Holiday baking and other food prep

[Rejaneration]

So, what's on tap for Christmas dinner? I will have all 4 kidless coming to dinner.
I need some inspiration. My DD doesn't eat a lot of red meat, so thinking prime rib is out - plus honestly, not in the mood to spend that $$$.

[picote]

We were going to skip prime rib and do lamb instead, but I’ve seen some crazy sales on prime rib this week, so we’re going to pick up at least one. We may end up freezing it and saving for later.

[caribougrrl]

We're doing something completely different than usual this year, multiple courses, but mostly make in advance:
- some nibbling stuff: white bean spread, olive tapenade, cheese, olive oil roasted almonds, focaccia
- squash puree, tagliatelle tossed in browned butter, fried sage leaves
- leafy salad w/ walnut oil and lemon juice
- polenta, red wine braised beef, roasted kalettes
- dessert TBD - something bright, I think, maybe something with clementine sorbet

[DocBuzzkill]

Given that my hemoglobin count is invariably just a bit below normal, I sure as hell will be eating red meat in the form of prime rib or a sirloin roast. 

The rest will be our usual: mashed potatoes, gravy, maybe Yorkshire pudding, steamed Brussels sprouts, and steamed cranberry pudding with butter-cream sauce.  I may try some old-school bacon-wrapped scallops as an appetizer.

We typically have Julia Child's recipe for rack of lamb on NYE.

[witchypoo]

babka is in the oven
cookies later

[Kumbaya]

Rack of lamb tonight - Christmas Eve
Roasted veggies
Leftover potatoes from last night

Tomorrow
Breakfast casserole - eggs/sausage / cheese
Appetizers during day
Lasagna f and garlic bread for dinner

[caribougrrl]

shrimp toast and cucumber salad tonight

[CheryG]

I spent the day making Turtlenola as gifts for the neighbors.  I wouldn't ordinarily go with granola as a holiday treat, but turtles have been a theme for me this year and I thought it would be easy and fun.  It's really good!

[DocBuzzkill]

Rack of lamb tonight - Christmas Eve
Roasted veggies
Leftover potatoes from last night

Tomorrow
Breakfast casserole - eggs/sausage / cheese
Appetizers during day
Lasagna f and garlic bread for dinner

Our racks of lamb (Julia Child's recipe!) will be for NYE dinner.     

Our usual Xmas fare today:

Bagels and lox for breakfast
Scallops wrapped in bacon and a toasted pecan cheese ball for early afternoon appies
Prime sirloin roast, mashed potatoes & gravy, and steamed Brussels sprouts for dinner; Brunello to drink.  Steamed cranberry pudding with butter-cream sauce for dessert.

[rocketgirl]

I'm bailing on my folks for Thanksgiving (invited them to MY HOUSE for a different day & will smoke a pork loin for that).  Anyway, I'm on my own for Thanksgiving.  I might try to smoke a small turkey breast?  (Electric smoker).  Anything I need to know?  (Obv I'll go search the whole internet).  The only meat I've ever smoked is pork loin, which has a wider threshold of not being undercooked.  Do I brine or inject the turkey breast?  I don't want it to be dry.  I was also thinking about making a Conecuh (smoked sausage) dressing (stuffing - except that I'm not stuffing it anywhere but my face).

[BonitaApplebum]

Ooh yay I love this thread. And good for you, RG!! Your plan sounds great.

I'm still menu planning, I have a half dozen side dishes I rotate through the holiday season, not sure yet which one(s) I'll do for thanksgiving.

[Rejaneration]

I have the same question as last year!
4 mid 20s coming to dinner and I am too cheap to spend $140 on filet.
I am drawing a blank.  I did a slow cooked Pork Butt for Thanksgiving, which was awesome so would prefer to do something else.
WE ended up doing shoe ducks last year, so would prefer something different as well.

[BonitaApplebum]

I have the same question as last year!
4 mid 20s coming to dinner and I am too cheap to spend $140 on filet.
I am drawing a blank.  I did a slow cooked Pork Butt for Thanksgiving, which was awesome so would prefer to do something else.
WE ended up doing shoe ducks last year, so would prefer something different as well.

So 6 of you? Look for sales on a rib roast if you want beef. Or go to BJ's (or similar) and get a couple packs of ribeyes.

[Rejaneration]

Thanks. I had forgotten about Costco...

[caribougrrl]

quail! fancy little birds, lots of flavour... or cornish hens if you can't find quail, less fancy and less little, but either one is a good excuse to make croquettes in the shape of pears...

[BonitaApplebum]

We bought Cornish hens on a whim recently, and roasted them on the spit in the air fryer. It was fun but that technique would not work for a crowd. Maybe I'll pick a few up if I see them on sale for the holidays.

[picote]

Thanks. I had forgotten about Costco...

See if you have a Costco business center in your area. They can be significantly cheaper on large cuts of meat.

[BonitaApplebum]

We picked a rib roast for under $6/pound which I thought was pretty good. It was huge so DH cut it in half and we'll have it twice! Both are in the freezer for now.