What’s On Your Christmas Day Menu?

Christmas in Chicago. All is calm, all is bright.

In Trinidad, our tradition was always ham. But these days the traditional menu has broadened to include lamb, ribs, and even salmon. For Christmas in Chicago, it’s a much more low key affair, just my husband and I. So our Christmas menu has downsized but our techniques have improved. Here’s what I’ll be making!

Today is Christmas Eve and I found this recipe for a Christmas Eve Meat Pie that sounded festive and delicious, like perfect comfort food for the night before Christmas. The plan is to serve it with a small salad, and of course milk and cookies for dessert!

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I’m making my husband’s favorite crescent roll vegetable pizza for lunch. The plan is to snack on veggies and hummus and have some holiday cocktails throughout the day, and save room for the big dinner!

Our Christmas Day dinner will be a roast, and it’s already being prepared sous vide style, using our Anova Sous Vide (if you read my gift guide you already know, it’s a kitchen gift pick that will enhance your cooking life). We’re using meat I received from PRE – I discovered this meat brand at this year’s Chicago Gourmet festival, and was blown away by their Obsessive Pick process. Their meat is of great quality and the process is reassuring to me as someone who wants to avoid factory farm factors like feedlots, antibiotics and hormones in my food. I’m starting to see PRE pop up at the supermarkets in Chicago, if you see it, try it out!

For a side dish, I’m making a big, beautiful vegetable ratatouille, mashed potatoes and the traditional green bean casserole (this dish gets a bad rap for some reason. But my husband grew up with it and adores it, and it’s one of our family favorites). I’m thinking pie for dessert – a slice of Justice of the Pies, if we’re lucky. That’s it. Good wine. A strong cocktail, some eggnog with bourbon. A glass of ponche a crème. Decadence. Comfort and coziness. Christmas.

A merry one from me to you. Hope all of your Christmas wishes come true! What’s on your holiday menu?