What’s for dinner?
For many of us Holiday traditions include food. Growing up there were definites that had to be on the Christmas table or New Year’s Day buffet. It just wasn’t quite the same if they weren’t.
With our Christmas Ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, deviled eggs, pickles and other relishes, our family favorite was the baked macaroni and cheese. As adults now this has become my brother’s signature dish as he loves his cheese and doesn’t skimp any.
The dish itself is quite easy, layers of cooked & buttered macaroni and slices of Colby cheese, topped with some milk to keep it moist but not runny, and some salt and pepper. Yum!
New Year’s Day, the guys were usually watching football so we did not do a big meal. Instead we would do snaky appetizer stuff, meatballs, wings, cheese and crackers, and a family favorite was the Swiss Fondue. Again probably because of my ‘cheese loving’ brother.
So what are your favorite traditional holiday yummies?
Food is also a major tradition in our household. Christmas and new years eve we usually have appetizers (sausages with BBQ, cheese dip, relish tray, veggie tray, deviled eggs, the usuals, etc.
Everyone gets to pick something special that we have). Water chestnuts wrapped in bacon is my favorite! (could just be a Michigan thing).
Christmas morning is belgin waffles with all the toppings and usual sides of bacon, eggs, etc.!
Christmas day dinner also has the usuals, ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, gravy, etc. This year however we are adding a deep fried turkey since we will be with more relatives.
Our favorite though would be my dad’s wardolf salad. Christmas and Thanksgiving are the only two days of the year we have this. I have been lucky now to have mastered the recipe: Lettuce, bananas, grapes, apples, and walnuts. The dressing is made up of miracle whip, sugar, and some lemon juice. Yum!!!!!
No wonder people gain weight over the holidays! We certainly do not lack any food! Thanks Cheri for sharing. It’s nice to hear everyone’s food traditions.
We always mention doing something ‘different’ for one of these holiday meals. But when it comes down to tradition and those things we wait all year for.. we can never do it. Which is fine by me!
All this food is making me want Christmas dinner today!
My favorite of course is spiral cut ham and for as odd as it is, i dip it in ranch (Hidden Valley) dressing. Lets not forget the cheesy potatoes, and the last few years my nephew Al has made some type of scalloped corn (I think it’s called that)and it’s the best.
Thanks Cheri Lynn for the start of a great blog and when I have put on those extra few pounds, I will call you and make you walk with me to get rid of them. LOL
Merry Christmas sister Cher!
Fowler family will have oyster stew/soup for Christmas Eve made with fresh oysters. There will be potato soup for the non-conformist. Menu also includes smoked turkey (cold) herring, cheese and crackers. Evening will wrap up with Tom and Jerrys.
The Erickson side of the family was strict for years: Christmas Eve was homemade potato sausage, flat bread and fruit salad. When my aunts and uncles started getting married, they had to branch out a bit for the in-laws – we now also have meatballs, cheesy potatoes and relishes. Every year it is exactly the same menu – no more changes allowed!
The other side of the family is too large for a meal (60+ people) so we have shifted to an “anything goes” appetizer buffet on Christmas Day – from water chestnuts wrapped in bacon (go Jess!) to cookies to rather large boxes of cheese puffs from Menard’s, if you can eat it you can bring it!
Christmas was usually spent with my mom’s parents as my dad’s parents were snowbirds. We gathered with all the aunts and cousins for a turkey and ham meal though I think of the things that were set out before and after the meal as the things to which I looked forward. Grandma made toffee and Eddy’s bars, my mom made party mix (chex mix plus crispex and kix) and spritz, aunts made nut goodies bars and other Christmas cookies. Grandma also made something called mocha bars – cubes of white cake dipped in powdered sugar icing rolled in chopped peanuts…I remember being disappointed when I found out a mocha at the coffee shop tasted nothing like Grandma’s treat.