Christmas Dinner

[The Huskar Social Union]

That just looks like gravy...

I flatout deny any allegations of ignorance on behalf of a certain irish poster and his knowledge of gravy varities in the united states of america and how it included more than the bastardised white chunky version.

I deny these allegations.

[Cupofchar]

potatoes roasted with sage and rosemary

must add my approval for roasties with rosemary- really good- try it

if you buy a pack of fresh rosemary- it last ages in the fridge- and you just pluck some sprigs and cut them up [scisssors do thetrick nicely]

[The Horror Channel]

Gotta have that ham with the cloves and pineapple, and a massive amount of chicken and dressing

[Telconi]

That just looks like gravy...

I flatout deny any allegations of ignorance on behalf of a certain irish poster and his knowledge of gravy varities in the united states of america and how it included more than the bastardised white chunky version.

I deny these allegations.

The white gravy is just for breakfast. For dinner my gravy looks basically just like the picture, at least for beef.

[The Huskar Social Union]

I flatout deny any allegations of ignorance on behalf of a certain irish poster and his knowledge of gravy varities in the united states of america and how it included more than the bastardised white chunky version.

I deny these allegations.

The white gravy is just for breakfast. For dinner my gravy looks basically just like the picture, at least for beef.

Ah okay

[Ethel mermania]

Reservations at a Chinese restaurant.

[Western Vale Confederacy]

Diced up Communists.

[Fartsniffage]

Starter this year is a choice of either red lentil and smokey bacon soup or curried squash soup, with fresh baked rolls.

Main:
Roast turkey
Roast beef
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnip
Baked almond potato balls
Chipolatas
Steamed broccoli
Carrot and turnip
Green beans
Sprouts fried in butter with lardons
Beef gravy
Turkey gravy
Stuffing

Dessert:
Christmas pudding
Christmas cake
Mince pies
Apple pie
Trifle
Chocolate pudding
Custard, fresh cream, vanilla ice cream

[NERVUN]

My family has always been a bit weird. Christmas was time for clam chowder in bread bowls and crab. Turkey may, or may not, be featured depending upon who would be wandering by for Christmas dinner. The same with ham.

Now of course it's a bit of a mishmash. I refuse to allow KFC into the house for Christmas, I don't care what my wife and sons say about Japanese tradition. I've grudgingly given ground on the Christmas cake though.

So, the standard fare here would be

Clam chowder in bread bowls
Rice
Japanese style salad
Christmas cake
egg nog

[Stiltball]

You're making me hungry and thirsty - all this food you need some wine to wash it down with along with the spirits, beer and hot chocolate with marshmallows

[Fartsniffage]

My family has always been a bit weird. Christmas was time for clam chowder in bread bowls and crab. Turkey may, or may not, be featured depending upon who would be wandering by for Christmas dinner. The same with ham.

Now of course it's a bit of a mishmash. I refuse to allow KFC into the house for Christmas, I don't care what my wife and sons say about Japanese tradition. I've grudgingly given ground on the Christmas cake though.

So, the standard fare here would be

Clam chowder in bread bowls
Rice
Japanese style salad
Christmas cake
egg nog

Is christmas cake not a traditional American thing?

[Salandriagado]

Giant ass cake for desert, usually a ghetto

I couldn't eat a whole one.


Also, Yorkies are missing off your list. I'll assume it was just an editing mistake, so we don't need to start deportation proceedings just yet.

[Cannot think of a name]

Swedish meatballs and garlic mashed potatoes.

[Fartsniffage]

Swedish meatballs and garlic mashed potatoes.

With lingonberry jam?

[Geneviev]

Spaghetti and everything else my family can possibly think of. The best we accomplished so far was tofu sandwiches and chocolate.

[Reploid Productions]

The time of the annual Cookie-ening (Cookening-?) is soon upon us! Aka my friends and family will be getting together one weekend to bake and decorate a metric fuckton of almond spritz cookies! In previous years we have managed to destroy at least three different cookie presses in the process, this year we find out if our fancy new one that's all metal will perform better. If memory serves, our personal cookie record was somewhere around 1200 cookies.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup butter (softened)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk (unbeaten)
1 tsp almond extract (alternatives can use stuff like vanilla or peppermint)
Food coloring if you want colored cookies

Mixing:
1) Sift together the flour, baking power, and salt in a bowl.
2) In a different bowl (preferably a stand mixer, but a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer will work just fine as well), cream the butter on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar until the mix is very light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and almond extract and beat until it's well blended.
3) On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until it is well mixed. At this point, start beating in the food coloring if you want colored cookies. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for about a half hour.

Baking:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) Press the dough through the shape disk of your choice on a cookie press onto a cold, ungreased baking sheet. (There's enough butter in the dough that the cookies basically grease the sheet themselves!) Holiday season, we usually do trees and wreathes. If the dough isn't running evenly through the press or isn't sticking neatly to the cookie sheet, it may be either too cold (and thus not pressing easily), or too warm (presses very easily but doesn't stick cleanly to the cookie sheet)- in which case chill the dough or let it warm up a little longer after pulling it out of the fridge.
3) Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown, cool on the sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

The decorating glaze:
The formal recipe says to mix 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 1/2tsp vanilla extract, and 3-4 tsp water until smooth, but for the volume of cookies my friends and I make, it's more like "Keep stirring in confectioners' sugar into this container of water (and a little vanilla extract) until it's sort of a thick runny goop." (If there are immature adults and no children involved, expect certain crude jokes.) Cookie decorating generally entails drizzling the glaze on a cookie and then dusting with sprinkles to decorate them. As the glaze dries out, it glues the sprinkles to the cookie (and conveniently, can also be used to "glue" cracked cookies back together.)

To anyone that decides to make these, I will warn you:

1. Decorating will make a mess, especially if you have small children helping out, so cover your decorating space accordingly. (Fortunately the glaze itself mops up quite easily since it's mainly just sugar!) Cleanup will probably require wiping down the decorating workspace and sweeping/mopping sprinkles and/or glaze off the floor.
2. We nicknamed these "crack cookies" for a reason. They are fucking addictive. A single cookie is a nice, small sweet treat, but good luck only eating just one!

[Valentine Z]

Most likely going to be homecooked pasta. Just get Fusilli, tomato sauce, chicken/prawn, and mushrooms from the supermarket and there you go, homecooked pasta!

Spaghetti also goes along well with it, but Fusilli's my personal preference. I usually have 2nd or 3rd helpings, and thus the homecooked part.

[NERVUN]

My family has always been a bit weird. Christmas was time for clam chowder in bread bowls and crab. Turkey may, or may not, be featured depending upon who would be wandering by for Christmas dinner. The same with ham.

Now of course it's a bit of a mishmash. I refuse to allow KFC into the house for Christmas, I don't care what my wife and sons say about Japanese tradition. I've grudgingly given ground on the Christmas cake though.

So, the standard fare here would be

Clam chowder in bread bowls
Rice
Japanese style salad
Christmas cake
egg nog

Is christmas cake not a traditional American thing?

Not this way. Japanese Christmas cake is this sponge cake with white frosting and strawberries. If it sounds like a birthday cake, it is. Someone told the Japanese that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and the cake makers spotted a great idea to make a sell (Like KFC for fried chicken on Christmas), so...

[Free California Republic]

nope

[Western Vale Confederacy]

A spoonful of mayonnaise with a good old sandwich is good for a Christmas school snack.

We get it Boris, you like mayonnaise.

[US-SSR]

you just have to know how to cook them. cut Brussels sprouts in half. heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add chopped garlic to taste, remembering that you can never have too much garlic. place sprouts cut side down in pan and let them cook uncovered slowly slowly until they are nicely caramelized. add 1 tablespoon of water and cover tightly so that the sprouts steam. finish with salt, pepper, a sprinkling of lemon juice and bacon you will have fried and chopped previously because bacon makes everything better. this is not very good for kidney stones but still delicious.

[Cannot think of a name]

Swedish meatballs and garlic mashed potatoes.

With lingonberry jam?

Gravy. The family made their way through the midwest.

[The Blaatschapen]

you just have to know how to cook them. cut Brussels sprouts in half. heat olive oil in a large saucepan, add chopped garlic to taste, remembering that you can never have too much garlic. place sprouts cut side down in pan and let them cook uncovered slowly slowly until they are nicely caramelized. add 1 tablespoon of water and cover tightly so that the sprouts steam. finish with salt, pepper, a sprinkling of lemon juice and bacon you will have fried and chopped previously because bacon makes everything better. this is not very good for kidney stones but still delicious.

Garlic to taste?

Why not skip the rest of the food then?

[Alvecia]

We have a roast, but we mix up the meats every year. This year is gammon I think.

[Risottia]

Heyo NSG! I figured that since Christmas is drawing near, we should talk about food! Maybe share some ideas and recipes for what to make this Christmas. So, what do you guys make for Christmas Dinner?
As for my family and I, we make the basic stuff, like turkey, ham

1.Ewww, turkey.
2.You make ham? Do you actually cure the hind legs of a pig at home? Weird.

Anyway, the basic stuff for me would be NO Christmas Dinner. We have a dinner on Christmas' EVE and a lunch at Christmas. And then another lunch on St.Stephen's Day.
The Christmas' Eve Dinner is fish. Lots of fish. Fish appetizers, fish soup, linguine with clams, roasted salmon, cod braised in milk, that stuff.
Christmas Lunch is generally meat appetizers, pâté, homemade tortellini in capon broth, roasted chicken stuffed with ham and cheese, mixed boiled meats (generally, capon, ox tongue...), cardoons au gratin, cheese with fruit pickled in honey-and-mustard sauce. Of course you don't have dinner after that.
On Saint Stephen's one goes mostly with lighter stuff.