Christmas Feasting

[fantasia]

I'm starting this thread a bit early so we can include America's Thanksgiving in addition to Christmas worldwide, but really, feel free to chime in with other Holiday festivities that you may celebrate! I know Canada's Thanksgiving wasn't that long ago.

I'm just curious as to what you all have on the menu this year? Growing up, we typically had the "traditional" Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, corn, cranberry sauce, veggie tray, pumpkin and apple pies. To this day, we don't stray too much from that list of foods, though my inability to tolerate sugar has made me look for low-carb sides, usually a roasted green veggie.
Last year though, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fell on the same day, and my sister discovered a site to celebrate Thanksgivukkah. And thanks to that site, we had the best turkey I've ever had (I'm not usually much of a turkey person) and best stuffing. My mom is not interested in making the same turkey again this year . Too much work. But I am making the stuffing recipe for both my family and my husband's family this year. Here's the recipe if you all so desire...
http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/ ... e-stuffing
And I get my challah bread from my local grocery store bakery. So it's pretty easy in addition to being super tasty.
I also tend to make a lot of pies and kind of rotate which ones based on requests. My top two are probably my Apple pie and my Mississippi Mud pie (a twist on the typical chocolate and vanilla, mine is chocolate and peanut butter).

So how about everybody else? What Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holiday feasting do you have planned this year?

[IloveFauns]

Since it usually around 30-35C in Perth/south-west each year we tend to have seafood, cold meat and salads. It is far too hot for a roast at lunch on Christmas day.

[stargazer]

Growing up, we typically had the "traditional" Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, corn, cranberry sauce, veggie tray, pumpkin and apple pies.

This sounds a lot like my family's traditional meal at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, though sometimes ham takes the place of the turkey. As a rule we didn't have the green bean casserole or veggie tray due to a few fussy eaters.

Some years back the corn was replaced by something called scalloped corn (similar to this recipe) which has become a favorite for many of us.

And the apple pie was a must as it was my dad's favorite, though we usually also had pumpkin and blueberry pie as well. I indulged and usually had a small slice of each rather than one large one of a single flavor.

For about 10 years my parents went south for the winter, and we celebrated Christmas and Thanksgiving together. That might sound odd, but in a way it was great because all the pressure to finish Christmas shopping in time was lifted once December began, and it was possible to relax a little and enjoy other aspects of the holiday. But that did mean one big holiday meal at the end of November rather than 2 about a month apart.

One memory of Thanksgiving dinner was one of the last times we celebrated in my parents' home (before they moved to a senior citizens' complex). The house was full of people ranging in age from 3 to 85 and so multiple tables were set up. One of these was a card table that had just been loaded with plates, glasses of milk, along with some turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. We were getting ready to sit down when one of the kids ran a remote-controlled car into one of the table legs. The contact was perfect and we all watched as the table collapsed, seemingly in slow motion, sending stuff all over the room. The cleanup delayed dinner a bit, and while it was a mess we agreed that the time would come when we'd look back on it with humor. /reminiscing

[ValiantArcher]

I actually visited a friend for Thanksgiving, and we had dinner with her sister and brother-in-law and a few friends. We had yellow & purple cauliflower with grilled brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread (it may've been challah, fk, but I don't actually know; my friend makes challah all the time for sandwiches at her bakery/coffee shop, so I don't know if she made something different or just some fresh loaves), creamed onions, and a brined, bacon-draped turkey. It was all very delicious, even though it was rather different than my family's traditional meal*! Then for dessert we had a maple buttermilk custard pie and a pear, apple, and ginger gallete (I think that was it; a cross between a tart and a pie, sorta?). I preferred the maple pie, but I'm not a big fan of pears and the ginger was rather strong.

*Our traditional meal is mashed potatoes, turkey, crescent rolls, green beans, apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and (in the past couple of years) sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and brown sugar. BUT, to be honest, there's also a fairly traditional non-traditional aspect to it which consists of different international dishes. It changes year to year, but most Thanksgivings we host international students from the research group, and we welcome/encourage them to bring something from their home countries so that everyone can try it, something most are quite happy to do. At any rate, that's always really nice and something that's now become part of Thanksgiving.

[IloveFauns]

^ I tried that sugar pumpkin pie once and it isn't my cup of tea, so I doubt that sweet potato marshmallow thing would be either haha. Such mixture of flavours always reminds me of north America.

Desert here is a pavlova, and my mum's coconut essence(instead of vanilla essence) cannot be refused. I suggest any non Australians/New zealanders to try a pavlova at one stage. Though warning they are not the easiest things to make.

[coracle]

No matter what I end up having on Christmas Day, I always make sure I enjoy a variety of Christmas fruit mince pies aka "mince pies" (one of a number of dried fruit treats), from a few weeks before the actual day.

[johobbit]

Since it usually around 30-35C in Perth/south-west each year we tend to have seafood, cold meat and salads. It is far too hot for a roast at lunch on Christmas day.

Mmmm—so refreshing and tasty. Although those yummy plates do seem unusual to our wintry ears, of course, as our hot, roasted meals would to you in the heat of the summer.

This sounds a lot like my family's traditional meal at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, though sometimes ham takes the place of the turkey.

Ditto! In fact, if I hear we are having a turkey at a relative's house over the holidays, I will purposely switch mine to ham. Variety is the spice of life. Plus I enjoy doing a ham more than a turkey, even though I really enjoy consuming both.

Oh, goodness, 'gazer, what a royal mess that laden, collapsed card table would have been. 'Though I can surely imagine not many were laughing at the time.

most Thanksgivings we host international students from the research group, and we welcome/encourage them to bring something from their home countries so that everyone can try it, something most are quite happy to do.

What a wonderful idea, Valia! Special for the international students, as well as for your own family.

coracle, my British friends here in Ontario are really into the mince pies. One arose well before dawn the other morning to get them started, as not only does her family love them, but she likes giving them away as gifts.

For Thanksgiving (in October = Canada), my sister did the turkey and stuffing (yay!), my parents brought some veggies (carrots and peas), and my dad and I made the mashed potatoes (his are the best!); also I provided the condiments (cucs, olives, pickles) and apple cider from a local farm. For dessert we had pumpkin pie and a crazy favourite ... Rice Krispie Squares. The latter is not a tradition here in Canada, except for our family. We used to have squash and turnip, along with fancy desserts, but we're all past that now.

For Christmas, my sister will again do the free-range turkey for our extended family gathering, but for the 25th, I shall put in a ham, smothered in cloves (first wrote "clothes", lol) with a mustard baste. Then for my hubby's side of the family, for the first time in forever, we are having a potluck. Because his mom is failing, the idea of a huge meal was too much for everybody, so we're keeping it very simple. Fine with us!

Even though it is such fun to prepare food for special occasions, I have found over the years that it can get out of control, so that all my time could potentially be spent in the kitchen to the near exclusion of relaxing with family/guests: I am beginning to clue in that I don't have to make everything I want to make, but need to bring things more in balance. It can be tricky, but I'm gradually learning.

[Puddleglum]

This is so unfair. I am on a diet, and we have food as a topic. Not only that, It's my mother-in-law's turn to host, and she ALWAYS serves the most can't-leave-the-table-till-you-can't-move meals
we are fairly traditional, with turkey, and ham, but have been known to mix things up a bit.
the big tradition though is the cookie exchange between The Mrs., her sister, and their Mother. Invariably we leave with more calories than we came with.

[IloveFauns]

It was the usual lot of salads, chicken, turkey and ham this year. Though the salads were interesting and tasted nice. Since it was just the 7 of us this year we didn't go over the top and end up with left over pouring out the fridge.

[Pattertwigs Pal]

Re: Thanksgiving
Just for the record, Grape Salad is not a traditional Minnesota Thanksgiving food.

This is the second year my sister and I hosted Thanksgiving. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, dressing, and gravy. We had apple pie for desert.

Christmas dinner is always ham, rice, scalloped potatoes, and rolls. We always make a lot of cookies at Christmas time.