Cooking for the Holidays

So, what is everyone making for the holiday season? There are so many things I want to make for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and beforehand, but I am thinking I may be being a bit too ambitious since there are only 2 of us! I've got Nigella's Christmas book and will likely be making some recipes out of there, but like I said, I need to pare it down, and certain things require so many ingredients! DH wants a Christmas cake, but I don't even like Christmas cake (at least I didn't like the one we bought last year), and, again, it takes so many ingredients to make it. I'd like to try to formulate a holiday shopping list that includes ingredients I can use in a lot of different dishes (I don't have several spices I would probably need, like cloves, star anise, etc.) I'm just wondering if you guys have certain things you always make for Christmas / Hannukah, etc.?

Well I'm probably not making much myself since I will get Mommy food 

But if I were to do Christmas myself I would do the following:

Fillet mignon
Garlic Mash
Horseradish sauce
Carrots
Brussell Sprouts
Rolls

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake (American style that is!)

The only thing I make a point of making at Christmas time are Nestle chocolate chip cookies with red and green M&Ms! If I were in the US I'd make peanut blossoms (the ones with the Hershey Kiss in them), but since I can't get Kisses here, they're off the rotation. Last year I made frosted sugar cookies and peanut butter fudge and they went down like a lead brick at the inlaws, so I ended up eating all of them. Seriously not good for the waistline! If we were in the US we'd be having ham or pork roast, scalloped potatoes, and I would insist on GB casserole. We're going to my inlaws this year so we'll have turkey and ham with roast potatoes and lots of over cooked veg. 

Since we're leaving for the ILs on the 23rd, we're going to open our gifts on the 22nd and we'll either go out for a nice meal or I'll cook something kind of fancy. PB's menu sounds super tasty!

Isn't it too late to make a Christmas pudding? I thought you needed to start soaking them in booze a couple of weeks ago.

We're going to MIL's for Christmas dinner so I'm not really sure what that entails...my family in the US doesn't usually have any specific Christmas food, however usually we eat some really nice steak.

For Thanksgiving in US, my sister made this Cranberry Sauce that she was raving about over the phone with me... so I think I might bring this to MIL's.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cosmopolitan-Cranberry-Sauce-240449

My parents are over for Christmas, and as my dads birthday is Christmas day, he has said that he would like a traditional roast dinner, so I will just do a rib roast with the normal trimmings, Yorkshire puds, carrots, sprouts, roast potatoes etc.

and my Mom loves my Sticky Toffee Pudding!

OK, I found my Christmas cake! I will do Delia's Italian Chocolate Nut Christmas Cake. It's not like the English ones that have to be fed with brandy for a few weeks, so I can just make it a day or two before. I don't do Christmas pudd at all... I think it's kinda gross, actually.   We have one leftover from last year in the cupboard that DH can eat if he has to have it. I doubt I will ever make one of those, to be honest.
I love the idea of PB's Christmas dinner, and would really like something other than turkey, but DH has pretty much insisted it's not Christmas without the turkey, even though we just had turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Soooo, it looks like I will be roasting a small turkey crown, and might possibly do a nice small ham for Christmas eve and add some cold ham to the Christmas day dinner. And of course, stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, and roast potatoes. I think I will do the cake mentioned above and a pecan pie. And I need some cookie cutters to make some cookies and ornaments. And I want some mulled wine.  

OMG, you had me at mulled wine........

I'm at my sisters for xmas, but at my parents (gah!) for xmas eve, and I'd said I'd cook as my mother is working.

Last year I did a starter of Saint Agur, walnuts and red onion marmelade puff pastry squares with salad and for the main course I did chive and cheddar mash, roast pork loin which has stuffing packed around the outside, then covered in bacon (ho yes!) with lots of veg, including creamy baked onions (cholesterol schmolesterol) and red cabbage and brocolli.  I also did Nigella's coca cola ham which was really nice.

My thanksgiving was very christmassy really, with bread sauce and cranberry/orange sauce and brussel sprouts with pancetta and sage butter. So I'm sort of glad I'm not doing all that again, and can relax on xmas and open toys with my neices.

My brother missed thanksgiving so he wants me to make oreo peanut butter pie, we all universally hate xmas pud and mince pies, they're completely disgusting.

I got good housekeeping this week and it had a little food mag which had some fun looking recipes in it, including a smoked salmon terrine which I think looked tasty.

I know we are having a Turkey at my SIL for Christmas day.  No idea what else though.  I'm sure the usual assorted roasted veg and brussels. And Christmas cake, pud (Boak)

I'm thinking of asking if it's ok to bring another dessert.  Not sure what yet, but so many good looking things in all my magazines this month!

At home our tradition is Chinese food then a movie X-mas eve and A movie then Sushi on X-mas.  I'm sure the sushi tradition will be moved to Boxing day when we arrive

I usually make my Mom's traditional coffee cake but as we're going to see them for Christmas she's already baked and frozen four loaves of it!

I need to make several batches of peppermint bark (some for work, some for in-laws) sometime in the next week and a half.  

Need to make cookies for toddler group party on the 15th, thinking Jean and I will make gingerbread men.

Stacey - we did chinese last Christmas Eve too, saw a dozen guys dressed as Santa come out of the pub across the road as I was waiting for the food, LOL.

Has anyone ever tried this turkey, chicken, duck & stuffing rolled roast that Aldi have been advertising lately on TV?
It looks dead nice, but...  

Has anyone ever tried this turkey, chicken, duck & stuffing rolled roast that Aldi have been advertising lately on TV?
It looks dead nice, but... 

James wants to try that but I refuse to cook or eat duck.

Is it called Turducken?

Is it called Turducken?

That's my user name (variation) on sparkpeople!

Is it called Turducken?

CHRTL!! I really don't want DH to see that he will have to have it.    

We'll have Swedish stuff. The same thing you eat for every Swedish holiday... meatballs, gravadlax, herring, Jansson's Temptation, short ribs, ham and brussel sprouts, and then julgrot (rice pudding) around midnight. We'll celebrate on the 24th.