What are your traditional Christmas dinners, and do you do anything that's unusual in your country?
I am interested in the amount of variety there is in Christmas dinners. In the UK it tends to be roast meat (and turkey is popular) and a lot of roast veg. The table ends up being quite complicated because Aunt Mabel really wants cauliflower cheese and Cousin Bert needs that braised red cabbage and etc so you end up with a lot of stuff set out.
And that's just the UK - I'd be really interested to know about what people eat in other places.
For me it's going to be simple and quiet this year. Chemotherapy and immunotherapy mean my immune system is struggling and I feel very gently nauseous. I am going to have roast chicken, glazed roast parsnips, carrots (not sure whether mashed, or roasted, or gently steamed), roast potatoes, and roast sprouts. And then my sister made me a Christmas pudding so I'll have that for after.
Here's a description of and recipe for Christmas Pudding: https://www.nigella.com/recipes/ultimate-christmas-pudding
In Sweden one of the staples is pickled herring. It's served in a variety of sauces/flavours, the most popular being a mustard sauce. It's also common to have it in brine with different herbs and spices.
Meatballs and "prinskorv" (mini sausages, the ends are snipped in an X pattern to create the flared ends when cooked) are also present in nearly every Christmas dinner.
Christmas ham (cooked in the oven with a mustard coating), egg halves, "julvört" (a type of sweet bread with raisins, typically eaten with Christmas ham and mustard), are also a must.
And of course, schnapps!
Edit: I forgot a few things!
And so many songs intermingled throughout it all! Just when you think you can sneak another mouthful of dinner, the schnapps glasses raise... 🙃
Helan gåååååååår!
Sweden here, we're not huge fans of the traditional Swedish Christmas food, so we eat "Christmas Pasta", its basically a different pasta dish each year with some common themes. It's always vegetarian, heavy on mushrooms, especially portabello and parmesan plus oven roasted cherry tomatoes. This year we're making homemade gnocchi as the pasta.
I've never tried pickled herring! Is it typically cooked or eaten raw?
I can get Vita brand near me, may have to pick some up :)
It is "cooked" (not sure if actually cooked or the acid content cooks it like ceviche) and can be eaten right out of the jar. I grew up with the sour cream-sauced version as a traditional NYE thing, along with black caviar (the kind you find in the grocery next to the sardines) and cream cheese on Ritz crackers. I probably won't be at my parents' place for NYE, but my mom will almost certainly have already bought some and make me eat it on Christmas (not that it's a chore). If you like fish and pickled things, you will probably like it; it is a very strong flavor. I've tried the kind in wine sauce and its also good (much sweeter than I expected) but the cream sauce kind is so ingrained in me that the other kind seems weird.
It isn’t really cooked. It’s cured and brined, but you’re right that it isn’t raw. Just clarifying so people know they shouldn’t boil/sear/bake it.
It's not cooked, it's typically cured and then brined. But most people don't make it themselves, the store bought stuff in Sweden is really good. Big supermarkets usually make their own to sell as well, but even brand-stuff is great here.
It looks like the Vita ones are already in a wine or cream sauce so I wouldn't use those to make another sauce. Maybe the ones in a wine sauce would work if you wanted to try making another sauce.
Pickled herring has a consistency that may be difficult for some, kind of similar to salmon in sushi but thicker.
Sounds incredible! One of my favorite holidays ever was spent in Sweden. Our host was a good friend lived with when I studied abroad and she and her husband put on quite the feast. They had prepared smoked reindeer that we ate with flatbread and horseradish (it was melt in the mouth incredible) as appetizers. The star of the show was Tjälknöl, slow roasted moose that had cooked for like 10 hours and then put in a brine of herbs/spices. It was transcendent. Then there was the accompanying offering of roast potatoes, veg, and lingonberry and cloudberry jams. I'm not sure if they went as stereotypical as possible because we were attending but it was incredible. Everything was washed down with schnapps and champagne! Such an incredible evening!
Sounds like you were in northern Sweden? Game meat and use of wild berries such as cloudberry and lingonberry is very common in the northern part so I'm sure they weren't trying to be as stereotypical as possible, but also sounds like it was more effort than a regular meal, it sounds amazing from your description!
That makes sense. We were actually in Uppsala but the friends were originally from outside of Östersund and spend their summers up that way, often picking berries I think. You Christmas sounded amazing as well!
Polish here, our version of pickled herring I'd called sledzie and it's about the only fish related dish I tolerate during the holidays. Oil, onion, vinegar and the herring. Simple, easy and delicious.
Canadian here. I have a pretty large extended family, we all get together at my aunt's place on the 24th and everybody brings something. There's also a weirdly high number of very good cooks in my family. Turkey and roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, green bean casserole, lasagne, at least 4 different salads (usually the broccoli grape and walnut in a creamy dressing is my fav), spicy chicken wings (Caribbean uncle ftw), sweet and sour meatballs, lemon garlic salmon fillets, devilled eggs, potato latkes (Jewish uncle ftw), corn bread, and that's not even getting to the desserts. Usually several homemade cakes and pies with ice or whipped cream, and someone always brings some delicious cannolis from a local bakery.
Sounds like a lot but there's usually a good 50+ people at this party. I often hear people complaining about having to see their families for the holidays but I can't relate to that at all. Mine's pretty cool.
On the 25th I have a smaller dinner just with my father and sister + BIL, and then on the 26th a medium one at my mom's place (parents divorced decades ago, boxing day has been "Christmas at mom's" for as long as I can remember). Then I need to sleep for a week to digest all that.
Shit, now I'm hungry!
In France the main meal features some sort of bird, usually chapon (a castrated rooster) or a poularde (a fattened chicken). Turkey is also common, and some go for pintade (guinea fowl), which is leaner and more gamey. Usually the bird is stuffed with sausage+chestnut stuffing, but prune or fig based stuffing is also traditional. For starters, foie gras on pain d'épices, redcurrants or fig jam, but I'm not a big fan so I don't eat any myself. Otherwise, scallops topped with cream, cheese and breadcrumbs in the shell and cooked in the oven. For dessert, a Christmas log, usually chocolate but you can get some made with other flavours. Usually that gets ordered at a bakery. Also cheese and good bread, of course!
Edit: missed the bit where you're undergoing treatment. Best of luck and I wish you good health for the end of year and beyond.
Christmas log, interesting!
Yes, some areas in Macedonia do something unusual, although we celebrate Christmas on the 7th of January.
We put a coin in bread, or another kind of pastry. Before the Christmas dinner, the family head cuts it up into n + 3 pieces where n is the number of people on the table, one for God, for the house and one for the animals (as in, livestock and such, but modern times - pets as well). Everyone takes a piece and the 3 extra pieces are left over. Whoever gets the coin will have fortune in the upcoming year. If no one has it, we check the rest of the pieces (:
We leave the dinner table as is throughout the night with the intent to allow God to feast as well.
I belive this tradition is more pagan than anything, because some areas practice it on other dates. For example, my home town does it on "old" new year (following the orthodox calendar) with a pastry called burek.
That practice isn't that different from the King Cake that has turned into more of a Mardi Gras tradition in parts of the US but is an Epiphany tradition in other parts of the world (with a small baby figurine or other object baked into the cake)
I do love how many things get done in similar ways for different reasons.
I never knew about that tradition! I definitely can see the similarities. It's fun finding stuff like this between cultures that seem distant.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake
Yeah I spent some time in a city with a big Mardis Gras tradition and buying a King cake for the day remains one of my personal traditions despite not being Catholic anymore.
So then I went on a deep dive and learned about it. Wiki is a decent summary!
Thanks for sharing. Reading up on the wiki, the Greek 'Vasilopita' is the same as our tradition. Then again, we share a lot in the Balkans.
I did go down a rabbit hole and wondered about the comparison! Thanks for sharing again!
This is a lovely tradition! We used to do something similar with christmas pudding here and bake a sixpence into the pudding for good luck. https://mclarenschristmaspudding.co.uk/products/luck-sixpence
It's fun that there's so many variations on this idea. Here in Norway we hide a single almond in a huge pot of rice pudding, and whoever finds it gets a small prize (traditionally, a marzipan pig, although my family's gone with any number of sweets over the years).
My family has this exact same tradition - always held on Little Christmas Eve. I’ve been told it comes from the Danish side of our family.
Actually getting some of this tonight!
I'm in the appalachian region of the US and my family does our main gathering and meal on Christmas Eve. We typically have baked ham plus a TON of casseroles and sides. Hashbrown and broccoli casserole are staples. There are also lots of "salads" that are really desserts, such as pretzel salad. Pecan pie and red velvet cake are pretty much always present, and I usually make a swiss roll yule log. We do some slightly random dishes that I'm not sure of the origin, such as little appetizers my dad always makes that are waterchestnuts wrapped in bacon with a splash of soy sauce and a bit of brown sugar. We also adopted the tradition of making kolachy cookies from my great aunt. Christmas morning is always country ham and biscuits
Because of the similarity to Thanksgiving, the last few years my family has opted to do different meal themes for Christmas instead. We've done appetizers-and-desserts-only (a huge hit since we tend to over graze anyway), italian-american, and soup & sandwiches. This year we're doing a taco bar/texmex approach. I'm particularly excited about the tres leches cake.
I love eggnog, but not all eggnog is created equal. If you have Straus in your area (or a similar equivalent) I suggest splurging one time. If you hate those versions you'll hate it all, but it tends to have a much less viscous texture and a milder flavor. I use brandy instead of rum to minimize the sweatness.
I'm not a huge fan of eggnog, but I found the Southern Comfort one to be really good. I think I tried their cinnamon one. Straus has damn good chocolate milk though so I can only assume they probably make a good egg nog too.
I'm in the PNW too! We always had ham growing up, and it was linked to the Christmas tradition because no one in my family actually liked it, we just apparently made it out of obligation?? I'm finally actually doing something for Christmas (been at least 5 years) and we'll be doing steak instead of ham, thank goodness. Baked beans with the ham was a staple, too.
Roasted duck. Oranges are in season and they go very well with it. I will need to defrost it soon though
I'll take any opportunity to spread the word of 'Devils on Horseback' - prunes wrapped in bacon.
It's not something I've ever encountered outside my household (although it's definitely an established food), and it always surprises guests over the holidays - I can't think of a time it hasn't been well received.
It's one of those foods that to me defines 'more than the sum of it's parts' - that deep, raisiny fruitiness matched with the sharp saltiness of the bacon makes so sense much sense when you first try it.
Every year pigs-in-blankets seems to be further wrangling itself as a staple of Christmas, but for me these are far more festive.
Sounds good - similar to an Oepsie - bacon wrapped cherries usually grilled on a bbq on a skewer. It's a South African thing a friend introduced me to and they're fantastic. Totally agree it's more than the sum of its parts, the juiciness and the sweet and salty all together, I'm drooling thinking about it. Must give your version a go.
Now I have to make this the next time cherry season rolls around where I am. Really surprised it hasn't arrived here already, given the prevalence of cherry farming.
I've never tried that, but I've had dates wrapped in bacon, which seems to be the same concept, slightly different execution.
My mom is American and my dad is English so we have a mix of traditions. I'm not sure how common it is, but my mom's side of the family always makes Cioppino - a hearty, tomato/wine based seafood stew with dungeness crab, mussels, clams, scallops, shrimp, and an assortment of other goodies. I love it! Our heritage has no Italian in it (mostly Swedish and English) so I'm not sure when they picked up the tradition. She was 1 of 10 kids, so maybe it was just an easy way to feed everyone? My mom developed a shellfish allergy after getting a tapeworm on vacation (weird I know) so now she makes a smaller version with whitefish - usually cod or rockfish.
For desert My mom makes incredible apricot cookies. They are a crumbly triangle pastry base with reduced apricot jam in the middle (usually made from dried apricots) and then rolled up into almost a scroll shape. If anyone is interested I'll try to get the recipe. They are heavenly!
With my dad we'll usually do a traditional english roast - chicken or beef, with roast potatoes, mash, lots of gravy, some kind of veg, and the star of the show Yorkshire Puddings. There are few things I love in this world more than a good Yorkshire Pudding. They usually finish off the night with mince pies. I'm kind of take it or leave it with those.
This year we're planning to be at my partner's parent's house. She was born in New Mexico and their Christmas dinner tend to match. We usually spend the day making Tamales and her mom makes an incredible Pizole. Everything is lathered in hot green chilies. Her dad is German so we usually have Feuerzangenbowle - a fortified mulled wine that has a sugar pyramid soaked in rum suspened above it that gets lit of fire and drips into the mixture to add sweetness. It's also quite the show. We usually end the night with another German specialty - rumtopf - fortified/fermented fruit over ice cream. My partner's dad isn't the best when it comes to making it, or the safest, so it's usually way too boozy. But I always indulge anyway. Having written that out, they have much more exciting Christmas meals than we do!
I live in Canada and my mom does what seems like a standard Ontario Christmas dinner. Turkey with stuffing, gravy, a glazed ham, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots, Brussel sprouts (usually roasted with bacon and cheese), salad, fresh bread / dinner rolls, cranberry, and a smorgasbord of desserts afterwards, often cheesecake and pie. There is usually a Christmas pudding, which only my dad eats.
My in-laws are Goan and Anglo-Indian; their Christmas dinner is usually crab curry, roasted lamb, kebabs, biryani, plain rice, sorpotel (a goat / tongue curry that is really delicious), salad, mashed potatoes, seafood Fettuccini, sometimes a turkey. Desserts vary, but usually there is kulfi and Indian sweetmeats, as well as cheesecake.
I roast a chicken instead of a turkey. I know that’s not very exciting but it’s easy, cheap and always a crowd pleaser.
Yes! Like, turkey is so hard to get right. It's just about the least forgiving meat, cooked rarely, and cooked on the most stressful day.
I’ve got more than a few friends here in Canada who do the deep fried turkey. It’s popular enough that there are frequent public warnings about remembering to defrost your bird first, as deep frying a frozen turkey can be a trip to the ER or worse. It’s pretty delicious.
As a transplant from the northern hemisphere, the thing I love best about Christmas in Australia is all the summer food. So many good things are in season when Christmas arrives: strawberries, watermelons, peaches, sweet corn, sugar snap peas, green beans, etc., etc.
The big highlight for me are the berry desserts, like summer pudding (sort of like a non-baked pie that is filled with raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants, mulberries, etc.) and pavlova (a meringue cake topped with cream and fruit, with passion fruit being the most popular/traditional). Christmas pavlovas are often shaped like a wreath and decorated with red berries and powdered sugar.
Barbecues are also extremely popular on Christmas day, and Australians love getting inventive with their Christmas salads.