The holidays – at least for me – are all about the food. The decorations, gifts, and visiting family and friends are wonderful of course, but really – really if we’re being honest, the holidays happen in the kitchen. Planning holiday meals is one of those things I love doing every year – except this year, I’m totally stuck!
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I remember, when I was in junior high, my mother started taking the month of December off work. I loved that time – even though I was still in school, I knew when I got home we would dig through cookbooks and plan wonderfully elaborate menus and bake prodigious amounts of cookies. By the time I reached high school, I started pushing the boundaries, making those cookies and candies more and more elaborate and complicated and wonderful. Insisting on trying new and interesting menus instead of the traditional fare.
Those were good times.
These days are a little different. I’ve been trying to come up with menus for two holiday meals – Christmas Dinner, which will involve just our immediate family, and Christmas Eve lunch with my in-laws. And I’ll be honest: I’m stuck – trying to balance everyone’s tastes and dietary restrictions, as well as my own desire to unleash some wild creativity in the kitchen isn’t as easy as it sounds!
This is what I’ve got so far:
Christmas Eve Lunch:
- Egg nog (homemade, of course! Don’t worry, there’s enough booze in it to kill any bacteria.)
- Fleur de Sel caramels covered in chocolate
Christmas Dinner:
- Mulled wine for the adults, cider for the kids
- Pork shoulder stuffed with garlic and apricots
Ok, so clearly I’m thinking in terms of drinks…Any suggestions? What do you love to cook for the holidays?
We don’t have a set meal routine during Christmas. A friend says they do fondue every year and I’ve thought that sounded fun (I have some GF recipes for sauces if you are interested). Otherwise, I plan what sounds good like I do all the time. For lunch you could do a tea-like meal with finger sandwiches and scones. I know they have gluten but there are ways around that.
Oh – Fondue sounds like fun! I’m definitely hoping to do most of the cooking for Christmas Eve lunch ahead of time since I don’t know when the in-laws will arrive.
And the dietary restriction list is quite fun – low salt, gluten-free, no nuts, no tomatoes, no mollusks (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops). One of the boys refuses to eat cheese (???) or sauces of any kind, another hates ham because it’s too salty. And you wonder why the booze was the first thing that came to mind!
I think Mum’s frozen fruit salad (not the one with cheese dear nephew!) would fit every one of those restrictions…and can you have Christmas without it? Let me know if you need the recipe!
I think I have the recipe – and will probably make a half batch for myself, since I’m the only one here who likes it, and my wonderful sister who always makes it for me moved halfway across the country this year! 🙂