What's on your menu for Christmas?

We're having Chinese for Christmas. I've always wanted to do this but I've never had the guts, but what the hay. This year is going to be IT.

Idea curtesy of Jean Shepard's "The Christmas Story," of course. With good old BB-gun-lovin' Ralphie. My mother absolutely adored the humor of Jean Shepard so he figured largely in my childhood. This is my tribute to my mother this Christmas (though she'll probably faint at the idea she's spawned in me ). And as an added bonus, Jean Shepard has a BIG Hoosier connection. There are probably families all over Indiana who have Ralphie dinners on Monday (well maybe ;-) ).

Chinese it is.

heehee
Mermaid you totally crack me up. Good for you!
I don't know how this happened, I was raised a good Episcopal girl, but the few serious boyfriends I ever had were Jewish, and then of course I married a Jewish guy. All of those guys grew up going out for Chinese on Christmas.
For them it was almost yet another Jewish ritual. ;-)
I adore Jean Shepard's A Christmas Story. I used to really enjoy his public television programs, too. I always especially loved his voice. He had a way with the written word, but also with the spoken one.
We're still doing the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, but our Christmas, what with the dual religion factor, has always been a bit schizo.
I made my sherry trifle last night (you can make it up to 3 days ahead of time) and if I do say so, I think it came out really good.
Allifunn I can't wait to make your corn souffle!

Our menu...fats, carbs and sugah! Oh...and a little protein, too.

I made Paula's Tiramisu recipe for Christmas Eve dinner and it was incredible! On a scale of 1 to 10, my dad gave it a 70! Thanks Paula for sharing.

allifunn, did you post these recipes?

potato dish you did at that dinner party
corn soufle
french toast

Roast Beast...beef tenderloin
Mr. K's glass potatoes...( he dropped it on the floor one year and he actually ate some!)
Green Beans...au natural
Salad

Roast Beast...beef tenderloin
Mr. K's glass potatoes...( he dropped it on the floor one year and he actually ate some!)
Green Beans...au natural
Salad

I'd eat any potato... except a tater tot (a complete waste of potato - I'm not sure they actually have potato in 'em). anywa, glass potatoes - were they good?

I'd eat any potato... except a tater tot (a complete waste of potato - I'm not sure they actually have potato in 'em). anywa, glass potatoes - were they good?

...That was one of the years! PawPaw was sick as a dog and spent the entire day in bed. Those potatoes take some work and when they went down, Mr. K almost started crying! He scooped some of them up and ate them himself. The kids and I were like... I kept waiting for a crunch and blood!

You all really do have to try the Arista beef tenderloin, the garlic mashed potatoes, and the lemon-garlic green beens from the menu that I posted. It was absolutely heavenly, and it really was relatively simple for the level of flavor that is still making my taste buds happy. Beach Jacket is such a cooking artiste.

You all really do have to try the Arista beef tenderloin, the garlic mashed potatoes, and the lemon-garlic green beens from the menu that I posted. It was absolutely heavenly, and it really was relatively simple for the level of flavor that is still making my taste buds happy. Beach Jacket is such a cooking artiste.

We had our beef tenderloin with the beef reduction w/ cognac that the butcher gave to us. I cooked it to a rare, bloody 140 degrees and we all thought we were in heaven. Didn't even need a knife. And the twice baked potatoes, creamed spinach, cream puffs for dessert. We're all beached whales right now.
(Not a healthy meal in the least!)

But it's true, it dosen't get much easier than a tenderloin.

The Chinese was delicious tonight. I think this is going to become a Christmas tradition in our house. :clap_1:

Whew- it was a piggy night. I had lots of help too--

beef tenderloin w/ Henry Bain and horseradish sauce
country ham and honeybaked ham
shrimp
grilled boudin sausages (the Skunkies)
crawfish boudin (Skunky)
mirleton (sp ?) casserole - my new favorite food (Skunky)
green salad
Mimi's cheese grits
Rapunzel's oyster thingies in tart shells (YUM- what my brother said)
more yummy apps
Mimi's ice cream sandwich/caramel suace/toasted pecan dessert
Rapunzel's red velvet cake and gorgeous Christmas cookies

I am making leftover care package deliveries tomorrow!

Whew- it was a piggy night. I had lots of help too--

beef tenderloin w/ Henry Bain and horseradish sauce
country ham and honeybaked ham
shrimp
grilled boudin sausages (the Skunkies)
crawfish boudin (Skunky)
mirleton (sp ?) casserole - my new favorite food (Skunky)
green salad
Mimi's cheese grits
Rapunzel's oyster thingies in tart shells (YUM- what my brother said)
more yummy apps
Mimi's ice cream sandwich/caramel suace/toasted pecan dessert
Rapunzel's red velvet cake and gorgeous Christmas cookies

I am making leftover care package deliveries tomorrow!

Spill the beans, how do you make Henry Bain suace? The tenderloin was great in and of itself, but that stuff took it to another level!

Spill the beans, how do you make Henry Bain suace? The tenderloin was great in and of itself, but that stuff took it to another level!

Henry Bain Sauce was originated by the head waiter at the Pendennis Club in Louisville. Freeze any leftover sauce for later use.
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1 (9-ounce) bottle chutney (MANGO!!!)
1 (14-ounce) bottle ketchup
1 (12-ounce) bottle chili sauce
1 (10-ounce) bottle steak sauce
1 (10-ounce) bottle Worcestershire sauce

Mix it up. I process the chutney with the chili sauce to make it smoother, then stir in the rest. Pour back into the washed ingredient bottles, slap a sticker on them for ID in the fridge.

I am so stupid. I should have held the Henry Bain recipe for ransom for the mirleton casserole recipe!

I am so stupid. I should have held the Henry Bain recipe for ransom for the mirleton casserole recipe!

Mirliton Casserole

Ingredients:

6 medium mirlitons, boiled, peeled, and diced
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 whole green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
2 ribs celery, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 lb. Polish sausage, small diced
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 can chicken broth (if needed)
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 cups homemade French bread crumbs
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup buttered corn flakes, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese



Instructions First, take your mirlitons and boil them whole in lightly salted water until an ice pick will pierce them all the way through without using excessive pressure. Then remove them from the pot and set them aside to cool (you can discard the water).
In the meantime, in a 5-quart Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat and saut? the onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, tomato, and mushrooms until everything is soft and tender (which should take about 5 minutes)
While the seasonings are simmering, slice the cooked mirlitons in half lengthwise, remove the center seedpods, and throw them away. Then take a paring knife and carefully peel the outer skin away from the pulp. Once the skin is removed, dice the pulp into small pieces and set it aside as well.

At this point, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Then turn the fire up under the Dutch oven to high and drop in the shrimp and the chopped sausage. Within 2 to 4 minutes time, the shrimp will turn pink, which is exactly the way you want them?just pink, not cooked?and the sausage will brown slightly around the edges.

When this happens, add to the mixture the mirliton pulp and the diced tomato. Then stir the pot constantly for 10-15 minutes, cooking the pulp and the vegetable seasonings together over medium-high heat until a chunky paste forms (it may turn slightly watery, but don?t worry about it). When the texture is just the way you want it, drop in the spices and herbs?the parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Be sure to fold them well into the mirliton, shrimp, and sausage blend.

Now it?s time to begin working the French bread crumbs into the casserole mixture (and this is best done a little at a time). When all the bread is added, you should end up with a rather dry paste that tends to stick to the spoon. If it is still too moist, add a few extra breadcrumbs because if the mixture it too wet it will run during the baking process. If on the other hand your stuffing mix turns out too dry, simply moisten it to your liking with a little canned chicken broth. Then when you?re satisfied with the final consistency, quickly stir in the egg to bind everything together.

Finally, transfer the mixture to a large casserole dish (I find that buttered Pyrex works best).

Then liberally top the casserole with the buttered cornflake crumbs, slide the dish into the oven on the center rack, and bake it uncovered for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the topping turns a toasty brown. All that?s left is to spoon out the hot casserole on warm dinner plates, garnish with a little shredded Parmesan cheese, and serve it piping hot right from the oven.


Skunkapes note-Mirlitons aka chayote squash

Wow, that looks good, Skunkape.
Our beef tenderloin came out really well. Could cut it with a fork.
So did the lamb, we had it Christmas Day dinner, lots of garlic and fresh cut rosemary.
Allifunn, I had an interesting experience with the corn souffle.
It eventually came out great, but I did triple the recipe and I didn't have a very large baking dish. (Remember, I am renting and all my stuff is in storage.)
We could not eat it the 24th, it was not completely done in time, but I finished cooking it and we had it for Christmas Day dinner. Thumbs up from everyone. I definitely will make it again.

I made IBD's mac & cheese. YUM! Uh, excuse me while I waddle on outta here......

I have to tell you, I've never heard of a mirliton!! I've read all about it on Wikipedia. Even tho I grew up in S. ALA., I guess I've never seen one.
The casserole sounds delish, but a lot of work!

I have to tell you, I've never heard of a mirliton!! I've read all about it on Wikipedia. Even tho I grew up in S. ALA., I guess I've never seen one.
The casserole sounds delish, but a lot of work!

I'm heating up the mirliton casserole leftovers!!!!

I have to tell you, I've never heard of a mirliton!! I've read all about it on Wikipedia. Even tho I grew up in S. ALA., I guess I've never seen one.
The casserole sounds delish, but a lot of work!

Even Paul Prudhomme knows that our only child was conceived after eating mirliton at his restaurant. He used to love to hear that story whenever we were in his restaurant. His manager would always let us bolt to the front of the line. I've never cooked mirliton. Can't buy it where I live. Hell, I can't even buy arugula in this small town.

Even Paul Prudhomme knows that our only child was conceived after eating mirliton at his restaurant. He used to love to hear that story whenever we were in his restaurant. His manager would always let us bolt to the front of the line. I've never cooked mirliton. Can't buy it where I live. Hell, I can't even buy arugula in this small town.

I can get arugula. I'll look at my foreign grocer for a mirliton.;-)

I have to tell you, I've never heard of a mirliton!! I've read all about it on Wikipedia. Even tho I grew up in S. ALA., I guess I've never seen one.
The casserole sounds delish, but a lot of work!

Me either JR, but woooweeee, the recipe sounds incredible.

We had our beef tenderloin with the beef reduction w/ cognac that the butcher gave to us. I cooked it to a rare, bloody 140 degrees and we all thought we were in heaven. Didn't even need a knife. And the twice baked potatoes, creamed spinach, cream puffs for dessert. We're all beached whales right now.
(Not a healthy meal in the least!)

But it's true, it dosen't get much easier than a tenderloin.

beautiful menu, JR...

I intentionally didn't click on this thread until now for fear of getting very hungry when reading through the delicious sounding menus. I ejoyed two wonderful meals on Christmas, and while the food was absolutely the best, the company of friends, new and old, was even more outstanding. Thanks to all who welcomed me into your homes to join your families for such a special occasion. Sorry that I couldn't make it to everyone's home who invited me, but I also am very honored for the invitations!

Bunches of to you all!

sj

I intentionally didn't click on this thread until now for fear of getting very hungry when reading through the delicious sounding menus. I ejoyed two wonderful meals on Christmas, and while the food was absolutely the best, the company of friends, new and old, was even more outstanding. Thanks to all who welcomed me into your homes to join your families for such a special occasion. Sorry that I couldn't make it to everyone's home who invited me, but I also am very honored for the invitations!

Bunches of to you all!

sj

We were tickled that you braved the storms Christmas Eve and stopped by. I was thinking today maybe you could cultivate a crop of mirlitons for next year? I think they are pretty easy to grow, kinda like gourds.