Favorite Holiday Meal: Main Course – What’s the Star of Your Feast?

[AGeese]

The only meat she eats is ultra processed tasteless fish drown in cinnamon

Now I don't feel so different.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mac and cheese since I don't eat meat.

 

[AGeese]

Mac and cheese since I don't eat meat.

So no fish?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So no fish?

No fish. I do eat eggs and dairy. Haven't eaten meat in 40 years. Would have been longer if I had a choice earlier.

 

[Altairsky]

Don't get me wrong, I would be glad to eat a good old vegetarian pie with fresh vegetables, or some Indian vegan masala with lentils and chickpeas. It's the processed food that my in-laws are great fans of that ruins my stomach.

 

[fowltemptress]

Haha, my family considers the sides the stars of the meal. The main course isn't bad by any means, but you can't beat delicious side dishes!

Our main course is roast goose - we raise them, so it's an easy decision. I like Gordon Ramsey's spiced roast goose, though his port wine sauce or whatever it is he recommends for it is not my cup of tea. I much prefer a brown gravy made with the neck and wing tips. Charles Dickens made certain I was always enamored with the idea of a traditional roast goose for the Christmas table, so my expectations were massively too high the first time I tried it. I was picturing food of the gods for some reason. It is good, but it doesn't live up to the fabricated nostalgia.

When I was growing up there was always baked ham with honey pineapple cherry glaze. I could take or leave the meat, but I did love the fat off that ham and would wait for everyone to grab their portion so I could cut myself a plate of nothing but fat, and I'd always beg for the bone so I could scoop out and eat the marrow. Occasionally I'd get lucky, but usually my grandfather said no because he wanted it to make beans. A waste of good marrow if you ask me.

As a young adult I'd save up in order to splurge on lobster as the main course for Christmas dinner. Nothing special, just steamed with plain butter for dipping. Given the option this would be my preferred main course forever, but I don't even know where I'd find lobster around here. Plus, I've always had trouble justifying the cost even as a special event splurge, so no way could I come to terms with it when we already have a freezer full of goose.

My absolute heavenly ideal of a holiday main course that will never happen but lives forever in my dreams? Crawfish boil. Now that's what I call food of the gods.

 

[Midnight Maran Momma]

We wait all year for one of our favorite meals- prime rib/standing rib roast! Here in VA, one of our local stores sells it for 60% off the week before Christmas, so it's pretty much the only time it's actually affordable for a whole family. I'm very lucky that my husband is an amazing cook! He loads it with spices and cooks it, with sides of asparagus, mashed potatoes, and yeast rolls (one of the only things he occasionally buys pre-made, rather than creating it from scratch), and I usually make deviled eggs for us to snack on as we're all waiting for our meal to finish cooking. Dinner is usually followed by loads of baked goods the kids and I make shortly before Christmas.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Christmas Eve we've made amaretto roast chicken (or an approximation...this year all I had was drumsticks) every year for long enough that my 13yo knows that's what we have on Christmas Eve. Christmas day can change up from year to year, but we often have beef wellington. This year we had beef wellington and ham. New Years Eve is for "dim sum" aka appetizer type snacks like Buffalo chicken dip, spinach dip, shrimp cocktail, air fried frozen appetizers and such.

 

[RcoM]

Christmas is hot in Australia. Our favourite Christmas dishes for mains or sides are Cooked Prawns (a somewhat expensive delicacy) and Veal Schnitzels. This reflects the merging of the Austrian and Australian traditions. We do add some cold smoked ham and occasionally roast pork with crackling as options -but everyone heads for the first two. Food is not the only tradition: Midnight Mass for Christmas is very special and a loved tradition. Even if we go Christmas morning, presents can't be opened until afterwards!