What's for Christmas Dinner?

Johnny Vinyl

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May 16, 2010
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First of all...Merry Christmas everyone!

Since it's just me I'm not doing a Turkey and am opting for a nice Roast Chicken with all of the fixings instead.

Roasted Chicken
Mashed Sweet Potato
Roast regular Potato
Green Beans
Carrots with a Honey drizzle
Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
No stuffing (don't much care for it)

Made a Cheesecake the other day with a Raspberry topping, so that will be dessert!

I'll have enough for several meals and will use the carcass to make more chicken stock.
 

LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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Since my wife and I first started dating, we have had different Christmas meals each year. This year:

- Venison Leg - literally carved off the bone
- Lentils slow cooked in a Fish Stock
- Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Strawberries and Pan-Roasted pine nuts with cashews
- Dessert: Bush Noel - Black Forest: Thin Chocolate Cookie base, chocolate cake layer, Cherry Kirsch, Fresh Cream and 'painted' in piano gloss chocolate

Next year?...to be determined. I think she wants to do a proper Rack of Lamb...;)
 
Last edited:

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
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Calgary, AB
When I was married we used to have a combo traditional and Italian feast. Or Polish at my sister's place and French-Canadian at my brother's. At Mom & Dad's we had Indonesian Bahmi Goring, Chicken and beef Croquettes and the obligatory boiled potatoes as my Dad couldn't live a day without them! LOL!
 

wisnon

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2011
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Since my wife and I first started dating, we have had different Christmas meals each year. This year

- Venison Leg - literally carved off the bone
- Lentils slow cooked in a Fish Stock
- Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Strawberries and Pan-Roasted pine nuts with cashews
- Dessert: Bush Noel - Black Forest: Thin Chocolate Cookie base, chocolate cake layer, Cherry Kirsch, Fresh Cream and 'painted' in piano gloss chocolate

Next year?...to be determined. I think she wants to do a proper Rack of Lamb

LoL

LL21

You MUST be in Europe somewhere!
 

wisnon

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2011
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When I was married we used to have a combo traditional and Italian feast. Or Polish at my sister's place and French-Canadian at my brother's. At Mom & Dad's we had Indonesian Bahmi Goring, Chicken and beef Croquettes and the obligatory boiled potatoes as my Dad couldn't live a day without them! LOL!

What no curry???
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
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wisnon

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Dec 12, 2011
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LoL

Still will be delicious, no doubt.

Get those digestive enzymes ready!
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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I'm glad I'm not eating Christmas dinner at Lloyd's house. That menu sounds like something Jeffery Dahmer would have come up with after rehab. :D

John-Your menu sounds pretty good except I would have to ditch the Brussels sprouts for an edible vegetable like your carrots and I would miss the stuffing unless it was made from some foo-foo ingredients or some other weird crap.

For the second time in 35 years, my wife and I are staying home today on Christmas. It's just going to be the two of us and we are having an easy dinner:

A boneless spiral sliced ham from the Honey Baked Ham Company
mashed potatoes
steamed broccoli
crescent rolls

We aren't big dessert people, but my wife made me some Toll House chocolate chip cookies and some Oatmeal Raisin cookies yesterday and they are fab.
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
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Calgary, AB
Hey Mark - It was a toss-up between the chicken and the ham and last week the ham would have won out. As I got closer to today I was salivating for that crispy roasted chicken skin dipped into the gravy! I've had all kinds of stuffing ranging from excellent to really bad, but it's not something I have to have. I LOVE Brussels Sprouts though, so they're staying! Ha!
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
6,774
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580
Boston, MA
First of all...Merry Christmas everyone!

Since it's just me I'm not doing a Turkey and am opting for a nice Roast Chicken with all of the fixings instead.

Roasted Chicken
Mashed Sweet Potato
Roast regular Potato
Green Beans
Carrots with a Honey drizzle
Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry Sauce
Gravy
No stuffing (don't much care for it)

Made a Cheesecake the other day with a Raspberry topping, so that will be dessert!

I'll have enough for several meals and will use the carcass to make more chicken stock.

Merry Christmas John and everyone else! And I hope next year you get to spend it with friends and family! This Christmas we are off the hook, but we are hosting both New Year's Eve and Day - got some exceptional wines yesterday, then we'll figure out the meals around them. Time to go wake up the little one and shower him with presents - nothing really like a smile on a child's face.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
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I'm glad I'm not eating Christmas dinner at Lloyd's house. That menu sounds like something Jeffery Dahmer would have come up with after rehab. :D

I hope not! ;) I will say this. After doing Turkey, Rolled Pork Loin and Osso Bucco the last few years...venison slow cooked is similar to beef but much much leaner. We quite like that, having decided to stay off the heavier meats (ribeye steaks, etc), add a lot more vegetables with the venison, do a teeny-sized dessert and get into the gym today for a nice long workout when the gym will likely be empty. TBH, this is a much heavier meal than we normally eat (which is much more vegetables and smaller % of lean meats), but it was still nice relative to prior years to wake up in the morning ready to go rather than still stuffed. We have enjoyed learning about healthier ways to eat...like the Japanese...and spent some time last this year at the commercial fish market at 4am, and discovered a whole world of fresh seafood that is both a treat to eat, super fresh and healthy.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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0
Seattle, WA
It is Turkey for us and is smoking as I type this. Cooking at 320 degrees, hoping to be done in a couple of hours. Desert is chocolate pecan pie and apple pie. All the usual fixings to go with a turkey dinner.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I hope not! ;) I will say this. After doing Turkey, Rolled Pork Loin and Osso Bucco the last few years...venison slow cooked is similar to beef but much much leaner. We quite like that, having decided to stay off the heavier meats (ribeye steaks, etc), add a lot more vegetables with the venison, do a teeny-sized dessert and get into the gym today for a nice long workout when the gym will likely be empty. TBH, this is a much heavier meal than we normally eat (which is much more vegetables and smaller % of lean meats), but it was still nice relative to prior years to wake up in the morning ready to go rather than still stuffed. We have enjoyed learning about healthier ways to eat...like the Japanese...and spent some time last this year at the commercial fish market at 4am, and discovered a whole world of fresh seafood that is both a treat to eat, super fresh and healthy.
Tsukiji Ichiba can be wonderful at 4-5 am :). Love having sushi for breakfast!

So how do you cook the venison? We have never cooked venison at home. Love to have some new ideas like that. My wife doesn't like cooking turkey much as it is a ton of work and is not one of her favorite dishes. So like you, we also alternate other meals.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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Tsukiji Ichiba can be wonderful at 4-5 am :). Love having sushi for breakfast!

So how do you cook the venison? We have never cooked venison at home. Love to have some new ideas like that. My wife doesn't like cooking turkey much as it is a ton of work and is not one of her favorite dishes. So like you, we also alternate other meals.

Being generally very low in fat, venison is relatively healthy...but also tougher. In the end, my wife decided to carve the meat off the bone and then cook it in the pressure cooker in 2 stages...25 minutes and then another 12 minutes. The leg was so big, it would not fit in the oven, and I think she was concerned it would become too risky to cut it into pieces and try to roast it where she could not properly control the heat, moisture, etc and ensure it did not dry out.

I cannot recall all the ingredients she put in, but I remember seeing a cheese cloth wrap about the size of a lacrosse ball with herb in it, and then I know there were carrots, onions, and other vegetables you often use in things like beef stew (note, she largely added them in the 2nd cooking so as not to pulverize the vegetables).

Oh and yes, she could eat sashimi/sushi breakfast, lunch and dinner! After your story of going to the fish market, we went here at 4am and literally brought home literally bags of scallops, fresh shrimp and over a dozen large whole fish. She spent all morning gutting and cleaning! But sure was fresh and wonderful to eat!
 

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
3,591
2,573
1,860
Sydney
I'm glad I'm not eating Christmas dinner at Lloyd's house. That menu sounds like something Jeffery Dahmer would have come up with after rehab. :D

John-Your menu sounds pretty good except I would have to ditch the Brussels sprouts for an edible vegetable like your carrots and I would miss the stuffing unless it was made from some foo-foo ingredients or some other weird crap.

For the second time in 35 years, my wife and I are staying home today on Christmas. It's just going to be the two of us and we are having an easy dinner:

A boneless spiral sliced ham from the Honey Baked Ham Company
mashed potatoes
steamed broccoli
crescent rolls

We aren't big dessert people, but my wife made me some Toll House chocolate chip cookies and some Oatmeal Raisin cookies yesterday and they are fab.

There is no accounting for people's taste. :D

I certainly know where I would prefer to eat Christmas dinner. Lloyd, we could even talk about the Ashes cricket ;)

We went to sister in laws and had
Roast Turkey,
Roast slow cooked beef,
roast potatoes and fresh roasted beetroot
Prosciutto bacon and avocado based salad with pinenuts
Couscous with pumpkin, green beans, sultana's and a fresh greek yogurt based sauce

Desert was Pavlova, flourless chocolate cake, home made Gingerbread house the daughters made with ice cream and fresh cherry/raspberry/boysenberries in their own juice.

This was after the morning playing my daughter's Xmas presents of the Lorde lp and the first Bruno Mars lp. Both pretty damm good too.
 

Ronm1

Member Sponsor
Feb 21, 2011
1,745
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wtOMitMutb NH
One of our usual go to holiday meals.

Whole low salt cured ham, liberally rubbed with a concoction of French's yellow, a Dijon and lemon juice. Let the rub set over night. We have an enclosed porch that is used like a walk in reefer at this time of year that works well. Course ham Tues needed to be buffered with boxes as temp went to below 0. Roast then finish with glaze of brown sugar and red wine. No spices. Gravy was unsweetened pineapple juice added to bottom of roasting pan enhanced by ham and glaze drippings. Some sides have already been mentioned by others. A few here were fresh pineapple slices caramelized on grill. Day was cold but clear so that worked ok. Mandoline shaved Brussl sprouts stir fried then tossed lightly with Applewood bacon drippings and bacon crumbles.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,411
2,509
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There is no accounting for people's taste. :D

I certainly know where I would prefer to eat Christmas dinner. Lloyd, we could even talk about the Ashes cricket ;)

We went to sister in laws and had
Roast Turkey,
Roast slow cooked beef,
roast potatoes and fresh roasted beetroot
Prosciutto bacon and avocado based salad with pinenuts
Couscous with pumpkin, green beans, sultana's and a fresh greek yogurt based sauce

Desert was Pavlova, flourless chocolate cake, home made Gingerbread house the daughters made with ice cream and fresh cherry/raspberry/boysenberries in their own juice.

This was after the morning playing my daughter's Xmas presents of the Lorde lp and the first Bruno Mars lp. Both pretty damm good too.

Hey Shane! Merry Christmas! Next time, we'll save you all some! I suppose we could also cover the upcoming World Cup...and maybe even regal each other with stories about CJ! ;) Hope you all are having fun this holiday season, and you're getting some time in with your fabulous system!
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Manila, Philippines
I did an aged Roast (7kilo USDA Prime) with a Sea Salt, Mustard, Garlic, Pepper and ground Porcini crust served with an Au Jus. Slow roasted it at 180 for almost 5 hours, let rest an hour and did 15mins or so at 425 before serving.

Sides were garlic mash from the Mustards cookbook, Mushroom and Anchovy cream Penne

Appetizer was a clear clam and mussel soup with tyrollian bacon, portuguese sausages, fennel and saffron served with three crostinis

Crab Lump with home made aoli and pimiento, Iberian Black Ham, Black Olive and anchovy tapenade and Goat Cheese.
 

Keith_W

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Mar 31, 2012
1,024
95
970
Melbourne, Australia
www.whatsbestforum.com


Christmas eve dinner at my place. All set up with Christmas crackers.



Jansson's Temptation - a Swedish potato gratin. The difference is that it is made with onions and sprats. Instead of using breadcrumbs, I used Gruyere.



Sugar snap peas with anchovies and whiskey.



The main course - tunnel boned Poussin stuffed with couscous and briefly smoked, shaved smoked ham, turkey jus. The ham was smoked in my Kamado, controlled by a Rocks BBQ Stoker and monitored with AmirM's software :)
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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There is no accounting for people's taste. :D

Yep. Nothing like eating one of the legs off of Santa's reindeer for Christmas dinner.
 

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