Gator Pam Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I generally do Jewish Appetizing with seven different offerings for Christmas Eve. Here on the Eastside of Seattle, the most reliable source tends to be Whole Foods for the various fish: Belly LoxNova LoxSmoked WhitefishSmoked SableMatjes HerringHerring in Cream SauceKippers and Eggs Standard accompaniment of bagels, bialys, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, sliced onion and various cream cheese. My two bone standing rib roast is out of the packaging wrapped in a flour sack towel to "dry age" for five days before I smear it with the fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic paste on Christmas Eve to season overnight. I'll buy the ingredients for the Oxtail and Wine au jus tomorrow and make that ahead. No Yorkshire pudding this year; we all decided we would rather have homemade garlic mashed potatoes. We haven't decided on a vegetable yet. I would love to do carrot soufflé, but with the potatoes that may be too much starch. I'll probably save it for Passover. I'm not planning on desserts; there's been far too many sweets in the schools I've been subbing in the past few weeks. I won't turn down anything my roommates decide to do, though. So, we may wind up with a homemade pumpkin pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanShotFirst Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Christmas Eve lunch is supposed to be hosted by my Dad’s sister and the menu is grilled steaks, fried potatoes, hash brown potato casserole, and some kind of rolls. I’m sure there will be a large variety of desserts. We as a family are bringing the hash brown casserole and brownies. Found out yesterday that it is all up in the air though. My aunt is very worried about Covid because of the entire bunch of us she and my family of 4 are the only ones fully vaccinated. Also the weather is supposed to be rainy so not great for grilling outdoors. We’re playing it all by ear now. Christmas Day will just be my family of 4. We are going out on a limb and doing a turkey breast, a small ham, dressing, dumplings, Mac and cheese, fried and/or baked potatoes, and maybe purple hull peas. Sister Schubert rolls of course. Dessert will be homemade chocolate pie and chocolate sheet cake. This will be the first time my 77 year old mother has actually made dressing so we shall see how it turns out! LOL! In her defense, the dressing job belonged to her sister and her mother. Mom’s job was dumplings, Mac & cheese and some sort of chocolate dessert. This is the first year since my aunt’s death 2 years ago that we’ve wanted to try turkey, dressing and dumplings. Wish us well! Lol! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 It sounds wonderful! Please let us know how it all comes out. Ah, I forgot to mention the home made au jus, which I plan to make tomorrow. It calls for three pounds of oxtail, but at $12.49/lb that's a bit steep for me. Last year I substituted beef shank cuts, which worked fine for the au jus and at $4.99/lb is much more within my budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 (edited) I am not changing my planned menu at this point, but I did realize this year Christmas falls on Shabbos. Many years ago in the bigger cities where Jewish immigrants settled, Chinese restaurants tended to be the only places open on Christmas. So the tradition, or minhag, which for many can become as important as a mitzvah, or commandment, of eating Chinese food on Christmas came to be. This meme is a humorous look at the minhag. In the spirit of the Chinese food on Christmas minhag, I offer this recipe. Scallion Pancake Challah Edited December 21, 2021 by Gator Pam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucyismycat Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 Our family tradition is to go out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve after we go to church. Last year we didn't go because Covid, but this year both boys have asked to verify that we are back in business. This is funny to me because they will only eat the American foods at the place we go to! (like, what do you care, kid, you're just going to eat mac n cheese anyway?) LOL We are having grilled ribeyes, cheesy potatoes, salad and some other cooked vegetables for Christmas day. It's been a while since I've had a good steak! Bon appetit! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budgetsRsexy Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 My husband’s family are polish and have fish and homemade pierogi on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day they have leftover pierogi and their homemade kielbasa. The side dishes to each meal varies depending on who is attending as different people have different favorites and specialties that they bring to share. They only do the homemade pierogi and kielbasa for Christmas and Easter so it’s something everyone looks forward to and stuffs themselves silly with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 Yum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 We are having ham and turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, Mac and cheese, squash (sautéed and casserole), sweet potato casserole, homemade Cranberry sauce, and bread (I might make bread if I have time).Mama makes all the food (I'll do squash) and I handle dessert.Dessert is brownies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, cool whip cookies, fudge, buckeyes, homemade butter mints, homemade marshmallows, and maybe spritz cookies. We don't have anything usual or special we have for Christmas Eve. Many times we have a frozen lasagna, and that will probably be the case this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 What a feast! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 25, 2021 Author Share Posted December 25, 2021 Unwrapped the roast from its aging towels and spread the herb and garlic seasoning over it. Now it will sit uncovered in the refrigerator until I pull it to take the chill off before roasting in a low oven. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy0504 Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Christmas Eve is always potluck and was hosted at my cousin’s this year... I made a cream cheese dip (cream cheese, fresh diced onion and green pepper sprinkled on top, a jar or two of salsa and sharp cheddar on top) served with tortilla chips, crockpot meatballs, potato salad (that I decided to buy from the store because I was tired and it was just easier since I had to take my seeing impaired cousin out for last minute shopping on Christmas Eve) taco meat and fixings and Ambrosia... We also had pepperoni and cheese and a veggie pizza, medium and bbq wings, bread and dip, tuna salad, deviled eggs (someone ate mine off my plate [emoji35]), meat and cheese tray, various cakes and cookies and beverages... Christmas dinner was a lasagna this year and that was it, lol... after my daughter made a brunch of fish, grits and eggs and I played a game (or three) of Just Dance I was almost down for the count so that’s all I had in me... I made curry chicken for Sunday dinner...will make Collards, a small pot of black eyed peas, dressing and homemade cranberry sauce and maybe a meat for my New Year meal (I did freeze some left over turkey from Thanksgiving) and then it’s back to eating lighter and healthier for me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Pam Posted December 27, 2021 Author Share Posted December 27, 2021 Sounds perfect,tracy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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