Christmas dinner menus? Here is mine- please share yours

C

CathyZ

Well-known member
A small group at our table this year- just eight. Here is my menu:

Appetizers will be simple because dinner is substantial- Filo Tartlets with Crab, ginger and lime (from Pat-NoCal)

Union Square Cafe Bar Nuts (from Marsha tbay)

Bacon-wrapped Filet Mignons with an orange Bearnaise sauce

Duchess potatoes piped into wreath shapes and trimmed with "bows" made from roasted red pimento.

Grilled asparagus

Cranberry Pecan Salad (from Pat-NoCal who posted it as Cranberry Walnut Salad- but one guest can't eat walnuts)

...and very old-fashioned but wonderful flaming Cherries Jubilee for dessert, served with vanilla ice cream

A platter of six kinds of cookies:

Refrigerator Oatmeal cookies (thin, crisp)

Chocolate chip cookies

Salted Nut Rolls (nougat roll dipped in melted caramel and rolled in salted peanuts)

7-Layer bars

Cracker cookies (like Praline "fingers")

Rolled Sugar Cookies

I will post this in T&T under Menus

 
Your MN roots are showing Cathy...

Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls and Nut Goodies, yum!
I haven't made the Nut Goodie Bars, but my sister has, and they were good.


* Exported from MasterCook *

SALTED NUT ROLLS

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Candy

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

1 jar Marshmallow Creme -- (7 oz.)
2 1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 pkg. caramels -- (17 oz.)
3 Tbsp. water
1 lb. salted peanuts -- chopped

Knead Marshmallow Creme and powdered sugar together until smooth and pliable. Shape into small fingers, about 2 x 2 1/2-inch size. Place on waxed paper on cookie sheet and freeze. Meanwhile, melt caramels with water in microwave or double boiler. Dip cream fingers into caramel mix, turning gently with fork. Roll in chopped peanuts. Freeze until firm, then refrigerate. Makes approximately 30.
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* Exported from MasterCook *

PEANUT CLUSTERS (NUT GOODIE BARS)

Recipe By :Christy Arnoldy
Serving Size : 36 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Candy

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces butterscotch chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
4 teaspoons regular vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
4 cups powdered sugar
2 cups Spanish peanuts

Melt chips and peanut butter in top of double-boiler; divide in half. Pour first half in greased 9x13-inch pan. Keep second half in double boiler on stove. Put pan in freezer to cool while you make the filling. Combine butter, canned milk, and pudding mix in a pan and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add maple flavoring; add powdered sugar. Spread on top of chocolate mixture. Take remainder of peanut butter-chip mixture and add Spanish peanuts; spread over top. Refrigerate; cut when cool. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

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That sounds wonderful Cathy! Here's what we are having...

Beef Tenderloin with Barefoot Contessa's Gorgonzola Sauce
Shrimp Stuffed Baked Potatoes (based on a Paula Deen recipe)
Mushroom Ragout served in puff pastry shells
A green vegetable and/or salad (haven't decided which yet)

For dessert,
Red Velvet Cheesecake
Christmas candy & cookie assortment
Chocolate Crinkles
Gayle's Caramels
Divinity
Fudge

Our oldest daughter is a nurse, so we have to vary our dinner time depending on her work schedule year to year. Depending on what time we eat, I usually just make some some various appetizers or brunch bites and let everyone graze at their leisure until dinner time.

 
Would Pat's salad be good with a pork tenderloin...

I'm serving pork tenderloin with a rhubarb-currant chutney. Would the salad blend well or would it be too much with the cranberries and rhubarb-currant chutney.

This is my menu:

Pork tenderlion with Rhubarb-Currant chutney
Smashed red potatoes (Ina Garten's recipe)
Carrots/Brussel sprouts with buttered bread crumbs
Homemake butterhorns
Salad ?
Raspberry White Chocolate Trifle
Frango's
Chocolate Cherry Rum Balls
Assortment of cookies

 
Love the potato wreaths! We're keeping it simple: Manicotti, Sausage with peppers and onions,

Caesar Salad, Good Bread. We get together on Christmas night and by then everyone has been gourmet-ed out.

For Christmas Eve it's just the two of us so I'm planning to try Richard's Crispy Duck.

 
Oh my gosh, Dawn- a recipe for Pearson's Nut Goodies!!! Thank you very much!! YAY!

You betcha my MN roots are showing. That is the Salted Nut Roll recipe I used- exactly the one. I will try making the Nut Goodie recipe- what a hoot. I have some good Maple extract in my cupboard so I am ready to try it.

Any time someone from the Midwest visits they bring Salted Nut Rolls and Nut Goodies- I kid you not. Old Dutch potato chips too sometimes. It is hysterical how my Husband and I "fight" over them.

Thanks for posting these.

 
Judy, too much fruit clash I think- rhubarb and cranberries.

Maybe a salad with a light lemony dressing and caramelized pecans or walnuts in it? Fancy yet simple?

 
I wish I were as sensible, Joe. Sounds delicious.

Christmas Eve dinner here is Julia's French Onion Soup which is, of course, a labor of love. Roasting the bones, veggies, etc. ahead of time. One day I will get smart and serve Manicotti instead.

 
Oh now you've got me re-thinking the whole thing! Julia's onion soup hadn't occurred to me. It's

one of the best concoctions on this earth, I believe. I even have some of her roasted beef stock in the freezer. Maybe a first course on Christmas Eve.

 
Thanks Cathy - would this dressing be alright?

Citrus Dressing:

1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil


Whisk the lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, Dijon, honey, thyme, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth, slightly thick dressing.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

 
Here's mine

My boyfriend and I are having an early Christmas dinner 2 days ahead before I go to visit my grandchildren, and we decided to have a nontraditional menu (meaning nothing we'd have at the big family dinners):
Steak with bearnaise sauce
Garlic mashed potatoes
Asparagus
Green salad
Homemade rolls
Chocolate bread pudding for dessert (Dorie Greenspan's, from Meryl, above at 4913)

 
Judy, here's a menu I did recently pairing that salad with a pork tenderloin (pork recipe inside)

Might be nice for another occasion.....


Pesto pinwheels (with puff pastry) for an appetizer, served with champagne
Sundried tomato pesto stuffed tenderloin
Red potatoes quartered and roasted in olive oil, rosemary and garlic
Steamed asparagus
Cranberry walnut salad
Dinner rolls

Dessert:
Meyer lemon pudding cakes garnished with chantilly cream and fresh raspberries


Sundried Tomato Pesto Stuffed Tenderloin

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, drained, patted dry and finely chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp crumbled goat or feta cheese (I use feta)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
Black pepper
1 pork tenderloin

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl, stir tomatoes with 2 tbsp parsley, cheese, vinegar, garlic and pepper. Slice tenderloin horizontally in half lengthwise, nearly right through to other side, to form a pocket. Stuff sundried tomato mixture into pocket. Reseal using skewers. Place pork on a small baking sheet. Brush lightly with sundried tomato oil. Tuck thin end under tenderloin to avoid overcooking. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining 1 tbsp parsley. Roast in center of preheated oven until pork is firm when pressed, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Slice into 1/2-inch thick slices, spooning any stuffing that falls out back into pork. Serves 4.

Pat’s notes: Very yummy pork dish. I like roasting it in a cast iron skillet in the oven and turning the tenderloin part way during the roasting time.

 
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