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Be Jealous: My Christmas Menu
In the run-up to Christmas, my wife declared the menu. In the days before, we would have dill pickle soup. On Christmas, we would have ham steaks, polenta, and broccoli.
I had fun with the polenta and used a cookie cutter I have to cut the pieces into the shape of teddy bears.
The broccoli was baked with garlic and butter and salt and pepper* first, and then topped with pignola and shredded cheeses (Swiss, Colby, Monterrey Jack) and baked for another 12 minutes to melt the cheese and brown the pignola.
We were both so stuffed with the ham and broccoli that we didn’t eat all of the polenta bears. And we also are very garlicky.
There is still peppermint stick ice cream waiting, but it will have to wait. No room at the inn.
I told my wife that the ham steak package had four steaks, so we had two left, and we had only used half the broccoli. Guess what we’ll be having for dinner tomorrow. I’m not complaining. Trust me.
So, what was your Christmas feast?
Ah, and now the peppermint stick ice cream. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Roast beast, of course. That was just the warm-up, though. We had to feed Grandpa so we could get him home before dark.
Tonight the real festivities — My brother’s Guggisberg Baby Swiss fondue recipe with sliced Jazz apples, grapes, and gently oven-crisped croutons for dipping. Christmas cookies for dessert.
Mr. C and I start our weight-loss regimen tomorrow. Ugh.
Sounds delicious.
Sounds delish, @arahant.
Our family Christmas dinner:
My grandma’s icebox cheesecake, a family dessert tradition
My mom’s famous meatloaf (my request for a different Christmas meat)
Sweet potato casserole
Creamed spinach
Field greens salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette
Sweet tea or homemade fruit punch
All in all, an elegant sufficiency as Grammy would say. Best part: my family :-)
I like how you started with dessert, Mim. ;-)
Even my picky eaters love it. The only problem you’d have with it is the wheat. Maybe you could dip polenta bears? /silently shudders while making the yucky face
Well, it’s a really good dessert. In fact, gotta go protect my interests – brother’s into the fridge now looking for another piece….
We had prime rib, baked potatoes, broccoli and hollandaise, and butternut squash. And rolls. But the most fun was the “last-minute miracle” brownie pudding cake. I read the King Arthur Flour blog every day–mostly just for daydreaming about mastering baking techniques I can’t begin to do. :) I admire these bakers so much, and it’s fun to read their posts. But two days ago, the blog post was about those frantic last two days before Christmas, and it really made me laugh. Wonderfully human-scale problems to be solved.
And the brownie pudding, if you like chocolate, was a small miracle. It took me only ten minutes to put together, and it turned out really well, warm from the oven, then topped with vanilla ice cream. :)
Here’s the whole collection of “last-minute miracles” and here’s the brownie pudding.
All in all, I cooked too much for dinner. We have enough left over to last until next year. :) :)
I’m having trouble cooking for two or three people. :) :)
The DINKy relatives on my side of the family hosted all of us, with crown roast of pork and the best sauerkraut ever! They’re excellent cooks, so everything was excellent. But the sauerkraut was the most memorably delicious. Yes, be very jealous! :-)
Most of us guests brought desserts of one kind or another. We like custard pies like key lime and pumpkin.
I need that recipe for New Year’s day, Midge! Love me some yummy pork and sauerkraut!
Filet mignon, green beans, baked potatoes with all fixings, fresh cranberry sauce, wine.
pecan pie for dessert, which we didn’t have yet.
So very delicious.
They would have to be much smaller polenta bears than the ones we had tonight, but I do have smaller versions of that cookie cutter.
We always swore Mama learned to cook for the whole Confederate Army. There was always more than enough to go around.
Did you find any custard nog?
Classing up the joint, Jules, classing up the joint.
You guys are unAmerican: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Sheesh.
Haha we just voted the filet meal for thanksgiving and Christmas. So much easier to prepare and deliver.
Mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. Baked potatoes on Christmas.
I will probs do some pre-holiday turkey, just to get the leftovers.
I hope you kissed the cook. This mama is not making Thanksgiving again for Christmas. No way. Been there. Done that already this year.
I have never liked that dinosaur, and I cannot eat either dressing or gravy, so that so-called traditional meal would not allow me much to eat.
Well, it was at my daughter’s, so we got all the goodies but none of the cleanup.
I’ll ask ’em what they did!
I keep trying to talk my wife into a crown roast of pork, but her answer is always that it’s too expensive.
Not yet!
Is corn starch a no-no?
Probably. You should listen to Arahant’s “pizza” recipes.
Just returned from the Star Wars movie. Starting dinner. New York roast, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes (Ray does them), salad, and cheesecake.
Jealous? Yes!
Our feast was standard: roast, mashed potatoes, couple of different salads, rolls, and a neighbor brought by some ginger chicken and rice (Phillipino neighbor) and it was excellent. Oh, yes, and pumpkin pie. Wonderful day with family.
Corn starch is fine.
Christmas Eve: Prime Rib & Oyster Stew
Christmas Day: Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans with Smoked Almonds, followed by a Cream Custard with Berries
Then Scotch whisky.