What do people traditionally serve for Christmas dinner? archived

Traditional in Denmark:
Roast duck ( or goose) stuffed with apples & prunes, if necessary make a pork roast on the side
Red cabbage
Caramelized potatoes
and a dessert similar to rice pudding, made with whiped cream & almonds

In the US I have celebrated Xmas Eve with many people, serving anything from ham or turkey through fish and lasagna.

What do you remember from growing up?

I suppose it depends but turkey is usually on the menu - unless, of course, you're Italian... in which case my advice is to call in sick to work and start cooking NOW.

Oh, and ham - ham is a good 'go to' Christmas meal as well.

Christmas Eve we have traditional Cuban meal - roast pork shoulder, etc. For Christmas Day we have been roasting a duck for the last few years. Current Savuer features duck recipes. That said, duck may be weird for the kids. Lots of people have beef filet, turkey, ham or roast chicken. Seems like a good time to start your own tradition based on what your family likes, and possibly, your heritage.

I think people follow their family traditions. We have sauerbraten with sauce, red cabbage and potatoes.

I usually make a rib roast. The butcher at Ashley is very helpful and we have gotten some great cuts of meat from there. I just can't bear the thought of cooking another turkey! I have used Ina Garten's recipe for her Sunday Rib Roast on the food network website. Plus the house will smell amazing!

Chinese food

Ha! Yep. Depends on the family and their culture and background.

In my house (WASP) growing up it was always turkey. I think ham might also be a tradition, but I hated ham (to the point of vomiting) and loved turkey, so my mother didn't usually serve ham.

I believe Italians are all about lasagna and piles and piles of yummy Italian food.

Ham is our usual Christmas dinner, but we've also done Turkey - different sides than Thanksgiving. We also often due a brunch instead of dinner.

Seven fish for Christmas Eve

Ham, stuffed cabbage, smoked and fresh kielbasa, potato and mac salad sides, rye bread for Christmas

Pork roast for New Year's Day. I hear if you don't eat pork on NYD, you scratch all year.

eta: ...people claim that eating fowl (such as turkey, goose, or chicken) on New Year's Day will result in bad luck. The reason? Fowl scratch backward as they search for their food, and who wants to have to "scratch for a living?"

Christmas dinner has a lot more flexibility than a meal like Thanksgiving. Some folks cook something different every year, some are influenced by their heritage and traditions, but mostly, the meal usually revolves around a big hunka hunka piece of meat and a bunch of comforting, delicious sides. Ham and goose are the most well-known, but a leg of lamb, pot roast, pork crown roast, pork loin, turkey, duck are all used.

roast beef and yorkshire pudding

Growing up we had ham or a rib roast. My brother gets a free turkey from his job every year, so now mom makes that. Rib roast for all of us is too expensive. We usually have ham on Christmas Eve now. Growing up we had shrimp cocktail and fried shrimp.

I make Hoppin' John (black eyed peas) and collard greens for New Year's Day.

My family usually has beef (either a giant roast or individual steaks, depending on the host) with twice baked potatoes filled with tons of whipped potatoes, butter, and cheese. Other sides vary.

I am so hungry now!!!!

We would have the 7 fish on Christmas Eve.

Christmas dinner (1:00 pm) consisted of an antipasto, stuffed capon, homemade ravioli, lasagna, meatballs, sausage, bracciole. Then Christmas night we'd have chicken soup with capelleti's, porketta and another antipasto. Also, tons of nuts and fresh fruits and a gazillion types of baked goods.

Yes, I'm Italian. It's no wonder I was so fat

We used to have ham on Christmas growing up but when I took over cooking duty, it became a whole roasted beef tenderloin. Last year I broke tradition and made a baked pasta dish and some roasted chicken breasts with salad. Back to the filet this year as everyone will be at my place.

We used to have the Wiglia ( Polish Christmas Eve) with my father's side of the family. We are having it this year after not doing it for the past few due to deaths and illnesses in the family. We have mushroom barley soup, baked mac and cheese, pierogies (I'm making the potato one), baked fish, fried mushrooms-with and without kraut, and other fish type things-but I don't eat them so I don't remember. Just meatless. A lot of carbs and melted butter involved.

Frito Misto and Bacalau Christmas Eve

Antipasto and Some type of Pasta (ravioli, stuffed shells, lasagna etc) for dinner

cfa said:

We would have the 7 fish on Christmas Eve.

Christmas dinner (1:00 pm) consisted of an antipasto, stuffed capon, homemade ravioli, lasagna, meatballs, sausage, bracciole. Then Christmas night we'd have chicken soup with capelleti's, porketta and another antipasto. Also, tons of nuts and fresh fruits and a gazillion types of baked goods.

Yes, I'm Italian. It's no wonder I was so fat

That sounds like ours when my grandmother (and most of my family) was still alive. I don't know how we all ate so much -- I could never eat that volume of food nowadays.

However, Christmas Day we would always have a standing rib roast, which I continue to this day (FYI, King's has it on sale starting Friday -- buy yours now and freeze it until Christmas).

onceinawhile said:

roast beef and yorkshire pudding

Always beef---could be a rib roast, pot roast , top sirloin roast beef, or a tenderloin.

OK this thread is seriously mouth-watering! Pickle, I recommend doing the two meat thing and going with a turkey and ham since you're comfortable with that--I just tasted a ham at Trader Joe's a couple of days ago--delish--and natural tasting, comes with some marinade, pour it over, foil, throw in oven--nitrite/nitrate free--creamed pearl onions are Christmasy--(peeled onions available frozen at TJ's)--I do a great braised red cabbage and it's even better if you make it a day ahead and reheat--a potato dish that you could assemble in a gratin dish ahead would make life easier--yum

turkey, Ham or Pork Shoulder, Rice and Beans, Potato salad, Lots of wine, and love!!

Italian family. We eat lasagna, antipast and a salad earlier in the day as sort of a pre- dinner an hour or two before main dinner. For dinner, we do different things usually two meats almost always a filet mignon or prime rib roast and then it varies between some sort of lamb or a ham as the second meat. My mom makes twice baked potatoes, stuffed mushrooms and a few other sides. As a kid, this meal would generally last all afternoon/ night. People,would come to the table around 1 or 2 for the lasagna and there you'd sit eating until 7 or 8 at night. We don't sit like that anymore ( smaller now with just 9 of us) but those are some fond memories around that table!

And, we used to do the fish on Christmas Eve as well. Yum. Now we usually go out on Christmas Eve.

We Jewish people serve Chinese food.

Somethingz_Fishy said:

Christmas dinner has a lot more flexibility than a meal like Thanksgiving. Some folks cook something different every year, some are influenced by their heritage and traditions, but mostly, the meal usually revolves around a big hunka hunka piece of meat and a bunch of comforting, delicious sides. Ham and goose are the most well-known, but a leg of lamb, pot roast, pork crown roast, pork loin, turkey, duck are all used.

This! Sometimes we do a reprise of Thanksgiving Turkey dinner, other years a rib roast or ham. Not sure yet what we are doing this year. Family members are coming in from out of town a week ahead, so we can wait to decide until after they get here.

Growing up we had two dinners. First, around noon, piles of Italian food. Then, around 6, turkey. As everyone has aged, that's become just turkey.

deiscane said:

We Jewish people serve Chinese food.

We always went to a Jewish deli/restaurant for breakfast on Christmas morning, on the way to grandma's house. Fond memories of sitting there in our Christmas outfits, new toy in hand, big plate of pancakes on the table.

Mixed family- so standing rib roast & Yorkshire pudding. I spent several Xmases with dear Italian friends. Oh, Lordy! The first part of the tradition was a soup with tiny, homemade ravioli (which my friends spent the entire weekend before making. Lots of cursing, little pasta squares drying all over the dining room & flour-covered kitties. My job was to sit in the kitchen, drink wine & keep them company. And eat the fresh torte the millisecond it was cool enough to cut. My ass just grew two sizes, talking about it).

But I digress...

The early Xmases with my ex-in-laws was lasagna, fried chicken, potato salad, mac & cheese, greens & ham. The summer BBQ food seemed odd (esp. for Connecticut) until I realized that it made it more of a "family time." The kids were all young (2-11); and between 8-10 adults & 6-10 kids, so much more could be done ahead of time, clean-up was a breeze & we spent hours after dinner (eaten at 3p) playing board games & opening presents.

It was so much more fun than the adult-oriented formal table & meal. When the kids were teens & older, the menu/setting changed, depending on who was hosting.

Christmas Day our family is heavy on substantial hors d' oeuvres and simple with dinner - which is a tenderloin grilled outside, some sort of potato (roasted or stuffed baked), a salad (that is something akin to Laura's Lush Salad at The Blue Plate) and some amazing desserts. This may sound like a lot, but it is pared down considerably from when I joined the family. Dinner back then included lasagna, roast beef, roast pork, a leg of lamb AND turkey. She served many courses throughout the day and we rolled ourselves home.