Christmas ideas

I just found out that the Saturday before Christmas my wife's dad's family is coming over and I am expected, of course, to make dinner. It's going to be at least 10 people total including a fairly picky eater kid. I need ideas for what I could do that won't cost too much since 3 days later I am hosting dinner on Christmas as well. So pretty much rack of lamb, prime rib, tenderloin etc are pretty much ruled out. I am also making a ham on Christmas and don't want to do turkey.

I'm in a similar situation. Making prime rib on Christmas day and then I was asked to cook for some relatives coming in on the 22nd. I figure no one will complain if I make homemade lasagna, and I can make it ahead of time.

Can't go wrong with a couple shepherd pies. Tell them its an old world Xmas tradition

Some apps and a couple lasagnas. They take some prep time, but they're fairly cheap, easy to cook at party time, and you can do a couple different styles. Even something like stuffed red sauce shells and then a nice bechamel style lasagna.

My wife said some sort of pasta too but I would rather not. I am not a huge fan of baked pastas at all, really any red sauce on pasta for that matter. Plus, they are all Italian and have pasta for every damn occasion so I want to do something different.

The shepards pie isn't a bad idea, just don't know how well it will go over. I know I love it though.

I refuse to lose this battle to shepherds pie! How about this? Hands down crowd favorite out of everything, and I cook a lot. Make 2! Plus how many recipes call for IPA.

http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/2465/Summer_Grilled_Pork.aspx

I've always been a fan of duck, but it'll take 2 or 3 ducks + sides to feed 10 people:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Duck-a-lOrange-233535

If duck is a bit too pricey, how about cornish game hens? For those who aren't used to them, they can be a bit of a novelty. Everybody gets their very own mini-chicken, provide a few different sauces for variety, add some standard sides like potatoes, peas & carrots, maybe a nice gravy to go with the taters. You could even stuff the bitty birds if you wanted.

I've done bacon wrapped boneless, skinless chicken breasts baked in the oven. Cover with foil & remove the foil 1/2 way thru baking. Simple, cheap & tasty! Let's face it, bacon makes everything better. You could do a pork roast too; standard fare, reasonably priced & easily prepared. Maybe an apricot glaze for the pork & gingered baby carrots on the side, along with some green beans & taters.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it goes well for you.
Regards, GF.

Make a BBQ shepards pie.

Smoke a butt and pull it. Make some home made mac and cheese. Lay the pork down, pile on the mac and cheese, and then smoke it again for another hour or two. Damn good flavor. Kid can pick off the mac and cheese (what kid doesn't like mac and cheese)?

dfess1 said:

Make a BBQ shepards pie.

Smoke a butt and pull it. Make some home made mac and cheese. Lay the pork down, pile on the mac and cheese, and then smoke it again for another hour or two. Damn good flavor. Kid can pick off the mac and cheese (what kid doesn't like mac and cheese)?

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Oh, that is for sure going to be made some day. I just don't think it will go over to well for this.



I am going to pitch the regular shepard's pie idea to my wife since I have been wanting that lately anyway. I don't have high expectations for it to be approved though.

Keep the ideas coming. :rockin:

I was going to say eggplant parm but you've got an italian crowd.

Thai curry, it doesn't have to be a spicy bomb, red curry is more mild than green.
Or chicken enchiladas, then for an appetizer you only have to do chips in a bowl and some salsa

We are doing soups for one of our gatherings. Supposedly, anyway. Our thoughts were that our other family members probably have several ham or turkey meals and this is an easy thing to make and kind of breaks up the monotony.

Otherwise I think a chicken dinner is nice and not terribly expensive compared to some other foods. I think a beer can chicken on the grill costs me between 5-7 dollars and feeds 4 people.

I also like the shepards pie idea. I love that stuff.

Well shepard's pie and cornish hens got shot down by the wife. Boooo.

She really wants a prime rib, too bad that would cost me about $100 alone just for the meat.

can't believe I didn't think of this before, go to all recipes.com and search for roasted 'red pepper crab soup'. It's also excellent without the crab and very filling. I like to spice it a bit more and add onions and garlic in the mix.

How bout a nice big old batch of chili? It's simple, cheap, and you can scale it to feed a crowd. I make a pretty mean turkey chili with white beans. I add some Belgian Wit and it really enhances the tomatoes and chillies.

You can make a salad to go with it and do some sides & various toppings: rice, bread, cheese, sour cream, pickled chili peppers, cilantro. Make guacamole and/or salsa with chips.

Stuffed pork loin. Lotsa stuffing possibilities - can be swanky or basic. Easy to prep in advance and roast. Won't take all day in the oven.

I do a nice pulled pork, with rice and/or tortilas with a cabbage jicama slaw. Easy to do, easy to eat. Used to do prime rib and ends up eating up the day in prep. Season the pork the night before with a salt/pepper/garlic rub and some liquid smoke. Toss in the slow cooker and do other stuff.

Slow roasted/smoked over hard wood chicken, do a dry rub over and under the skin and inject with apple juice. Keep a small pan of water in the smoker at all times, it will make the skin crispy. Green been casserole, it's cheep and easy, I like Shepard's pie too. jello for the kids. Ask people if they are making a dish?

What was the final verdict on this?