Christmas / Holiday Menus . . . what are your traditions? (thawing, crock pot, leftover)

[Mrs. Skeffington]

I've carried over my Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage to my Christmas menu, even though some of the foods are considered odd here in Western PA. I make a roast turkey with homemade stuffing, but then I also prepare baked Pennsylvania Dutch potato filliing (mashed potatoes to which are added cubes of stale bread, beaten egg, parsley, and celery and onions browned in butter). We also have Cope's dried corn, stewed with milk, sugar, and butter. I always make a mince pie for DH (although he is the only one who cares for it). A vegan entree is now added to the menu (prepared by my mother-in-law or daughter), because DH's parents and siblings, plus my daughter, are vegetarian.

[Mrs. Skeffington]

The "Twelve Days of Christmas" Pennsylvania Dutch version:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a wet bottom shoe fly pie.

It ends up (you can figure out the other verses):

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 12 loaves of rye bread, 11 corn fritters, 10 pigs' knuckles, 9 pounds of scrapple, 8 bowls of pot pie, 7 crocks of sauerkraut, 6 whoopee pies, 5 red beet eggs, 4 soft pretzels, 3 ring bologna, 2 apee cakes, and a wet bottom shoe fly pie!

[LaFemme86]

We always do a leg of lamb... depending where we are and on our mood, it is prepared differently with sides to match. I've been doing this since I was a kid, and we adopted over the tradition!

Last year's Christmas (eve) dinner was Greek themed, mainly because I wanted to make the spanakorizo:

-Herb marinated leg of lamb with a yogurt mint sauce
-Spanakorizo (Greek spinach rice)
-Chunky Greek salad
-Oven roasted rosemary baby potatoes
-crusty bread

For appetizers we had a random mix of stuff: assorted breads with EVOO/Vinegar, Prosciutto and melon, olives, cheeses, and shrimp cocktail.

Dessert was a homemade tiramisu.

Lots of wine to drink!

It was DH, my parents, my sister, and myself... so we opted for a mix of all of our favorites!

[Vectoris]

Sometimes I forget that turkeys are quite useful and cost efficient to cook at any time of the year. So we try to remember to pick up a 10 lb one and it's amazing the amount of meals we can get from it. The last one I did, I think I calculated about 8 meals-for-2 from something that cost prob less than $25.

We had about 3 turkey dinners, turkey sandwiches hot with gravy or cold with cranberry, turkey soup and then I curried the last bit of thick soup which had become more like a stew. The downside is finding room in the fridge for the carcass but it's still very worthwhile for anyone who wants to eat frugally and deliciously for a while!

[SATX56]

How often do you roast a turkey aside from holidays/traditions?

Rarely, but would certainly enjoy having it more often.

[mainebrokerman]

the smell of a turkey roasting is one of my favorite food aromas..

the stores up here will sell turkeys for .49lb at thanksgiving

I buy 7-8 of these and put them in the chest freezer,,

[UrbanLuis]

Turkeys dinners with a side of mash potatoes, lots of gravy, stuffing, peas, carrots and cranberry sauce is probably in my top 5 favorite meals. Unfortunately I only eat this during the holidays. I make roast beef meals like this more often though.

[elnina]

Never! I don't eat turkey, even on holidays.
Commercial turkey (like chicken) is tasteless. Bred to be ready for slaughter when they are three to three and a half months old, it never matures and never puts on the layer of fat, and that's why their meat taste real dry, and why they are injected with liquid or soaked in brine. It need lots of seasoning, stuffing and gravy to be palatable.
Cardboard seasoned, stuffed and covered with gravy would probably taste the same...
There are other tasty, moist and delicious meats to enjoy

[jtur88]

I did one in March last year.. Saw them really cheap in the store flyer. Couldn't find a can of cranberries at any price.

Turkey is better the next day, cold, in a sandwich on white bread with lettuce, plenty of Mayo and way too much salt, with a glass of milk.

[linda814]

I always buy 2 at Thanksgiving...rummaging through the frozen birds to find the biggest ones.... I cook one then and then one around my husband's birthday in August since by that time we have had it up to our eyeballs in BBQ foods!!!!!