What´s the typical christmas meal....

BeBro · December 21, 2003, 15:19

....in your country or your family esp.

The only foreign I know is turkey in the US, if that´s right (or do they eat those only at thanksgiving

)

Traditionally in Germany it is usually goose. But not in my family, we eat something else at x-mas, and always different things.

So teach me about your favourite/traditional x-mas meals. I´m hungry

Harry Tuttle · December 21, 2003, 15:21

Being in the U.S., my family has always eaten Turkey. In fact it's almost the same meal as the one at Thanksgiving. Other favorites are: Beef Tenderloin and Ham.

oedo · December 21, 2003, 15:22

curried sausage with sauerkraut.

BeBro · December 21, 2003, 15:23

Quote:

Originally posted by oedo
curried sausage with sauerkraut.

I don´t believe you.

What do the French or the Brits eat? Or the other fellow eurocoms?

Agathon · December 21, 2003, 15:26

Beer, followed by more Beer, and yet more Beer, followed by a Beer chaser and drowning in your soup.

Dis · December 21, 2003, 15:54

Turkey for our family.

Though my sister-in-law made ham.

Ham is also very popular in the U.S. But not as much as turkey.

And throw in egg nog, mashed potatos, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies. All of that.

Our meals end up a lot like Thanksgiving meals

. Except maybe someone makes some kind of christmas cookies.

Provost Harrison · December 21, 2003, 16:47

The British traditionally have turkey too, often pork as well with stuffing and chipolata sausages (little sausages wrapped in bacon). And lots and lots of sprouts

Provost Harrison · December 21, 2003, 16:48

...ah yes, cranberry sauce too. Basically identical to the US...

Peter Triggs · December 21, 2003, 17:12

I had a 'Special Christmas Lunch' at the pub earlier today:

Turkey,
sausages wrapped in bacon
bread stuffing
roast potatoes
mashed potatoes
roast parsnips
carrots
peas
sprouts
cranberry sauce.

I don't think the cranberry sauce is traditional, but it's becoming more popular.

The pub:

Dis · December 21, 2003, 17:13

that's a pub? looks awefully small

Snotty · December 21, 2003, 17:17

Cranberry is the norm here. I hate the stuff. Every 'special edition' christmas sandwhich has it spread over the inside to ruin the entire thing.

Turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy etc.

Inverse Icarus · December 21, 2003, 17:19

... the hell? it's always been a christmas HAM as far as i know!

molly bloom · December 21, 2003, 17:20

In Australia it used to be a very British meal, until the great cultural gustatory shift of the Seventies when people realised that cooking for six hours in 30 degree plus heat was madness, and trying to digest turkey, green vegetables and carbohydrate in the equivalent of a notheren summer heatwave as folly.

Now people have fish, chicken or barbecues with tiger prawns, and chorizo and cevap and suchlike (down in the south- I expect over Darwin way things may be more Asian influenced).

We're having chilled coconut and shrimp soup with wasabi crackers to start, and because my partner requested it, kangaroo with kakadu plum preserve, kipfler potatoes and puree of broad beans with lamb's lettuce and mizuna salad, and golden roma tomatoes.

Lemon and rosemary sorbet for dessert, Turkish coffee and Iranian candy floss to finish.

Peter Triggs · December 21, 2003, 17:48

Quote:

that's a pub? looks awefully small

There's another room but the whole thing is probably about 5x that size. It's a 'local' pub as opposed to one of the town center pubs. Years ago in that neighbourhood there used to be tons of them; it seemed like almost one on every streetcorner. At that time a lot of people would go out to the pub almost every night. Especially older people: they'd go out, meet their friends, have a couple of pints, and play cribbage, bar billiards or shove-haepenny (a game that involves polished coins and wooden surface). But there's only about 5 or 6 of those pubs left in the neighbourhood now.

BTW, I went out with the camera today cause I want to start a 'Christmas Pictures' thread. I've seen people get more than one picture in per post. Anybody know the trick involved in doing this?

Solly · December 21, 2003, 17:52

You have to use the (img) (/img) tag and link to the pictures Peter.

Yep, Turkey every Christmas here. Lots of sprouts for post-Queen's speech farting competitions.

Buck Birdseed · December 21, 2003, 17:53

Don't forget the christmas pudding, the mince pies, the chocolate log and the brandy butter for the british christmas meal!

Sweden traditionally has a julbord, a "christmas table" analogous to the smörgåsbord. Generally this consists of, at the very least, sweet dark bread ("vörtbröd"), several types of pickled herring, meatballs, small sausages ("prinskorv"), beetroot sallad, herring sallad, red cabbage, green cabbage, brown cabbage, mustard-grilled ham (as the centerpeice), a dish consisting of layered anchovies and potatoes ("Janson's frestelse"), the water the ham was boiled in ("dopp i grytan"), rice porridge and/or rice porridge made with cream/served with orange sauce ("ris à la malta"), patés, pork ribs, boiled potatoes, cheese, lye-dissolved dried fish ("lutfisk"), several miscellaneous processed pork products ("rullsylta", "pastejer" etc.) and finishing off with gingerbread, almond cups ("mandelmusslor") and sweets of various types. Usually there's more stuff as well, that's a very bare-bones julbord.

The Mad Monk · December 21, 2003, 17:56

Christmas can vary, though it's usually turkey or ham in most households -- goose makes an appearance, too.

We also have a special Christmas Eve dinner, which differs from Christmas Day in that there's not near so many guests, so we can be more extravegant -- filet mignon and lobster tail, smoked pheasant, venison, etc.

alva · December 21, 2003, 18:22

Christmass

Smoked salmon/halibot(sp?)
Turkey/roastbeef/Game

-
New-year:
Oysters

Game

Icecake

Although I don't think we really have any one specific meal.

In restaurants you will get either get the choice between game or salmon or even monkfish/seadevil (lotte/zeeduivel)
As a starter expect gooseliver (foie grass which often just is foie de canard since it's cheaper and no-one notices) or Coquilles st-Jacques.
Then often a consomme (very light transparant soup) of some game-bird is given and to round it of, the inevitable icecake.

Pekka · December 21, 2003, 18:26

Ham and all sorts of traditional finnish foods. I can't translate them to english. I didn't used to like them when I was a kid, but now.. oh man it's so good I can't get enough of it! Though this year is little slower since I'm not spending this christmas with my mom, so the food part will suck some serious serious hairy sweaty butts. Too bad.. it's good.

BeBro · December 21, 2003, 20:14

I´m wondering if it is Turkey for the Greeks too /lame joke

Peter Triggs · December 21, 2003, 20:20

When I was a kid we almost always went to my maternal grandparent's place for a family meal on Christmas eve. My grandmother was Ukrainian so in addition to the normal 'turkey with all the trimmings' stuff we'd have a fish (usually salmon, IIRC), perogies (sort of dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese), holuptsi (cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice), and studenetz (jellied pork).

My grandfather had a soft spot for White Horse scotch so each of 'the boys' (his four sons) would arrive with a bottle of it. When it was handed to him, he would always say "Mmn, good. We better open it up before it goes off."

Drogue · December 21, 2003, 21:05

Turkey is traditional in the UK, as is Goose. We've started having Goose, as it has more flavour than the common farm-reared turkey you get. We have a game wholesaler we get it from. We just had a smoked ham tonight (huge thing!) which was wonderful, and will make great sandwiches until we have the Goose for Chirstmas lunh

Verto · December 21, 2003, 22:15

Ham, baby!

VJ · December 21, 2003, 22:36

Barely solid piece which contains 2/5's of GE soy, 1/5's of water, 1/10's of salt, and 3/10's of meat. It's usually coloured to pink, and it's called 'ham'.

Spiffor · December 21, 2003, 22:37

I cannot tell for general-French traditions, because I always spend Christmas with the Breton part of my family, and we always eat various seafoods, and generally lamb/sheep as meat.

There is no better seafood than Coquilles Saint Jacques

, and that's coming from someone who hates oysters

MrBaggins · December 21, 2003, 23:24

I'm doing UBER Baked Ziti, and a more conventional Spiral Ham for Christmas.

We're having Mussel, Shrimp and Scallop Paella on Christmas Eve.

As for there being no better seafood than Coquilles Saint Jacques, I'd have to say that in all my travels, my favorite seafood was a huge tray of Atlantic Mussels stacked on end, grilled in a brick oven (wood chip) fire with a pile of pine needles over that, that I had in a restaurant in the Loire Valley. Their seafood bisque was also exceptional.

vee4473 · December 21, 2003, 23:34

Well, we sometimes have either ham or Prime rib of beef, yum, but the traditional meal is seafood such as calamari, mussels,shrimp and perhaps various other fish on Christmas Eve, and then lasagna on Christmas Day.

An italian american thing for Christmas day I guess.

Actually, the Christmas Eve seafood meal was always bigger than Christmas day.

The real celebration was always on the Eve.

Oerdin · December 21, 2003, 23:50

Last year we had a wild turkey which my uncle shot in the local mountains. It was much more flavorful then the traditional farm raised turkey.

Verres · December 22, 2003, 17:31

Aubergine (and lots of alcohol) if im cooking it; which i fully intend to.

lord of the mark · December 22, 2003, 17:55

well Chinese take out of course

After seeing a movie at an empty theater. Or going to a kosher restaurant, and being amused at the mobs of secular/Reform Jews there, who wouldnt set foot in one the rest of the year.