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Easter: A Virginia ham with mac and cheese, sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagus, butterbeans, sauteed mushrooms and fried okra.
For dessert, ordered from bakery: A 12 inch round pound cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with yellow flowers and a peach colored border.
Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, creamed collard greens and butternut squash, candied yams., a Virginia red wine.
For Dessert: 1 pumpkin pie, 1 blackberry pie, 1 apple-cranberry pie
Christmas: A roast goose and a roast duck, mashed potatoes and stuffing, turnips, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and fresh baked bread.
For dessert: Ordered from bakery, a full sheet red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with red roses and white border. Also home made Christmas sugar cookies.
Easter gets a 9.5. I'm only taking points off for buttercream, most of which I usually scrape off a slice of cake.
Thanksgiving gets an 8. Make something instead of pumpkin pie. Not everyone likes it, or pie in general. My favorite substitute desserts are creme caramel and/or a cranberry tart (see Martha Stewart's Entertaining).
Christmas gets either a 9.5 or an 8, depending. The -.5 is for buttercream again. I like frostings made of whipped cream, or for red velvet, a cream cheese frosting. But buttercream is just too much. Down to 8 for green bean casserole if it's that mushroom soup concoction with the canned onions. Just serve green beans instead (I toss them in EVOO, garlic, either fresh lemon juice or vinegar, walnuts, diced red onion (optional), diced red pepper, S&P).
Easter: A Virginia ham with mac and cheese, sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagus, butterbeans, sauteed mushrooms and fried okra.
For dessert, ordered from bakery: A 12 inch round pound cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with yellow flowers and a peach colored border.
Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, creamed collard greens and butternut squash, candied yams., a Virginia red wine.
For Dessert: 1 pumpkin pie, 1 blackberry pie, 1 apple-cranberry pie
Christmas: A roast goose and a roast duck, mashed potatoes and stuffing, turnips, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and fresh baked bread.
For dessert: Ordered from bakery, a full sheet red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with red roses and white border. Also home made Christmas sugar cookies.
Rate each on scale of 1-10, and give suggestions
I''m not rating, but, to me mashed potatoes, mushrooms and okra do not go with ham. I would delete those and add deviled eggs and a pineapple salad........i.e. sliced fresh pineapple topped with grated cheddar, mayo on every other one(to accommodate people who don't like mayo) and a cherry on top. I would also add biscuits.
Thanksgiving is ok except for the pies. Many people don't like pumpkin pie and a lot of men like apple, but probably not adulerated with cranberry. I would serve, pumpkin, pecan and plain apple. Not to mention I've never heard of blackberry pie. If its a cobbler that might be different.
Christmas, hmm...never had goose, duck ok but not my idea of Christmas. If its traditional with the people you are serving ok, otherwise, I would serve prime rib and skip the stuffing. Instead roasted or mashed potatoes. Green beans rather than green bean casserole and no cranberry sauce. Also, its not red velvet cake with buttercream frosting. Red velvet cake has a cream cheese frosting.
Easter: A Virginia ham with mac and cheese, sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagus, butterbeans, sauteed mushrooms and fried okra.
For dessert, ordered from bakery: A 12 inch round pound cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with yellow flowers and a peach colored border.
Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, creamed collard greens and butternut squash, candied yams., a Virginia red wine.
For Dessert: 1 pumpkin pie, 1 blackberry pie, 1 apple-cranberry pie
Christmas: A roast goose and a roast duck, mashed potatoes and stuffing, turnips, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and fresh baked bread.
For dessert: Ordered from bakery, a full sheet red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with red roses and white border. Also home made Christmas sugar cookies.
Rate each on scale of 1-10, and give suggestions
Easter: 9. This is a great menu! I didn't give it 10 because you have only one dessert not everybody likes pound cake with buttercream (I do though). I also don't see a bread. How about some biscuits to go with that ham? Or hot cross buns. That way you get bread but also some sweetness for people who don't want the cake. Or you could serve pound cake without icing. Offer a glaze or sweet sauce on the side and ice cream (if it's warm enough where you live).
Thanksgiving: 8.5 I would switch out the blackberry pie for something else. Blackberries are a summer fruit. I know we can get just about anything year-round but I think pecan pie would be more seasonal/holiday appropriate. You've already got cranberries in the sauce so I say let the apple pie just be apple.
Christmas: 7.5. This is hard for me to rate since I've never eaten goose, and have only had duck a handful of times. How are you preparing the turnips? They can be similar to potatoes, so I suggest baking or broiling them with some type of glaze. I also noticed you didn't list gravy. Hopefully it's included since you've got meats, potatoes, and stuffing.
All are very different from what I'm used to and have traditionally had most of my life, so I really don't feel qualified to give an opinion.
I am going to add one thing, though - next time I serve ham for a holiday dinner, Mac and Cheese is DEFINITELY going on the menu! That sounds wonderful!
To me they all seem to be way too high in starches--mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and then one time even adding yams too. Maybe do scalloped potatoes to combine the general mac and cheese and potato concept?
Also too much heavy frying.
I'd rather put in veggies such as fresh green beans with almonds, a simple stir fry, fresh fruit, cranberry salad, etc.
Easter: A Virginia ham with mac and cheese, sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagus, butterbeans, sauteed mushrooms and fried okra.
For dessert, ordered from bakery: A 12 inch round pound cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with yellow flowers and a peach colored border.
Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, creamed collard greens and butternut squash, candied yams., a Virginia red wine.
For Dessert: 1 pumpkin pie, 1 blackberry pie, 1 apple-cranberry pie
Christmas: A roast goose and a roast duck, mashed potatoes and stuffing, turnips, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and fresh baked bread.
For dessert: Ordered from bakery, a full sheet red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with red roses and white border. Also home made Christmas sugar cookies.
Rate each on scale of 1-10, and give suggestions
I never serve macaroni and cheese with meat as a main course. The potatoes, carrots and asparagus are fine, but I wouldn't want the other things. I haven't had a decent bakery cake in years, so I wouldn't eat it.
Macaroni, squash and yams? That's too many carbs. If you want three desserts, serve pumpkin pie, apple pie, and something completely different. Not everyone likes pie.
I don't like turnips. Again, too many carbs. Potatoes, stuffing and bread?
I'd eat a home made cookie. I wouldn't want the cake.
To me they all seem to be way too high in starches--mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and then one time even adding yams too. Maybe do scalloped potatoes to combine the general mac and cheese and potato concept?
Also too much heavy frying.
I'd rather put in veggies such as fresh green beans with almonds, a simple stir fry, fresh fruit, cranberry salad, etc.
Easter: A Virginia ham with mac and cheese, sour cream and chives mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and asparagus, butterbeans, sauteed mushrooms and fried okra.
For dessert, ordered from bakery: A 12 inch round pound cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with yellow flowers and a peach colored border.
I don't want to rate a menu ... honestly, how good the food is what counts.
I think ham goes better with scalloped potatoes, but that's just what I am used to. I love roasted vegetables. I've only had butterbeans a few times in bean mixtures I made into soup, never by themselves. I am not a fan of okra but have not had it fried. I would prefer a homemade pound cake, a real one with good crust. It's one of my favorite things. Pound cake does not need frosting at all, just maybe some fruit and whipped cream.
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Thanksgiving: Roast Turkey with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, creamed collard greens and butternut squash, candied yams., a Virginia red wine.
For Dessert: 1 pumpkin pie, 1 blackberry pie, 1 apple-cranberry pie
Nice traditional choices here. I think a fresh, simple vegetable would be a good counterpoint, like a spinach salad instead of a heavier, creamy dish.
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Christmas: A roast goose and a roast duck, mashed potatoes and stuffing, turnips, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and fresh baked bread.
For dessert: Ordered from bakery, a full sheet red velvet cake with buttercream frosting, decorated with red roses and white border. Also home made Christmas sugar cookies.
Rate each on scale of 1-10, and give suggestions
I am not a fan of red velvet cake, but I love sugar cookies. Turnips are good but parsnips are better, in my opinion. I'd roast a bunch and offer a salad again.
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