Your favorite Christmas Recipe

[David M. Bueker]

My grandmother's oyster stew (a Chrsitmas Eve tradition) has been lost to history.

My mom now makes that lobster bake (I like to call it lobster crumble) I have posted on a few times for Christmas Eve. It's ultra-rich & yummy (not to mention simple - a great thing for the holidays).

Since we are invariably on the road, Laura and I do not have our own holiday traditions. I suppose that some day we'll have to come up with some.

In our family, it's not so much that we have foods we only cook at holidays, but the way/place/time they are served is traditional.

For instance, there is always a huge spaghetti dinner at my Dad's house on Christmas Eve. Everyone from their church is invited, all the neighbors, all the families of my sibs (and there are 8 of us still living and we all have kids except for one sister), assorted relatives that happen to be in town, all the family friends, and anyone else my Dad runs into or knows that seems down or might be spending the holidays alone. People come and go all night.

Over the years the time has varied depending on the time they attend Christmas Eve services, but the event itself never varies much. It's a great thing and loads of fun.

Fillet Butt Roast (Prime Rib would do, as well)
Horseradish and Sour Cream Sauce
Bearnaise Sauce (I like choices)
Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Fresh Asparagus
Simple baby greens, dressed perfectly

If I wanted dessert, it would be a home made coconut cream pie

Christmas Eve is the Italian tradition of the 7 Fishes

So, Maria, tell me about the 7 fishes. I'm not familiar with this tradition.

Matilda

[Robin Garr]

we have no favorite Christmas recipes.

Us either ... we'll generally roast something and have a good wine. I really don't recall anything special from childhood either, although like Carrie's family, we would usually go over to my grandparents' for a turkey-and-trimmings reprise of the Thanksgiving meal.

[David M. Bueker]

Karen - would it be ok if the baby greens came business casual?

So, Maria, tell me about the 7 fishes. I'm not familiar with this tradition.
Matilda

I'm not Maria, but I have a lot of Italian friends. Here's a link I found: http://www.sicilianculture.com/food/xmasfish.htm

Thnx Howie for the link. I am not sure why the tradition started. John or Gary might know more about it then me.

Matilda - it's an Italian tradition that on Christmas Eve, we eat no meat and must have at least 7 different kinds of fish. I was born in America and so were my parents, but all my grandparents were born in Italy...so both sides always celebrated the "7 Fishes".

The kind of fish and preparations have changed over the yrs as my parents now have a huge Xmas eve celebration, and make less traditional fish dishes that everybody will eat (we have lots of non-Italian friends and family now).

When I was younger, a typical menu would be: An Antipasto which had tuna packed in oil and anchovies along with hot peppers, olives and cheeses. Then there was scungilli salad...a tossed green salad with grilled conch. Then, Mussells Marinara, Shrimp cocktail, and whole grilled squid or grilled baby Octopus. Finally, a baked Halibut or maybe a grilled Swordfish. We would also have a pasta course, usually homemade Manicotti.

Now, the menu looks like this: Smoked salmon and poached Salmon, Shrimp cocktail, Fried Calamari, Mussells Marinara, Lobster salad on small baguettes, crab cakes, and a Zuppa di Pesce with clams, scallops, and shrimp. Our pasta and penne with vodka sauce.

Maria, here's ours:

Raw clam on the half shell
Baked clams oreganata

Spaghetti alia olio e anchovy

Stuffed calamari braised in tomato sauce

Bacala salad

Fried sole or flounder
Fried eel

Shrimp parmigiana

Over the years I've rotated some in and some out. One year I made broiled swordfish cubes, and then dressed them with a lemon, olive oil and black pepper sauce. That was a big hit and I may do that again this year.
I've also tossed some crab legs in the sauce while the calamari braised.

About the only non seafood item I menu is a big bowl of broccoli, dressed with garlic and oil. We save the antipasto for Christmas Day. If anyone is hungry prior to Christmas Eve dinner, I usually have leftover stuffing from the calamari, which I make into fritters. I put those out as appetizers.

It's my favorite meal of the year, bar none.

That sounds awesome John!

So, I suppose this means spaghetti on Christmas? Tomato sauce or can I do aglia e olio?

Karen - would it be ok if the baby greens came business casual?

Sure, but leave the jeans at home... I'm allergic to the metal on the pockets!

it's an Italian tradition that on Christmas Eve, we eat no meat and must have at least 7 different kinds of fish

I didn't know that before!

In Cornish tradition, particularly in the town of Mousehole, on 23 December they eat Star-gazy Pie to mark Tom Bawcock's Eve. The story is that the town of Mousehole was suffering a famine, and one of the fishermen - by the name of Tom Bawcock - braved the stormy December seas to bring back a catch of seven kinds of fish to feed the village. Star-gazy Pie is made with seven kinds of fish cooked in a savoury sauce, topped off with a pie crust through which the cleaned heads of the seven fish peek out "gazing at the stars".

Never made it myself. Grandma Grace came from Cornwall but very little in the way of Cornish tradition survives in the family.

23 December is the winter solstice - lots of people think that the tradition is more related to that than to Christmas.

Matilda

My wife enjoys a nice goose at Christmas (sometimes while we are cooking the turkey...)

But seriously now, doesn't anyone else cook geese for the holidays? I know that they don't feed nearly as many as a turkey, but I long ago swore off attending (her) family holiday dinners, so we are talking about just the two of us and goose makes such a nice dinner for two with left overs for the next day. Plus you get all that nice rendered goose fat to do things like cook potatoes in.

Only problem I have on the rare times we get goose anywhere else is that they seem to feel obliged to add sweet crap to it - a sort of expanded duck a l'orange theme.

Furthest I'm willing to go is to whump up some Cumberland sauce, with emphasis on the mustard and ginger rather than the jelly.

I thought I'd bump this up because one of the WLDGers asked me about Tortiere.

Mince pie with brandy hard sauce and hot vanilla sauce.
Borden's Nonesuch mincemeat in the pie, with a good dollop of Jamaica or Puerto Rico amber rum.
The toppings are available in any older cookbook - I use the 1946 Women's Home Companion Cookbook because it's always been on the shelf.

John the traditionalist

Cranberry steamed pudding is my favorite that my mother used to make. Unfortunately it is not a hit with others in my family or the inlaws. I will make it next week for my wife and I.

Cranberry Steam Pudding
1/2 cup Molasses (Green label or Waconia sorghum) or any other medium/light molasses. You can use darker if prefer, however the taste is quite strong. Dark Karo syrup gives you a light cake. (Original recipe called for 1 cup of mild molasses syrup, I substituted ½& ½ to lighten it down.)
½ cup light Karo corn syrup
2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1-cup hot water
3 cups flour
3 cups cranberries cut in half
Pinch salt

Mix and steam at least two hours in a steamer, 5 1/2 hours in a crock-pot

Serve with sauce:

Sauce:
2 cups sugar
1-cup cream
1-cup butter or margarine
A splash of vanilla just before you serve. One could substitute Rum, Bourbon etc. Thereby making this a hard sauce.

Heat slowly. Be careful so the sauce doesn’t scald.

My favorite Christmas recipe:

3 oz dark rum combined with ice and 6 oz of coca cola.

You just ruined some good rum David Merry Christmas up there in the frozen north. We got 3-4 inches of the white stuff overnight so the boys and girls will be happy with that. My daughter and S-I-L will take them sledding b4 noon.

[Jenise]

Cranberry steamed pudding is my favorite that my mother used to make. Unfortunately it is not a hit with others in my family or the inlaws. I will make it next week for my wife and I.

Cranberry Steam Pudding
1/2 cup Molasses (Green label or Waconia sorghum) or any other medium/light molasses. You can use darker if prefer, however the taste is quite strong. Dark Karo syrup gives you a light cake. (Original recipe called for 1 cup of mild molasses syrup, I substituted ½& ½ to lighten it down.)
½ cup light Karo corn syrup
2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1-cup hot water
3 cups flour
3 cups cranberries cut in half
Pinch salt

Mix and steam at least two hours in a steamer, 5 1/2 hours in a crock-pot

Serve with sauce:

Sauce:
2 cups sugar
1-cup cream
1-cup butter or margarine
A splash of vanilla just before you serve. One could substitute Rum, Bourbon etc. Thereby making this a hard sauce.

Heat slowly. Be careful so the sauce doesn’t scald.

George, did you read about the steamed pudding craze in England this year? I believe it was Heston Blumenthal (or is it Hestor?) who designed a steamed pudding with a whole orange for some supermarket chain, I believe it was, and they only made like 2500 of them. Well, demand exceeded that amount by a landslide, so the puddings that originally sold for something like 10 pounds were selling on eBay for hundreds. Play your cards right....

We used to have more traditions than we do now. Thanksgiving was always the same because our sons who live only 3 hours away want it that way. Our daughter lives in Ohio and does not travel in winter from there. Christmas was always gin fizzes for the adults. We had a great family recipe and made them right before opening gifts. I loved it. We usually had prime rib or something equally as elegant. Now, we are the ones doing the traveling and our sons have their own ideas.