I'm sick of turkey and ham. What are some other good ideas for x-mas dinner?

Question

It's my job to cook the x-mas feast this year and I am sick to death of turkey and ham. I need another idea. We live in the south so there isn't much that is off limits. I will be feeding around 15-16 people and we all like to eat. Please help.

Answer 1

well my husband is Italian and I am Cajun and we have crawfish ettoufee on Christmas Eve and Lasagna on Christmas Day, we also live in the south. have fun and celebrate your heritage!! Merry Christmas

Answer 2

we are having ham this Christmas, yet in many circumstances have turkey, goose or duck. If I make turkey, I additionally make cornbread dressing wtih sage, onions, celery and now and back pecans. We call it dressing, because at the same time as we use it to stuff the poultry, we additionally make a separate casserole of it on the area. I make gravy from the pan drippings and broth made via boiling the giblets, back with onions and celery. My absolute favourite Christmas dinner is Crown Roast of purple meat, with the little paper panties and preserved Crabapples, in spite of the shown fact that it quite is tough to get (the supermarkets do no longer carry it and you ought to pass to a real butcher) and is confusing to prepare best. My impact is that fish is for Christmas Eve, in the past you pass to church. To me, the assumption is to have a festive meal, with issues which you do no longer consume on a daily basis. you're celebrating the delivery of an fairly particular infant, so ice cream and cake is a ingredient of the meal.

Answer 3

One year I cooked 2 ducks for the Holidays. Because they are a very greasy bird, I boiled most of the fat off. The duck is flavorful enough whatever sauce you prepare with it will not overwhelm the duck flavor.

I eat a lot of ground Turkey through out the year, and as you know has little flavor on its own. So I put the duck grease in 1 gal bags and froze it laying flat. That way, during the following year I would break off pieces and cook it with my ground turkey. OH, it was so good!! I will be doing that again.

** After boiling the ducks, I put the juice in the fridge and let it get cold. The grease seperates and floats to the top. After I pull it out of the fridge, I remove the grease with a fork and warm it just enough to melt. Then put it in 1 gal freezer bags.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

We also are tired of the ham, turkey thing. For our small family gathering I am fixing roast beef and a baked chicken. That covers everyone's taste. Since you are feeding so many, you might want to consider a brisket. I cooked one in the crockpot and one in the oven at the same time a couple of years ago(since I needed that much meat), and both came out great!
Cook some new potatoes (or cut up regular potatoes and bake in dish with butter, cheese and seasonings), baby carrots, salad, potato salad, brocolli or cauliflower with cheese sauce, candied sweet potatos, green bean casserole... There you have a new meal, yet it incorporates traditional fare as well.

Hope your day is great! (don't forget to finish off with pecan pie!)

Answer 6

I have had the same complaint the last couple of years, so it was decided that we would alternate between ham, duck and fish. So far the fish dinner has been the best of them. We make four or five different types of fish recipes always with shrimp last year we even had lobster tails. This year we are having duck with roasted potatoes. Use your imagination and have fun with it.

Answer 7

We have a similar problem, from different causes in my family. Dad hates turkey, Mom hates ham...so! We do beef or seafood...


Roast Beef Tenderloin? Prime rib?
Pork Tenderloin?
Go for the seafood, and have a seafood fest...start with a Bouillabaisse, or Cioppino (seafood soup, tomato base- just use what you like as far as seafood- trader joe's has the cioppino in the freezer section, ready to go). Or a shrimp cocktail.
For an entree: whatever fish/lobster/crab legs you like, or a selection.
Combine all of the above and do a surf and turf.

Answer 8

This is my favorite "Christmas Dinner" recipe:

CRANBERRY-GLAZED PORK ROAST
Serves 8

• 2-4 pound boneless pork roast
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 can (16 oz.) whole cranberry sauce


Cooking Directions
Combine cornstarch, cinnamon, salt in small saucepan. Stir in orange juice and cranberry sauce.
Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened.
Set aside.

Place pork in shallow pan and spoon over about 1/2 cup cranberry sauce.

Roast in a 350 degree F. oven for 45 minutes to an hour, basting occasionally with additional sauce, until meat thermometer reads 155-160 degrees F.

Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

Serve with additional cranberry sauce.

Answer 9

Here's a couple of ideas:

"drunken" pork chops
Yield: 4 Servings
4 Pork Center Loin Chops; 1- Inch Thick
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 Onion; chopped
1 ½ teaspoon Fennel seeds
2 teaspoon Paprika
½ cup Dry white wine
½ cup Low-Salt Chicken Broth; Canned
1 teaspoon Fresh lemon juice

Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; saute until brown and just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer pork to plate; tent with foil to keep warm. Add onion and fennel seeds to same skillet and saute until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in paprika; stir 15 seconds. Add wine, broth and lemon juice and boil until sauce thickens slightly, scraping up browned bits, about 5 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon sauce over pork chops and serve.

Lamb chops with mustard sauce
Yield: 4 Servings
¼ cup Dijon style mustard
2 tablespoon Cooking oil
¼ cup Dry vermouth
¼ teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
4 Lamb chops,3/4" thick

Personally I would really enjoy a good old fashioned style xmas barbecue

Combine mustard,oil,vermouth and black pepper.Coat chops with mixture.Broil or grill chops,basting frequently,until cooked as desired.

Answer 10

We always have a wonderful Prime Rib dinner. You can cook it on the grill to save the space in the oven for other goodies. It is a bit more pricey. Try a roast if you can not swing a prime rib.

Answer 11

Roast Beef