Christmas Dinner - What's on your Menu?

[Renee]

Miss Prissy, I wanted to cook a goose this year for Christmas, but the frozen one at the supermarket was $85.00!!!!!

Here in California, the Christmas tradition is tamales. I have never made them, but I have been the lucky recipient of a gift of tamales for Christmas.

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
Pork Tamales

I have only made tamales once...just to prove I could! It's not a difficult recipe if you give yourself the proper amount of time to make it...it really is a two day process beginning with the chili puree and the meat filling. I got this recipe for the mother of a good friend...I used pork shoulder.

Day 1:


CHILE PUREE

2 large ancho chilies
2 large pasella chilies

Toast chilies in a hot, dry pan until fragrant. Remove to a bowl and cover with 1 cup of boiling water and soak until soft, about half an hour. In a blender or food processor, puree the chilies with 1/2 cup of their soaking liquid. Reserve.

PORK SHOULDER

1 6 lb pork shoulder, bone in
2 large onions, quartered
1 head garlic, halved
2 tablespoons course salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seed
1 cinnamon stick, whole

In a medium pot, cover the pork, onion and garlic with water. Add the coarse salt, peppercorns, cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Bring to a boil.

Partly cover and simmer until the pork is tender (falling off the bone), about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Drain the pork, reserving the broth and shred the meat with a fork.

Add half of the pureed chilies to the meat and stir in enough broth to form a moist, spreadable mixture. Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning. Reserve.

Day 2:

TAMALE WRAPPERS

2 packages dried cornhusks

In a large bowl, cover cornhusks with boiling water and soak until soft (about 1-2 hours). When soft, pick out the cornhusks that are the widest and most intact for filling. Lay them out on paper towels and keep them covered with damp paper towels. Shred reserved cornhusks to tie tamales closed. Keep damp as well.

MASA HARINA

3 1/2 cups masa harina, labeled "for tamales"
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups hot water
1-cup lard or solid vegetable shortening


Combine the masa harina with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the 3 1/4 cups of hot water, the lard and the remaining pureed chilies and mix together with a wooden spoon or your hands until soft, mushy dough forms. (It should be moist but not runny, and it should not stick to your hands.)

Spread the masa over the cornhusk wrappers, leaving a border of about 1 inch around. Top the masa with about a tablespoon of filling, leaving a 1/2-inch border of masa all around. Pull the sides of the husk together to seal, then fold up the tapered end and tie the package shut with a thin strip of husk (the top remains open). If the husk is too narrow to close, add another piece to cover the seam.

Pour an inch of water into a saucepan, place the steamer inside and invert a heatproof mug in the center of the steamer. Arrange the tamales around the mug, open end up. Layer the tops of the tamales with the remaining husks, and then cover with a lid (trim the tops of the wrappers, if necessary). Bring the water to a simmer and steam the tamales for about 1 1/2 hours, adding more water as necessary, until the husks peel away from the dough.

I just served them with a fresh tomatillo and tomato salsa.

Note: My friend's mother puts a nickel in the bottom of the pot to let her know when the water is getting low...the rattling slows!

Enjoy!

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I do Christmas Eve dinner...

She/Crab soup
Fried Oysters
Steamed Shrimp
Crabcakes
Homemade French Fries
Coleslaw
Buttermilk Biscuits
and dessert is Orange Cream Fruit Salad

Christmas Day dinner will be Ham and all the trimmings....

 

[kbarrett]

I make a ham, filling or mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, green beans, broccoli & cheese, English pea salad, ambrosia salad, and of course lots of desserts!

 

[CK Chickadilly]

We do a pheasant supreme, wild rice, frozen cranberry salads, homemade rolls, mashed sweet potatoes, & lots of fancy snacks before dinner like spinach balls, stuffed mushrooms, garden pizza, etc. Then my mom makes a wonderful peppermint frozen dessert with the oreo & butter crust & fudge swirled in.....oh boy! I can't wait!

 

[JennsPeeps]

My family doesn't do Christmas dinner. We do Christmas brunch!

champagne
sausage frittata
blueberry-orange bread
fruit salad

It's a tradition.

My mom won't even give me the blueberry bread recipe b/c she doesn't want me to make it any other time of year.

 

[CK Chickadilly]

Quote:
That sounds wonderful!

Ours is traditional too. We have done pheasant supreme since I was a young kid!

 

[Micki's Chickies]

My parents are going through a really nasty divorce, so I get to entertain ALL day.

Breakfast: My dad and my father in law are coming over to watch the kids open presents, then we will have homemade wafles and sausage links (family tradition to have wafles on christmas.) My dad will cook this hopefully.

Lunch: My mom, sister, and grandparents are coming over. I think to make it easy I am just going to do a lunch meat tray and hot roast beef sandwiches and salads (this is what my mom did for years and years for christmas so their shouldn't be any complaints.)

Dinner: My dad will be coming back later on, and I am cooking a roast beast (like the whoo's) and all the fixings.

Starting next weekend, I will be making homemade candy and cookies for christmas desserts and sweets.

 

[skeeter9]

Our traditional Christmas dinner is ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans (with bacon and onions), and cherry jello salad supreme. Of course, we have Christmas cookies for dessert!!!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
HELLO!!..umm..nice to meet you!..you dont know me....but,...

..i will be at your house christmas eve..what time please?...i LOVE seafood..and your menu sounds yummy!...

..