International Christmas Dinner Menus

[barbhealy]

We are trying to do something different at our family gathering this year (we normally serve Fondue) and were wondering what other cultures serve for Christmas dinner.

If you have a regional tradition, would you mind sharing it?

For instance, what is a typical German Christmas dinner like, or an Italian one?

My sisters inlaws are Chinese so I can't go that route, which would be like bringing coals to Newcastle, but any other culture is fair game.

Thanks,

Barb

[Gifted Gourmet]

I think you have struck paydirt for your request ... check these out:

International recipes for Christmas

Christmas foods/recipes from:

Egypt

France

Greece

Hungary

Italy

Japan

Mexico

Poland

[SheenaGreena]

our family does a hogmaw for christmas - which is a pennsylvaina dutch specialty.

take one pig's stomach, stuff it with sausage, onions, garlic, cabbage, potatos, salt & pepper. Sew the stomach up and throw it in the oven. Very delicious.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I used to always make Cassoulet, but am now part of a family where I am a guest instead of a host...

Maybe next year.

[Domestic Goddess]

In my region, in the Philippines, traditional fiesta foods like kare-kare (peanut stew), luto sa atay (beef simmered in liver sauce), morcon (beef roll) are served for the Christmas dinner. If the family goes all out, the more delectable Lechon (whole spit-roasted pig) is served with the traditional lechon liver sauce. This, my family does, for Christmas dinner. Desserts include leche flan, fruit salad and ube halaya (purple yam jam).

[Snadra]

I realise this is a bit late now, but I spent one christmas in Denmark, where the traditional meal started with pickled herring, and was followed by roast pork (with delicious crackling), brown potatoes (small potatoes in a caramel sauce, oddly delicious) and cabbage, all served with beer and aquavit. Dessert was a lovely rice and almond pudding, with cherries.

Here in Australia the weather tends to dictate the meal, which is generally a lunch. The ideal espoused in the media seems to be a seafood barbie (grill!), but most people I know (city and suburbs) have a cold lunch and have for many years now. There's seafood - invariably cold boiled prawns (purchased that way at the fishmarket), often oysters and smoked salmon - ham (sold cooked) and salads and often a turkey or chickens, which most people cook the night before. A very few people still have a 'traditional' hot meal, but it's not so common. Interestingly though, most people I know still have a steamed pudding of some kind at the end of the meal, whether it's a barbie, cold lunch or the 'traditional hot'....

I don't think this approach would translate so well to a snowy clime though!

Snadra

Edited December 24, 2006 by Snadra (log)

[Rehovot]

Here, it's traditionally carp (but I think this is also true in Bavaria): carp soup, breaded and fried carp, and potato salad.

And then about four thousand Christmas cookies.

[sazji]

I checked out the Greek recipes on the site above, the foods are quite Greek but not really Christmasy in any way I could see. It's not a major holiday anyway, but the real Christmas food in Greece is pork, often a suckling pig. The most typical Christmas sweet is melomákarona, a short cookie that is soaked in sugar/honey syrup and sprinkled with chopped walnuts.

[torakris]

It is Christmas morning in Japan!

Here is what many families will be enjoying tonight.

[jackal10]

Stuffed the turkey (Norfolk Black) with truffles (chinese), after the fashion of Brillat Savarin, and put it on at 65C for its 12 hour slow roast...

Also put on the Xmas pudding

Rum butter made

Stollen recovered

Mince pies made

Merry Crimbo all on this feast of Mithras.