What are you cooking for Christmas ?

[vtmartha]

Reading this thread was almost as good as being there!  Thanks everyone for sharing!  I did great on a bowl of 'Healthy Choice Zesty Chicken Soup' served in the new soup bowls sent by a niece who works for Williams-Sonoma.  But our cupboard is full and I'll make up for lost time as soon as my taste buds reactivate.  DD is making chicken cordon bleu for tonight's dinner with slices of the Harrington ham purchased from our local 'smokery'. 

I, too, received a sewing book.  DD loves to drape fabrics over my dress form and tell me she'd love 'something like that'.  So far none of her 'creations' have been realized.  So for Christmas I received Helen Joseph-Armstrong's book Draping for Apparel Design.  How clever is she! 

[Zoubida]

I, too, received a sewing book.  DD loves to drape fabrics over my dress form and tell me she'd love 'something like that'.  So far none of her 'creations' have been realized.  So for Christmas I received Helen Joseph-Armstrong's book Draping for Apparel Design.  How clever is she! 

I like these nice, clever, interested attentions. 

Mine is not sewing related but in the same style. I serve red wine at room temperature, I tend to be stubborn and not chill red wine (unless it's a Beaujolais Nouveau). I'm good at ignoring tacteful  requests and lecturing when asked frankly if I can chill the wine (there's a word especially designed to qualify red wine service in french, that's not for nothing).  Well, I got a special device, the Ravi Instant Wine Chiller, that you put in the freezer few hours before fitting it into the bottle neck so the wine goes through the icy-cold thing.
I can fit it when I want to serve a chilled red wine to an amateur  and remove it to serve a red wine connoisseur

This gadget will come very handy when I need to serve white wine I didn't have time to chill.

[LauraM]

I didn't cook yesterday - went to oldest DD's home along with the rest of the family. 

But today I am cooking a prime rib.  Supermarket had them on sale for $4.99 lb day before Christmas.  Couldn't pass that price up.  Having baked potatoes and broccoli along with it.  It's just about ready to take out of the oven now..........smells delicious.

Edited to add to SDBev..........I used to live in Rifle, CO back in the early 80's.  We were with the construction company that built the Union Oil oil shale refinery.  Loved it there.

[BetsyV]

I serve red wine at room temperature, I tend to be stubborn and not chill red wine (unless it's a Beaujolais Nouveau). I'm good at ignoring tacteful  requests and lecturing when asked frankly if I can chill the wine (there's a word especially designed to qualify red wine service in french, that's not for nothing).  Well, I got a special device, the Ravi Instant Wine Chiller, that you put in the freezer few hours before fitting it into the bottle neck so the wine goes through the icy-cold thing.
I can fit it when I want to serve a chilled red wine to an amateur   and remove it to serve a red wine connoisseur.

So, Zoubida, I guess that means you'll keep a 2nd bottle of red wine at room temp for yourself ?  I have to agree with you on the serving temp. Chilled reds are only Beaujolais Nouveau. Although, as a gadget to cool off a bottle of white you forgot to chill sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the tip!

We had traditional roasted turkey, stuffed, with mashed potatoes, home-grown butternut squash, home-grown (and only recently harvested) brussels sprouts, peas, and date nut bread. Everyone was so full we didn't eat the apple pie - DH and I took it to a Boxing Day Open House at friends' today.

[Karen Roth]

Christmas dinner... um... oops!  We forgot Christmas dinner.     I did prime rib and all the trimmings Christmas eve, then had a friend over along with the kids and had it again with eggs and their favorite muffins out of the oven (when DD found out we could make these the Marcels/Marselles - ?sp - idea was a goner) and sparkling ciders for brunch.  No one was really hungry and by day's end DS had gone to work, friend went to his sister's for a big dinner but DD didn't want to go so we stuck around entertaining ourselves with the kitten and his new laser pointer, then went to see Marley and Me.   By the time we got back and played cards awhile and she decided to stop by her aunt's it was late, I was tired, went to sleep early and until I was at work and really hungry this a.m. - don't usually get hungry until late in day - i realized we'd never even thought about making or warming anything for dinner!!!   It was kind of a nice relaxing day, while they went to their dad's for a bit I went to the beach as a storm was leaving, coming in (were those all you east coasters there in shorts while I was bundled and freezing in the 50s???!), no specific plans.  I kind of liked it like this.  Hope everyone's having a nice relaxing weekend as well. It sounds like there are a lot of well endowed refrigerators laden with lots of good weekend warmups!

[Jacs]

Hi everyone
sounds like everybody had a christmas to suit whatever your mood.  We have just returned from my SIL and the beach, she is a carer for an elderly lady who lives on the beach at Big Manly Whangaparoa so it was BBQ's on the deck with the children running to and fro from the beach.  They love it as they can spend the day in togs, digging immense sand castles and swimming when they get too hot.  They have made lots of friends with other children on the beach.  As a child I also spent all the summer holidays at this beach doing the same so it is nice that my children are able to have the same experiences.

For those that wanted to know the website for Delia's recipes it is www.deliaonline.com, the actual page for the cake is http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/christmas-sherry-mincemeat-cake,903,RC.html . We have just about finished the cake I made the day before Christmas and it was delicious.

[Karendee]

Jacs, thanks for the recipe site. That cake sounds delicious. Karen and Laura M,  your rib roasts  are  making me hungry right now--just thinking about it. Sounds as though you had a lovely celebration and relaxed also. Zoubida, I relaxed the red wine chilling/no chilling thing when I realized that room temp in drafty old homes of yore were not the room temp. we think of today. At a much cooler temp. w/o central heat, room temp was probably 40-50 degrees. So I chill  reds slightly, then sit out to let breathe a while. Not that this is the authentic way, just following up on the amelioration of the phrase "room temp."

But if my friends/family want a red put in the freezer to chill, I'm happy to do it. Because "beauty (or taste) is in the eye of the beholder," and I don't serve wines over $20 a bottle anyway. LOL.

Karen

PS. I got a wine cooler from Williams Sonoma, too. I bet it's just like yours. We'll chill together.

[MsFunk]

I have to chime in about wine temps since I work at a vinyard.  You are absolutely right that room temperature is no longer the temperature of a room.  So go ahead and chill that red for a short time.  The only reason temperature matters is to the the best flavor for the wine.  If that doesn't matter to you, it doesn't matter.  For all the creative phrases and high price tags, the only thing that matters is whether it is being enjoyed.  But just for fun, I found a chart of what temps which wines should be served at.  (for storage, I keep all of mine in the basement)

http://www.wineintro.com/basics/temperatures.html

[Karendee]

Ms. Funk,

Thanks for the chart; that was interesting. That's about where I keep/serve wine, but am willing to adapt temp. for the drinker, if it matters to them.

Karen

[gabrielle]

I have a question for you wine experts. A few years ago my MIL gave us an old gadget used in her family. It's sort of a glass beaker/decanter that you fill with white wine, and then another beaker sits in it that you fill with ice. There is a spigot of sorts at the bottom for filling your glass, and the whole thing rests in an ornate wrought-iron holder. Does anyone know the name of this device? My MIL and her device come from Bavaria, but I don't know if it's unique to Germany.

[Karendee]

It is unique to Germany; many people got/had these when I was teaching in Germany in my early teaching days. I'll have to think of the name, but they were used mainly for white wine. I always thought they were neat.

Karen

[Karen Roth]

That does sound like a neat way to keep it cold.  I was recalling a homemade wine chiller I'd seen on HGTV several years ago, forgot about it for the holidays.  Place an empty wine bottle inside an empty 2 ltr. soda bottle (top curved portion cut off so it's essentially a cylinder).  Fill open area between the two with water.  Add.... dried leaves, flower petals, glitter, whatever you'd like to "decorate" with, place in freezier.  Just needs a bit of warm water splashed over or to sit out a short time to loosen the bottle and plastic shell, put your real wine bottle in and chill.

Now that Christmas is over, how about New Year's?  I think I'm going to stay home go on a bike ride, watch the rose bowl w/some others and sew.  Kids will be back from trip sometime that day but since they or their dad can't reveal when, I'm not planning food!  But in the store yesterday I saw some black eyed peas and vaguely remember my mom, who died just after I turned 18 so it's been awhile, used to say you were supposed to make those on new year's day.... don't know why, I'm guessing since she was superstitious it was so whatever would happen if you didn't make them - wouldn't happen.   Anyone else know of this tradition?  Any other NY food traditions?

[gabrielle]

I think blackeyed peas are a Southern tradition--both my Grandmothers made them, that's about all I know. Hadn't thought about that for years, thanks for the reminder. Will probably watch the fireworks at midnight here in Seattle if I can stay conscious that long (doubtful) and then New Years day we are tentatively planning to go eat Dim Sum.

[karent]

It is most definitely southern tradition to eat black eyed peas on New Years, it's for luck in the coming year.  Some do regular black eyed peas, some do Hoppin' John, around here all the grocery stores have fresh peas in the produce sections right now.  My mom insists  you eat at least a spoonful on New Years, my GM did the same.  I have the habit of cooking them since I always have.  I do it different ways, sometimes with rice, sometimes not.  This year I'm doing them in the crockpot with onions, chicken broth and let them just stew all day.  Might toss in some rice near the end.  I already have the crockpot, chicken broth, onions and stuff lying on the kitchen counter.  I want all the luck I can get!  K

[Zoubida]

No cooking for New-Year's eve. I leave the office at noon and will go buy all we need. We'll make a big french cheese platter, some grapes, nuts, shrimps, smoked salmon, foie-gras, crusty bread, bagels and store-bought nice crackers. Good wine, good company, kids playing around the house. I look forward tonight.

[Karen Roth]

Well maybe I'll search out some recipes and try them and if the kids are home in time they can as well.  As you said, you can use all the luck you can get, and thinking back now I believe that's why she said you were supposed to eat them (I never did)! And they're high in fiber and protein as well  .  My mom was from Ohio, not the south, wonder how she picked up on this.  Her other new year's "superstition" was that whatever you were doing on NY day you'd be doing all year.  So just in case...  I always make it a point not to do things like laundry, housecleaning, etc. that day! Take no chances....

[BetsyV]

We have no plans for dinner tonight. Perhaps we should make some - the Christmas leftovers are rapidly disappearing and that's what we've been working our way through since Thursday 

Guess I better troll through the freezer and see what we've got, I'd rather not shop until Friday.

[BeeBee]

We're going out.  Reservations at a nice restaurant for a late seating.  Who knows, we may even make it to midnight - something that hasn't happened since 2000  .  We can walk, so no driving worries.  And will sleep in tomorrow.  Even get a little dressed up.     And I won't have to eat peas. 

  Happy New Year, everyone!

[marciae]

I'm German decent and my folks always have cabbage in some form for New Years day - brings good luck and good fortune!  My friend, born raised in MO, does the black eyed peas.  Some years I'll do both!!  I think this may be the year to do double duty - still have a house on the market!

We're going out shopping later - am thinking lobster tails - but none of the grocery ads listed any??  Had originally planned on going out for an early dinner but I got the "bug" Sunday night.  I feel fine today but think it might be better to stay in!