Photo by rikkis refuge
With Christmas coming up, I thought I’d ask what everyone is planning on making.
The traditional dinner Americans inherited from England is the goose. Just ask Ebeneezer Scrooge. We’ve modified that slightly, and are more likely to do turkey. Ask the dad in A Christmas Story.
Photo by Brian Johnson & Dane Kantner
Then there’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes that we got from Sicily, but is now more common as an Italian-American tradition than it is an Italian one.
Photo by Mike and Sherry at Menu in Progress
I’ve mentioned before that I like to do a standing rib roast. Big ‘ol hunks of beef are welcome at most any gathering.
Photo by Manicosity
You can go with the Christmas Ham, or tweak that a bit and go with a sausage-based dish.
Photo by Meret Veian
Some people, unfortunately, don’t get to choose what they’re having.
Photo by IndyDina with Mr. Wonderful
How about you? What’s your Christmas dinner going to be?
Christmas dinner will be ...
- Goose (or other big bird -- not the one from Sesame Street) (44%, 39 Votes)
- Ham or other pig parts (26%, 23 Votes)
- Cow ... sorry, I mean beef (23%, 20 Votes)
- Whatever the shelter serves (3%, 3 Votes)
- Fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish and fish (2%, 2 Votes)
- Dude, I'm Jewish (2%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 88
Loading ...(If you don’t see the poll, come check it out on the blog.)
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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26 Comments
I am surprised that we don’t have a “The Christmas Menu has not yet gotten out of committee” option.
When my grandmother was still with us, every holiday would entail the long discussion of the menu. Ideas from all Lebanese (did that one year) to homemade pizzas, fajitas, greek, fried chicken, “something light and tasty”, lamb, and on and on. Until grandmother would say something along the lines of “Oh, they all sound good, how about we have a bit of everything.” Then my mother would go “arrg”.
Good times. I miss them.
For the past two years I’ve made Tourtière to bring to family dinners. (I live in California and the only French in my background comes from the Norman Conquest.) My family tells me they like it, but I seem to be the one who eats most of it. I don’t mind, though.
We’ll be doing the Feast of the Seven Fishes for xmas eve again this year (I’ve got to start planning!)
For xmas dinner, I’m with you – I like a standing rib roast.
when my SO was alive he wanted roast dinner, but with three kinds of meat – such as ham, lamb and turkey. plus all the trimmings – baked potato, carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato, and microwaved peas or some such.
now i visit others and have whatever they offer
. being summer here, a big roast lunch is not high on my agenda these days.
We’re going full-on British this year: standing rib, Yorkshire pudding, potatoes, etc and a big old plum pudding for dessert. I’ll be making that tomorrow. Should prove to be interesting, what with the ten hours of steaming!
We usually do a standing rib roast, as well, but this year we’re trying out Turducken! I can’t wait!
Usually my mom and I get together and make tamales, and we eat those for Christmas. Not this year. I have decided we’re having prime rib. Yummmmm….y!
We get invited to the relatives, and we get to bring a side (usually cheesy potato casserole). The main dish is always a surprise. I think it was prime rib and turkey last year.
When I was a kid my dad’s side of the family (from Oklahoma) would do turkey, with sweet potatoes with marshmallows, walnuts, brown sugar and pineapple, cornbread stuffing with walnuts, livers, gizzards, and I don’t know what else in it, and creamed peas. Oh my gosh it was the best food ever! What I wouldn’t give to go back and have that again but the cooks on that side of the family have all passed on.
We have had king crab legs for the last couple of years,because they make for a lengthier,more communal dinner. Our family consists of my husband , me and our 30 year old son. The cracking and cleaning of the crab allows more time for conversation. Other dinners have been tried, but the men were too busy chewing/eating and too eager to get back to the TV.
I’m hoping Santa brings me a talkative daughter in law!
Ooh, sneaky … but in a good way. I like it.
Its funny, but I’m in my 40s and I cannot remember what in the world we ever ate for Christmas dinner as a child. Must not have been that memorable or traditional.
For the past decade (2000s), since we always celebrate at my mom’s, we’ve been having ham (the spiral cut kind for ease). Sometimes its a sit-down dinner (like this year) with “proper” side dishes, etc., other years it’s been a make-yourself-a-ham-sandwich with potato salad, etc.
The BEST was in the 1990s, when my mom did the Christmas brunch for the big meal with breakfast casseroles and fruit, etc. To me, that was not only tasty, creative and fun, but more along the lines of making the Christmas morning feeling last all day long.
I tried to vote on the poll but nothing happened? Anyway, this year our Christmas dinner will be ham (butchered, cured and smoked by us and a couple friends), mashed sweet potatoes (still have some from the last CSA basket), regular mashed potatoes (Mom wouldn’t forgive me otherwise), turnip greens, and the banana ice cream that Drew taught us about
No one believes me when I tell them how much they’ll enjoy it so I can’t wait for my family to get here this year. They’ll be coming from sunny, warm Florida to chilly, hopefully snowy, Tennessee 
Standing Rib Roast but this year do to circumstances will be a whole standing Rib Roast
I’m mixing it up this year. Christmas will be combined with New Year. So the menu will be: Pork roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas (from dried), cornbread, green salad (or Greek, haven’t decided yet), fresh bread and cake (also undecided). Hope everyone, those with a home and those without, are able to have a very happy holiday and food in abundance.
forgot cranberry sauce and candied fresh sweet potatoes!! sorry
Thanks for including my faith in your poll… I would be going to the Kosher Chinese restaurant, but they aren’t open on Saturday. Brisket to the rescue!
My dad bought a turkey, but I’m thinking of buying a goose or a duck or two to have at my place for New Year’s because turkey is so overdone. Oh, and tourtiere of course! It’s a Christmas staple at home, we always use my late paternal grandmother’s recipe.
My mother and grandmother, who lived in our home, would make a Christmas dinner that sounds more like a Fourth of July picnic: Cold fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, maybe a Jello salad with lime jello, cottage cheese and pineapple. A big reason for this tradition was so they could get all the preparations done the day before, then spend Christmas morning enjoying the gift exchange.
Last year, I fixed dinner of Christmas colors: white (turkey breast), green (broccoli, green beans, etc.) and red (red cabbage slaw, yams, etc.)
This year I may skip the meat, but keep to the general theme (red beans and rice? green veggies?) To go with that, we’ll have things I canned, such as pickles and jams.
It was through canning that I found your How to Cook Like Your Grandmother, by the way — the bread-and-butter pickle adventure. Thanks for your blog!
We’ve never done Christmas dinner. Not even once that I can remember.
We have breakfast in the morning (or mid-morning) and after that we put out snacks and graze all day. Usually veggies and cheese and crackers, but often with stuffed mushrooms and a deli meat platter too. And a pot of spiced cider on the stove all day.
After we open gifts, we lounge around and talk or play games. It’s nice to be able to socialize instead of being in the kitchen one holiday a year.
This year, we’re doing a brunch at my in-laws, so I’ll make quiche and something sweet, like cinnamon rolls.
I’m not sure how my Grandfather did it in days gone past (over 20 years ago), he used to put on a spread that would feed the entire block LOL. Included in the meal was roast stuffed chicken and duck, chicken paprikash with dumplings, homemade chicken soup, cucumber salad, roast potatoes, some sort of veg, and to finish it all was authentic european torte for dessert!
I don’t have a huge family myself. It’s usually just my boyfriend, sister and brother-in-law and myself so it ends up being turkey with stuffing, mashed turnips/carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy and squash. Dessert usually is cheesecake of one type or another. A far cry from from the old days but just as satisfying.
If I could make up my mind on which raclette grill I want and remember to order the thing, my husband and I will have a lovely raclette dinner. Plan B is grilling steaks. In the end, my husband will likely gorge himself silly on Chex Mix and pigs in blankets and not want his dinner. LOL!
Christmas Eve will be a pasta dish of some sort, 2 years ago it was Stuffed Shells, last year it was Linguini with Clam Sauce.
Christmas Dinner will be a Spiral Cut City Ham. The request came from my husband.
We always do ham and turkey. My favorite is the ham gravy, if you’ve never had it, it’s to die for. You can actually get ham bouillon around here to make it with. We also do the usual mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (with onion rings, not French’s Onions), watergate salad (my other favorite), yams, and the other usual fare.
Christmas Eve – Feast of some fishes, but definitely not 7 , including fresh cod, not Baccala. And pasta with marinara for the kids.
Christmas Day – Early: Aunt Angela’s breakfast casserole. Later, for the main event: Antipasto & Fried Artichoke Hearts; Cannelloni & Manicotti; Roast pork loin, Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust, and fresh greens with panko-encrusted fried goat cheese.
Going by all the years that I can remember, it will be turkey, ham and chicken or portions thereof. This equals Christmas grub according to my mother.
And just for a twist, I’m hosting a meal the following day. I’m thinking of satay chicken.
We have some friends with a farmette out in the wilds of Duval (east of Seattle) who raise fowl. We bought a quarter of a free-range cow and traded some of the beef for some ducks and a goose from the friends so we are having goose this year. They just got some goats so we can expect cheese and goat meat in the future. We were supposed to get some goat milk the last time we visited but….
Update: since her partner is working Christmas this year, she will be have dinner with us — Yay!!