Home cooked but unusual dinners?

[dragoneggs]

It was a quiet night on Christmas Eve for a change this year as kids and grandkids were doing their thing elsewhere. Don't fret, we will be seeing all of them in the next three days. BUT... this gave us a chance to have a romantic dinner and I decided to lightly smoke a few small lobster tails to accompany our daily 'build to suit' salad. WOW... just got to say I love my Traeger. Here was our intimate sit down... just the two of us... don't tell her I shared.

Please share your unusual dinners, recipes, etc.



Merry Christmas!

 

[goeduck]

Christmas Eve is always crab wontons and fried razor clams. Christmas day is always traditional turkey, stuffing, etc.

 

[Cat_Driver]

The wife and I always do a version of A Theme Dinner:


Old English dinner features standing rib roast of beef and all the trimmings

Standing Rib roast, Yorkshire pudding, roasted vegetables, Figgy pudding.
========================
Other years we've done:

Turkey.
Roast Potatoes. There is nothing like scoop of properly roasted potatoes! ...
Stuffing. ...
Pigs in Blankets. ...
Yorkshire Pudding. ...
Gravy. ...
Cranberry Sauce. ...
Brussel Sprouts.
Christmas Pudding
Mince Pies
======================
Mexican Fiesta

Tacos
beans
rice
enchiladas
Tamales

=================

Traditional Polish

SAUERKRAUT AND MUSHROOM PIEROGI
Polis Sausage
Cottage Ham
==================


Norwegian Dinners ( wife's family background )

Lefse – Traditional Flatbreads for Christmas & Holidays. Bonappetit.com. ...
Kumla – Tender Potato Dumplings. Allrecipes.com. ...
Lutefisk – Gelatinous Fish Dish. ...
Whale Steak – Famous Junk-Food Dish from Whale Meat. ...
Pickled Herring – Ancient Viking-style Pickle. ...
Krumkake – Common Sweet Dessert Dish. ...
Fårikål – National Dish of Norway.

 

[SJay]

Not unusual, but got up at 6:30 and fired up the pellet smoker and put 2 slabs of ribs on it for lunch later today.:thumbsup: Will be adding barbecued chicken to the ribs (got them ready in the InstaPot)


Merry Christmas

 

[Thomas]

All looks :licking:
Something about quite Christmas Eve kinda special.

 

[Toyboy]

The wife has a very sore foot and can't walk, so it's all up to me. I made Moose burgers and mac & cheese for a lite bite last night while watching Christmas Vacation.
Today I'll grill a ham, fresh cranberry sauce, cornbread, and twice backed potatoes along with small salad and a good wine.

 

[oosik]

Cat_Driver - - your wife's favorite Norwegian dinner was what we usually had when at my folks house. My Mom is Norwegian. She always added Rommegrot for dessert( Norwegian cream pudding ).

 

[TnAndy]

Couple of Porterhouse steaks (home raised/home butchered beef), new potatoes and green salad fresh from the hoophouse. Mmmm...

 

[s219]

Our extended family Christmas eve gathering got moved to the 27th to accommodate a family member that had to work on the 24th, so we had a small dinner at home. Decided to do what my grandparents traditionally did years ago on Christmas eve, and have homemade Lasagna, salad, and garlic bread. Boy was that good. My other side of the family would have made Tourtiere pie (French Canadian meat/potato pie) but I already plan to do that next week for new years.

 

[dragoneggs]

Cat, oosik, now you talking... Snakkar du Norsk?

My dad was born in Norway and we had a heavy dose of heritage and food growing up. Lefse is still a staple in my house. Rommegrot with cinnamon and sugar on top is my favorite since I was a tot. My daughter at a young age took a liking to it so if it is ever the two of us we get out the butter, milk, flour and stir and stir until we can't wait anymore.

I like most all things Norwegian, but the Lutefisk has always been a tough one. My dad forced my mom to make it on occasion. My sister and I were luckily given a pass because my mom didn't like it either. She did make us eat the rest of our plate of boiled potatoes and peas though. It's been so long now, I might even like it at my 'advanced' age.

 

[oosik]

I can still remember my childhood and Lutefisk. The odors that came from the kitchen when it was being prepared. And then there it was - out on the dining room table on a big platter. I was only required to eat the tiniest of piece. It was only prepared one time per year - Christmas.

In later life, I had Lutefisk on one day per month. Lutefisk, Lefse, new boiled potatoes, green peas and cream gravy. The Health Dept moved into a large old hospital with a very large kitchen in the basement. The kitchen facility was leased out to this Norwegian fellow who was a cook. He provided Meals on Wheels using this kitchen. There were several Norwegians working for the Health Dept. He would cook this meal for us all. The non-Norwegians never learned to appreciate the smell of Lutefisk being prepared.

Lutefisk is most definitely an acquired taste. Lutefisk being prepared is definitely NOT the smell of a fish fry.

And - No, dragoneggs - unfortunately I don't speak Norwegian - "Snakkar du Norsk?". My mother never had the time and it is a quite difficult language to learn. Besides, I would guess, during my young years any unrecognizable foreign language would always be suspect. Mid 40's thru mid 50's.

 

[MossRoad]

Christmas Eve is one of our kids' birthdays, so we celebrate that with no Christmas hints that day. Her dinner of choice? Breakfast!

Browned ground sausage, scrambled eggs, O'Brien potatoes, bacon, sausage gravy, cheese, flour tortillas, salsa, etc.... and wine. :laughing:

 

[goeduck]

I like most all things Norwegian, but the Lutefisk has always been a tough one. My dad forced my mom to make it on occasion. My sister and I were luckily given a pass because my mom didn't like it either. She did make us eat the rest of our plate of boiled potatoes and peas though. It's been so long now, I might even like it at my 'advanced' age.

I had someone tell me last week that the local Sons of Norway has the best Lutefisk in the country. :licking:

 

[dragoneggs]

I had someone tell me last week that the local Sons of Norway has the best Lutefisk in the country. :licking:

Which Local... Poulsbo? BTW, I used to sing in the Norwegian Male Chorus, Seattle chapter. Amazing how Aquavit makes everyone sing and sound better.

 

[goeduck]

Which Local... Poulsbo? BTW, I used to sing in the Norwegian Male Chorus, Seattle chapter. Amazing how Aquavit makes everyone sing and sound better.

He was talking about Poulsbo. I can not vouch for the Poulsbo Sons of Norway or for Lutefisk for that matter.

 

[paulsharvey]

Right now, I'm cooking pork street tacos, using 3.6 lbs pork loin, grilled Pablo peppers, 3 packs of pork Taco seasoning, Adobe, and 3 cloves of garlic, chicken stock, in the pressure cooker; while my baklava is cooking in the oven, with almonds, pistachios, and a 1 cup honey/ half cup white sugar, with 1 tea spoon cinnamon glaze is ready to go on; while listening to Bluegrass remakes of Metallica songs. And people say I'm not diverse

 

[nbking]

Savemart has snow crab for $4.99lb, got 5lbs. In my Dad's words, 'we gonna mash up some crab tonight boy'.

 

[goeduck]

Well the thread title says "home cooked" and "unusual" both of which this is. It does not say anything about "good". I saw this recipe and it sounded good, but the flavors did not mesh . I did eat it all so as not to waste the bacon eggs and hashbrowns.

 

[paulsharvey]

Pictures from the above. Baklava syrup was runnier then I wanted, but flavor was still good. With the tacos, pablatos give the warmth without a burn, so even the wife/daughters eat them.

 

[Oaktree]

Back in the 70s I had a ladyfriend whose family's traditional Christmas eve supper was something they called oyster stew. It was whole oysters in some sort of white broth. No obvious other ingredients, and no side dishes. I managed to gag down a couple spoonfuls, but that was about it. Her parents were kind of offended that I didn't eat more, but that stuff was really nasty!