Please plan my Christmas Eve menu

[Anonymous]

Christmas Eve is creeping up on my and I need to figure out my menu. Normally I love this kind of planning, but I am so swamped at work I don't have time to think about it.

I will cook everything myself, UNLESS I can get a really impressive meat (not ham!) somewhere else.

I will be having 7 adults, 1 child, and 1 toddler over for dinner.

Suggestions, please? I was interested in doing the Italian seven fishes thing (or, say, 4 out of 7 fishes maybe) but need suggestions on what to make. OR, should I just go traditional? What's YOUR Christmas Eve (or impressive holiday) menu featuring this year?

PS - I can cook anything! (But just cannot find time to plan!)

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

For an Italian fish theme, you'll need to do a cold calamari salad (with celery, olive oil, lemon juice, maybe some parsley and/or shrimp). Also, Bacala (dried cod soup) is big. A whole fish, roasted (perhaps covered all over in sea salt). Maybe a fried fish dish - fried smelts? Or fresh sardines or oysters.

For us, I think I'm just doing a simple lasagne, with either homemade green (spinach) noodles or a beschemel sauce.

[Anonymous]

turducken!

i have no plans for a special christmas eve menu.

[Anonymous]

We have our fancy mean on Christmas day - usually a beef tenderloin - but on the eve we do a homemade beef soup, cheese and bread and fruit for dessert.

[Anonymous]

Last year, we had barbecue beef brisket, buttermilk cheddar biscuits, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Am thinking of doing it again this year!

[Anonymous]

OP here - these ideas are great and are making my mouth water, keep 'em coming!

[Anonymous]

We don't have many food traditions in my family (other than not eating turkey for Thanksgiving if we can avoid it), but we have a set Christmas Eve dinner. It is more or less English in origin. I encourage you to find what your family's menu will be, as I love this one tradition with my family and miss it horribly when I'm at my in-laws for the holiday.

apps: shrimp cocktail, Saga & sourdough baguette, possibly pate

salad: boston lettuce, mandarin oranges, pomegranate seeds, avocado, vinaigrette

standing rib roast
Yorkshire pudding
oven-roasted baby red potatoes
Brussels sprouts
horseradish

plum pudding with hard sauce

Substitutions that have been made over the years:
green beans with roasted almond slivers for relatives who won't eat Brussels sprouts
dried cranberries instead of pomegranate seeds
mini croissants instead of Yorkshire pudding

[Anonymous]

Rachel Ray did a seven-fish stew once on 30-minutes meals and an Italian friend tried it and said it was really good. I'm sure you could find the recipe on the Food Network website.

[Anonymous]

Cider-roasted pork shoulder from Gourmet (book), mashed potatoes, green beans, ginger bread with poached pear and whipped cream (or lemon curd). Done! All of this can be made the day before. Love it.
BTW: I'm cooking for 6 adults and two toddlers.

[Anonymous]

We have always done the seven fishes (all separate dishes) or linguini frutti di mare. The seven fishes is a lot of work (frying those little smelts, etc.) so this year I'm doing the frutti di mare.

[Anonymous]

Chicken Marbella from Silver Palate Cookbook. This main-course dish has always been a hit at pot luck dinners.

Chicken thighs cooked in marinade of olive oil, wine vinegar, capers, garlic, olives, prunes, oregano and brown sugar. Just serve it with chopped salad and baguettes.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CHICKEN-MARBELLA-SILVER-PALATE-COOKBOOK-1277030

Chicken thighs cooked in marinade of olive oil, wine vinegar, capers, garlic, olives and brown sugar. Just serve it with chopped salad and bagguet.

[Anonymous]

We go to church on Christmas Eve, get home around 8 and have a picnic by the tree -- bread, cheese, fruit, Christmas cookies, wine (and sparkling cider for the kids). Then wait out bedtime (harder to do as our oldest is now a teen), so we can finish wrapping. Big dinner is on Christmas Day -- the kids have gotten into this ham tradition, though we're not Southerners; I do the one from Barefoot Contessa, with greens and corn pudding. That brisket sounds good, though, and Chicken Marbella is yummy. (God bless those old Silver Palate recipes-- possibly the greatest legacy of the '80s!)

[Anonymous]

I usually do meatballs and sauce, people make their own sandwiches and we make a salad. Something easy since we do a bigger meal on CHristmas