Christmas dinner menus?

[Scareltt]

You would make a magical day even better!

This 'drop in Christmas Eve' ... anyone can come along? Because I am totally in.

Of course Kim..

 

[KimGordon67]

We're watching two different shows or something, I guess. I've never seen him do anything that could be remotely considered "bullying". Again, calling someone out for dangerous, immoral, or physically harmful behavior is not bullying.

I think the restaurant make over shows are a bit different from the reality cooking shows. Even when he's being nice - like, actually supportive - it seems to necessitate a lot of shouting. Good on him for redistributing what I can only assume is a relatively substantial income, but I don't care for his TV persona at all. (He's also a bit smug, which irritates the crap out of me.)

 

[KimGordon67]

I'm cooking for a person who has to avoid wheat. Can't find a gluten free stuffing. I know there is some out there. So... I will be making regular stuffing and also wild rice for him, perhaps with some cranberries and pecans. Mashed potatoes, green beans, perhaps green salad unless there is another recall. Also turkey and gravy, a cheese and olive plate, turkey and gravy and for dessert, a mixed berry crisp.

Hmmm ... can you not just get gluten free bread and make it into breadcrumbs for the stuffing. (I'm sure you've thought of this, so obviously there's some reason for it not happening - just curious.)
Useful hint from when my husband was off gluten for a while - Asahi beer, which is Japanese, is gluten free. I didn't know most beer has gluten in it ... we were paying a fortune for gluten free craft beer, and then I did a bit of internet research, and apparently Asahi, which is the same price as other normal beer, is free of the gluten.

 

[KimGordon67]

Apparently brassicas taste bitter to kids but most grow out of it. For me it's rhubarb - yuck. I dug up a patch of rhubarb once and thought I'd found a dead body. Stuff of the devil

I eat most things, including things a lot of other people can't handle (e.g. tamarillos), but I can't stomach celery or green capsicums.

 

[KimGordon67]

Here, we're going to split Christmas Dinner into two parts.

I'll host part one and it will be more of a brunch, around mid-day. Just a chance for friends to stop in, visit for a while, exchange wishes, and then head off to their main events. It will be mostly fresh fruit and breakfast related foods (french toast, gravy and biscuits, bacon and sausage, toasted breads and jams, deviled eggs, etc). Counting kids, this will mean feeding about forty people, though thankfully not all at once. I am taking complete advantage of a friend of mine for chef duties (he's a trained chef who can't let other people work in the kitchen if he is there). It'll have a southern flare (he's from Savannah) with a hint of soul food and that is his preferred style.

Then, I'll go to the main event in the evening. I have some friends who are hosting, a mother and daughter, and the main course will be ham, with stuffed cabbage, both with a Japanese flare, and an assortment of traditional Japanese foods. They're Japanese American and both are trained and experienced chef's, so the food should be outstanding. This will be a much smaller affair, with maybe eight people there, including kids.

The southern Chef will attend the later dinner with us (he's part of that circle of friends) and the two evening Chef's will attend the brunch. LOL - then they will rush home to prepare dinner while I try and keep the southern Chef distracted. (I will fail and he will go home with them to help, because that's his nature.)

I'll await my invitation with anticipation ... all sorts of anticipation.

 

[KimGordon67]

I mean, can't you just make stuffing but with gluten free bread?

Ha - snap!

 

[KimGordon67]

Yea, we have some fabulous pie makers in the family. Those listed are the staple, but we have others at other times like: Lemon, pumpkin, strawberry, strawberry rhubarb, pecan, chocolate pecan, butterscotch and blackberry.

The one thing I forgot to put on that list, that I would never forget to set out as an hors d'oeuvre a(and that are present at all family gathering meals) is extra large pitted black olives. I would never, ever think to deprive the kids of finger decorations they can eat.



Comshaw

Pie is another food group I need to master ... now I've taken the step of buying a loaf tin (actually, two loaf tins - they're quite small, as befits a mad cat lady, but were also on super-special, so it seemed better to get two for those rare moments when I cook for more than two), I should get a pie ... tin? dish? Whatever they're called.

Which reminds me - I was talking to my spawn earlier today, and explaining how I got bitten by a crab when I was collecting mussels the other days, and he said 'You weren't bitten - you were pinced'. Seriously ... don't we say 'bitten' for crabs, even when it's obviously not their teeth they're getting you with. (Do crabs even have teeth?) I just automatically said 'bitten', but now he's got me doubting it's correctness.

 

[KimGordon67]

Rouladen is flank steak pounded flat and thin, then spread with getman mustard. Diced onion, chopped bacon, then rolled around a dill pickle spear. It is then browned and then transferred a a pan to braise slowing in the oven. As it cooks, the filling creates the most amazing brown gravy. It is served with spaetzle, which are littke tiny potato dumplings. A lot like gnocchi. It sounds kind of weird, but is so amazing. Braised low and slow, the meat is so flavorful Nd tender, with a tangy and savory sauce. So good!!!

Oh my god! I think I need to try this ... sounds like the kind of thing the BF would love - meat with meat inside it!

 

[KimGordon67]

we just do snacks.

like polish roses, those little bbq weenies, meatballs and cheeses and what not.

it's just easier. especially since everyone is sick to death of turkey after thanksgiving and no one hears to my niece whine about how much she hates ham again.

Snacks are a vastly under-rated food group. I got home from a long day last week, and was thinking I was cooking venison for dinner, but arrived to find the table laden with snacky food, and a bottle of cider chilling in the fridge, courtesy of the BF, who was staying for a while. Best dinner I've had in a long time. (OK, the 'snacks' did include oysters, which always pushes 'snacking' up a notch.)
Also really lucky, as it turned out the venison was still in the freezer.

 

[juttjaw]

I'm cooking for a person who has to avoid wheat. Can't find a gluten free stuffing. I know there is some out there. So... I will be making regular stuffing and also wild rice for him, perhaps with some cranberries and pecans. Mashed potatoes, green beans, perhaps green salad unless there is another recall. Also turkey and gravy, a cheese and olive plate, turkey and gravy and for dessert, a mixed berry crisp.

My daughters boyfriend is gluten free. He gave me a tip about the food. He said "Everyone is trying to make something that normally (should have) gluten into the same product but gluten free. It never tastes right, there is always something off. Instead, find dishes that are gluten free to begin with. I'd rather eat a gluten free menu that is not intended to taste like something else than something made to exclude the gluten."

It may require some kind of special thinking to find what fits with the rest, but at least you won't be serving gluten free crap.

 

[coati]

Green chile tamales will be the centerpiece of our dinner again, made with Hatch (New Mexico) green chiles and Monterey jack cheese. You can get good frozen ones in most of the Southwestern U.S. They go great with Negro Modelo beer or sparkling apple juice.

 

[KimGordon67]

I have already started making the espagnole for the demi-glaze for the red wine sauce.

The French have a lot of rules for cooking. But it does taste great when you are done.

I find French cooking a bit daunting ... I'm more in favour of the Italian approach of putting yummy things together and chucking olive oil over it all.

 

[KimGordon67]

Of course Kim..

I'm booking a flight ... maybe yours for Christmas Eve, and then Paul's for Christmas Day?

 

[adrina]

Pie is another food group I need to master ... now I've taken the step of buying a loaf tin (actually, two loaf tins - they're quite small, as befits a mad cat lady, but were also on super-special, so it seemed better to get two for those rare moments when I cook for more than two), I should get a pie ... tin? dish? Whatever they're called.

Pie plate.

I recommend pirex for beginners. You can see your crust. Comes in handy.

 

[KimGordon67]

My daughters boyfriend is gluten free. He gave me a tip about the food. He said "Everyone is trying to make something that normally (should have) gluten into the same product but gluten free. It never tastes right, there is always something off. Instead, find dishes that are gluten free to begin with. I'd rather eat a gluten free menu that is not intended to taste like something else than something made to exclude the gluten."

It may require some kind of special thinking to find what fits with the rest, but at least you won't be serving gluten free crap.

That's actually awesome advice. We find we eat gluten free just normally quite a few nights, and also often entirely accidentally vegetarian or vegan. (I do kind of think gluten free bread is the work of the devil as well.)
I feel the same way about vegetarian food. The attempts to make 'fake meat' out of non-dead-animal things puzzles me, when there's so much delicious food in the world that isn't meat to begin with.

 

[KimGordon67]

Pie plate.

I recommend pirex for beginners. You can see your crust. Comes in handy.

Excellent recommendation - I know just the store to get a good one.

I used pyrex saucepans for years, which other people found unnerving, but I actually loved them for the same reason - you never wondered if something was about to burn.

 

[KimGordon67]

Green chile tamales will be the centerpiece of our dinner again, made with Hatch (New Mexico) green chiles and Monterey jack cheese. You can get good frozen ones in most of the Southwestern U.S. They go great with Negro Modelo beer or sparkling apple juice.

Tamales - another thing I've never eaten!

 

[KimGordon67]

Of course Kim..

I just saw the subject line on your post - now I'm blushing.

 

[Comshaw]

Pie is another food group I need to master ... now I've taken the step of buying a loaf tin (actually, two loaf tins - they're quite small, as befits a mad cat lady, but were also on super-special, so it seemed better to get two for those rare moments when I cook for more than two), I should get a pie ... tin? dish? Whatever they're called.

Which reminds me - I was talking to my spawn earlier today, and explaining how I got bitten by a crab when I was collecting mussels the other days, and he said 'You weren't bitten - you were pinced'. Seriously ... don't we say 'bitten' for crabs, even when it's obviously not their teeth they're getting you with. (Do crabs even have teeth?) I just automatically said 'bitten', but now he's got me doubting it's correctness.

Pie plate or pan. We use glass instead of metal. it works better for our pies. The secret to a great pie is a nice filling and a killer crust. The best crusts are made with lard. although I recently tried a recipe using butter and sour cream. It turned out ok, but I think lard makes a better one.

He was correct, you were pinched not bitten. The Dungeness crabs we have around here can cut you like a knife with those damned pincers. On the inside of each pincer is a ridge that's serrated and sharp. If they get a good hold on your finger they can cut it to the bone and they won't let go until you pry the pincers apart. Yes that is the sound of experience you hear.



Comshaw

 

[KimGordon67]

Pie plate or pan. We use glass instead of metal. it works better for our pies. The secret to a great pie is a nice filling and a killer crust. The best crusts are made with lard. although I recently tried a recipe using butter and sour cream. It turned out ok, but I think lard makes a better one.

He was correct, you were pinched not bitten. The Dungeness crabs we have around here can cut you like a knife with those damned pincers. On the inside of each pincer is a ridge that's serrated and sharp. If they get a good hold on your finger they can cut it to the bone and they won't let go until you pry the pincers apart. Yes that is the sound of experience you hear.



Comshaw

Damn it - I've been saying 'bitten' for 50 years.

Are you actually near Dungeness, or do the crabs migrate?

 

[Comshaw]

Damn it - I've been saying 'bitten' for 50 years.

Are you actually near Dungeness, or do the crabs migrate?

I'm close to New Dungeness on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. People call it just Dungeness but the correct name is New Dungeness because it was named after Dungeness in the UK. The Dungeness crab population stretches from the Aleutian islands to northern California but the heaviest concentrations are here along the Strait, The Salish Sea, Puget Sound and Hoods Canal.

Comshaw

 

[KimGordon67]

I'm close to New Dungeness on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. People call it just Dungeness but the correct name is New Dungeness because it was named after Dungeness in the UK. The Dungeness crab population stretches from the Aleutian islands to northern California but the heaviest concentrations are here along the Strait, The Salish Sea, Puget Sound and Hoods Canal.

Comshaw

So no where near Derek Jarman's garden next to the nuclear reactor in actual Dungeness then.

 

[CandiCame]

My daughters boyfriend is gluten free. He gave me a tip about the food. He said "Everyone is trying to make something that normally (should have) gluten into the same product but gluten free. It never tastes right, there is always something off. Instead, find dishes that are gluten free to begin with. I'd rather eat a gluten free menu that is not intended to taste like something else than something made to exclude the gluten."

It may require some kind of special thinking to find what fits with the rest, but at least you won't be serving gluten free crap.

Same, I was vegetarian for 3 years and I go weeks at a time accidentally vegetarian right now.

I remember people being like, "Oh no, what are you gonna eat?"

Me, a redneck, crumbling cornbread into my soup beans, "Do what now?"

I quoted the wrong thing. I've been drinking, my bad. hold on.

That's actually awesome advice. We find we eat gluten free just normally quite a few nights, and also often entirely accidentally vegetarian or vegan. (I do kind of think gluten free bread is the work of the devil as well.)
I feel the same way about vegetarian food. The attempts to make 'fake meat' out of non-dead-animal things puzzles me, when there's so much delicious food in the world that isn't meat to begin with.

There we go.

I do love a good veggie burger and those dinosaur shaped fake chicken nuggets though. I just love MOrningstar Farms because it's fucking named MorningStar Farms.

Me, eating fake chicken nuggets stoned off my ass at 3am

 

[CandiCame]

I think the restaurant make over shows are a bit different from the reality cooking shows. Even when he's being nice - like, actually supportive - it seems to necessitate a lot of shouting. Good on him for redistributing what I can only assume is a relatively substantial income, but I don't care for his TV persona at all. (He's also a bit smug, which irritates the crap out of me.)

Yhall do you. More hot scottish chefs for me. I bet he'd make a hellofa dom...

God, you'd know you were gonna eat, too.

 

[OldJourno]

This guy in Roswell, New Mexico, has a great deal on horse meat, so we're giving it a try this Christmas.