Christmas dinner | Pad Patter 11.29

I always have stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies. I used to make sweet potato pie but I don't eat marshmallows anymore, too much sugar.

 

I do prepare almost the same menu every year: roast turkey, with gravy and stuffing and mashed potatoes, and a green vegetable on the side.

it's a way of honouring my mother, I guess, to do the Christmas dinner all old-school.

 

I am the worst at planning Christmas dinner. Sorry I am no help.

 

We always have the same meal every year.. my family does Christmas eve. It's always a big deal on my moms side of the family. We do homemade meat balls.. gravy.. mashed potatoes... lefsa.. green bean casserole... corn casserole... rolls..fruit.. and soooo many baked goods and cookies ...

 

Christmas dinner in Sweden is always a smörgåsbord. A buffet full of delicious things (and less delicious LOL).

https://www.swedishfood.com/julbord

I make a simplified version, making the dishes we actually like and eat. Vegetarian versions for me and hubby. Son is a picky eater, he's happy with getting meat balls, ham, sausages & potatoes.

For me and hubby I usually make:
- potatoes
- potato gratin
- veg. meat balls
- veg. sausage (have found a fantastic recipe where you fry them in the oven with maple syrup. YUM)
- halloumi cheese baked in the oven
- egg halves
- kale
- some sauces
- some pickled sallad (usually beet roots in some creamy sauce)
- a nice cheese - whisky cheddar or some other more "luxorius" cheese

Always try something new every year, this year I think I'm going to make a new potato bake I found a recipe for, and also bring back one of my own favorites: a Finnish traditional Christmas dish Lanttulaatikko - a rutabega/swede bake. Really yummy.

What I love most about Christmas dinner - we have food for days = no cooking for days! My only "vacation" all year LOL

 

I don't and have never fixed a Christmas dinner for multiple people. Other family members always did the hosting. Back in the days when we did get together we always had ham for our meat dish. The side dishes would vary depending on how many people were coming. One year it was baked potatoes, green beans, a sweet potato dish. And, we always had deviled eggs, red beets and olives (black and green) along with cole slaw. We usually had a choice between rolls or pumpkin bread. The desserts varied by year.

 

We usually do a big beef roast but DH is Canadian and apparently turkey is traditional there (Canadian Thanksgiving is earlier and doesn't necessarily involve turkey). I think it's too close to American Thanksgiving for turkey again. For Christmas Eve this year, we've decided to do something a little different and in a nod to our Italian ancestors, we are going to do a seafood tower. It'll be our version of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian American tradition for Christmas Eve.

 

My sisters and I pretty much follow our childhood Christmas menu: turkey, stuffing, Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, corn, Waldorf salad, hot rolls, and dessert.

Over the years we've added sides ... candied sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, lettuce, egg and tomato, mac and cheese. etc.

Last year we ended up staying home at the last minute b/c my sister's mother's helper came down with COVID shortly before Christmas and exposed her family. I didn't want to risk getting sick (two of Gayle's kids ended up with COVID), so we stayed home. It was too late to defrost a turkey, so we had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls and pumpkin pie for dessert.

 

We have ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli-cheese casserole, praise salad (this is a weird family recipe that involves Jello, mayo, and Cool Whip), corn casserole or shrimp salad, and rolls.

My fiance made a version of potatoes dauphinois recently based on the meals we had at our engagement dinner, and I'm hoping that I can talk my family into "allowing" him to make it for Christmas this year.

 

Sounds like one of those 1960s gelatin salads ... I used to make one with Jello (strawberry-banana), strawberries, and Cool Whip. I still have three Tupperware gelatin molds,

 

While we have always had the traditional turkey feast for Thankgiving, we've never done the same thing for Christmas and I've rarely done much fancy. Our Christmas is very relaxed.

 

My aunt makes one that involves strawberry jello, cool whip and pineapple. It is aptly named "the pink stuff".

 

I don't really do a Christmas dinner, so no real menu. I fix a bunch of appetizers and finger foods and we graze all day. My grown kids have so many other places they need to go, it's just easier that way. I love it!!
I tried a couple of new things last year - Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and Bacon Wrapped Chicken Bites. They were both soooo good!!

 

We started celebrating "Our Italian Christmas" with my MIL meatballs and Italian sausage and red gravy, pasta and fried eggplant. We do turkey and the trimmings on thanksgiving. This year dinner is on Christmas eve because my DD and SIL are going to his family for the entire Christmas afternoon/dinner for the first time in 13 years! I am happy for them!

 

Oh, I might do that instead. I love that. Can't do both, cuz it's only me wanting it.