Need some ideas as I'm hosting for the first time and serving 5 adults. Grilling or smoking preferred but open to anything.

Clam chowder Christmas Eve

Prime rib Christmas Day

My wife doesn't really love the fancy beef options most do so a few years ago we settled on Pastitsio for our Christmas tradition. I look forward to it now because it's probably the most involved thing I make besides its cousin Lasagna so I'm not rolling it out more than once or twice a year.

lasagna for christmas day
tamales charro beans and rice for christmas eve

cook salmon on your smoker
pork tenderloin
ribs

Christmas Eve: Tamales, Rice and Beans
Christmas Day Morning: Scones, Hot Breakfast Bacon and Eggs, Adult Coffee, Mimosas
Christmas Lunch: Honey baked Ham Sandwiches
Christmas Dinner: Prime Filet, Twice baked potatoes, Wedge Salad, Homemade Crme Brle

What else do I need?

I think we are doing a pot of gumbo. It will just be my family since we hosted everyone for Thanksgiving. I just couldn't stomach the cost of a prime rib.

Smoked beef tenderloin with a creamy horseradish sauce and the Ad hoc recipe for potato pave.

Eve - Carnitas and homemade tortillas
Day - prime rib, Ad Hoc pave potatoes, brussel sprouts

27th - more family coming in. Snails, Beef Wellington

we decided to do a nice big Korean spread

OldArmyAggie94 said:

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Christmas Eve: Tamales, Rice and Beans
Christmas Day Morning: Scones, Hot Breakfast Bacon and Eggs, Adult Coffee, Mimosas
Christmas Lunch: Honey baked Ham Sandwiches
Christmas Dinner: Prime Filet, Twice baked potatoes, Wedge Salad, Homemade Crme Brle

What else do I need?

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Similar to us, but we do tamales, rice and beans on 23rd

Christmas Eve: Shrimp Creole for dinner

Christmas Day: Filet, potatoes au gratin, green beans and roasted carrots.

Ribeyes on Christmas Eve

My daughter and I go on a deer hunt Christmas morning, so we come back and have kind of a brunch/big breakfast on Christmas day that usually consists of tamales, eggs, breakfast sausage, bacon and hash browns. Or some variation therof - but always tamales and eggs.

Christmas Eve - Chili
Christmas Day - I'll be working so probably leftover chili

Whatever "U and I Restaurant " is cooking. My 18 people dont seriously show up until the 26th. BBQ 1/2 chickens, sausage, sauted green beans, Mac and cheese ……

DimeBox17 said:

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Need some ideas as I'm hosting for the first time and serving 5 adults. Grilling or smoking preferred but open to anything.

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I usually do stuffed shells or lasagna, and then an additional tray of pasta.

I'm doing Christmas at a friend's house this year, so just stuffed shells.

You can go as fancy or as basic as you want.

Easy way: make a basic marinara sauce, or doctor up a jarred sauce (or just buy Rao's basil and roasted garlic sauce).

Put a pound of jumbo shells in a pot of boiling water for 9 minutes, or one minute less than all dente. Drain into sink, run cold water over shells to stop the cooking process.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix some shredded mozzarella and half a cup of ground Parmesan with a pound of whole milk ricotta cheese. Stuff three cheese mixture into shells using a spoon or your hands. Line bottom of baking tray with sauce, then line up shells. Cover stuffed shells with sauce, then top with more mozzarella and parmesan. Cover tray with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.


If you want to go fancier, make a Sunday sauce. Make your own Italian sausage. Brown a pound of ground beef with the Italian sausage. Drain mixture, then put in fridge so it cools rapidly. Take half of mixture and stuff shells with beef/sausage. Take other half, mix with ricotta cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella, and stuff the shells. Line tray with sauce, line up shells. Bake in oven.

Cook another pound of penne pasta. Top it with sauce and some grated parmesan.

Serve two types of stuffed shells, and meatballs and beef you cooked when making the Sunday sauce.

Serve with garlic bread and a salad as sides.

I'm doing Chinese tonight since it's just the two of us. It's going to be stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, and some stir-fried broccoli. Tomorrow is ribeyes and I don't know what all else as I'm not cooking.

Chili is cooking on the stove and my cake for tomorrow is setting in the freezer. Cake is chocolate chip cake with a passion fruit curd and a coffee frosting.

Feast of the 7 fishes today.

Rib roast tomorrow.

Ducks4brkfast said:

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Feast of the 7 fishes today.

Rib roast tomorrow.

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Are you watching the movie?

Interested in your menu for the Feast of Seven Fishes. If I ever effin retire. I want to do that.

malenurse said:

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Interested in your menu for the Feast of Seven Fishes. If I ever effin retire. I want to do that.

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The baccala is very important, make sure you change the water often, otherwise it is too salty.

Ended up going with a big breakfast this morning. We'll have a late lunch/early dinner of skirt steak fajitas and pork tamales that I made. Cheated and bought the charro beans and rice from the local Mexican restaurant yesterday.

Smoking wings and chicken thighs now for some of my crew that's working today.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve: tamales, rice, and beans

Christmas Day: a variety of appetizers and finger foods to munch on throughout the day. We keep it simple.

I've been tweaking the old Macaroni Grill Scallopini de Pollo recipe. Been doing it for a few years and probably made my best ever today.