the menu: Christmas Day

We are skipping the weekly menu this week and heading straight for the main event. I mean, is anyone actually cooking meals this week other than one ridiculously big meal? Leftovers, kids. Or if that doesn’t suit you, let me point you in the direction of the cereal.

My husband and I had a rough time coming up with a plan for Christmas dinner this year. Several years ago, we decided to break out of the turkey-potato rut and try some new dishes at Christmas. We’ve had a lot of success. This year, for some unknown reason, everything we looked at didn’t seem right. In part, it was that we are cooking for 21 people and our kitchen is equipped to cook for eight. In part, we were out of sync with each other on what we wanted. He wanted a rolled roast or a lamb shank or something fatty and meaty, and I was more inclined towards lasagna. See the problem?

After much debate, this is what we’ve settled on. It’s a little different. Come on over to cook something else if you are going to complain.

Starters

Roasted Beet and Potato Tart 

Cheese and Fruit Tray

Assorted Olives

Minestrone 

Mains

Prime Rib (compliments of our friend Allison)

Porchetta (our recipe is from Epicurious Italy but here’s a good looking recipe)

Sides

Roasted Root Vegetables (we'll be adding some veggies here)

Baked Roman Gnocchi 

Brussels Sprouts with Pecans 

Green Beans

Crusty Bread

Dessert

Tiramisu (also compliments of our friend Allison)

Coconut Cupcakes or Mini Bread Pudding or Italian Cream Cake (top secret recipe)

Can you feel yourself rolling out the door? I know. It’s going to be good.

Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for reading along. I hope you and your family have a wonderful remainder of the holiday season. I’m signing off for now so that I can enjoy the rest of the year with my family. I’ll be back bright and early in January!

(P.S. The house above was made by one of our party guests, Jordin, last week. I've had lots of requests for a post about the making of the gingerbread houses and I will definitely be providing some tips in the new year!)

adrienne robideauxComment