What does everyone like to eat for X-mas Eve and X-mas?

[Pumpkin_Man]

Witchy, we do the same thing in my family for Thanksgiving, but for some reason, my younger sister pretty much has decided to host Christmas every year, but she hosts it at my older brothers house because he h as mobility problems and it's hard for him to travel. We had Thanksgiving at my brothers house this past November. Next year it will be at my house, and 2013 it will be at my younger sisters house. I go to my brothers house for Christmas day, but on Christmas Eve I stay home and celebrate the Lord. By the way, your Christmas menu made my mouth water.

iHaunt, I never heard of sausage balls, but we do have cheese balls all the time. Cheese balls are mor a New Years Eve tradition, though. We would stay up til midnight back in 'the day.' We would serve chips, dip, crackers and a cheese ball. My sisnter inlaw makes the most scrumptious Christmas cookies, and she makes a huge veriety of them to boot. We only do one cake, and thats a birthday cake. You see, my sister inlaw was born on Christmas Day, so we have to do something to acknowledge her Birthday, but she LOVES that her Birthday is on Christmas. We have what is called an Atomic Cake. It's a multi layered whipped cream cake with chocolate, straw berries and banannas. It's truely a delight to behold. As for fruit cakes. I received one as a gift backin 1986, and it sat unopene in my cupboard for about 3 years before I happened to notice it while I was cleaning. I threw it out, but I saved the tin it came in. As much as a traditionalist as I am, I can't stand fruit cakes.

Mike

[Pumpkin56]

Witchy, it sounds like you will do a fine job this Christmas

One thing I really miss having during the holidays is monkey bread--my great grandmother used to make the best monkey bread in the world. She could bring over 50 pans of that stuff and it was never enough! It was always the first thing to disappear.

I made Christmas cookies last night...kind of. I made a batch of chocolate chip and a batch of sugar cookies. I associate sugar cookies with Christmas. I iced and put red sprinkles on a few of them. That gave them a festive look

[iHaunt]

Hey, I do love monkey breads! Anyone got a recipe how to make it?

[Pumpkin56]

Hey, I do love monkey breads! Anyone got a recipe how to make it?

I wish I did! I could kick myself for not learning how to make it while she was still alive. BUT I may ask my grandmother--she might have the recipe tucked away somewhere...that is if there was a recipe to begin with. My great-grandmother was old-school and did everything from scratch

[Pumpkin_Man]

What, in the nake of 17 long eared mules, is "Monkey Breat??"

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

Not Pumpkin's great-grandma's, but here's one recipe:

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipe ... ecipe.html

(Actually, that's two recipes.)

[Pumpkin56]

What, in the nake of 17 long eared mules, is "Monkey Breat??"

Mike

It's only the best bread ever! It's kind of hard to describe. My great-grandmother baked hers in what looked like a bundt pan only it wasn't as deep. You don't have to slice monkey bread--it comes off in sections. You can actually buy it at the grocery store. I never have though because it looks disgusting and like it may have some kind of sweet stuff on it. The kind I grew up on was not sweet- it was just like a really really good buttery dinner roll. Here are a few pictures that I found that look similar to my great-grandmother's monkey bread:

[Pumpkin56]

Not Pumpkin's great-grandma's, but here's one recipe:

http://www.momswhothink.com/easy-recipe ... ecipe.html

(Actually, that's two recipes.)

Thanks Murf. I might give the second recipe a try--it doesn't look like it's a sweet one so maybe it's close to what I used to eat

[Murfreesboro]

I've never had monkey bread that wasn't sweet. I think I might like it better if it weren't so sweet, too.

[iHaunt]

You can check out at any grocery store to grab a pack of Pillsbury biscuits.... you will see the label of the recipe "how to make monkey breads". You need 4 cans of biscuits. They're so good!

[Pumpkin_Man]

Pumpkin56, that does look pretty tastey. Thanks for posting.

Mike

[Li H'Sen Chang]

I have ate the monkey breads anytime.

For Christmas foods I like the oyster soup for sure.

[MauEvig]

I'm actually not sure what we'll have for Christmas this year.

However when I was living in New York, my family would usually have either a ham, or turkey for Christmas. One year we had goose though and that was interesting, I guess we were going for a "Christmas carol" type of Christmas dinner, as that's what the Cratchet family was having. I think it was good though. Of course, I think of Ham as a traditional Easter dinner myself, and Turkey for Thanksgiving, it would be nice to have something original for Christmas dinner. I think one year my grandma did do a beef roast though, but I can't remember for sure. A beef roast would be nice though with some mashed potatoes and gravy. Every year my family would also bake Christmas cookies, and I'm planning on tackling that this year. It's a huge task though.

We are invited to a Christmas dinner party for work, not sure what all they have there, but I did hear someone mention they had prime rib. Prime rib does sound pretty good.

[Murfreesboro]

You know, it is a big symbolic thing at the end of Christmas Carol when Scrooge sends the Cratchits a turkey, because turkeys weren't yet common in England, and only wealthy people had them. The Cratchits were eating goose because that was the poor man's dinner.

I believe that nowadays, the English mostly eat roast beef for Christmas dinner. (You know, at the end of the Grinch, he is cutting the "roast beast," a play on roast beef, of course.) At our house, we will have either stuffed turkey or stuffed hens (two or three if I go with the hens). I always cook a ham on Christmas Eve, and we use that for eggs Benedict at Christmas brunch. The first thing we eat on Christmas morning is cranberry-orange bread, which I also make on Christmas Eve. And we have a variety of drinks, including egg nog and "wassail," which is a spiced cranberry-apple cider.

[Boogeyman]

We usually do some sort of beef for Christmas dinner. In 2010 and 2011 we had prime rib. We have also done standing rib roast a few times too. We have also just had nice steaks. Money is tight with my stepdad being in a wheelchair now, so it might be steaks again. I am usually home alone on Christmas eve so it will be tuna since that is what I have on Tuesdays. Yes I have a schedule for meals at least four nights of the week. It makes it easier to lose weight and I also have Aspergers so it is somewhat of a necessity.

We usually do ham on New Year's Day. For the second year in a row I am going to a New Year's Eve party and the host has already decided she is doing turkey.