Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Menus

[theriviera]

I am starting to plan our menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We usually do a Honeybaked Ham on Christmas Eve. For Christmas Day, I'm thinking of doing this for the main course:
Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roast-prime-rib-of-beef-with-horseradish-crust-recipe/index.html).

This salad is amazing:
Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295)

I need to find a potato dish and some veggies to go with it. And a dessert.

I would to hear what other BBB mamas are making!

[karstmama]

we're having a low-key christmas lunch -

homemade bread
chili
split pea soup
chicken noodle soup
homemade pimiento cheese
homemade chicken salad

but how about those smashed potatoes from pw? there was a thread a while ago, and they sounded really yummy & pretty easy.

[KLD313]

I make scalloped potatoes with prime rib every Christmas. Super easy.

[icunurse]

We are doing a Christmas Eve brunch with the in-laws....
breakfast casserole
overnight blueberry french toast casserole
mini cinnamon rolls (courtesy of TJ's)
mini ham and cheese pastry (courtesy of TJ's)
crescent rolls
ham
roasted asparagus
potato gratin

On Christmas Day, we eat by my parents (I love them, but the food isn't anythign to write about). I make a nice breakfast before we head over there - probably involving Christmas Eve brunch leftovers this year!

[tylersmama]

Last year for Christmas Eve, I did a rib roast, asparagus with a hollandaise sauce, and twice-baked potatoes. It was just three of us (my mom, stepdad, and me), so I didn't want to go overboard!

[rin]

Christmas Eve (I'm hosting) we're having homemade tamales, beans, rice, and green salad. I'll probably make some cookies or a cake or something for dessert and to have while we open presents (our family opens all non-Santa gifts on Christmas Eve).

Christmas Day (my parents are hosting) we're having roast duck & some sides, probably mashed potatoes or roasted root vegetables and salad. We generally do some kind of roast bird, so roast turkey, goose, etc.

[Elilly]

Prime rib with horseradish sauce
Mashed potatoes
Green beans with almonds
Corn casserole
Rolls
Spinach salad

Dessert is probably pie with ice cream.

[waitingforgrace]

Christmas dinner:
Filet mignon w/undetermined sauce, either blackberry or mushroom
Baked potato
Brocoli with garlic butter and cashews
Dessert is dark chocolate fudge cake

[hillview]

Right now it is looking like

Salmon
Broccoli
Snopeas
Chocolate cake (volcano semi baked cake)

The kids and DH made the menu. SICK of cooking things people don't eat.

[Liziz]

I'll be cooking for my extended family -- we've done the same Christmas Eve meal for ages...soup and cold cut sandwiches (we go to Mass then come back and eat late), and for Christmas Day I'm doing a traditional Thanksgiving-type meal -- turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc.

[crl]

I think we will do the big meal for Christmas Eve. It will be just the four of us. I'm thinking ham, cheesy potato casserole, green beans, fresh fruit and some kind of dessert--maybe cherry pie.

Then for Christmas day lunch, I think we will be out and about, either playing in the snow or at Muir Woods, so I'm planning on ham sandwiches and other picnic type food.

Catherine

[MontrealMum]

We will be 4 adults and 1 child for Christmas this year. Our main dish will be turkey because that's what's traditional in Canada, and DS actually eats it. I was raised doing roast beef, but turkey is one of my faves so I don't mind doing it. We'll be having Bûche de Noël for dessert which is a traditional Quebecois cake like thing and Peppermint stick ice cream, along with my mom's Christmas cookies ;) . I have also recently learned how to make a wonderful variation on egg nog.

I'm not too sure what sides I'll be doing though. My go-tos are usually the traditional, Thanksgiving turkey sides (mash. pot., cranberries, modified green bean casserole), but I'd love it if people would post links to other more adventuresome sides :)

Christmas Eve we do grilled cheese sandwiches, pickles, tomato soup and Christmas cookies. It's our (my) family tradition.

[overcome]

This is the first Christmas eve I won't be spending w my parents, but I am going to try to make our traditional Christmas eve dinner. We sort of do the feast of the fishes Italian/catholic thing...

Chioppino soup(fish stew)
Cocktail shrimp
Fried oysters
Broiled Flounder
Broiled Scallops
Spaghetti w tuna
Ricotta cheese balls
Steamed Broccoli

Dessert: Christmas cookies and the little ice creams shaped like a snowman or Christmas tree

Christmas day:
Spiral ham
Some sides....

[brittone2]

I am starting to plan our menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We usually do a Honeybaked Ham on Christmas Eve. For Christmas Day, I'm thinking of doing this for the main course:
Roast Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish Crust (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/roast-prime-rib-of-beef-with-horseradish-crust-recipe/index.html).

This salad is amazing:
Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295)

I need to find a potato dish and some veggies to go with it. And a dessert.

I would to hear what other BBB mamas are making!
MMM...eying up the prime rib recipe. I saw the same one recommended on a HSing forum and thought it looked good there too :)

I never cook prime rib but we do roasts fairly regularly in the fall and winter. I went to Costco and they didn't have anything labeled as "prime rib" but had something else that looked like prime rib but was called something else. I seem to have that problem a lot at costco...different name for a different cut, kwim?

They had standing rib roasts, a ribeye roast, etc but I didn't see anything labeled "prime rib."

I'll hit our meat market down the road (amazing little place) and see what they have. I think Costco had it but it was called something else there. Need to look at what the other names are for that cut I guess!

I wasn't going to cook a big dinner (we do a nice brunch and usually appetizer type foods all day) but now I'm leaning toward just a simple sit down dinner (scalloped turnips, prime rib, green beans, salad, dessert).

eta: for anyone else clueless on what the other names for this cut are, here's something I found online
Meats graded "Prime" are sold almost exclusively to restaurants, so you probably won't find "prime rib" at the grocery store. Instead, look for roasts labeled "rib roast," "eye of the rib roast" or "standing rib roast." A boneless rib roast may be called "eye of the rib" roast--or if the ribs are still attached, a "standing rib" roast. The meat will be more flavorful if you roast it with the ribs still attached, but a boneless roast is definitely easier to carve. If you buy a roast with the ribs attached, have the butcher remove the the backbone, or the roast will be difficult to carve.

[elephantmeg]

we're doing ham (sliced spiral from costco), sweet pot casserole, green beans (prob sauteed), rolls, salad brownie pudding and ice cream. I've made the sweet pot casserole base etc and frozen it and the brownie pudding dry ingredients are put together.

[MontrealMum]

Overcome, can I ask you what are ricotta cheese balls and do you have a recipe or link that you could post for them? They sound yummy :)

[theriviera]

MMM...eying up the prime rib recipe. I saw the same one recommended on a HSing forum and thought it looked good there too :)


eta: for anyone else clueless on what the other names for this cut are, here's something I found online
Meats graded "Prime" are sold almost exclusively to restaurants, so you probably won't find "prime rib" at the grocery store. Instead, look for roasts labeled "rib roast," "eye of the rib roast" or "standing rib roast." A boneless rib roast may be called "eye of the rib" roast--or if the ribs are still attached, a "standing rib" roast. The meat will be more flavorful if you roast it with the ribs still attached, but a boneless roast is definitely easier to carve. If you buy a roast with the ribs attached, have the butcher remove the the backbone, or the roast will be difficult to carve.

thanks for the explanation, i have wondered the same thing! i ordered a 4 bone roast from our local place, i hope it's good!

a friend's dad has made the prime rib recipe for a few years now and i guess it's awesome!

[theriviera]

i think i will make this potato dish to go with it:
Potato-Fennel Gratin (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/potato-fennel-gratin-recipe/index.html)

[overcome]

Overcome, can I ask you what are ricotta cheese balls and do you have a recipe or link that you could post for them? They sound yummy :)

Sure...this is an old family recipe. I've never made them before (but have eaten them plenty of times). Don Peoino is pizza sauce. I can't find it here in Indy. It is produced in New Jersey, so East coast is your best bet. I am just going to use Hunt's sauce on top too.


1 lb. ricotta cheese 1 can Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 egg 1 can Don Pepino sauce
¾ c. bread crumbs
¼ c. pecorino romano cheese
¼ tsp. salt
parsley to taste

Form mixture into balls (I would say 2" in diameter). Cover bottom of baking dish with Hunt’s sauce. Pour Don Pepino sauce over top of cheese balls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake @ 350°for 30 minutes.

[pb&j]

Xmas eve:
Dinner: Potato latkes (my side of the family is Jewish)
Dessert: Banana pudding (DH is from the deep South and loves banana pudding, lol)

Xmas day:
We keep it low key and just have lots of nibblies around:
-Cheese (special, locally made gouda that we only get at Christmastime) and crackers
-Fruit (clementines and other citrus) and crudite
-Homemade chex mix
-Sugared nuts
-Spiral cut ham with fixin's for sandwiches/biscuits
-Buche de Noel

A friend was telling me about her family's tradition of fried oysters on Xmas morning, so I may give that a try.

[echoesofspring]

DS and I are flying to my grandmother's Xmas day, so we're celebrating with DH and his family and a couple friends for xmas eve. We're doing very trad., which is very untraditional for us, since we go pretty low carb/lean protein around here the rest of the year. Can not remember the last time I cooked potatoes. Standing rib roast, spinach salad, potatoes (was going to do mashed, but have been intriqued by some recipes here), roasted carrots (we eat these at least once a week) and green bean (MIL will bring). No rolls since the potatoes are already a stretch for us carbwise.

For dessert coconut creme pie, which has become a tradition for DH and I. One year we were supposed to go see my family and weather messed up our flights and we found ourselves stuck at home. Initally disappointing, but it turned out to be nice to have time just the two of us. And I made the pie for him, which is his favorite.