What’s on the menu for Christmas at your house?

[Anonymous]

Christmas Eve: Breakfast for dinner - waffles, bacon, eggs, fruit, pastries from a French bakery

Christmas: roast chicken (only 2 of us)
Glazed carrots with walnut gremolata
Roast cauliflower
Au gratin potatoes
Onion bread
Fruit tart for dessert

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hosted Christmas Eve, enjoying a well deserved bourbon now!

Appetizers:

Roasted oysters with tomato butter
Hot olive cheese puffs
Spiced shrimp cocktail
cheese board
Onion dip and a veggie tray for the kids

Dinner:
Stuffed shells with a fluffy lemon basil ricotta filling and homemade tomato sauce
Coquilles St. Jacques (on the shell!)
Arugula and radicchio salad
Spiedini alla Romana

Dessert:
Panettone Tiramisu

Incredible menu. Any recipes to share?

Sure!

The oysters, cheese puffs, and salad are NYT (Melissa Clark)

Ina Garten’s recipe for make ahead Coquilles St. Jacques, but put them in scallop shells instead of gratin dishes (baked for about 15 mins on 400)

The spiedini alla Romana: Sliced sourdough loaf with mozzarella in between the slices, skewer it together, brush with olive oil, toast in oven, then top it all with a caper anchovy sauce (sauce garlic, and anchovy paste, add capers, wine, lemon juice, reduce, then whisk in some butter).

The stuffed shells were my own: Basic sauce (San marzanos, onion, garlic, olive oil). The filling is ricotta, basil, lemon zest and some pecorino, whipped up in the food processor to make it fluffy. Top with torn mozzarella, a little more sauce, and some more pecorino.

The tiramisu: springform pan, layer in pannetone, drizzle with coffee , then sweetened whipped cream and mascarpone mixture (whip separately then whip together so it’s pretty stiff), some chocolate chips, repeat, and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder.


Merry Christmas! I am not cooking again until 2024 😂

You deserve the time off after this lovely feast! Thank you for the recipes!

[Anonymous]

Filet mignon, baked potato with all the toppings, and steamed broccoli.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t celebrate Christmas but have been reading these menus, drooling. All sound so good!

My question is this - based on tv, in books, songs, etc I always thought most people eat ham on Christmas, but it seems most of these menus are not ham. Is ham old-fashioned, or was my impression over-hyped, or does it depend on one’s family culture?

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate!

We usually eat ham but since the in-laws are not visiting this year I’m doing something different (glazed salmon)

My family never had ham for Christmas, but DH's did. They had a huge buffet spread with extended family, and ham is a great option for that. We celebrate with a smaller group, so it's usually prime rib, seafood, etc.

[Anonymous]

Christmas Day: my rib roast was a perfect medium rare. So proud it came came out well. Herb roasted baby potatoes, grilled salmon, dill rice, roasted asparagus, green beans, roasted Brussel sprouts, crescent rolls.

For dessert, I made 15 different cookies and baklava, pumpkin roll. I’m also exhausted and not cooking till 2024. Happy new year to all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Christmas Eve
Crab cakes
Panko shrimp
Beecher’s Mac and cheese
Green beans
Christmas cookies

-Christmas morning
Homemade cinnamon rolls
Breakfast casserole
Fresh fruit

-Christmas dinner
Smoked prime rib with horseradish cream
Potatoes au gratin
Steamed broccoli
Butternut squash with spinach, craisins, and onion
Sourdough bread and butter
Homemade pecan pie
Christmas cookies

How do some of you cook all of this stuff?

I learned to cook from my grandma, who was born in 1910. I am not above pp. The Christmas menu here is easy to make, and it all cooks fast, apart from the turkey and cabbage rolls I made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hosted Christmas Eve, enjoying a well deserved bourbon now!

Appetizers:

Roasted oysters with tomato butter
Hot olive cheese puffs
Spiced shrimp cocktail
cheese board
Onion dip and a veggie tray for the kids

Dinner:
Stuffed shells with a fluffy lemon basil ricotta filling and homemade tomato sauce
Coquilles St. Jacques (on the shell!)
Arugula and radicchio salad
Spiedini alla Romana

Dessert:
Panettone Tiramisu

Incredible menu. Any recipes to share?

Sure!

The oysters, cheese puffs, and salad are NYT (Melissa Clark)

Ina Garten’s recipe for make ahead Coquilles St. Jacques, but put them in scallop shells instead of gratin dishes (baked for about 15 mins on 400)

The spiedini alla Romana: Sliced sourdough loaf with mozzarella in between the slices, skewer it together, brush with olive oil, toast in oven, then top it all with a caper anchovy sauce (sauce garlic, and anchovy paste, add capers, wine, lemon juice, reduce, then whisk in some butter).

The stuffed shells were my own: Basic sauce (San marzanos, onion, garlic, olive oil). The filling is ricotta, basil, lemon zest and some pecorino, whipped up in the food processor to make it fluffy. Top with torn mozzarella, a little more sauce, and some more pecorino.

The tiramisu: springform pan, layer in pannetone, drizzle with coffee , then sweetened whipped cream and mascarpone mixture (whip separately then whip together so it’s pretty stiff), some chocolate chips, repeat, and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder.


Merry Christmas! I am not cooking again until 2024 😂

We make the same stuffed shells down to the simple San Marzano sauce *I used Marcella Hazen's recipe* but I add marscapone also! Sends it over the edge!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t celebrate Christmas but have been reading these menus, drooling. All sound so good!

My question is this - based on tv, in books, songs, etc I always thought most people eat ham on Christmas, but it seems most of these menus are not ham. Is ham old-fashioned, or was my impression over-hyped, or does it depend on one’s family culture?

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate!

.
We usually have ham (from one Southern side of the family). Other side is from across an ocean and they usually do duck....but we're not fans.

This year, DH was successful in the woods so venison graced our table. Unlike 'convention,' I suppose, I treat it just like beef and prepare to medium-rare/medium and it came out beautifully. Gotta trust that thermometer!

[Anonymous]

Everyone's menus sounded wonderful!

I hope you pulled them off to success and can now relax your way into a glorious, epicurean 2024!

[note to self: bookmark this thread for next year, when a 'special' menu is the order of the day. ]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Christmas Eve
Crab cakes
Panko shrimp
Beecher’s Mac and cheese
Green beans
Christmas cookies

-Christmas morning
Homemade cinnamon rolls
Breakfast casserole
Fresh fruit

-Christmas dinner
Smoked prime rib with horseradish cream
Potatoes au gratin
Steamed broccoli
Butternut squash with spinach, craisins, and onion
Sourdough bread and butter
Homemade pecan pie
Christmas cookies

How do some of you cook all of this stuff?

I’m that PP. It’s a combination of buying frozen or pre-made (Wegmans crab cakes, Beecher’s Mac and cheese, Costco panko shrimp, bread from local bakery), pre-cut/cleaned veggies (green beans, butternut squash), DH smoking the prime rib, and just timing out the prep and cook times appropriately. Plus I genuinely enjoy the meal planning and cooking aspect. So that helps too!

LOL. All of a sudden no longer impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Christmas Eve
Crab cakes
Panko shrimp
Beecher’s Mac and cheese
Green beans
Christmas cookies

-Christmas morning
Homemade cinnamon rolls
Breakfast casserole
Fresh fruit

-Christmas dinner
Smoked prime rib with horseradish cream
Potatoes au gratin
Steamed broccoli
Butternut squash with spinach, craisins, and onion
Sourdough bread and butter
Homemade pecan pie
Christmas cookies

How do some of you cook all of this stuff?

I’m that PP. It’s a combination of buying frozen or pre-made (Wegmans crab cakes, Beecher’s Mac and cheese, Costco panko shrimp, bread from local bakery), pre-cut/cleaned veggies (green beans, butternut squash), DH smoking the prime rib, and just timing out the prep and cook times appropriately. Plus I genuinely enjoy the meal planning and cooking aspect. So that helps too!

LOL. All of a sudden no longer impressive.

I’m that PP. My family was actually pretty impressed by everything, so that’s all that matters! Sorry you’re hung up on the 4 premium, prepared items I used over the course of those days. Heaven forbid I don’t bake my own bread!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t celebrate Christmas but have been reading these menus, drooling. All sound so good!

My question is this - based on tv, in books, songs, etc I always thought most people eat ham on Christmas, but it seems most of these menus are not ham. Is ham old-fashioned, or was my impression over-hyped, or does it depend on one’s family culture?

Happy Christmas to all who celebrate!

I always thought of ham as more a New Year's meal, partly because in the South ham and Hoppin John is the classic meal for New Year's Day. Some families I knew did have ham for Christmas but most people had either turkey (again, so close to Thanksgiving!) or a rib roast.

I suspect there's a lot of regionalism at play as well as socio-economic factors at play. Ham is cheap and can feed a large number of people and if you wanted something different from the Thanksgiving turkey while on a budget, ham makes sense. If you were more affluent, then a prime rib roast is feasible. But forgotten these days is the capon, which was also a classic Christmas roast in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok now I want to do prime rib. Where to buy? How to cook? I’m from a local family in the Midwest and we did ham or turkey at the holidays but this sounds delicious. Would need to add a non red meat main for one eater. Thanks!

The classic prime rib roast is very easy to make. There are various ways to do it but my preference is the low and slow method. Serious Eats covers it well: https://www.seriouseats.com/perfect-prime-rib-beef-recipe

It really is very easy. Season the beef and pop into oven for a few hours. Take out a hour before you serve, cover warmly and set aside, and use that hour to finish the rest of the meal like potatoes and popovers.

The one caveat is that rib roast is never going to be a "hot" dish. At beast it will be mildly warm. Because hot = overcooked and tough.

The other caveat is that it is not an inexpensive cut of meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:-Christmas Eve
Crab cakes
Panko shrimp
Beecher’s Mac and cheese
Green beans
Christmas cookies

-Christmas morning
Homemade cinnamon rolls
Breakfast casserole
Fresh fruit

-Christmas dinner
Smoked prime rib with horseradish cream
Potatoes au gratin
Steamed broccoli
Butternut squash with spinach, craisins, and onion
Sourdough bread and butter
Homemade pecan pie
Christmas cookies

How do some of you cook all of this stuff?

I’m that PP. It’s a combination of buying frozen or pre-made (Wegmans crab cakes, Beecher’s Mac and cheese, Costco panko shrimp, bread from local bakery), pre-cut/cleaned veggies (green beans, butternut squash), DH smoking the prime rib, and just timing out the prep and cook times appropriately. Plus I genuinely enjoy the meal planning and cooking aspect. So that helps too!

LOL. All of a sudden no longer impressive.

I’m that PP. My family was actually pretty impressed by everything, so that’s all that matters! Sorry you’re hung up on the 4 premium, prepared items I used over the course of those days. Heaven forbid I don’t bake my own bread!!

Not about the bread but the other things. And Costco is premium 😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hosted Christmas Eve, enjoying a well deserved bourbon now!

Appetizers:

Roasted oysters with tomato butter
Hot olive cheese puffs
Spiced shrimp cocktail
cheese board
Onion dip and a veggie tray for the kids

Dinner:
Stuffed shells with a fluffy lemon basil ricotta filling and homemade tomato sauce
Coquilles St. Jacques (on the shell!)
Arugula and radicchio salad
Spiedini alla Romana

Dessert:
Panettone Tiramisu

Incredible menu. Any recipes to share?

Sure!

The oysters, cheese puffs, and salad are NYT (Melissa Clark)

Ina Garten’s recipe for make ahead Coquilles St. Jacques, but put them in scallop shells instead of gratin dishes (baked for about 15 mins on 400)

The spiedini alla Romana: Sliced sourdough loaf with mozzarella in between the slices, skewer it together, brush with olive oil, toast in oven, then top it all with a caper anchovy sauce (sauce garlic, and anchovy paste, add capers, wine, lemon juice, reduce, then whisk in some butter).

The stuffed shells were my own: Basic sauce (San marzanos, onion, garlic, olive oil). The filling is ricotta, basil, lemon zest and some pecorino, whipped up in the food processor to make it fluffy. Top with torn mozzarella, a little more sauce, and some more pecorino.

The tiramisu: springform pan, layer in pannetone, drizzle with coffee , then sweetened whipped cream and mascarpone mixture (whip separately then whip together so it’s pretty stiff), some chocolate chips, repeat, and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder.


Merry Christmas! I am not cooking again until 2024 😂

lol! Bless you! I’m not the pp who requested the recipes but I was thinking it as I was reading your menu. 🤤You are the best. Thanks!!!