What is your go to Xmas dish?

[Nora03]

Pollyannamom - I used to always make that shrimp appetizer. Haven’t made it in years, but should make it again. I guess we all have variations on it. I spread the softened cream cheese with a little sour cream, then top with a whole jar of cocktail sauce. I top that with two cans of shrimp or whole shrimp cut up. Then put grated mozzarella cheese on top and garnish it with a few chopped green onions. It was my go to dish for office potlucks.

 

[amcnj]

I don’t recall there being a constant every year, except for the cookies for dessert. My mother made many, many kinds each year.

I have been carrying on the tradition, though not quite as many varieties. This year is looking like ten types. I got three done today, only seven to go!

 

[mjkacmom]

Chinese delivery Christmas dinner.

 

[tvguy]

Pierogi.

Growing up we had what my grandfather called "Ukrainian soul food."

So many groups consider pierogi to be from their culture.
They are the main attraction food wise at the annual Polish Festival here.
My Aunt used to make them and claimed their were from our Czech culture.
Ukrainians claim them too.
However, Google seems to consider them a Polish food.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Nothing that has been tradition for decades or anything like that. For the past several years I've done a cranberry-orange coffee cake at breakfast. I'm thinking of skipping it this year though, as I'm really the main one that likes it. I'll make chocolate chip muffins for the kids, fruit salad, and I'm not sure what else this year for breakfast. We also often have a spinach-strawberry salad at dinner, but not doing that this time either.

 

[leebee]

Dessert will always include homemade Struffoli and all holidays include homemade Knorr Vegetable spinach dip with swirl pumpernickel & rye bread.

Christmas Eve is a Feast of Fish with shrimp, scallops & calamari always in attendance for the birthday party.
Christmas Day is always a heavy pasta with ricotta filling, like shells, manicotti or lasagne with meat to break the meat fast from the night before, this year I might try to make my own braciole.

I love braciole!!

We do pretty much the same thing. I used to try to do Seven Fishes for Christmas Eve, but it was just too much once it got to be only DH and me, so now I usually make seafood chowder; I can put a lot of different fish into that, usually haddock, clams, shrimp, scallops, mussels, lobster, calamari if I can get it, and it reheats well.

I gave up on the Big Holiday Meal about 10 years ago, when I realized everyone was enjoying Christmas while I spent the day in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. Last year we had frozen shells from Sam's, I doctored up a can of tomato sauce so it tasted pretty good, and we made garlic bread and salad. DD is campaigning for making lasagne this year; more work, but she's willing to do the work the day before, so fine by me. Looks like dessert will be ice cream sundaes. Once again, I'll go the easy route. My sister is horrified that I'm not making fudge sauce and caramel from scratch- but I'm NOT!!

My favorite Christmas treat is clam dip with Lay's potato chips. I am the only one who eats it, and it is NOT calorie-friendly, but whatever. It's once a year, and it makes me happy!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Tamales and fried eggs for breakfast and snacks/appetizers to munch on all day.

 

[RedAngie]

So many groups consider pierogi to be from their culture.
They are the main attraction food wise at the annual Polish Festival here.
My Aunt used to make them and claimed their were from our Czech culture.
Ukrainians claim them too.
However, Google seems to consider them a Polish food.

Most eastern European countries have pierogi or similar filled dumplings in their standard diet.

We usually have Polish food on Christmas Eve: pierogi, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa and sauerkraut, mushroom barley soup etc. chrusciki (thin fried dough cookies covered with powdered sugar for dessert.

We haven’t yet decided on Christmas dinner. A few days after we’re going to DD’s future in laws and they’re having ham. Maybe I’ll just make a big dish of baked ziti with meatballs and/or sausage.

 

[TCRAIG]

Dessert will always include homemade Struffoli and all holidays include homemade Knorr Vegetable spinach dip with swirl pumpernickel & rye bread.

Christmas Eve is a Feast of Fish with shrimp, scallops & calamari always in attendance for the birthday party.
Christmas Day is always a heavy pasta with ricotta filling, like shells, manicotti or lasagne with meat to break the meat fast from the night before, this year I might try to make my own braciole.

Can I come to your house on Christmas?

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

So many groups consider pierogi to be from their culture.
They are the main attraction food wise at the annual Polish Festival here.
My Aunt used to make them and claimed their were from our Czech culture.
Ukrainians claim them too.
However, Google seems to consider them a Polish food.

My husband’s Slovak family makes them too. DH’s grandma taught all the women in my generation to make them from scratch. We taught the men. My brother-in-law hosts an annual pierogi making party at his house after Thanksgiving. Everyone helps make huge batches of pierogi for the family Christmas party.

 

[Meriweather]

no traditional dinner ....it changes if I am doing it. This year we are going somewhere else, so no idea.
Breakfast is always home made cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate or tea

 

[leebee]

I have friends who pick a different country every year and Christmas dinner is foods from that country. It's a lot of work, I'd think, but they have amazing feasts every year!

 

[sasywtch]

We quit with the huge turkey dinner about 5 years ago. A few years it has been tacos, last year we did prime rib. My answer to your post is, we don't have one any longer. This year is up in the air if we are doing Christmas on the Eve or some other day. (depending on visitation shedules). We are thinking either Chinese or ham.

 

[disneychrista]

I personally don't have a go to dish. But I have been tasked with making dinner rolls and sometime the salad.

 

[MIGrandma]

Cheesy potatoes

 

[lovesmurfs]

So many groups consider pierogi to be from their culture.
They are the main attraction food wise at the annual Polish Festival here.
My Aunt used to make them and claimed their were from our Czech culture.
Ukrainians claim them too.
However, Google seems to consider them a Polish food.

Land/boundary changes most likely. My great-grandparents were from "Ukraine," but from a town which my grandmother told me is in Romania. Their location on their ship travel to Boston in 1910 manifests indicates they were from Bukowina, Austria (which is now in Poland).

I just know my grandmother would call the pierogi varenyky (sp?) and my brother and I liked them MUCH better than studenetz (sp?), which is jellied pigs feet and looked liked cat-sick jello.

ETA: Interesting article on the region of Bukovina - guess it was all just part of the Habsburg Empire.

 

[tcufrog]

We do the same menus for every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners. Every year we do a different theme for Christmas dinner. This year we're doing German food. Some of the previous ones we've done were English, Mexican, and brunch.

 

[AndreaA]

An amazing chicken pot pie made entirely from scratch. So, so good.

 

[clh2]

Every single year…I bring a Brie cheese appetizer-with apples, cinnamon, dried cranberries and almonds.

This year, triple-crème Brie has been very hard to find-but we got some today at A Costco about an hour away from our house. I’ve been looking for the Brie since Thanksgiving, so am really excited I found it!

 

[pfp258]

Crème brûlée for dessert Christmas Eve- dinner menu changes from year to year. This year is ham, sugared cranberries, delmonico potatoes, and roasted green beans/Brussels sprouts.Christmas Day dinner is always Portillo beef and mostaccoli. Every sister brings a homemade cookie for dessert and we have peppermint ice cream. Homemeade chex mix, spicy crackers, toffee and hugs are also must haves!