Flying into town Christmas Eve what can I buy in advance for dinners?

[Anonymous]

Will be flying in around 4pm on Christmas Eve. Is there any sort of grocery store catering that’s open on Christmas Day? I think by the time I get to a store Christmas Eve it will be closed. I think most close at 6.
Any ideas of things I could buy a week in advance that would still be fresh by Christmas?

[Anonymous]

Where are you flying into. What airport.

[Anonymous]

Frozen fish fillets or other frozen seafood. Potatoes for roasting will keep a week. As will lemons and tartar sauce, peas and carrots. You can have a frozen puff pastry on hand for making salmon en croute. Could probably freeze a good loaf of bread and thaw it in time for dinner.

Hard cheeses and salami in the fridge with crackers and jellies ready as an appetizer.

Wine or cider, or a good stout beer. Yum.

[Anonymous]

I think you could buy all the ingredients for a nice shrimp Alfredo too, using frozen shrimp or scallops. The heavy cream and Parmesan needed to make a sauce would keep for a week, easy.

Or prep a really nice pot pie or lasagna to pull out of the freezer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are you flying into. What airport.

Dca

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you flying into. What airport.

Dca

Is DCA home?

How many days will you be gone beforehand? 2 days would be a very different memu than a week before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you flying into. What airport.

Dca

Is DCA home?

How many days will you be gone beforehand? 2 days would be a very different memu than a week before.

And is it just going to be immediate family?

[Anonymous]

How long will you have been gone beforehand? Can't you get all the ingredients ahead of time for baked ziti or chicken parm, refrigerate or freeze as appropriate, and then cook that night?

Or, just get pizza or Chinese food.

[Anonymous]

Can you get a grocery store order delivered to a neighbor? Or left in a cold pack on your stoop a few hours before you get home?

People FedEx seafood in cold packs, and Omaha steaks, and such.

[Anonymous]

Get lots of eggs for nice breakfasts.

You can freeze and unfreeze bread pretty well. And toasting will disguise the effects.

There's a kind of lettuce that comes with a hydroponic root base. That might keep. Bagged salad can sometimes keep for a week. Bell peppers should - for a 3 pepper salad. Carrots should (roasted carrots are a great side). Potatoes will keep...could do baby potatoes or make mashed from scratch. Cranberries can be frozen then turned into cranberry orange dressing.

[Anonymous]

Our Whole Foods is open late Christmas Eve.

[Anonymous]

You can decent prepped meal from WF

[Anonymous]

I'd think about mains that you can have in the freezer. Lasagna would work well. Or you could get something like a beef tenderloin, wrap it well and freeze it, then transfer it to the fridge when you get home Christmas Eve. It'll thaw overnight.

Sides that will keep well for a week - starches are easy, potatoes, pasta, rice. Some sturdy vegetables will last a week in the fridge, like brussel sprouts (roast with balsamic vinegar and garlic) or carrots (make maple-glazed carrots). Sweet potatoes or squash will last a week in a cool dark cupboard. A whole head of romaine lettuce should be ok, although you may need to discard the outer layers, so get a bigger head then you'll need. Carrots, celery, and bell peppers for a salad.

For appetizers, you could make squash soup and freeze it. Most cheeses and some cured meats will be fine for a week. Celery and carrot sticks. Add some crackers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you flying into. What airport.

Dca

Is DCA home?

How many days will you be gone beforehand? 2 days would be a very different memu than a week before.

Yes dca is home and week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can decent prepped meal from WF

I don’t think they will be open.