5+ Course meals for holidays? (wine, appetizers, grilled, bbq)

[Capt. Cave Man]

Spiderbear got me to thinking.

Holidays are for family, talking, relaxing, talk'n, and catch'n up. Instead of one big ol' meal and fall'n asleep then leftovers, why not many small "treats" thru the day?

Does this idea make anyone want to change tradition? It does me. I gotta do some reading, but I'm think'n many courses that just satisfy for an hour or so. People always hang around the kitchen/food anyway. Make it a "food" event from 10 or 11 till about 8 or 9? Yep, 8-10 courses.(small, of course.....pun intended)

What do you think? Any basic/complex ideas for easy prep food thru the day?

Thanks

[HighlandsGal]

I would think a combination of cold and hot plates -- play up different textures and have lots of variety. Sort of like a traditional Spanish tapas bar crawl.......

[nomoresnow]

I know what you mean. It always seems like so much work for a half hour of sitting at the table (if that!)

[arsbadmojo]

I dunno; I really like the idea - honest, I do - but you'd be messing with years of tradition. Sure, it's rather silly tradition, but it is a ritual dear to many hearts, including my own. Any other day of the year, throw tradition right out the window as far as I'm concerned, but don't mess with my Turkey Day, dammit.

[DITC]

Welcome to the life of an Italian-American. We have been doing this for years as we treasure quality food and family time. Glad to see America is finally catching on.

How small are these "small treats" you are talking about? Please tell me you are not doing 8 courses of little finger food type serving sizes. You must remember, easy cooking and good food do not go hand and hand. If you want easy, then knock yourself out with some pigs in a blanket. However, I highly recommend taking your time with food prep as Thanksgiving is supposed to be one of the better meals of the year. You can start with a nice antipasto and some shrimp in cocktail sauce. Then split up what would be your typical American one course meal into different stages. Remember, quality food is what brings people together.

Originally Posted by Capt. Cave Man

Spiderbear got me to thinking.

Holidays are for family, talking, relaxing, talk'n, and catch'n up. Instead of one big ol' meal and fall'n asleep then leftovers, why not many small "treats" thru the day?

Does this idea make anyone want to change tradition? It does me. I gotta do some reading, but I'm think'n many courses that just satisfy for an hour or so. People always hang around the kitchen/food anyway. Make it a "food" event from 10 or 11 till about 8 or 9? Yep, 8-10 courses.(small, of course.....pun intended)

What do you think? Any basic/complex ideas for easy prep food thru the day?

Thanks

[mommytotwo]

Originally Posted by nomoresnow

I know what you mean. It always seems like so much work for a half hour of sitting at the table (if that!)

So true, I did my first Thanksgiving last year, and it seemed like everyone was ready to rush off shortly after the dishes were done. Kind of ridiculous.

I am seriously considering getting some of the fancy looking platic plates for dinner this year instead of using the china. Washing it is just too time consuming, even with the dishwasher.

[Chinolala]

A Fall theme soup course, butternut squash or pumpkin would be good
followed by a cheese course served with wines
then a small plate pasta course - with an olive and oll or marinara sauce seeing that the soup and cheese are rich - you want to go light on the pasta at this course
have about a 45 minute gap here for guests to mingle, take photos, etc. Let the food settle and use this time to talk while enjoying beverages.
Then the next course would be a fish and a meat. The meat could be something like a turkey tenderloin instead of a whole turkey. This can be served with roasted vegetables and perhaps wild rice or risotto. If you live in a warm climate, both the fish and tenderloin can be grilled
For dessert, I'd go with something "hands on" and fun; like chocolate fondue or a variety of high end sorbets with fresh fruit and a simple cake like angel food or pound cake that can be used for the fondue or as a side to the sorbet.

I think the key is to have time in between courses and not serve everything at one. This will make the dining experience last longer and will promote more conversation.

[Capt. Cave Man]

Tradition will be hard to break, and chances are it will be the same thing as every year.......like ya said, don't mess w/turkey day.

I hope we can do it just a little different, here is a ruff "plan"

soup & salad. 11:00 We all like clam chowder and a basic lettuce salad

app's. 1:00 shrimp cocktail, and cocktail meatballs in bbq sauce or cheese and crackers.

main. 3-4:00 Traditional smoked turkey, dressing, etc. Just figuring smaller portions.

dessert. 6:00 Pumkin pie, cherry pie, pecan pie.

late snack. 8:00 leftovers(same as every yr )

Of course veg trays w/dip, plenty of cheese and crackers around. Think'n smaller portions thru the day. May have to throw in some leftover smoked prime rib that I have in the freezer, and pulled pork I could put in bbq sauce and use as a dip.

Last yr we were at the inlaws(this yr w/my side @ our house) and they do it the same every yr. Eat as much in one meal as you'd eat in 3, unbutton the pants and lay around like lions after a big meal. The rest of the day all you hear is "oh Lord I'm full!" and "why did I eat so much".

Just want to try something different, w/games between the meals.

[spiderbear]

Oh man, you called me out...prepare for a doozie of a post.

I never go with traditional holiday food (we do thanksgiving food on Halloween eve) for holidays, so I can only say what we've done that's been really yummy.

Here's the things that I've always had work for multi-course meals:

Any variety of middle eastern. You can do a procession of dips, breads, fruits, olives, then move on to kabobs and grape leaves, after that a main course of a big hearty stew with rice. While that's settling, make some Turkish coffee or mint tea for everyone and eventually finish with pastries. Normally start to finish it's about 4 hours and everyone feels very pampered.

French. I'm generally biased against it, because it's always overdone and rarely done well. But if you can go with some more interesting things like moules frites and different confits, you can get a lot of really fancy, really nice small bites. Wine pairing is also easy with French food.

Any sort of communal food. Pig pickin, oyster roast, fish fry, clam bake, low country boil, anything that's fun and complicated and requires a group assembly. If you have the space for it, it's always nice to do a backyard pit. People will grumble at first, but it gets everyone engaged and away from the TV.

I tend to hate tapas because everyone does those too. They're amazing as light bar food, but some people insist on making them a trendy meal with lots of bad sangria. I want holidays to be classic and interesting, not a passing phase. It's the same reason I stay away from sushi. You can't taste the love in sushi. You still want it to feel like home-cooking. If you want Spanish food, do something hearty like paella served alongside cheeses and preserved meats, and stay away from tapas.

Husband and his best friend are getting a greek banquet for their birthdays (lucky them ) so we're doing all sorts of little appetizers (too many to list) in addition to a giant rib roast we scored for $3/lb. Dolmades, tapenades, etc are all going to be made in advance. We're making that a whole weekend affair. We also have a friend making a keg of meade, which obviously isn't always possible, but interesting micro-brews and non traditional beverages are always fun.

Any sort of tasting. Pick a theme for each course, and it can be bites of many different things. Pumpkin pie, chocolates, cheeses, herbed olive oils and breads, balsamic vinegars, wine, coffees, roasted meats, the list is endless. This will make foodies super happy.

There's also the traditional make-ahead banquet staples that everyone likes, if you have a slightly less adventurous crowd:

Chicken cordon bleu bites
Crab and smoked gouda fondue
Bacon-wrapped turkey medallions (so they get their bird fix)
Crab-stuffed shrimp wrapped with bacon (I like bacon)
Pumpkin cheesecake bites
Tea sandwiches or chicken/tuna/egg salad-stuffed gougeres
Deviled eggs (I make mine with capers and horseradish)
Individual caesar salads in parmesan cheese cups (look much harder to make than they are)
Stilton-stuffed dates (can also be wrapped in bacon )
Spanikopita
Vanilla bean ice cream with cranberry drizzle

I could go on and on...

You looking for traditional or interesting? There are so many possibilities. Also, make ahead cooking is your best friend. I spend maybe three days ahead of each occassion making little things here and there, and at the end I really only have minor assembly and maybe 30 minutes of cooking to do. Everything listed can be made in advance. I love to entertain, but just as important to me is having the energy to be entertaining, not frazzled and looking like I spent all day in the kitchen. I want my food to lie for me.

[BillyC64]

Originally Posted by Capt. Cave Man

Spiderbear got me to thinking.

Holidays are for family, talking, relaxing, talk'n, and catch'n up. Instead of one big ol' meal and fall'n asleep then leftovers, why not many small "treats" thru the day?

Does this idea make anyone want to change tradition? It does me. I gotta do some reading, but I'm think'n many courses that just satisfy for an hour or so. People always hang around the kitchen/food anyway. Make it a "food" event from 10 or 11 till about 8 or 9? Yep, 8-10 courses.(small, of course.....pun intended)

What do you think? Any basic/complex ideas for easy prep food thru the day?

Thanks

First of all CCM, you think to much (or not enough depending on the forum LOL) Really I think it's all good except for that bad word you used......small...SMALL...."pun"..... .if I had a stick I'd......it's big okay, BIG....I demand a retraction.