I for one will be enjoying a smoked pork loin, small smoked ham from local farm brother deals with and vegetables, rolls, maybe yams baked and few select beers. How about you BITOGERS?
Christmas Dinner: what are you folks having?
- Thread starter 53' Stude
- Start date
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Ham, corn, rolls, Mac and cheese, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie. Maybe a few other things too but I forgot lol.
Usually roast a whole turkey and host our extended family, but this year I just bought a turkey breast since the four of us will be celebrating by ourselves. So Turkey, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, stuffing, pumpkin pie...
In our family, it's Christmas Eve dinner that's the main highlight. Supposed to have 12 dishes and no meat - only veggies, dairy, and fish. Not going to actually have 12 dishes, but planning to make mushroom (porcini) soup, veggie salad, baked fish, eggs, and pierogi.
Looking forward to starting on the salad today - carrots, parsley root, celery root, sweet peas, pickles, apples, eggs, onions, mayo, and some sriracha sauce to give it a kick.
Tomorrow morning I'll soak the porcini and make the soup. It'll go great with some egg noodles we picked up in Amish country last month.
Looking forward to starting on the salad today - carrots, parsley root, celery root, sweet peas, pickles, apples, eggs, onions, mayo, and some sriracha sauce to give it a kick.
Tomorrow morning I'll soak the porcini and make the soup. It'll go great with some egg noodles we picked up in Amish country last month.
Why the sad faces?
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Also we do Christmas Breakfast which we have homemade French Toast and it is really good 
and then we have the same dinner type stuff when we go to my grandmas to see the rest of the family which we will be doing this year as well. No turkey at Christmas though that’s strange lol.
and then we have the same dinner type stuff when we go to my grandmas to see the rest of the family which we will be doing this year as well. No turkey at Christmas though that’s strange lol.
Bread is done. I will make a pork loin roast. Pick up from butcher today, told them "LARGE" - will brine and smoke and maybe crisp up the outside. Wife makes all the fixings and dessert. She has a panettone going. Will make a pie. Unsure of all the sides.
No meat!
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
You can’t have a Christmas dinner without the ham or traditional sides.
It's only Christmas Eve that's meatless. All the meat dishes come out on Christmas day.You can’t have a Christmas dinner without the ham or traditional sides.
No meat on Christmas Eve only.
Besides, I eat so much meat throughout the year, I am really looking forward to not having it for once. The point is to make an elaborate meal without meat.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
Oh thank goodnessIt's only Christmas Eve that's meatless. All the meat dishes come out on Christmas day.
. Still I can’t go a day without meat The bread looks great! Do you overnite ship?Bread is done. I will make a pork loin roast. Pick up from butcher today, told them "LARGE" - will brine and smoke and maybe crisp up the outside. Wife makes all the fixings and dessert. She has a panettone going. Will make a pie. Unsure of all the sides.
Funny, I don't know if the Christmas traditions are regional or based on the cultural heritage? I've always had turkey on Christmas, and ham was for Easter. And we usually have roast beef tenderlion at my sister-in-laws house on Christmas eve. This year, because the Christmas Eve celebration is canceled, I bought some prime rib steaks just for us. I assumed that the meatless (seafood) Chritmas eve dinners were the cultural norm for those who speak romance languages. (I think I learned that in high school French class?)It's only Christmas Eve that's meatless. All the meat dishes come out on Christmas day.
I love learning about the various different traditions. Very interesting!
If you can change oil, you can bake good bread. If you can make good beer you can make outstanding bread.
Always make a starter. AKA, biga (Italian) poolish (French??) - use a simple water flour yeast starter overnight before you get fancy. I have used wild air yeast, yogurt, pickle juice, beer, mother of vinegar, brown sugar.....basically yeast and some good bacteria. Let that baby go to town for a few days or just overnight. Feed it a bit of flour before baking. Catch yeast at start of log growth phase.
Use bread flour (I experiment with all kinds of flours, but just use bread flour to start) it will give you serious confidence that you bake way better bread than the junk at the store.
Get a good recipe for your ratios. I don't need a recipe. I know. Depending on the bread type don't go too much flour (even if tempted because the dough seems too sticky)
Use a good salt.
You can add some more yeast with your culture.
Do your first rise (sometimes overnight, sometimes just the morning 4-5 hours. Double or triple. You want to keep this CO2 in the bread.
Again depending on the bread type and dough, don't punch it down. Gentle divide to loaf sizes. Allow to rise again. Whole wheat you can't let it double again, will just collapse, for example. Normal, let it approach double.
Preheat over with pan of water within to 500°F Slide on cornmeal for antifriction - slide onto preheated baking stone (pizza stone) - cut expansion groove - crank heat down to 400-425°F depending on bread type. Bake until nice and brown - a finger flick on crust sounds like a drum.
Place on cooling rack (picture). It's that easy.
Went to Costco to get a rubbed tri-tip steak. Pan sear and pop into oven for 10 minutes. Excellent.
Ended up with the smallest rubbed prime rib. Choice, not prime.
Ended up with the smallest rubbed prime rib. Choice, not prime.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
It’s not Christmas if you don’t have any to open on Christmas morning.
I'm actually looking forward to it lol.
This movie is great.
"Ahh, the police have themselves an RV."
