What are everyone's favorite Holiday foods?

Aol has a poll up about this, but it gave me the idea to start a thread here for ATS member's favorite holiday foods and what memories do they bring up?
I will start:
Ham
Turkey
cranberry sauce
sweet potatoes
Escarole Soup
pumpkin pie
and of course mashed potatoes with lots of gravy...

I guess you could say the whole meal, it brings back memories of the whole family gathering and talking and sharing presents around a giant table loaded with wonderful food. We don't get together anymore as we're all over the states now, and I kind of miss it. Traditions, I feel have gone to the wayside because of moving long distance from family and not having money to travel. It's sad...but this year I will have my stepdaughter and her baby here, so it will feel more like those christmases of long long ago!

reply to post by ldyserenity



You mentioned traditions....as a first generation American I grew up having holiday food with a more Italian accent to it. Someone would always cook a turkey (that would go mostly uneaten) but there was always lasagne, fettucini alfredo, manicotti and piles of homemade garlic bread. On Christmas Eve it was always a variety of seafood dishes and my Grandmother's homemade desserts. I knda miss that as we now have a more 'Americanized' dinner.

reply to post by AugustusMasonicus


My best friend is Italian and her family always has fried fish on Christmas!

I like Thanksgiving food better than Holiday food. Latkes are super good, and jelly doughnuts.

I just know I'm gonna get flack over this...
The turkey dinner is awesome..BUT every year the day after Christmas..which is boxing day to us Canadians, I cut up the white meat and fry it up in butter for breakfast. Top that off with a glass of tomato juice, and mmmmmm.
yes, i'm strange..but if you don't like it, ALL THE MORE FOR ME!!!!

A crown rib roast....that's damn good...

Homemade chocolates....worth all the trouble...

My wife's stuffed clams...(I hate clams normally, but for some reason, this dish is awesome)...

Oh god, why do I torture myself by coming on food threads (halfway through the lemon detox diet, no solid foods allowed )

On christmas I always have:

Cold meat platter with ham, turkey, salami, cabana, jarlsberg cheese, australian cheddar, dutch smoked cheese, also with olives and sundried tomatos

Roasted Chicken

Croissants, bacon, egg, hashbrowns and Champagne for breakfast

Fresh Mango, honeydew melon, watermelon, rockmelon and pineapple

Fresh prawns and/or crayfish (must have on chrissy)

A s*itload of nachos (my favorite food)

And who could forget beer

My wife makes a fantastic Cherry-Chocolate Chip pie. Basically all she does is add a few chips to the cherries.

Also, I love Nutball Jello. You mix the strawberry gelatin as the package says to, but use less water. Add smashed strawberries when it is almost gelled. Combine crushed walnuts and cream cheese then form it into small balls. Drop them into the Jello and wait for it to firm up a bit.

I have a suggestion to those that posted that I do every holiday that has some meat, and or gravy.

The next day is the worst with all the left over.

Take a soft loaf of bread (this is an example if you have these or a different variety of these things available, you choose), Open right down the middle, place turkey (or what ever you have), mash potato's, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and whatever else you can think of.

Wrap in aluminum foil, and bake at 350 with a weight or large pan (something heavy that will not melt in the oven), and remove.

Everything will melt together and the gravy into the bread, and you have officially made a Thanksgiving/Christmas/any holiday pannini, with NO left overs. You can even give them to family, if they come back and serve in slices for brunch. Believe me you cant go wrong.


Peace to you...

We don't do hams or turkeys on Christmas. Our tradition is cheese fondue and meat fondue. It is the best thing in the world and we've been doing it since the early 70s when I was just yay high to the ground. We eat so much cheese fondue, I swear we all actually get tipsy from all the wine in the cheese ... even my mother. Drunk and stuffed on Christmas Eve thirty-some years in a row ... ah, good times.

I don't cook for Christmas or Thanksgiving. So I really don't have any favorite holiday dishes. But when I was a little girld, my dad worked for a Jewish gentleman. He always sent my dad home with a large jar of pickled green cherry tomatoes during the Christmas season. I used to love those things. I never learned what they were called, but that was my favorite holiday food.

My rum balls.

PUmpkin roll.

My grandmother's homemade cole slaw. I don't know what she does, but it is killer.

Cranberry relish.

And my grandma used to make this dish where it was some kind of jello and cream cheese concotion.

My husbands cheesecake.

Sometimes I make this dish called Potatoes South. Also grandmas recipe. So good, but it will put meat on your bones. Anyone who wants to gain weight, let me know, I will send the recipe.


So yea, I have a sweet tooth.

And nothing I love more then turkey sandwhiches after Thanksgiving.

[edit on 24-7-2010 by nixie_nox]

pumpkin pie is really necessary for my holidays,i like it very much.

reply to post by ldyserenity


my faveorite holliday foods are cranberrys,turkey,ham,mashed potatoes ad gravy pumkin pie pecan pie green bean salad potatoe salad rolls and apple pie

After the Xmas or Thanxgiving, the turkey sandwiches are the best.

Whole grain bread, lots of cranberry sauce on both sides, turkey, and stuffing. The stuffing makes the sandwich the best, ever..


And sweet potato pie for desert, with tiny marshmallows, and brown sugar/walnut topping