The Christmas food thread.

[KHAN]

My mom's side is Swedish. So the Christmas eve get together at my aunts will be chock full of : [b]Korv, Luetfisk (sp?) Swedish meatballs, Pickled Herring along with an assortment of holiday goodies, cookies etc.[/b] My dad is Albanian, :eek: and during the holiday season, that means only one thing. [b][i]BAKLAVA!!!!!!![/i][/b] :thu: :D :thu: :D So, what holiday food traditions do you folks look forward to evey year? [apologies to those who don't celebrate :) ]

[Sylver]

Ravioli, which I can't eat this year. Shrimp, peal and eat. Antipasto. Biscotti, Pizzeli, and LOT'S of other cookies and sweets. Which I also can't eat. I guess it's just salad and shrimp this year.

[Botch.]

You look [i]forward[/i] to lutefisk? :freak: You are one sick puppy! :D :D I'm flying south for Christmas tomorrow morning (er, south Dakota!) and Mom'll be fixing cremlas (Norwegian), potato cakes, pecan pie, and my favorite, sage dressing with turkey gravy! Damn I'm getting hungry now! Merry Christmas everyone! :thu:

[KHAN]

[quote]Originally posted by Botch.: [b]You look [i]forward[/i] to lutefisk? :freak: You are one sick puppy! :D :D [/b][/quote]It's in my blood man!!! :D

[Jeebus]

I do most of the Christmas cooking. We are having: Roasted turkey, served with roasted butternut squash puree and topped with a port wine sauce. Wild rice pilaf, mashed sweet potatoes. Baby spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with grilled pear, roasted walnuts, fresh mandarin orange slices and brie cheese. Grilled vegetables, marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, garlic and fresh herbs. These include portobello mushrooms, sweet onions and belgian endives. Bruschetta, topped with a fresh tomato and jalapeno pepper concasse. Tiramisu, as well as raspberry and lemon sherbet. Apple pie --------------------- Your Friendly Neihgborhood Jeebus

[Wewus432]

I have a relative in the wholesale food business so this Christmas we're having prime rib. This is like a $100.00 piece of meat that he got free. Mighty fine. You know I'm not a picky eater at all, but one thing I've never tried is pickled herring. I saw that in Sam's Club the other day and it looks pretty funky, but who knows, I'd probably like it. One other thing I do like a lot at Christmas is Smoked Salmon. You know the stuff that comes in the vacum sealed pouches. Mighty fine. We say that a lot in The South. Mighty fine.

[Tedster]

My Aunt's (of Ukrainian descent) Christmas cookies...but, she's gone on to her great reward, as has Deb's Grandma (who was Swedish). Never had lutefisk, but she made a host of other Swedish goodies.

[Bunny Knutson]

Hey, Khan, what can I say? I like lutefisk, too. It must be the Norwegian in me. Do you eat your lutefisk with lefse? And melted butter? Yum. ~~~ I dig the Christmas cookies. Snickerdoodles! And those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey Kiss stuck in the middle. YUM. Q: What is a Christmas cookie? A: Any cookie baked in December.

[the people of Earth]

Just looking for [i]anything[/i] most of the time... :(

[Mats Olsson.]

Khan, your mama has good taste! Pickled Herring (in most of it's many different varieties) is my #1 favorite dish. Not only for xmas. (My name is Mats Olsson and I am a hard-core pickled herring addict). Pickled herring is best served with boiled potatoes, red onion and sour cream. Akvavit enhances the experience even futher - but don't ever try this on your lunch hour... Smoked mackerel and smoked eel are also great stuff this time of the year. But the undisputed king & queeen on my xmas dinner buffet are oven baked christmas ham + the salmon, especially smoked and/or pickled and served with a classic mustard-based sauce (Hovmästarsås). Smoked reindeer, moose,lamb, elk Liver paté & cumberland sauce Other essential xmas classics: meat balls, ribs, prinskorv (sausages), Janssons frestelse (oven baked potato, anchovy, cream & onion stew). Beverages: Julsnaps (akvavit - Aalborg, Linie, OP Andersson are the top brands, served freezer cold in small shot glasses), Xmas ale, lager, julmust (I bet you don't have a clue about that last one. Trust me, it is way better than Coke). BTW, december 24th is the day we get together for xmas in Sweden, and the 25th, and the 26th... /Mats

[Gus Lozada]

Pavo - Turkey Papas al Horno - Baked Potatoes with Cream Spaghetti al forno Ayocotes - kinda of beans Picadillo - Ground beef Romeritos - I don't know what the hell are they Bacalao - Kinda Sword Fish Arroz Navideño - Xmas Rice Ponche ! - Fruit Punch Hell... I'm gonna love this :D

[KHAN]

[quote]Originally posted by Your Friendly Neighborhood Jeebus: [b]I do most of the Christmas cooking. We are having: Roasted turkey, served with roasted butternut squash puree and topped with a port wine sauce. Wild rice pilaf, mashed sweet potatoes. Baby spinach with a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with grilled pear, roasted walnuts, fresh mandarin orange slices and brie cheese. Grilled vegetables, marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, garlic and fresh herbs. These include portobello mushrooms, sweet onions and belgian endives. Bruschetta, topped with a fresh tomato and jalapeno pepper concasse. Tiramisu, as well as raspberry and lemon sherbet. Apple pie --------------------- Your Friendly Neihgborhood Jeebus[/b][/quote]Hmmm... I would have guessed bread and fishes. And lots of wine. :eek:

[spigotsaol.com]

Green chili enchiladas pasole New Mexico red chili con carne with beans Flour tortillas Bloody Marys Alka seltzer Nap Frank

[mark_dog]

Frozen hot dogs

[KHAN]

[quote]Originally posted by GusTraX: [b]Pavo - Turkey Papas al Horno - Baked Potatoes with Cream Spaghetti al forno Ayocotes - kinda of beans Picadillo - Ground beef Romeritos - I don't know what the hell are they Bacalao - Kinda Sword Fish Arroz Navideño - Xmas Rice Ponche ! - Fruit Punch Hell... I'm gonna love this :D [/b][/quote]It's like... You guys have a different word for everything!!! ;) :D :thu: Feliz Navidad :thu:

[henrysb3]

Sylver, Are you doing a low carb diet? If so, check out the Heller diet ,aka the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, by Richard and Rachel Heller. It's similar to Adkins, but allows one "reward meal" a day in which you can carb out. I just had a supper of chicken tacos with christmas cookies and lemon bars for dessert after a low to no carb day. It works for me. I lost 50 lb. over two years but I let about 25 of it creep back over the next two years, so I'm back on it again. My wife used to make just about every Christmas cookie under the sun, but she's cut way back the last few years. My niece has kind of taken over, and she makes great pies, too, chocolate pecan being one of my faves. Oops, band practice is breathing down my neck and I gotta wire up some new stuff. Happy holidays, Henry

[Mark Zeger]

When I was growing up, the best Christmas food I ever had was at our neighbor's, an old Italian couple. They would make the "7 fishes" on Christmas Eve and insist that my family come for dinner. If it lived in water, it was on that table. Herring rulez! Pickled, creamed, kippers, it's all good. I've been wanting to eat at Aquavit in NYC for a long time. They have a terrific herring sampler served with aquavit and a Carlsberg. Marcus Samuelsson is a genius (he's from Ethopia, adopted by a Swedish family). Check out his recipe for a great take on pickled herring: Pickled Herring Sushi Style Serves 8 to 12 as part of a buffet, or 6 to 8 as an appetizer 3/4 pound fingerling or Yukon Gold potatoes 1 tablespoon mustard oil or olive oil 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 fillets or 24 pieces pickled herring Mustard 1. Boil the potatoes in water to cover for 20 minutes, until they are fork-tender. Drain and let stand until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes, place in a medium bowl, and mash them with a fork. 2. Add the mustard oil or olive oil, hot mustard, rice vinegar, wasabi, and salt to the potatoes and mix well. 3. Take 2 tablespoons of mashed potatoes and place on a sushi mat. Press into a rectangle and roll up, jelly-roll style, into a log about 1 inch in diameter. Continue until all the mashed potatoes are rolled into logs. 4. Slice the herring fillets on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-long strips. Cut the mashed potato logs into 1-1/2-inch pieces and top each piece with a slice of herring. Serve cold or at room temperature with a dollop of mustard. Notes Sushi mats are sold in most kitchen supply stores and Japanese markets. They are inexpensive and easy to use. If you don't have a sushi mat, use a piece of plastic wrap, 12 to 14 inches long. Pickled herring fillets can be found in the deli section of your supermarket. If you cannot find them there, look for jars of pickled herring pieces in the refrigerated section. In the same refrigerated section you will often find jars of Matjes herring pieces, cured in a spiced brine of sugar and vinegar. You can use these herring pieces in the same recipe for a different flavor.

[D. Gauss]

we have an annual "white trashmas" party. this year (last weekend)we served: pork rinds wonderbread goober grape marshmallow fluff cheeze-its microwave white castles texas chili red beans and rice fritos rice crispy treats (dyed red) green jello cocktail weenies ritz crackers with cheeze wiz/ easy cheese the xmas version of ho-ho's (called ho ho ho's) tollhouse cookies (dyed green) spam yoo hoo miracle whip and the mighty trashmas bar and coolers were stocked with: pabst blue ribbon pack schafer schmidt's schlitz carling black label ballentine XXX old millwaukee boon's farm strawberry hill jack daniels thunderbird night train southern comfort jaegermeister blackberry brandy burp! :) -d. gauss

[strat0124]

We're going all out this year, gonna splurge and go for the gusto with a Wendy's triple, biggie size fries and drink, and a frosty for desert. Woo hoo!!!!!!!

[Tedster]

I may try my hand at making a traditional English Plum Pudding this year.

[Sylver]

[quote]Originally posted by henrysb3: [b]Sylver, Are you doing a low carb diet? If so, check out the Heller diet ,aka the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, by Richard and Rachel Heller. It's similar to Adkins, but allows one "reward meal" a day in which you can carb out. I just had a supper of chicken tacos with christmas cookies and lemon bars for dessert after a low to no carb day. It works for me. I lost 50 lb. over two years but I let about 25 of it creep back over the next two years, so I'm back on it again. My wife used to make just about every Christmas cookie under the sun, but she's cut way back the last few years. My niece has kind of taken over, and she makes great pies, too, chocolate pecan being one of my faves. Oops, band practice is breathing down my neck and I gotta wire up some new stuff. Happy holidays, Henry[/b][/quote]I've been doing Atkins for about 4 months and have lost 30 pounds, and have lost 5(!!) pants sizes. My bad cholesterol is down, my good cholesterol is up, and my blood sugar is rock steady with NO meds(diabetic). I don't know if the Heller diet you mentioned would work for me because of the diabeties ... A high carb meal would surely spike my blood sugar. Atkins is the way to go for me. I'm still on induction, less than 20 grams of carbs day. I expect my carbo max on maintainance will be around 100 grams. By the way, if you are a beer drinker, check out Michelob Ultra. It's 2.6 grams of carbs per beer, and it doesn't taste like crap. Remember: Carbs bad, fat good!

[Gato]

Lots of tamales (typical Costa Rican food, not the mexican ones) ... Xenical, if you want to loose weight :D

[Gato]

[quote]Originally posted by alner: [b]Lots of tamales (typical Costa Rican food, not the mexican ones) ... Xenical, if you want to loose weight :D [/b][/quote]Here's how to coock them ... http://www.cocori.com/library/crinfo/tamal.htm

[Sylver]

What is Xenical? Some diet drug?

[Gato]

[quote]Originally posted by Sylver Bells: [b]What is Xenical? Some diet drug?[/b][/quote]Yeap .... ¡¡¡

[Sylver]

Diet drugs are bad news. Just ask the fen-phen people. Atkins not only helps you take off the pounds, control your cholesterol, AND your blood sugar. Drugs are not a good solution for someone who needs to get healthy and not just slimmer.

[SFOracle]

My in-laws will be in town for Christmas this year which means wonderful Chinese cooking. Favorites include (pardon my phonetic spelling, I'm not a native speaker of Cantonese): Jai - hard to describe: various types of mushrooms, fungi, tofu skin, bamboo shoots, flower stamen etc. Sounds bad, looks like barf, but tastes great. Usually served with vermicelli (foon) noodles. Galei gai - curried chicken. My mother in law makes it smoking hot. No mai fun - sticky rice with dried shrimp and chinese sausage (lahp chan). hunyon dou fu - literally means almond tofu, but it is really almond jello served with fruit cocktail. mungwa bodine - mango pudding. My wife's aunt also makes these things for dessert that I can never remember what they are called. They are little balls of rice flour dough (similar to the Japanese Mochi, but softer) with sweet black sesame paste inside. The outside is rolled in finely crushed peanuts or almonds. Server hot, they are delicious. Of course we will also have the traditional Turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, etc. And I will make several apple pies.

[Gtoledo3]

Around here we have the traditional spanish christmas eve feast w/ roast suckling pig, yuca, moros, caldo gallego, plantains, flan, etc. This year though, I'm lobbying for prime rib and giant prawns, with a sashimi salad appetizer. We'll probably end up with pork... :p

[Roto]

[quote]Originally posted by dBunny: [b]Hey, Khan, what can I say? I like lutefisk, too. It must be the Norwegian in me. Do you eat your lutefisk with lefse? And melted butter? Yum. [/b][/quote]Lefse is the only oddball item on my table for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I Americanize it and roll it up with turkey, gravy and stuffing inside.

[Gato]

[quote]Originally posted by Sylver Bells: [b]Diet drugs are bad news. Just ask the fen-phen people. Atkins not only helps you take off the pounds, control your cholesterol, AND your blood sugar. Drugs are not a good solution for someone who needs to get healthy and not just slimmer.[/b][/quote]Well, don't misundertand me, it was just a joke. Anyway, hamburgers, pork, bacon, cigarretes and many thinks are bad news too, but you eat it or taste it. Be happy :cool: :)