Traditional XMAS Eve / XMAS Day Feast

[tshirts and jeans]

all my life it has been the same as thanksgiving .....turkey, dressing and then the works on the veggies.....

but this year...the first without my mom, the girls and i have no clue what we are goin to do......altho we will be doin it in dallas......so we may just drop by mike......

[Iron Chef]

Originally Posted by tshirts and jeans

all my life it has been the same as thanksgiving .....turkey, dressing and then the works on the veggies.....

but this year...the first without my mom, the girls and i have no clue what we are goin to do......altho we will be doin it in dallas......so we may just drop by mike......

That's fine, except I don't live in Dallas.

Seriously...everyone's welcome.

[sasnglass77]

Christmas eve was always seafood and Christmas Day was baked ham, turkey, lasagna, salad, taters etc.

Leftover for days!!

This year, no clue yet.

[Blademaker]

I'm making a standing rib roast, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, corn on the cobb, sour dough rolls, a decent red wine, Single malt Scotch for dessert for me, rice pudding for the others.

[BuckyThreadkiller]

Tamale Grinch.

We do the Texas Tamales thing on Christmas Eve. Then to the inlaws for the day for Standing Rib Roast and Yorkshire pudding.

I won't eat until next year.

[Iron Chef]

Originally Posted by BuckyThreadkiller

Tamale Grinch.

Ah...so...you'll be joining me and the kids for sushi tonight, right?

[Will]

Thanksgiving is more the Holiday where I demand a specific meal.

The only Christmas food MUST for me is sausage balls on Christmas morning.

This year I'm planning on going outside in my Sweatshirt and my ultra-classy Dale Earnhardt pajama pants and grilling some Ribeyes after we open presents and relax for a while.

Probably have the wife season some jumbo shrimp with old bay and fry them in a pan with butter??? You're the Iron-Chef, any recommendations for pre-cooked frozen jumbo shrimp from Sam's Club????

[Iron Chef]

Originally Posted by Will

Probably have the wife season some jumbo shrimp with old bay and fry them in a pan with butter??? You're the Iron-Chef, any recommendations for pre-cooked frozen jumbo shrimp from Sam's Club????

Well honestly I'm not really big on frozen shrimp because you're kind of limited with them. Shrimp get tough very easily. Cooking frozen shrimp is like you're cooking them twice and it doesn't matter what you do. To give you an idea, when I make shrimp scampi using uncooked shrimp, I throw them in the pan and cook them for no more than 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. It's that quick.

If you already have them, my first choice would be to make shrimp cocktail...always a favorite. You could also thaw them, chop them up and mix with equal parts sour cream and cream cheese, a little paprika and lemon juice and use for a really awesome spread on warm bread.

If you have your heart set on scampi, what I'd do is melt butter, garlic, some salt and pepper in a pan. Use lots of butter and med to low heat so you don't burn the garlic. When everything is melted together, throw in the thawed shrimp and immediately take the pan off the heat. Toss and serve right away to prevent any further cooking.

[Truck Guy]

Coming from an Italian/Catholic upbringing, it was always a tradition on Christmas Eve to have the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes (Feast of Seven Fishes)

My mom's traditional Christmas Dinner has always been a standing or prime rib roast and king crab legs, oven browned potatoes, peppercorn red wine reduction and assorted sides and desserts

I still do the Prime rib and shell fish, but not the seven fishes since family is all over the country now

[onedef92]

Originally Posted by Truck Guy

Coming from an Italian/Catholic upbringing, it was always a tradition on Christmas Eve to have the Feast of the Seven Fishes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Feast of Seven Fishes)

My mom's traditional Christmas Dinner has always been a standing or prime rib roast and king crab legs, oven browned potatoes, peppercorn red wine reduction and assorted sides and desserts

I still do the Prime rib and shell fish, but not the seven fishes since family is all over the country now

That sounds amazing, Russ.

[MrPeabody]

Originally Posted by Will

Thanksgiving is more the Holiday where I demand a specific meal.

The only Christmas food MUST for me is sausage balls on Christmas morning.

This year I'm planning on going outside in my Sweatshirt and my ultra-classy Dale Earnhardt pajama pants and grilling some Ribeyes after we open presents and relax for a while.

Probably have the wife season some jumbo shrimp with old bay and fry them in a pan with butter??? You're the Iron-Chef, any recommendations for pre-cooked frozen jumbo shrimp from Sam's Club????

If you have raw, shell-on shrimp I would recommend that you cook them like we used to cook crab in Maryland. Steam them (thaw them first if frozen) with a mixture of 50/50 vinegar and beer. Sprinkle them with old bay and steam until done. 15-20 minutes depending on the size of shrimp. Then peel and eat. I would dip them in Cocktail sauce. I don't find butter compatible with old bay, but some people do. Your hands will smell like them until New Year's Eve.

[Truck Guy]

Originally Posted by onedef92

That sounds amazing, Russ.

Stop on by, bring the Mrs and kids, there's always plenty of food!

My Sicilian great grandmother and grandmother always made enough food to feed a Roman Legion!

[BuckyThreadkiller]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

Ah...so...you'll be joining me and the kids for sushi tonight, right?

Friends don't let friends eat bait.

[LilRedCorvette]

Growing up, I don't think we did a special Christmas Eve meal, as Mom put a lot of time and effort into the Christmas Day meal. We probably went out to dinner the night before to give Mom a break. Christmas morning was usually French toast with NY maple syrup, bacon, fruit, etc...

Thanksgiving was usually a huge Plainville turkey and all the trimmings. Usually for Christmas she did a crown roast of pork, prime rib, sirloin or tenderloin roast, or leg of lamb...likely with whipped or oven roasted potatoes, gravy, a few vegetable side dishes, baked apples, and various desserts (a large assortment of homemade Christmas cookies, pies, and cakes).

Now that out I'm on my own I do things a bit differently...I can't eat turkey anymore so I just do a sirloin or tenderloin roast with the usual trimmings for both Tgiving and Christmas. I'm a bit burned out on baking, so I took a Godiva gift card I got from a friend of mine for my birthday and bought some decadent-looking brownies. Those will be served with peppermint stick ice cream and hot fudge.

[NEVRL8T]

My wife and kids and I always have a traditional dinner on Christmas eve consisting of a baked (not pre-cooked) ham and a deep fried turkey and of course lots of fixins'.

[LisaJohn]

I know there is a cooking section but have y'all got any secret tips for the standing rib roast? I may give it a try.

[R.I.B.S.]

Originally Posted by LisaJohn

I know there is a cooking section but have y'all got any secret tips for the standing rib roast? I may give it a try.

First suggestion is always do it on low heat around 200-225.. and slow cook to your desired temp.

I always marinate the roast for at least 24 hours with Liquid Aminos.... nothing else...

Then next day bring roast to room temp.. or 2-3 hours on the counter...

I then use a deep aluminum roasting pan to mix about 5 # of Mortons Pickling Salt with a can of beer... making a paste....

Line bottom of pan with salt and then lay roast on top of the bed of salt. then completely pack remaining salt around roast...

Insert thermometer in roast before putting in oven...

PS.. I preheat oven to about 450 degrees first.. then put roast in for about 10 minutes at this temp and then dial it down to 200 for the remaining time.. This will harden the salt while it seals the juices inside slow cooking...

Enjoy!!!!!!



Roscoe...

[Iron Chef]

^^^ I do a whole fish (like a snapper) in a salt crust and it comes out delicious.

[R.I.B.S.]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

^^^ I do a whole fish (like a snapper) in a salt crust and it comes out delicious.

I'll have to try that too Mike...

[LisaJohn]

Originally Posted by Iron Chef

^^^ I do a whole fish (like a snapper) in a salt crust and it comes out delicious.

Real red snapper and scamp are my favorite fishies.