Need typical american menu for christmas...

[HectorSamuel]

Hi there...

this year my wife and me are doing the menu for christmas. And for the reason anybody in our family knows we are a little "crazy for the states", we would like to offer a nice american menu.

We thought about a turkey - maybe stuffed - but we have no idea for entrance, supplements and dessert.

That's why I'm asking you: What is christmas for you? What recipes are classic to christmas? I hope to get many ideas.

Thanks in advance, and best wishes... Markus

 

[abjcooking]

Since we do a turkey for Thanksgiving we usually do a ham for Christmas

ginger bread
traditional cheese ball (appetizer)
eggnog
Old fashion frozen fruit and jello salad (my grandmothers recipe)
stuffing
sometimes we'll make a bread pudding
pecan pie
candied pecans (appetizer)
Sweet potato casserole
Dinner rolls or crouissants
vegetables
yule log

 

[Toots]

We do a ham at Christmas or a prime rib (sometimes both!)

It wouldnt be Christmas if we didnt have the following:

Ham or Prime Rib
potato salad
macaroni and cheese
egg noodles
mashed potatoes
cranberry orange jello salad
yeast rolls
green beans (which we've canned from our garden)
a cheese ball/crackers
fudge
peanut brittle
butterscotch dessert (sometimes called the "Robert Redford" dessert)
pumpkin pie
apple pie
peanut butter fudge
turtles
punch
apricot brandy slush

Sometimes we have a chocolate mousse or a buche de noel. As you can see, we are big on sweets

We make all of the food ourselves. We start on the candy and desserts several days before Christmas.

Markus, you might want to check out www.marthastewart.com I think she posts a holiday guide with recipes. She always has traditional American Christmas recipes and decorating ideas.

 

[Andy M.]

We do a standing rib or tenderloin roast with bearnaise sauce. Mashed or baked potato, green beans.

Desserts vary from year to year but I like to do a cheesecake topped with a fruit sauce. My favorite is blueberry.

 

[skilletlicker]

If you decide to stick with turkey:

• Cranberry sauce is a must.
• Green bean casserole with mushrooms and onion rings is very common and particularly good when made without a can-opener.
• Peas and pearl onions in cream sauce.
• Sweet potatoes and/or mashed potatoes.
• Of course turkey gravy.
• For some reason, whenever there is a turkey, there is also a crudite platter beforehand.
• Fresh rolls to cover with gravy as a sort of pre-dessert and cholesterol supplement.
• Pumpkin, apple, or mincemeat pie.

On the other hand you could serve a country ham. I'll leave most of the fixins to go with the ham to others but at least should include a pot of greens.

 

[Barb L.]

Now we have usually the same menu we have for Thanksgiving ! Mine would be in the Thanksgiving thread - Sorry ! Also, sides may change depending on the differant areas of th U.S. I've already seen that, just differant traditions we all have. Good Luck !!

 

[Half Baked]

http://http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/cachedSearchResults/0,7822,Thanksgiving_Recipe,00.htmlHere

Here are pages and pages of all the recipes that people are suggesting. We all really love Thanksgiving and every family has a different ideas of what to serve.

 

[pdswife]

Your English is great! Don't worry about it for even a second!!


Turkey
Stuffing
Sweet potatoes with marshmellows or Baked
mashed potatoes with gravy
green bean casserole ( yuck but ya gotta do what ya gotta do)
Jell-0 salad
cranberry sauce
bread or rolls of some kind
Apple, pumpkin and pecan pie

 

[cjs]

How fun!! Here are a few of our favorites -

We start the day out with these -

DAD'S FAMOUS TOM & JERRYS

12 lg eggs, separated
1 box powdered sugar

Mix 1/2 (6 at a time) and 1/2 whites (6 at a time) separately, each with one quarter of the powdered sugar. Beat the whites till stiff.
Fold the yolks (mixed with the powdered sugar) into the whites; add 1 tsp. vanilla.

Have ready a container with 1/2 rum and 1/2 brandy - however much you think you're going to imbibe.

Put 1 1/2 jiggers of rum/brandy mix in a cup; add 2-3 T. of the egg mixture and fill w/boiing water, stirring to combine. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Inhale the wonderful aromas, then enjoy!!

Description:
"A New Year's Day never went by without my Dad whipping up batches of these -- we kids just loved to scoop up some of the batter by itself, when we thought he wasn't looking..."

NOTES : These days, you'll have to decide if you want to enjoy raw eggs.

-----
MONKEY BREAD

2 8 oz. pkgs Butterflake Rolls -- torn apart
1/4 lb butter
1 clove garlic -- minced
2 tsps fresh parsley -- minced
1 tsp chives -- minced
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp dry oregano

8-9" bundt pan needed.
Preheat oven to 400°.

Melt butter & add herbs.
Butter bundt pan w/PLAIN butter.
Dip rolls in herb butter & arrange overlapped in pan.
Bake 20 min. or till golden brown.

ALTERNATIVE: Make 1 lb. bread dough; roll out to ~1/4" thickness.
Using a 1 1/2" -2" cutter, cut circles out of dough and proceed as above.
-----

ROASTED-GARLIC SWEET POTATOES
Recipe By: a Chef's Journey recipe
Serving Size : 6

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into large pcs.
6 cloves roasted garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
Cook the potatoes in large pot of salted boiling water till tender, about 12-15 min.
Drain & mash w/the garlic, butter and cream.

or we have garlic mashed russets.

-----

"FAMILY FAVORITE DRESSING NUMBER ONE"
1 lb. pork sausage
1 lg. onion, chopped
1 med. loaf bread, toasted (I use what the kids called "hippy" bread - the kind with all the seeds and nuts...)
1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs
poultry seasoning
3 stalks celery
1 apple, chopped
Fry sausage with chopped onion & celery till sausage is browned.
Set aside. Tear bread in small pieces in a large bowl, with fingers, sprinkle enough water over bread and mix w/hands till 'kind of' (sorry, can't do any better than that) moist, then add the rest of the ingred.

Stuff or dish the dressing. In bowl, bake in 350° for 45-60 min. basting with turkey juice if you have it - or a homemade chicken/turkey stock - just to keep moist.
-----

I'd better stop...and for dessert - what else, Pumpkin pie(s) and mincemeat pie.

Love Christmas dinner.

 

[Claire]

Unlike Thanksgiving, it is pretty hard to come up with a "typical American" menu for Christmas. Personally, my family is of French-Canadian background. What we ate for tradition varied a lot from say, my husband's, which is eastern European. We are just too many varied ethnic backgrounds to come up with something that any of us would consider typical. It is one thing I miss about Hawaii ... when we would get together, NO ONE had a set idea on what we were to eat. We potlucked and ate everything from Chinese long-life noodles (yes, I know, they're supposed to be for new years in Jan-Feb) to Filipino adobo to my tourtiere to ... well, you name it, we did it all. And to me, that is American. My family pretty much repeated Thanksgiving on Christmas day (we had tourtiere and beets the night before). But one of my favorite Christmas meals was actually a British one done by friends of British ancestry. Typical American? I don't think it exists when it comes to the Christmas meal.

 

[ChefJune]

When I was a kid we usually had roast beef and scalloped potatoes for Christmas dinner... hmmmmmmmmm hadn't thought of that in a long time.

My cousin Barbara did Christmas dinner for many years and made something different almost every year until she hit on a crown roast of pork! Everyone loved that so much it became a staple. She stuffed the middle with a bread stuffing embellished with apples.... really yummy!

 

[BreezyCooking]

Christmas for my family - both while growing up & now that I make it myself has ALWAYS revolved around the traditional roast goose. To be honest - for me Thanksgiving is turkey time - I don't need another one one month later - lol!!

As for accompaniments, we keep them traditional & simple. Butter-braised brussel sprouts, Czech bread dumplings, sauerkraut, & Port wine gravy.

Granted, not what one would probably consider a "traditional" American Christmas - but delicious & different just the same.

 

[FraidKnot]

We do a standing rib or tenderloin roast with bearnaise sauce. Mashed or baked potato, green beans.

Desserts vary from year to year but I like to do a cheesecake topped with a fruit sauce. My favorite is blueberry.

I'm with you on the standing rib roast (but served au jus; the bernaise is perfect with the beef tenderloin!)

I love mashed sweet potatoes (aka Yams, although true Yams aren't available in the U.S.) or a combination of mashed sweet potatoes and mashed white potatoes - the "floury" ones, not the waxy ones, if that helps anyone. And I like them savoury, not trying to taste like a pumpkin or sweet potato pie.

By the time Thanksgiving leftovers are used up I'm completely sick of turkey. I don't even like turkey to begin with and usually go with a couple of small stuffed game hens.

 

[Harborwitch]

Usually do a rib roast. Mashed potatoes & celery root, turnips, asparagus (if available), beef gravy, yeast rolls and someone usually brings a big green salad. Mincemeat pie, apple pie. One year we did a beautiful pork loin and put a cornbread/sausage stuffing in apples and baked them along with the roast. Very yummy.

 

[carolelaine]

We do turkey and ham
Cornbread dressing
yellow squash casserole
sweet potatoes
creamed corn
green beans (not the casserole)
asparagus and english pea casserole
yeast rolls
fudge pie
coconut cake
ambrosia

When we go to my ml's house it is always different, but they never have turkey.

 

[SizzlininIN]

Same here........we have Turkey at Thanksgiving so we I fix a Baked Ham for Christmas along with the sides:

Dressing.........sometimes sage and sometimes oyster.....just depends on my mood at the time.
Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Chicken & Noodles
Candied Sweet Potatoes
Gravy for those that like it over their dressing
Green Beans with Bacon & Onions
Scalloped Corn
Deviled Eggs
Dinner Rolls from a local resturant famous for their rolls
Another side.........I usually thumb through cookbooks, magazines or look here or others sited for ideas.
Cranberry Sauce
Chocolate Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Another dessert....I ususally thumb through cookbooks, magazines or look here or other sites and get inspired.

 

[PytnPlace]

Most people I know have Ham on Christmas. We do a ham and some sort of potato casserole, maybe scalloped . . . I do a garlic mashed pototo with goat cheese gratin, green beans and apple pie.