, so that they are thawed by morning. The longest part of the process is adding the dried cranberries to each roll.

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Moonhawk

Moonhawk

Posted
Posted
On 12/19/2021 at 7:37 PM, Janeway said:

Go full Mexican! I was reading this thread to get ideas....and I like yours! I might do that!

Thanks Janeway, i did go this way. So final Christmas Eve menu, as of now:

  • Enchiladas (thanks Mom)
  • white menudo (yes, tripe)
  • chicken tortilla soup
  • tacos
  • flautas
  • refried beans
  • Mexican rice

Then tamales on Christmas with the leftovers.

If you read this list and are gobsmacked I didn't include xyz, please tell me what I'm missing, because I feel like I'm forgetting an obvious something, lol.

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Janeway

Janeway

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

Thanks Janeway, i did go this way. So final Christmas Eve menu, as of now:

  • Enchiladas (thanks Mom)
  • white menudo (yes, tripe)
  • chicken tortilla soup
  • tacos
  • flautas
  • refried beans
  • Mexican rice

Then tamales on Christmas with the leftovers.

If you read this list and are gobsmacked I didn't include xyz, please tell me what I'm missing, because I feel like I'm forgetting an obvious something, lol.

Do you have a recipe for the tortilla soup? I would love to make that!

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hjffkj

hjffkj

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Posted

A few last minute things added to the Christmas celebrations. Ds13 is currently making Kevin's Famous Chili a la The Office for the first time. And my brother who is visiting is making timpano a la Big Night for Christmas Eve. He made this last year for the first time at my house for Christmas and it was a huge success. We are excited for it to maybe become a tradition.

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math teacher

math teacher

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Moonhawk said:

Thanks Janeway, i did go this way. So final Christmas Eve menu, as of now:

  • Enchiladas (thanks Mom)
  • white menudo (yes, tripe)
  • chicken tortilla soup
  • taco
  • flautas
  • refried beans
  • Mexican rice

Then tamales on Christmas with the leftovers.

If you read this list and are gobsmacked I didn't include xyz, please tell me what I'm missing, because I feel like I'm forgetting an obvious something, lol.

Chips and salsa

Extra chopped cilantro on the side for people like me who can't get enough of it.

 

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LifeLovePassion

LifeLovePassion

Posted
Posted

Christmas eve: London Broil, brussel sprouts and bacon, mashed potatoes, dinner rolls

Christmas day: rolls (undecided which type yet...easy cinnamon rolls, Quiver's cinnamon rolls or Monkey bread) for breakfast. 

Rosemary pork shoulder, roasted potatoes, Caesar salad, green beans, dinner rolls

Other things "on tap" to fill in as needed...shrimp and cocktail sauce, charcuterie board, hush puppies, jalapeno and sweet pepper poppers, cream cheese dip and baguette slices

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