Traditional XMAS Eve / XMAS Day Feast

[Iron Chef]

When I was still married, we'd always go to the in-laws for tamales.

I hate tamales.

So for the last several years, we've done our own XMAS eve dinner which is homemade French Onion Soup Gratinee, warm crusty bread and whole Maine Lobster. It's as far from Tamales as I could get.

XMAS day I'll probably put out a Honeybaked Ham, some cheeses and crackers and we'll just graze all day and watch football. Of course, anyone from VB in the local area as well as my Texas crew (oh...wait...I was told we're a "clique"...sorry!) is invited to come by.

For those cooking, how many have a traditional dinner on either XMAS eve or XMAS day?


By the way...even though I was pretty sick, I did make a traditional Chanukah dinner of Eastern European Style Braised Beef Brisket and potato latkes for the last night. Then went to bed.

[RonC5]

Doing a deli tray on Christmas Eve. Don't have the energy to do anything else. Christmas will be the tradional (at our house) spiral cut ham, potatoes, etc. Eat around 2 and graze during the games.

[81.]

christmas eve will be whatever sounds good.....

christmas day will be movie popcorn and gin

[simpleman68]

Happy Holidays Chef! We celebrate both in our house as well.
Scott

[ZipZap]

Tradition on Christmas Eve is Jambalaya.

We switch up dinner on Christmas depending on who's here. This year it will be smoked Prime Rib and smoked mashed potatoes.

[jaxgator]

I don't typically do anything for Christmas eve.

I'll be having a spiral cut honey ham, dressing, green bean casserole and candied yams for Christmas day though.

[Yamma]

Christmas Eve is usually nothing special - Christmas Morning we have mom's home made cinnamon rolls, graze throughout the day on cookies, meats, cheeses, and mimosas, dinner is usually pretty early, and it is just about identical to Thanksgiving. I love it.

[longhorn341]

Usually do turkey or ham on Christmas, but this year for the first time I'm going to do a prime rib on the BGE.

[Rob]

My family always does red beans and rice and cornbread for Christmas dinner.

Best meal of the year!!!

[Yerf Dog]

Barb's cooking a prime rib roast and fixin's. We're just having my parents over this year.

[GRN ENVY]

Originally Posted by RonC5

Doing a deli tray on Christmas Eve. Don't have the energy to do anything else. Christmas will be the tradional (at our house) spiral cut ham, potatoes, etc. Eat around 2 and graze during the games.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Funny how different it is just across the border. In Canada it's turkey day. Always has been, always will be. Much like in England with their Christmas goose. I guess your thanksgiving is too close to Christmas for another bird. Weird?

[Jobaka]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

Funny how different it is just across the border. In Canada it's turkey day. Always has been, always will be. Much like in England with their Christmas goose. I guess your thanksgiving is too close to Christmas for another bird. Weird?

Growing up, it was always turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's all changed now. I haven't had turkey at Christmas for many years.



This year I'm taking my wife out to a fancy restaurant:

[NeedSpeed]

We generally have Prime Rib on Christmas.

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

Funny how different it is just across the border. In Canada it's turkey day. Always has been, always will be. Much like in England with their Christmas goose. I guess your thanksgiving is too close to Christmas for another bird. Weird?

Precisely..at least for me it is. At my house the big meal is at Thanksgiving: Smoked turkey, corn bread dressing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato cubes baked with lemon juice and maple syrup, hot rolls. Christmas morning we always have blueberry pancakes, smoked grilled sausage, and maple syrup. We usually wind up eating the leftovers for dinner.

[LisaJohn]

We have ham for Christmas lunch. I make a layered salad, potato salad, etc. and several desserts. I would like to try a standing rib roast.

[NotSlo]

All kinds of snacks on Christmas Eve, Christmas day is usually a beef tenderloin roast.

[MrPeabody]

When I was a kid it was basically a repeat of Thanksgiving dinner. I have done Prime Rib sometimes, but for the last several years we have done Dungeness Crab. I ordered 20 of them today and I'll pick them up on monday. We will boil some red potatoes and corn on the cob to go with it. Got a couple crabs for just the wife and I for dinner tonight. Price and availability can vary from year to year for the crab. Pretty cheap and plentiful this year.

[MikeB]

For the past 15 or more years, I have my parents over on Christmas day. The In-Laws used to come over too, but they now winter in FL (for the past 8 years). My Daughter and her husband and our grand-daughter have joined this Christmas day meal for the past 2 seasons. Normally, we spend Christmas eve with our 3 kids and grand-kids (3).


Every year, it's the same thing.
I make a Standing Rib Roast with baked potatoes, and Marianne does all the rest. Usually cheesy broccoli, a salad with homemade dressing, rolls, and pumpkin and cherry pie.
I have made it mostly with a salt/pepper/and garlic crust, but I have also tried the salt mound method. It was OK, but my folks are traditional meat and potato types.

Marianne also preps the snacks; various cheeses, spreads, crackers, garlic beef summer sausage (Old World Wisconsin brand- the best), and veggies (carrots,celery,broccoli,and cauliflower).
Going to pick up the roast Friday.

[Kerrmudgeon]

I'm not sure why, because we aren't anywhere near being French Canadian, but we picked up their tradition for Christmas eve of having meat pie, or "tortierre" at midnight after the candle light service at church. Meat pie, sweet harvard beets and sweet mixed pickles. I'm making them this year....ground pork, veal, and beef. As kids we looked at it as a reward for having to go to church and get all dressed up!