I’d make pizza pockets with ham and olives.
Or stromboli, which is similar.
You can also make Venezuelan pan de jamon.
Scones.
Croquettes would be good, too.
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Merry Christmas! I had my turkey dinner a day early since I will be eating out with my dinner club tonight.
I headed out to the butcher to pick up dinner yesterday then headed off to the deli down the street to buy a dessert. The “open” sign had been switched off but there were customers still shopping so I popped my head in the door to find out if they were still in fact open. The cashier waved me in and I told her I just came in to pick up a piece of cake. She said the only cake available for sale was the pre-packaged slices on the counter near the cash. (I was there late afternoon so I assumed they were getting ready to close up.) My heart sank when I saw that there were only three pieces of cake left and none of them were the cheesecake I was hoping for. I mentioned that was too bad I liked their cheesecake the best but would pick from what was out. She said “Wait! I think we have one piece of cheesecake left!” so she pulled out the cheesecake tray and retrieved a piece so I left a happy camper. I hope she knows she made my Christmas 
Dinner last night was turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies and stuffing. Dessert was half of the piece I bought since it was HUGE.
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Ya, your version and mine are totally different. I don’t use cheese or shanks in my recipe. Yours looks delicious nonetheless.
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Yay for the cheesecake!!
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I managed to find it online. The paper version my mom has is rather worse for wear. I think its 20 years old.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spinach-parmesan-balls-recipe-1944444
Some modifications: she uses a 10 oz bag of frozen spinach and only one egg, less breadcrumbs, etc. You can make whatever adjustments you need.
Can also be baked in a pie dish as a pie if you don’t feel like forming them all.
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Thank you!
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You bet! I peered over the counter while the cashier was retrieving a slice that they actually had four pieces of cake left. I ended up with a really nice cashier. And I found out as I was paying thay it was 20 minutes past closing but people kept coming in.
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Christmas dinner - roast beasty, baked potato, broccolini, and chocolate cupcakes with ganache icing. I am so full I can hardly move and there are leftovers! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!
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That looks so good, I liked it twice!! Prime rib, broccolini and potatoes dauphinoise were scheduled today but we had so much Cioppino left from Christmas Eve my DH put the rib roast in the freezer. Hoping the broccolini won’t wilt and the potatoes won’t sprout before New Years…
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Thank you! When I placed this meal as a delivery order from Whole Foods on Amazon, I put two “bone-in rib eye steaks” in my cart. I should have looked at them before I started cooking today because they basically sent me 4.7lbs of rib roast, cut in half! I would have put one of the halves in the freezer if I’d realize. Now we’re just going to have to eat lots of rib eye for the rest of the week! 
If you wrap a barely damp couple of paper towels around the broccolini, that should help it stay fresh until you use it! Potatoes are gonna potato.
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I might drop the bag of russets off to our local food bank in the morning. Thanks for the tip on the broccolini - my market had some beautiful bunches with yellow flowers which I adore. Tell me how you cooked your beef? You cut it into pieces and roasted it? BTW - did you see the photo of the 20 lb. rib roast that @Vecchiouomo posted on the Christmas 2023 thread? That makes my head explode.
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It came in two pieces! But, then I scored the fat caps, seasoned with salt and pepper, got a probe thermometer in the thicker of the two, and roasted them at 350F standing upright next to each other for support until the one with the probe hit 128F. Usually, I do more of a low and slow reverse sear, but mom got here a little late and I was thrown by finding two small roasts instead of steaks in my package. I let them rest while I roasted the stuffed potatoes (30 minutes) and broccolini (~15 minutes). Carve and serve!
The 20lb beasty was a beauty!
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A nice quiet day.
Made my usual Christmas Day dinner of beef tenderloin with cognac cream sauce, roasted potatoes (which didn’t come out as roasty-toasty as I wanted but were still good), and steamed green beans with frizzled shallots.
The wine was a French Bordeaux that was a bit too smoky and earthy for me at initial pour and allowing it to breathe for 20 minutes, but letting it sit even more mellowed it down. Not bad with dinner.
Dessert was Lemon Posset with a cranberry-ginger coulis and a crushed gingersnap topping.
I hope everyone had a happy, safe, and fun Christmas.
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I managed to F up my back while putting on tights yesterday (gettin old really IS fun! 
), so we had to miss out on a very mild & sunny day that could’ve facilitated slightly more athletic activities e.g. pickleball than lifting forks to our pie holes 
We left the house only briefly to check on two of our friends’ cats, as their human keepers are traveling for the holidays – one of them is currently in HK, lucky b’stard!
Just the two of us tonight, which is much appreciated - we’ve been socializing for almost an entire week now, and could really use a break 
I poached black tiger shrimp and chilled them in the fridge for the shrimp cocktail my PIC requested, and I also looked up a few recipes for marinated mushrooms that had been on my brainz since yesterday. I wasn’t sure if they’re generally roasted or sautéed, and the one recipe I zeroed in on had me poach them. They were marinated in olive oil, red & white wine vinegar, splash of lemon juice, very thinly sliced onion bc I was out of shallots, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, Calabrian peppers in oil, chopped capers, fresh thyme & parsley. Coulda used more capers and/or more salt. Also on the menu: Aldi’s trio of “gold smoked Atlantic salmon” – allegedly flavored with red wine, old fashioned, and mojito (!). They were selling this last year, so I knew that (thankfully) neither of the cocktail flavors come through 
Pavé, Tomme de Savoie, Rogue River blue and Stichelton, a few slices of Nueske’s smoked duck breast, my buddy’s smoked venison sausage to round out the plate…. Good eats, no fuss meal & the perfect amount of food makes for a merry household!
Ho, ho, HOs 
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That’s my kind of holiday meal.
You know I’m going to play ‘find the kitty coaster’ with your posts.
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Lots of good food and wine at our friends’ place, served up with a thick side of extended family tension. Ah, well.
I fudged up the milk rolls somehow (overproofed? underkneaded? 
), but the cranberry curd pie, mac n cheese, savory cranberry relish, and ham and potatoes au gratin were pretty good. Our friend’s roast was tasty but went a bit over 
. Good wines!
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Get that back better asap!
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My, that’s a very expressive plate of delish!
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I have several others I’ll have to pull out when you least expect it. 
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“…a thick side of family tension”. Always a perennial side dish and why we stopped heroic travel in bad weather with hoards of people to end up with that inevitable scene.
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