Holy crap, December seems to be on fast forward. How is Christmas next weekend?? It’s time to nail down the menu for holiday meals and get-togethers. Fortunately, I am not having to host the big meal on the big day. But, I am hosting Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning brunch for my local family. And, I’m glad to do it. I love having my parents, my sister and her husband over for the festivities. I truly believe “the more, the merrier!”
Here’s a few menus I plan on turning out of my kitchen over the next week or two. Since, I’m already doing the planning, I thought I’d pass on my leg-work over to you. They are good recipes that I’ve made before. No trial runs on the big days for me! The Christmas Eve dinner menu would be great for Christmas day too. Especially, since the main dish is cooked primarily in the crock pot, leaving more oven space for baked goodies. Hurray!
Christmas Eve Menu
Spinach Balls with Honey Mustard Dip*
Skirt Steak with Pearl Onions and Baby Carrots**
Manchego Mashed Potatoes (or if you’d rather, plain ‘ol buttered egg noodles)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts – these are to die for. I mean it, even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of the brussels sprout.
Garlic Knots – I’ll probably just buy these. Don’t hate.
Santa’s Treats – apparently the Big Man in Red likes chocolate chip cookies, so I’ll make those and a have a tray of other cookies accrued from various swaps that are coming up this week.
Champagne, Wine, Beer
Christmas Morning Menu
Christmas Morning Casserole (um, yeah, that’s what we call it in my family. You may know it by Egg and Sausage Casserole.)
Depending on the number of guests, I may also make Overnight Blackberry French Toast
Blackberries and Raspberries
Mimosas (or just straight up Champagne)
Coffee, and lots of it
Post-Christmas Wine Party
Cheese Balls Three Ways, a fun way to put together an inexpensive cheese tray
Parmesan Scallion Pinwheels
Bacon-Wrapped Apricots with Sage
Lemon Hummus with Endive Dippers***
Chocolate Oatmeal Snowballs
Salted Caramel Pecan Bars****
Fruit with Nutella Dip
Wine, provided by guests. Yep, BYO(California red)W for a blind tasting and competition.
*Spinach Balls – Honey Mustard Dip: Mix equal parts Spicy Brown Mustard and Honey
**For the Skirt Steak, I: sub 1 lb. frozen pearl onions, thawed for the cippolini onions. I throw that in the crock pot, along with several handfuls of baby carrots (for taste and color). I omit the olives (not a fan). I also have subbed the peppercorns for a heavy dose of freshly ground pepper.
***For the endive dippers, trim the ends off of four large heads of Belgian Endive. Pull apart the leaves, and use them to dip in the hummus.
****For the Salted Caramel Pecan Bars, the chocolate version is a MUST! So addictive.
Happy Eating!!!
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