Another snow day! On the last one, ten kids made it to school, which amuses me. The Girl has heard such wonderful things about snow days that she’s insisting that she MUST GO, which also amuses me – I would never, ever have voluntarily missed out on a chance to legitimately Not Go To School as a kid (or now. School. Shudder.), but my daughter is made of different stuff.
Yikes! There are gusts of freezing rain and howling winds wrapping themselves around my cozy house. I think I’m keeping her home, anyhow.
This is a more wintry winter then we’ve had in years – I don’t think there was really much snow at this time last year and this year, the banks are huge, taller than The Baby’s head. We went for a walk last week, and she looked disconcerted by these walls of snow on either side of her, which I hope she remembers – the cold, the narrow white corridors, the snow falling forever and ever.
My dad phoned me on Saturday and asked if he could take the kids out into the bush to get our Christmas tree. I had to put down the phone for a moment while I hyperventilated at the very idea, and then my husband suggested he go too, so that was all right. They headed over to my uncle’s farm, and my dad and The Boy argued over my father’s choice of a tree – it was, The Boy warned him, MUCH MUCH TOO SMALL and grandma would NOT like it. But my husband chose a very nice tree for us, and my dad cut down the little tree for himself and we brought our tree home and decorated it:
And while we were doing that, my dad went back into the forest – this time with my disgruntled mother – and got another tree. What happened to the small tree? Apparently, it is now on my porch. Oh boy.
At last count, we’re having 17 people here for Christmas. This doesn’t daunt me – they’re just family and they’re easy to entertain, especially since we have all of the grandchildren here – but I’m a little bit boggled AND WHO COULD BLAME ME at the very idea of what to feed that many people. So. Here are my rough ideas for right now:
1. I’m going to have a tray of veggies, dips and cheese fondue set out for those who find Christmas dinner a bit hard to wait for, as well as a coffee and tea bar. Are there any other snacky things I should set out? How about beverages?
2. Christmas dinner is going to be a roast turkey and a cold glazed ham. But side dishes! What can I possibly make? Have any of you ever made a side dish in your slow cooker – and if so, what? My aunt is bringing a sparkling jello salad, but I’m still going to make aspic because apparently it JUST ISN’T CHRISTMAS without my brothers and fathers asking for the aspic OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Family jokes! Fear them! So I’m also going to make some over-the-top mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy, something with sweet potatoes (but WHAT? I hate marshmallows and I hate nuts. Any other festive ideas for sweet potatoes?), probably some Brussels sprouts… and what else? Remember, I’m having a GAZILLION PEOPLE over here, so a lot of side dishes are probably a good thing.
3. And then dessert. I’m making Pavlova (filled with pomegranate seeds, I think. so pretty!) and probably a buche de noel (rolled cakes like that are MUCH easier to make than you might think!) – should there be anything else? I’m thinking yes, but WHAT? I would love to have a beautiful table set up with desserts, so what would look pretty and festive? IDEAS! HELP!
I don’t know about crockpot sidedishes but is there a way to cook sweet potatoes in a crock pot? Or some sort of veggie casserole? As for dessert – you need pie! And of all those 17 people, are more of them not able to bring something? Sheesh! I wouldn’t cook for 17 people unless all I was doing was the meat and one dessert! You’re brave, Beck. Very brave.
Your disgruntled mom making your dad go back into the forest made me laugh out loud. We’re having insane weather here too. It snowed all day again today.
Side dishes. Roasted asparagus was a huge hit at my last family dinner. Just trim the bottoms off the asparagus and toss with olive oil and Italian seasoning and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with grated parmesan (not the powdery stuff, but the real grated stuff). Bake at 450*F until crisp tender, 10 – 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the stalks. Serve hot.
We also like spaghetti squash, baked in the shell until soft, then scooped out in strings and just mixed with butter salt and pepper.
This is a Jamie Oliver recipe and one of my fave side dishes with turkey. Peel and roughly chop a butternut squash. In your food processor make a pesto of the following ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
one tbsp coriander powder
one tbsp oregano
one dried red chilli
1/4 cup olive oil
toss the squash in the pesto and roast in oven at 350 for about 40 minutes or until golden brown edges.
Someone probably said this already but turnip casserole. No, not for dessert silly. Two mashed turnips, loads of grated cheese, an egg, some butter and top with bread crumbs and butter. Uuuummmm. Best part of Christmas dinner!
Dessert…always a blueberry cheesecake. I’ll be sad if there isn’t one this year for me. I’ll have to make it (and NOT share.)
sweet potato dish: roast them in olive oil with cinnamon sticks. it is super easy. just slice into half, coat with olive oil & stick a cinnamon on halves, then stick your halves back together & roast. After they are soft (half an hour?) take the halves apart to let the middles get a little crispy. delicious & no marshmallows at all!
we have fondue every christmas eve. but it is just the four of us, which is actually kind of sad.
Love your tree! I’m glad your feeling better now. This weather is TERRIBLE. Worst winter since we’ve been here for sure!
This http://www.recipezaar.com/Lemon-Rice-74274 is the most incredible recipe for rice. Very tasty.
Roasted sweet potatoes are one of our favorite things (not fond of the whole sugary yam thing either), and for dessert how about a trifle with gluten free cake for the baby?
Your tree is very pretty.
I’ve no advice to give. You see I have never made a Christmas dinner. NEVER EVER. It’s my job (as first assigned by my mother and then my husband) to stay out of the kitchen on Christmas Day. HA! I always pretend to be miffed — as I’m a pretty good cook — but really I don’t mind one iota. BUT this year my husband is working Christmas Day. So looks like we’re having oatmeal porridge OR take out Chinese food that day. How festive!
wow 17 people!??!?!? That is just crazy.
I am serving 4. I am cool with that.
There is a fantastic soup made with oven roasted yams that I found a few years back. And it can be made ahead. It’s one of my favorites. I’m off to find you the url.
And I’m back. http://absolutely.scrump-tio.us/roasted-yam-and-onion-soup/
Or you can just slice yams, toss them in olive oil and roast. So good.
I also have an aunt who cooked the yams in apple juice and whole spices and then mashed them until they were creamy. A crock pot worthy endeavor I would think.
And I really like green beans drizzled with chipotle butter as a side dish. It’s basically just butter, green onions, crushed chipotles, a bit of lime, etc.
Your dinner sounds wonderful.
I love the tree story!
Coincidentally, I have a post going up on FE on Wednesday with my picks for holiday dinner favorites–we’re just coming off from two weekends in a row hosting Christmas parties, so I have some recipes to share.
Boy, that’s a lot of people, Beck. Thank goodness they’re all family. I hope some of them are bringing some things to help.
I hate marshmallows and everyone but me hates nuts, so I just kind of mash the sweet potatoes, add some crushed pineapple and cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and mix it all up with a little heavy cream and bake it until it looks right. Delicious!
We cut down our tree and decorated it on Saturday. Then I barfed. Coincidence?
Dumping some chutney on a brick of cream cheese is an easy appetizer to spread on crackers. We do pear chutney ’cause that’s that we make each fall. But there are lots of different chutneys you can buy at the store.
I made a sweet potato casserole a few years back. It has evaporated skim milk, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, pecans and coconut (though I left the nuts out b/c of Drew’s peanut allergy). Obviously, it’s quite sweet. But if you like sweet side dishes, it was lovely. Email me if you want the recipe.
I always love an array of Christmas cookies and chocolates on the buffet table. Little bowls of red and green M&M’s are fun, too (and gluten-free!) Otherwise, a trifle is always sort of Christmas-y to me, and not too difficult to make.
Well, I am no help. We are having us for Christmas. And by “us” I mean my husband, my 2 yo, and myself (and the enormous unborn baby inside of me and who, I am determined, is going to be born on the 28th.)
I am ordering a ham. And getting sides from somewhere. How lame is that?
I love the idea of a pretty table set with desserts. That would be fine with me since I like sweet much better than anything that is healthy.
I have always thought it would be a lot of fun to have an area set with cut out sugar cookies, frosting, sprinkles, etc, and etc, for decorating. Everyone could stop by at any time and decorate themselves a cookie or two. You could even do just plain round ones to make it easy on the initial baking.
Or … you could let your husband, the King of Fancy Decor on Edible Items, handle the whole thing. Kids would love it I think, as would any dogs lolling about looking for sweet pieces on the floor.
I have a recipe for hot mulled cider which we love. You do it in the crock pot. If you are interested it is on my blog today for the Tour of Homes.
We do a very yummy and fairly simple thing with sweet potatoes. Boil them and remove the skins.
Melt 1 stick of butter and mix with 1 cup of brown sugar. Heat to approx 300 degrees (we use an electric frying pan for this) so that the mixture is a bit gooey and slightly bubbly – too much heat and the sugar will burn.
Then ‘fry’ the potatoes in this mixture 3 to 5 minutes on each side. This is some of the best candied sweet potatoes you will ever eat.
I think most of the ideas I had have been said…you are one brave lady!
I think most of the ideas I had have been said…you are one brave lady!
Oh how fun!
You could do the Dread 80s Broccoli Salad, which I still totally love. (The one with bacon and raisins in it) You could do just tons more veggies–green beans or carrots (glazed?) or peas. OH I KNOW–peas in white sauce! My mum always served them with ham and I loved them as a child, although they don’t sound so appetizing now. For desserts, add in some fudge (gluten free, no?) and some little mince and coconut pies. I have a great recipe for mince, although lucky you you’re in Canada and can prob just buy a jar of Robertson’s. And my grandma’s coconut pies are a huge hit, always. Make some other cookies–thumbprint cookies with red jelly, snowball cookies, gingersnaps, etc.
Another appetizer idea is hummous and pita chips. Yum!
I made a wonderful recipe from the Katzen kitchen: Golden Spinach Rice Pie. It feeds lots, you can make ahead and reheat, it’s festive because you sprinkle it with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds, and it went over really well. (Gluten-free!) Google it, or send me an email, and I’ll try to find the link.
For desert you might want to add a tray of assorted cookies and a cheese tray. The cheese tray is the best part of dessert at my sisters (mmm stilton and brie). Also good for the kids to have a piece of mild mozza or cheddar to clean their teeth after sweets or so says my dentist.
Roasted Sweet potatoes with rosemary are quite lovely. My MIL mixes Sweet and Regular potatoes when she roasts them (she does them with carraway seeds instead of rosemary).
You can use your slow cooker on low to serve mulled apple cider. It’ll make the whole house smell AMAZING and it’ll give the kids a festive beverage choice as well.
Another good choice is roasted parnips and carrots mixed.
Sounds like you have a wonderful feast in the making!!
Oh and for cold dishes nothing beats marinated mushrooms (the Moosewood recipe is especially good).
i grew up with the jello salad, and i got to say i still don’t get it.
but, in a fifties vein, one of the holiday treats my grandmother always made was pineapple cream. it’s a simple bavarian cream (whipping cream, gelatin, sugar) with a can of crushed pineapple mixed in, in a fancy mold. gorgeous, wintry looking, and simply divine to eat. i highly recommend.
Doesn’t ‘buche de Noel’ sound waaaaaay nicer than ‘Yule Log’? Northern Ontario has its up sides For example, that it hasn’t been raining for 20 hours in a row.
What to eat? Dunno. We do frozen lasagne on teh 25th, turkey on the 26th …
Josh makes a yummy broccoli cheese rice casserole in our slow cooker. Email me if you want the details and I can get them from him.
I did a pumpkin bread pudding not too long ago (which I made with whole wheat bread to justify feeding it to my kids as an entree) and it was easy-peasy. It would totally replace pumpkin pie, and it can be made in a large dish or individual ramekins for the beauty factor. I actually posted the recipe on my site – maybe the only recipe post I’ve ever done. 🙂 Good luck! http://wigglerooms.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes
Sounds de-lish! For your dessert table, you could place some sturdy books or boxes at various heights, cover with a table cloth, (all scrunched up), then in the folds add little pieces of that second Christmas tree and some bright ornaments.
We always have Russian Tea at Christmas…(not really a side item, though)
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,163,133190-252199,00.html
I think some of those guests should bring side dishes. I’m demanding that way…
Get rid of the comment verification thingie! I have to wait for another whole page to load, and I am just so busy…
One year, my mother did whole baby beets (red), brussels sprouts (green) and creamed pearl onions (white) – bowls of Christmas balls all over the table. I always like a salad as part of Christmas dinner – something like endive and watercress – bitter and refreshing. How about sweet potato fries?
I have a sweet potato casserole recipe that is almost dessert it’s so delectable. Basically, mashed sweet potatoes with butter and cream topped with brown-sugar praline topping. Recipe calls for nuts, but hubby’s allergic, so I leave them out. It’s his FAVORITE, by the way. He hates dessert, but he would eat a 9×13 pan of this stuff if I’d let him.
I also have a recipe for fresh brussel sprouts with bacon and vinegar. It’s really good with ham and unexpectedly wonderful.
Let me know if you want recipes.
That looks like an enormous amount of work. Does your husband watch the kids while you do all that? I can’t imagine accomplishing that much cooking with small hands reaching in to help. Oy.
If you want more desserts, I’d go for pie or cobbler. They’re less work. No fussing or frosting. If you want a great sweet potato pie recipe, I have one. Apple-cranberry cobbler is also a favorite of mine. Or maybe a coffeecake. On Christmas we eat buttermilk-poppyseed cake, which is delightful, and requires no frosting.
That tree is positively enormous! WOW! Very grand. I love it. 🙂
Ham, mashed potatoes, and homemade chunky applesauce are always must haves at our Christmas dinners. And we’ve been trying not to have too many appetizers lately so that people don’t fill up before dinner. Just a veggi plate, cheese and crackers, deviled eggs, and chips and salsa or something. ???
Good luck! 😉
We always have a veggie casserole thing (with cheese. Because cheese makes every vegetable better) that I can prepare the night before. That makes the big day so much easier.
For dessert, we always have lots of cookies set out, and PIE and some fudge too. I should get my sister to make a buche du noel this year too!
For side dishes, we love our yams cooked in cream with hazelnut praline (which apparently you will hate) and a green bean dish with portabellas and bacon. YUM! I’m all for the brussel sprouts though!
I would not set out too many appetizers as then people fill up on them. But for an appetizer I do love baked brie with apples or pears. Maybe you can get someone to bring that?
Good luck!
I’m glad someone else recommended A Year of Crockpotting.
Other drinks: mulled cider? hot chocolate?
Side dishes: rolls? spinach salad? applesauce?
I’m just in the process of making my list, and checking it twice…we’ll be having foie gras and polenta, salmon madeleines, my mil makes the bird, either turkey or chapon or goose, and the rest is still up in the air…but there will be a buche!
I’m just in the process of making my list, and checking it twice…we’ll be having foie gras and polenta, salmon madeleines, my mil makes the bird, either turkey or chapon or goose, and the rest is still up in the air…but there will be a buche!
Hope you’re feeling better. We use our slow cooker for everything: entrees, sides, desserts, breakfast, lunch, dinner, “snacky things” (since I can’t spell either of the real words right now..coffee waiting to kick in), drinks…
If you aren’t familiar with her already, check out Stephanie at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ . Not only is she a marvel with the crockpot but it’s all gluten free!! 🙂
I’ve been going to my husband’s family for Christmas for 10 years now, and I still do not understand the lure of the Jello salad. It boggles my mind.
That said, I find that veggies are usually under-represented at such dinners, and/or slathered in too much butter/mushroom soup/cheese. How about a simple steamed veggie offering – green beans or carrots or brocolli, or if you don’t want to over-accessorize the sweet potatoes, why not just offer a big ol’ bowl full of baked sweet potato halves?
Good luck!