Now that my mom has moved to New York, I hosted my family for Christmas for the first time this year. We cut down two Christmas trees to make our home extra-festive! We also all had matching pajamas, of course.
We celebrated Christmas Eve with a (modified) traditional Ukrainian vegetarian feast from my husband’s family’s tradition and Christmas morning crêpes from my family’s tradition. It was great.
We had a crowd. I made two gluten-free quick breads in advance, Orange Glazed Cranberry-Pecan Bread and Banana Bread, to serve for breakfast. We also had bagels, panettone, Danish Almond Kringle, yogurt, oats, and cereal. Fresh fruit too.
My nieces and I made applesauce with over fifteen pounds of apples! We incorporated our fabulous, naturally-sweet sauce into more than one meal. 🙂 I also made Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup, Classic Split Pea Soup, and Lentil-Kielbasa Soup to serve throughout the week for lunch.
I served my mom’s traditional pork roast Christmas dinner after Christmas- I may modify the order of these meals in the future. My sister-in-law also brought wonderful Austrian pastry crisps and cookies from Demel that we nibbled on every day.
I had also planned to make our favorite chili and butter chicken, but my family treated us out to dinner in New York City one evening and for take-out on another evening- Perfect. 🙂
Selfishly, I am posting my menus to help with planning in the future. Hopefully others may benefit in some way! Happy New Year!
Christmas Eve Eve:
- Apple Cider Margaritas or Sparkling Apple Cider
- Guacamole with Tortilla Chips
- Shortcut Enchiladas Verdes
- Basmati Brown Rice, Refried Beans & Street Corn
- assorted Christmas Cookies
Christmas Eve:
- Challah Cubes drizzled with Honey
- Vodka Shots or Sparkling Apple Cider
- Borscht with Vushka (mushroom-onion dumplings) garnished with Dill & Sour Cream, as desired
- Potato-Onion Pierogies with Applesauce & Sour Cream
- Panko-Crusted Mustard Salmon with Basmati Brown Rice, Roasted Broccoli & Cauliflower
- Apple Strudel or Brown Sugar Baked Apple (gluten-free) with Vanilla Ice Cream
Christmas Day Breakfast:
- Crêpes (classic & gluten-free) filled with sugar or Applesauce
- fresh Pineapple, Cantaloupe & Bananas
- Orange & Guava (long story) Juice
- Hot Chocolate
Christmas Day Dinner:
- Brie with Sourdough Baguette Slices
- Lasagna (with gluten-free pasta)
- Butternut Squash Macaroni and Cheese (with gluten-free pasta)
- Green salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
- Apple Strudel with Vanilla Ice Cream & assorted Christmas Cookies
Post-Christmas Dinner:
- Beecher’s Flagship Handmade Cheese and Brie with Raisin-Rosemary Crisps and Multi-Grain Crunchmaster crackers
- green grapes, cashews, & Trader Joe’s Step up to the Bar Snack Mix
- Glazed Spicy Pork Roast
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Rainbow Carrots, Butternut Squash, & Gold Potatoes
- assorted Christmas Cookies
thebrookcook 