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Christmas Eve is at the in-laws-very informal. She's provide a ham and the rest will bring what we're known for..mine will be potato salad, my sil does wicked baked beans, bil is a gormet chef so we never know and look forward to see what he brings.
Christmas day is in a way a repeat of T'day. When it's at my house which is is this year, I'll change it up a bit....can't have the diehards having heart attacks...
So I'll have both ham and turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn souffle, apple salad, and some sweat potato thing my sil is doing. I'll throw in a couple different things but haven't decided what yet.
The Garlic Roasted Potato Spears sounds really good. Recipe sharing?
And thanks for posting that Mushroom Beef Tenderloin recipe. I'd like to make that but my sister won't eat mushrooms.
The last 3 years we've had Christmas Eve dinner at my sister's and she does a lasagna, salad, and bread. Then Christmas dinner is at my house and I always mix it up. I don't like repeating Thanksgiving. Sometimes we have done ham though. One year I did a pork tenderloin. I have purchased the expensive meat and did a beef tenderloin. It's so good. I may do that again. I think last year I did the Prime Rib Roast. I change up the sides too. We do a potato casserole, baked mac and cheese.
I'm not sure yet what I'll do this year. My sister wants to do Christmas Eve at my house this year. It's only me, ds, two little kids, and my sister. So we don't need a lot of food.
The Garlic Roasted Potato Spears sounds really good. Recipe sharing?
Potato Spears (the cookbook calls them "Oven-Roasted Potatoes," but that's boring)
From Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Celebrates Christmas
4 pounds baking potatoes
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 cup chicken stock, home-made if possible
Flour for dusting if desired
Peel the potatoes and quarter them lengthwise. If they're very thick, we cut them in sixths or eighths.
Place the potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish. Add all remaining ingredients except chicken stock. Turn the potatoes to coat them evenly.
Bake at 350 for one hour. Add the chicken stock and bake one more hour, turning the potatoes a few times during baking. To give a nice browning effect, dust a bit of flour over them at the end of the baking time and put them under the broiler for a few minutes. (We've never done that; they're usually golden-brown and glorious just after the baking.)
This deceptively simple recipe is just about the ONLY thing that is considered mandatory for Christmas dinner at our house. It doesn't matter what the main course is, there MUST be potato spears. And generally that means one 9x13 dish for our son and a second one for everyone else.
Christmas Eve is at the in-laws-very informal. She's provide a ham and the rest will bring what we're known for..mine will be potato salad, my sil does wicked baked beans, bil is a gormet chef so we never know and look forward to see what he brings.
Christmas day is in a way a repeat of T'day. When it's at my house which is is this year, I'll change it up a bit....can't have the diehards having heart attacks...
So I'll have both ham and turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn souffle, apple salad, and some sweat potato thing my sil is doing. I'll throw in a couple different things but haven't decided what yet.
This year it will probably be just me and my BF on Christmas Eve....neither of us can go home to our families, but we have each other, so that is okay!
My family always has crab legs and shrimp on Christmas Eve and I think we are going to do that same for ourselves here this year with a few apps or finger foods.
Dinner on Christmas we might do with a few friends. I would like to try that mushroom beef tenderloin recipe and have that with mashed or cheesey potato casserole, fresh rolls, broccoli, salad, and something chocolate for dessert.
We do a ton of Appetizers for Christmas and graze all night. Everyne (there are about 25 of us) makes like 2 apps and my mom makes the cookies/dessert and we just chow.... We even have a baked potato bar!!!! It is so much fun!!! The whole dining room is filled with munchies and dips and finger foods and bread bowls and mini pizzas and shrimp and crab cakes.... you name it we got it! It is my favorite food night of the whole year!
We do a ton of Appetizers for Christmas and graze all night. Everyne (there are about 25 of us) makes like 2 apps and my mom makes the cookies/dessert and we just chow.... We even have a baked potato bar!!!! It is so much fun!!! The whole dining room is filled with munchies and dips and finger foods and bread bowls and mini pizzas and shrimp and crab cakes.... you name it we got it! It is my favorite food night of the whole year!
I just talked to my kids about doing a bunch of apps instead of a big meal! They said OK as long as I cook a ham too.
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