Cooking for Christmas...

[Le-Saboteur]

Aww, you guys are all going hard out.

Hopefully it'll be sunny here on Christmas day and we'll just have a barbecue and some salads! I can't be effed cooking a roast and stuff for just three (myself, the bf and my mum). Dessert is where the real effort will go

Trifle, pavlova, brandy snaps (OMG YUM), different fruit salads, ohhh yeah.

 

[CantAffordMAC]

man i dont even like christmas dinner. We always have the saaaaaaaame thing: honey ham, mac n cheese (homemade) and like, vegetables n stuff. I dont think it ever changes. Im not a big fan of ham anymore, mac n cheese isnt special since we do have it throughout the year. I mean everything is tasty but daaaaaamn. This is one familytradition that I am going to change when I have kids: Ill probably make turkey or chicken instead, mashed potatoes, etc. I like thanksgiving dinner way more than christmas.

Christmas dinner is low key at my house. But we do have sweet potato pie for dessert OMG....love it!!!

We seem to never really eat breakfast though. We get up, have coffee while we open gifts, then part our separate ways until dindin. (weird?) I tried to start the tradition of my mom making french toast in the AM, which she did like twice...maybe she'll do it this year lol

 

[Brie]

Last year I did Coconut prawns, bacon wrapped scallops, we roasted pork and i think three salads. This year?? I'm at a loss. If you like scallops the bacon wrapped ones are fabulous.

 

[NutMeg]

On Christmas Eve:

Fondue Bourgiugnon (really really high quality steak cooking in oil, with traditional Swiss sauces)
Cheese Fondue
Garlic bread
Pickles and olives
My mum's punch (basically frozen cranberry juice mixed with Sprite instead of water)
And of course, wine.

Christmas Morning:

Sourdough waffles

Christmas Day:

Turkey
Gravy
Stuffing
Cranberry sauce
Mashed potatoes
Onions and carrots baked in a casserole dish with butter and water
Tons of different salads
Brussel sprouts
Usually some sort of steamed veggies
Trifle
Pies

When I was a kid I spent both with my mum's family (my family, and the families of her brother and one of her sisters, as well as my grandma) and whoever was related to any of the regulars who was in the area. We adopted a lot of randoms too, if anyone had a friend who wanted to tag along for Christmas Eve especially. The last three or four years my bf and I spend Christmas Eve at my parents' place and then go to his parents' place for Christmas Day.

 

[CantAffordMAC]

Nutmeg! My mom makes a punch every christmas eve as well....its cranberry juice, and ginger ale and orange sherbert. Mmmmmmm so good! and we have wheat thin crackers and port wine cheese spread every xmas eve too

My mom said shes gonna make this on xmas morning: (its a recipe my friend made)
tater tots, all mashed up in a pan, with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese all over it, then u pour melted butter on top and bake it. Omg it was SO good! If anyone wants the exact recipe, let me know!

 

[Kayteuk]

I am smuggling so much food in my suitcase, I have custard, tinned mushy peas, and loads of British food for my friends in the USA. Oh dear

As long as its not veg, fruit, fish or meat its okay

 

[NutMeg]

Lol, you Brits and your mushy peas.

Rebecca, cranberry juice makes the best punch if you mix it with something carbonated. My mum also adds sliced lemon and orange. Sooooo good.

 

[Kayteuk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NutMeg Lol, you Brits and your mushy peas.

Ohhh I have got more than that in there...
Mushy Peas
Cranberry Jared sauce
Apple sauce
Reggae reggae sauce
Yorkshire pudding batter
Ambrosia custard (tinned)
Chocolate
Gravy granules (British gravy style!)
Chip shop style batter powder
Sticky toffee pudding in a tin
Tea
Little sachets with recipies for Cottage pie and Shepards pie (and powder for them in)

I will think of the other things later, most are tinned or Jars so I can take them

My friends want a "british" christmas and since my sister is coming with me I may as well take some of this stuff!

 

[MAC_Whore]

We are doing:

- Sprial smoked ham with glaze (had this for Thanksgiving and it was so good that we ate left overs for 3 days straight)
- Either Pan Haggerty, Dauphins or Bourbonnais pie (potato dishes)
- Brocolli souffle
- Mini brioches
- Maybe a salad, but I don't know. It doesn't fit into the theme of 'starch and meat overload'.

For dessert, I am thinking about making pumpkin bread pudding with carmel sauce and vanilla ice cream. I plan on using brioche in the bread pudding.

My God I am hungry now. All I can think of atm is brioche. Can you tell I love the stuff?

 

[Kayteuk]

Mac whore can you post the recipie for..

"- Sprial smoked ham with glaze (had this for Thanksgiving and it was so good that we ate left overs for 3 days straight)" and the Mini brioche?? Looking for new things to do!

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayteuk Mac whore can you post the recipie for.. "- Sprial smoked ham with glaze (had this for Thanksgiving and it was so good that we ate left overs for 3 days straight)" and the Mini brioche?? Looking for new things to do!

The ham is the easy part. I get it at Costco and it is THE BEST ham that DH and I have ever had. There is a company in the US called Honey Baked Ham or something like that, that a lot of people rave about. Honestly, the Costco ham blows theirs away and it is much less expensive. It's precooked and comes with the glaze, btw. You just pop it in the oven for like 45 min - 1 hour to reheat and voila. It is super easy, so you have more time for other dishes. It is the perfect smokey, slightly sweet flavour. The glaze hardens a bit too.

It comes in red foil with a black net over it. It is 'Kirkland' brand (one of Costco's).

You do have to have a membership to shop at Costco. I think it like $40/year. I love Costco though, so it's worth it. Here are the US locations: Find a United States Costco Warehouse

Here's the bread pudding recipe. It comes from Epicurious.com (great site). Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce Recipe at Epicurious.com. I use homemade brioche for the bread. I will post the brioche recipe shortly.

 

[Kayteuk]

I found the ham and have just ordered some! Its like $64.99 (which I thought was good!), but there will be enough left overs for lots of other things

.

 

[Kayteuk]

8:04 am....I have started to peel the veggies for christmas day! Grrr :-O Sooo jet lagged...