Christmas & New Year’s Meals

aamefford said:
I love to cook, love to eat. I’d love to hear about your Christmas and upcoming New Year’s meals this year. This thought was spurred by @Daryl Jones ’ post over on @Lola ‘s “Random” thread. Here’s a link:
forums.prsguitars.com

Random. No more or less

Christmas morning eats: studnetz and worstenbroodjes. I made the studnetz yesterday (Tuesday) myself and the Dutch sausage breads are courtesy of the Van Hout Bakery in downtown Atha B. Other than some faint long ago roots of Pennsylvania Dutch (German really) and a complete absence of Ukrainian...
forums.prsguitars.com forums.prsguitars.com

I’m particularly interested in “non-yankee” cultural foods. That said, ours was simple, and very “yankee.”

Prime Rib smoked on a Kamado grill
Haricot Vert green beans (long and skinny)
Oven roasted potatoes
King’s Hawaiian rolls and butter
Pumpkin pie ‘cause the boysenberry pie wasn’t done baking
A nice bottle of 2018 Renwood Old Vine Zinfandel.

Let the vicarious feasting begin!
Click to expand...
Pecan glazed ham
Lasagna
Scalloped oysters
Beans with ground beef
Broccoli casserole
Deviled eggs
Oreo cream pie
Cheesecake with cherry topping
Red velvet cake.
 
Huggy Love said:
Traditional Greek fare:
Lamb Chops
Spanakopita
Mushroom Pilaf
Kalamata & salad
Click to expand...
This sounds wonderful!

On Xmas we have two days of festivities in Holland.

The first day I had parents (both my and in law) and since I served in church that day until 1400 hours I had a pre-prepared meal: classic french stew (Boeuf Bourgignon) with haricots vert rolled in bacon, with roasted mini potatoes and creme brulee for desert. Yesterday we ate with my brother and sister and this years theme was mexican. Baked Taco's with a terrific short rib stew and cheese, nachos with salsa verde, guacamole and greenies and for desert: freshly made churros and a classic cheese planchette with port to finish it off.

We hade fun
 
NYE - my parents wanted to have the grandkids overnight (YES!!!) so we had the house to ourselves, with time to cook and no whining! We kept it simple, Miranda made rosemary mashed Yukons and roasted broccoli, and I grilled NY Strips. Can't go wrong with a good steak. We bought a 1/4 of beef recently from some friends who had raised them, and it has been second to none! These were no joke the most tender NY strip steaks I've ever had, better than a lot of tenderloin but with more flavor. Paired with a special beer I've been saving, Oddside Ales XIII Anniversary Stout - one of the best BA beers I've had, with an unusual addition of orange peel and white chocolate, which comes across very subtle and absolutely delicious.

54240131684_d2d1b66349_b.jpg
 
Missus got her wish and I did up some sushi last night for supper. Tuna maki rolls, tuna sashimi, and some bacon wrapped scallops and tempura shrimp for sides. Turned out rather nice and very tasty. Of course I made far too many rolls so we have some to nibble on today too. We'll be picking away at leftovers of various previous meals instead of cooking more big meals. I also baked some chocolate chunk brownies and some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon, but that was sort of a treat for me.;)
Can start fresh on the kitchen tomorrow, herself has two more days of work scheduled so I'll be doing the domestic engineer thing for when she gets home. I do that anyway as a rule, but she appreciates having a ready meal after a work day.
https://imgur.com/2SVOKQ0
https://imgur.com/MAv0FUS
https://imgur.com/RbaUuLt
 
I'm really surprised at the culinary skills some of you folks possess. And good for you! I'm just not that big on cooking and never have been.

I make very simple casserole dinners and will eat the same thing every night for dinner. I'll cook up some mushrooms and add either ground turkey, burger or chicken. Then I'll add roma tomatioes, red, yellow and orange peppers, shredded carrots and that's it! It's called "gimme it quick!"

I fell into the "quick" habit due to the long hours I use to work. After working 11 and 12 hours a day the last thing I wanted to do was to spend an hour or longer in the kitchen everyday making something. Even though I'm retired that "quick" habit still continues. Must be doing something right because my weight stays steady at 165 and my latest blood work shows all is looking good with no concerns. Not too bad for a 71 year old!
 
A couple of racks of ribs. I’ve been experimenting with wrapping and the 3-2-1 thing. Jury is out. First time, perfect. Last night, a tad overdone. They fall off the bone. I like them to fight back just a little bit. They taste great though. Honey baked ham and 16 bean soup today.

@Daryl Jones , I want to come over to your place, that spread looks just stunning!
 
aamefford said:
A couple of racks of ribs. I’ve been experimenting with wrapping and the 3-2-1 thing. Jury is out. First time, perfect. Last night, a tad overdone. They fall off the bone. I like them to fight back just a little bit. They taste great though. Honey baked ham and 16 bean soup today.

@Daryl Jones , I want to come over to your place, that spread looks just stunning!
Click to expand...

What are you cooking on?
 
Daryl Jones said:
Missus got her wish and I did up some sushi last night for supper. Tuna maki rolls, tuna sashimi, and some bacon wrapped scallops and tempura shrimp for sides. Turned out rather nice and very tasty. Of course I made far too many rolls so we have some to nibble on today too. We'll be picking away at leftovers of various previous meals instead of cooking more big meals. I also baked some chocolate chunk brownies and some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon, but that was sort of a treat for me.;)
Can start fresh on the kitchen tomorrow, herself has two more days of work scheduled so I'll be doing the domestic engineer thing for when she gets home. I do that anyway as a rule, but she appreciates having a ready meal after a work day.
https://imgur.com/2SVOKQ0
https://imgur.com/MAv0FUS
https://imgur.com/RbaUuLt
Click to expand...

Man, that looks amazing!!!
 
andy474x said:
What are you cooking on?
Click to expand...
An S&S kamado. Used to be Slow and Sear. Basically a Big Green Egg, but grey, and with the slow and sear charcoal divider and rotating grill. I usually do the ribs without wrapping, which I prefer. The wrapping speeds cooking, but kind of steams them. I also ran the heat 50-60 F higher than I usually do. Trying to get 6 hour ribs done in 4. I also used foil to wrap. I haven’t tried butcher paper, but I think it would be the better option. Any thoughts?
 
aamefford said:
An S&S kamado. Used to be Slow and Sear. Basically a Big Green Egg, but grey, and with the slow and sear charcoal divider and rotating grill. I usually do the ribs without wrapping, which I prefer. The wrapping speeds cooking, but kind of steams them. I also ran the heat 50-60 F higher than I usually do. Trying to get 6 hour ribs done in 4. I also used foil to wrap. I haven’t tried butcher paper, but I think it would be the better option. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Nice! I have the BGE, but I'm not one that has any strong brand preference.

I don't mess with anything other than baby backs. Maybe that makes me lazy. But I always look for baby backs that have a decent amount of meat on them, I feel they're much more forgiving to cook, and I get more out of them meat-wise. I've done 3-2-1, what I'll call "accelerated 3-2-1" with higher temp, and just straight up no-fuss smoking, fire and forget. I like them either way, competition style, dry rub with some tug off the bone, or falling apart with light sauce, usually depends on what the others I'm cooking for want. I rarely do full 3-2-1, just because I feel it's a lot of work that doesn't need to be done on the kamado style, I can make great ribs much faster and less work. If I want fall off the bone ribs, I usually give them 2.5 hours smoking, then an hour wrapped in foil, then crank the temp, light sauce, and caramelize the sauce for 10-15 min. For competition style, I just throw 'em on around 250-275 and walk away. Maybe rotate them halfway through, but that's about it. Usually about 4 hours for 2 racks.

I had been more persnickety about about my ribs until a couple summers ago, I had some friends coming through town and I had to entertain them for an afternoon/evening, and wanted to serve ribs. But I had to pick them up at the airport, and they wanted to go to the taproom at the local brewery. So, I put the ribs on, said a prayer to the bbq gods, and left. Came home from the brewery, pulled the ribs out... best ribs I've ever made. Don't mess with perfection. Same with pulled pork, have left some alone for hours, even had a couple run away from me and get up to 325-ish for a bit, and still excellent. Pork can be much more forgiving than beef, IMO.
 
Well, our dinner plans kind of disappeared! We at a late lunch at a local noodle house, and by 8pm neither of us were hungry so we opted to not go for my home made pasta (planning on making it tonight). Instead, made some popcorn! Yes, that was my NYE dinner, popcorn ;~)) Now that said, for some reason, last night it turned out to be my best ever. And I did not do anything different than I usually do. Orville Redenbacker kernels popped in my Whirly Pop popcorn kettle (if you have not tried one and are against the microwave or bagged popcorn, get yourself one - I love it). Melt butter in a pan on stove with minced garlic in it. For other toppings, fresh ground salt and pepper, furikake (dried seeweed) mixed with dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing pack (best addition to my popcorn game ever - just tried it on recommendation about a year ago). Add in arare (rice crackers) and that is my home made popcorn. Like I said though, for some reason, last night it tasted even better than usual. Almost made a second batch ;~))

Great fireworks display visible from the porch as usual. We can see probably a dozen different displays happening in the surrounding areas, all from our screened in porch. I keep telling myself I need to record it, but never remember do so until it starts, and then it is too late (though I did whip out the phone and captured 40 seconds of audio). This year, I have it on my calendar to remind me the day before July 4 and NYE. So I will get some cool audio and video next big displays. The audio literally sounded like a war zone last night in part due to the fact that the house is backed up to a mountain, so all the sounds we hear direct, we also then get the bounce back and it is almost instant.

Anyway, Happy New Years again to all! Looks like many of you had some tasty offerings, thanks for the drool pix and descriptions ;~))
 
Prime rib is one of my all time favourites. I love the bones and (before being a vegetarian and a vegan) would pour gravy and a touch of salt on the meaty bones and just enjoy each tantalizing bite. You add in golden roasted crispy potatoes, Yorkshire pudding that’s 10 feet tall, fluffy as a cloud and really gravy made the old fashioned way with a flour roux, beef drippings. Don’t need dessert. This is a really nice luxurious meal to sit and enjoy and not rush through. I could drink the home made gravy alone!!!
 
andy474x said:
Nice! I have the BGE, but I'm not one that has any strong brand preference.

I don't mess with anything other than baby backs. Maybe that makes me lazy. But I always look for baby backs that have a decent amount of meat on them, I feel they're much more forgiving to cook, and I get more out of them meat-wise. I've done 3-2-1, what I'll call "accelerated 3-2-1" with higher temp, and just straight up no-fuss smoking, fire and forget. I like them either way, competition style, dry rub with some tug off the bone, or falling apart with light sauce, usually depends on what the others I'm cooking for want. I rarely do full 3-2-1, just because I feel it's a lot of work that doesn't need to be done on the kamado style, I can make great ribs much faster and less work. If I want fall off the bone ribs, I usually give them 2.5 hours smoking, then an hour wrapped in foil, then crank the temp, light sauce, and caramelize the sauce for 10-15 min. For competition style, I just throw 'em on around 250-275 and walk away. Maybe rotate them halfway through, but that's about it. Usually about 4 hours for 2 racks.

I had been more persnickety about about my ribs until a couple summers ago, I had some friends coming through town and I had to entertain them for an afternoon/evening, and wanted to serve ribs. But I had to pick them up at the airport, and they wanted to go to the taproom at the local brewery. So, I put the ribs on, said a prayer to the bbq gods, and left. Came home from the brewery, pulled the ribs out... best ribs I've ever made. Don't mess with perfection. Same with pulled pork, have left some alone for hours, even had a couple run away from me and get up to 325-ish for a bit, and still excellent. Pork can be much more forgiving than beef, IMO.
Click to expand...
I think you and I are on the same page with ribs. I put some water in a trough on the slow and sear that runs just adjacent to the coals. I’ve used 2 cups water. I think next time, either 1 or 0 cups. It helps stabilize temperature early in the cooking, but I’m not sure it does anything else to help.
 
I had to drive to Reading, UK on the new years day, to drop off my sons friend, who we had here for Christmas, so I had a McDonald's on M5 services.

Double quarter pounder with cheese, with fries and diet coke.

I ate it inside the restaurant like a royality, not the usual way in my VW like a pheasant
 
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