What are you having for your Christmas meal this year?

[deb4o]

O it sounds like you all will be having such goodfood! Pls think offme as you chow down. We alwasys go to in-laws and you would think comiong form the south that my MIL could cook--but atlast NO she can't at all,thats why we have thanksgiving at our house that way Iam sure to get aleast one good meal during the holidays!

We have had such things as=chicken nuggets, bbq chicken(in the oven) and oh yes the year we had KFC!

So a few years ago I said I would bring up a few things, this year it will be a smoked turkey,ham and the deserts. So we are assured some thing we like.

Oh well it is Christmas and should be about the family,but Iam sure that the FIL will not like his gift(never does) the house will smell of smoke (my DH is trying to stop-7 weeks no cigs whee).

And we will home and snack in the evening.

So it's Christmas surprise for dinner for me. hohoho

 

[Beekissed]

Wow! What a variety of responses! I guess I'd always figured everyone did the whole ham or turkey thing at Christmas.

We are roasting a large turkey, deboning and using it for a buffet style sideboard. Homemade hoagie type bread and all the sandwich fixin's, a few desserts, potato soup and such. In the past we've always done the turkey and fixin's for each holiday...gives us an excuse to roast a turkey!

Next year I'd like to roast the meaties we'll be doing in the spring. We would have this year but I gave away all the extra roasters and had the last two for family get togethers this past summer.

 

[HeronsNestFarm]

We do a grazing brunch on Christmas day. We got tired of the formality and just wanted to enjoy each other and casually open gifts/play with toys.

It really has changed how enjoyable the day is!

Not using as much of our harvest as I would like. Really planning this year for greater yeilds and dependancy on our food.

It's hard here because we grow seed. That means that we can't have same family veggies growing and it reduces the variety, but growing good seed for all is worth it!

 

[FarmerChick]

london broil on the grill (I want that)

and everyone else wants lasagna


so we are having both

 

[Homemaker]

london broil on the grill (I want that)

and everyone else wants lasagna


so we are having both

Win-win


The past few years we have celebrated Wigilia My husband and his family are 100% polish. It starts at 4:30 about the time it starts to get dark here. And we wait for the first star. We break the opoitek, which is much like a communion wafer. Everyone gets a piece. We go around the room and hug each family member and wish them Merry Christmas. Then we break a little piece off of the other persons wafer and eat it.
Then we have a (almost) meatless dinner. Traditionally there should be no meat at all. While most of us choose to abstain from meat on Christmas Eve, there are a few family members who don't wish to observe this. And we aren't going to force it on them. So, there will be some homemade polish sausage and kraut for those who choose to eat meat. Actually, everything is homemade. But, very little of it will be homegrown. There will be potato pierogi, cheese pierogi, mushroom and kraut pierogi (my favorite), borsht, Lots of sour cream for both of these. Fish poached in vegetable broth and served with horseradish sauce, poppy seed rolls, veggie tray (Some of this is from the garden since it has been so mild here. Radish, carrots, celery, and canned olives.) with garlic kiefer dressing thanks to you fellow s.s.ers. And Sledge. I don't know if this is how it is actually spelled but, it is pickled herring. You are suppose to eat a little bite for good luck. They also do this on new year too. As much as I like fish a little bite is all I can take. There will be plenty of wine. Usually some vodka (drank straight, I cannot do this) cherry cordial, or kruipnik.
After that we will have some sort of dessert and coffee. We sit and relax and visit for the rest of the evening and listen to polka music and some traditional Christmas music. When the older people go home and my daughter goes to sleep, some of the cousins stay and we play boardgames for awhile.
We don't exchange gifts since everyone has big families. We will give a little something to my husbands Godmother though. We do gifts with immediate family on Christmas day.
Traditionally, we would all go to midnight mass together. Some of the older folks still go. But, most of us have young kids so we wait and go in the morning.
Wigilia actually marks the end of Advent and the beginning of the Christmas season. Which will last until Epiphany for us. Although I have heard in Poland it is celebrated all through January and the first week of February. So, we leave our decorations up and spend extra time visiting with family.

 

[Theo]

We will be entertaining a vegetarian guest, who eats fish but no meat. We can do that. We will be on the Oregon coast so we will have lots of salmon and crab, and maybe we'll be able to forage for mussels. Homegrown foods will include our potatoes and garlic, local foods (besides the fish) will include pumpkin for the pumpkin pies. I like the buffet idea--I like cooking ahead and just reheating and serving. That way I can enjoy Christmas, too.

 

[Duker17]

We do the "typical" turkey, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, etc. But I can't complain, we drive to Illinois to visit my parents and family so I don't have to do much of the cooking! Plus it looks like the weather is going to be decent this year for the 7 hour drive. Double bonus!

 

[hwillm1977]

Chinese food! Homemade so there is no msg.

Us too! We love doing a bunch of appetizers at Christmas because we have turkey at hubby's family on Christmas Eve, and on Boxing day with my family.

This year I'm making spring rolls, crab rangoons (my favourite!), potstickers, and our main meal will be brown rice and a ginger-leek chicken stirfry. I make all the dipping sauces too. I worked at a chinese restaurant for 9 years so I love cooking chinese (I was a waitress, not the cook).

The only thing from home will be the leeks from our garden this year... everything else is just coming from the grocery store.

 

[BusyBlonde]

My stepdaughter was going through my latest issue of The Food Network Magazine, and asked if I'd make their Glazed Cornish Game Hens with Pomegranate-Rice Stuffing, so we're trying something new this year. I usually make a standing Rib Roast for Christmas. We'll also have the warm 'farrow' salad (I'm substituting barley b/c I couldn't find farrow), which is made with winter squash, barley, and cherry tomatoes - another recipe from the magazine.

I'm not sure what else we're going to have. Everyone has their favorite dishes, but I'm trying to not make all carb-heavy sides, so maybe creamed spinach, deviled eggs and a salad. If it were up to everyone else, we'd have mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and corn souffle!

 

[nikki4612]

We went to Savannah this year on vacation and ate at Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons restaurant. I got a couple of her cookbooks so I'm going to do a Paula dinner on Sunday. Ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans with bacon, deviled eggs, cauliflower and brocolli with cheese, pound cake with strawberries. My mom is making several items and my friends are bringing others including corn pudding and pecan tarts. We are going to be a bit sad because my friend Gail's husband won't be with us. He's got lung cancer and has gone to hospice. So sad. But we are making him a plate of everything. We sent one to him on Thanksgiving too and he loved it.

I always try to remember how lucky we are.

Nikki