Favorite Christmas Foods

Good for you! Tapas is always fun! In Fells Point, in Baltimore, there's a terrific mussels place called Bertha's. When my brother in law comes back east, we are going to meet him there. I love those long meals! I used to plan those and cook tons, back before fibro started to seriously limit me.

Let's see. I used to make these amazing rum balls that everyone in the family loved. We always do Ham in the family for Christmas, since my mom grew up on a farm and really doesn't like poultry much.
BF lived for a long time in south Florida, which has a huge Cuban population, so we often do that for Christmas eve-Cuban pork with black beans, mango and avocado salad. One year, when we were living in the city proper, in a afro-asian community, I marinated chicken pieces, and sent BF down to
grill them. We had the neighbors stopping by from the smell.

I am looking for a cookie recipe we can eat, with no flour and no sugar.

Trina, I was looking at a gingerbread recipe this AM. One that can be cut out, but made with honey and nut flour.

Rob, look what you made! Just got a cuban pork with black beans into the slow cooker for the game tonight. -grins- I was going to do it this week, anyway. The house smells of citrus and cumin, oregano and onion.

Hi Rob and Gizzy,

What a nice post :)

One of my favourite christmas dinner foods is cauliflower cheese.

There are plenty more, this isn't my ultimate favourite, but one of them :)

HB-I make a mashed cauliflower, using either coconut milk or heavy cream. Cauliflower is a highly underutilized veggie. Also, mashed yams do well with either of these.

BF loves gravy. LOVES it. I make it for him. I miss stuffing. I used to do a kielbasa and apple sage stuffing, and sometimes a roasted lemon and fennel and pine nut one.

I just brought down my cookie cutters. Can't do sugar cookies, though I used to and let BF decorate them.

JB, that sounds wonderful. Spicey and strong. Now, I want plantains.

Yow ..........

How in the world did I misspell muscles.

Sorry .... of course it's mussels! And while a Spanish restaurant is totally different from a Mexican restaurant for food, it is so friendly .... a happy eating experience. Their scallops were within a delicious casserole as well.

And the sangria is loaded with fruit ..... so it's extra healthy!!! Hmmm!!!

R & G

 

SOME MEMORIES FROM THE PAST - AT CHRISTMAS!

   My dear Grandma, who had something to do with raising me long ago, had traditional Christmas dinners that were memorable. I just thought about that as Christmas is getting closer.

Christmas traditional foods:

   A roast Goose was there every Christmas, and it was stuffed with what you might call a potato pancake dressing. It had the basis of her terrific potato pancakes along with the old-fashioned slab bacon - cut, diced and mixed with the potato pancake (stuffing) mix.

   The goose was just a tiny bit greasy - but not as much as duck. The meat was much more moist than turkey - and the white meat was almost dark meat in color. Grandma used to save the heart for me - somehow I developed a fondness for the heart and liver - but not gizzard.

   She always made her fresh rolls (or buns) that had diced slab bacon with a touch of onions inside ....... lip-smackin good stuff.

   I remember she always had the cranberries and then green beans for the side .... but the focus was on that great-tasting goose!

   Grandma passed close to 25-years ago ... but a Christmas Goose (no pun intended) was a part of my tradition for many years .... and one of those cherished memories of the past!

Rob & Gizzy

 

Cajun country

pot of gumbo with smoked sausage, whole crab, shrimp etc.
swet potato caserole
dirty rice
king cake
fried turkey
tamales
taters and gravy
green bean casserole
mirliton stuffed with crab

and lotsa booze-hehe

our mortality rate in MS and LA is very high but, dam, we go out with a smile on our faces