Christmas Menu/Recipes

[Anonymous]

This will be the first year we will stay in DC for Christmas, and also the first year that I will be cooking on Christmas Eve/Christmas. I don't really cook at all, so I am a bit overwhelmed by the idea of trying to put together a meal. Does anyone have any quick and easy main dish and side dish recipes that would be good for a novice? I would really like to avoid buying prepared meals from a restaurant or grocery store.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat. I don't cook -- at all -- and will be having the in-laws at our house. I would greatly appreciate ideas for recipes. Or in the alternative, I'm willing to splurge on a catering company that provides meals for small groups and would be a step above "Let's Dish" if anyone has a recommendation. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I think I would probably make a Honey Baked Ham my main dish. That way, you only have to worry about sides....easy ones would be mashed potatoes (so easy to make from scratch), a great salad, yummy stuffing (I know it actually goes with turkey, however, I love it by itself!) or a great bread, one or two other veggies, and a great dessert (perhaps also store bought from a great bakery?).

Alternately, you could do london broil (not hard to make), potatoes au gratin, a salad, asparagus, and rolls.

How many people are you feeding? Any diet restrictions or allergies?

[Anonymous]

Our family follows two traditions, French on Christmas Eve and British-ish on Christmas Day.

For Christmas Eve, we have tourtiere (meat pies made from ground pork, with spices and sometimes with potato or other meat; last year I made them with 1/2 venison and they were great). They are pretty easy to make and you can also buy them from a French bakery; they can be made ahead and frozen and reheated very nicely. With those, we have an array of pickles, salad, and champagne. Dessert is a variety of cookies and some kind of cake (I am partial to apple pound cake, but you could also have a buche de Noel, which you can also buy from a French bakery). If you were having a lot of people, you could have cold cut sandwiches on Christmas Eve, too (my husband's family does this, but it's more of a casual buffet style because people are coming in at different times after church).

Christmas Day is typically like Thanksgiving, with a turkey and sides. Not everyone likes a turkey so soon again, so you could do a pot roast (if you have a dutch oven, those are perfect for it). You could also do a goose or duck, but that's going in the wrong difficulty direction from turkey. For sides, all the winter sides are great, and there are lots of nice recipes for tasty variations on green beans, potatoes, carrots, turnips and the like. I like http://simplyrecipes.com for good options; I made the squash and apple bake last year and it was delicious. For dessert we have fruitcake (an Irish-style pound cake version that my mom makes in both my grandmother's light version and her own dark version) and mince tarts (also super easy if you buy pre-made dough and jarred mincemeat). Some years I buy Christmas pudding and brandy sauce (Whole Foods usually has a nice option), but we haven't gotten to make our own. Of course, the desserts kind of overlap; we usually bust out the tarts and fruitcake on Christmas Eve.

The cookbook Great Cookies has some awesome recipes that have become holiday standards, and I use The Joy of Cooking's rich roll cookie recipe, with a light lemon glaze (sometimes I throw a pinch of lemon zest or lemon juice into the cookie, too). I also like a gingery spice cookie, rather than rolling out gingerbread.

Okay, can you tell my family likes to bake at the holidays?

[Anonymous]

French PP here: my Irish and British side always had a ham, too (and a turkey, which my grandfather often won curling; guess which country we're from!).

[Anonymous]

To 19:05-- Great ideas and all sounds scrumptious, but I think some of it would be a bit daunting for OP, who stated that she really doesn't cook "at all." I agree with you that she should buy some of it prepared already.

[Anonymous]

18:55 again, for Christmas Eve you could also do a yummy "breakfast for dinner"...this is how my husband and I celebrate our own little Christmas (a night during the season we celebrate just ourselves). So many options for this...french toast, chocolate chip panckakes, hashbrowns, omlettes, scrambled eggs, fruit, bacon, etc....just don't forget the mimosas!

[Anonymous]

I like the ham idea for a beginner. Think of having a pineapple side dish, scalloped potatoes or even mashed potatoes and a green veggie like peas or green beans. Any of the steam in the bag frozen variety are good with some almonds thrown in or sauteed mushrooms. Our family tradition is actually just to do heavy appetizers X-mas eve and totally relax. Our "formal" meal is Christmas day and is either a ham or a beef roast of some kind. Focus on sides that are either easy (like nuking) or that you can make enough in advance that you don't feel like you're being watched. That's why I like the pineapple potato type sides. Nothing that has to be prepared with an audience is key!

[Anonymous]

19:05 here: I think the easiest way to cook vegetables is to roast them; you can chunk a bunch of different things and toss them with olive oil and different seasonings in separate dishes (they all have slightly different roasting times). Potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots could all be steamed a bit ahead of time, and then roasted to be finished off while the meat is sitting. Cookies can be made ahead and frozen; mince tarts can also be made with frozen shells (if your family likes mincemeat). Pies and rolls can be purchased, as can salad.

I also think that part of the fun of holidays is everyone bringing their specialties. I would ask people to bring a side or dessert that you know they make well. And, I would practice between now and then. Make some side dishes for dinners and see how fast or easy they are; make a pot roast or ham to see how it works in your oven.

[Anonymous]

Try Melt Catering if you decide not to cook. Owned by two local Moms, they catered our baby shower and a Thanksgiving dinner, they have great ideas, are reasonably priced, delicious and provide delivery complete with garnishes and heating instructions. meltcatering.com

If you do cook, take a look at the December issue of Bon Appetit or Food Wine, they both usually have a easy, make ahead holiday menu in addition to their more elaborate ones. Good Luck!!

[Anonymous]

19:05 again: any of these sides would suit for Christmas http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/thanksgiving/

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend Ina Garten's recipes - they are usually pretty simple & easy to follow and turn out DELICIOUS!

Poke around her recipes on the Food Network website to see if anything jumps out at you. Or check out her website for menu ideas:
http://barefootcontessa.com/menus_dinner.shtml

Here are some favs that are easy...

Rosemary Cashews (appetizer):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rosemary-roasted-cashews-recipe/index.html

Ham:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/orange-baked-ham-recipe/index.html

Roasted Potatoes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/garlic-roasted-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Mac & Cheese (she also has other variations for more sophisticated tastes):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mac-and-cheese-recipe2/index.html

Spinach Gratin:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/spinach-gratin-recipe/index.html


I would try to pick recipes that you can prepare in advance (e.g., you can completely prep the mac & cheese and spinach gratin a day or two before) so you won't feel as rushed on Christmas Day.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all! No dietary restrictions and I am feeding roughly 10 people.

[Anonymous]

For christmas eve we follow my mother's family's Italian tradition of fish:

steamed mussels in a wine broth
broiled salmon filet with lemon and capers
some potatoes, crusty bread
kale with walnuts

For Christmas Day I serve

spiral cut ham (just heat from the fridge)
homemade rolls
baked acorn squash
spinach salad



If you don't cook a lot I suggest you try the spiral cut ham -- it is pretty foolproof. Mashed potatoes from scratch are very easy, too. You could also make mashed turnips, or mix half and half with the potatoes. Homemade rolls are very easy also especially if you have a bread machine. You could make a flavored butter to go along with the rolls. Buy some high end prepackaged salad greens and mix with some toasted nuts and craisins and a nice vinagrette for an easy side dish. Steamed green beans, then stor fried for a minutes or two with a little garlic or ginger, wouldn't be that hard.

[Anonymous]

Pork tenderloin is another very easy cut of meat to cook. You can serve it with some cheese polenta (basically cheese grits!) or scallopped potatoes.