
Today I’m getting together the fixings for Christmas dinner southern style. If you live north of the Ohio River or west of the Mississippi your Christmas dinner will be a might different from ours here in Georgia.
The recipes have all been in the Summerside family since before the time of that unfortunate Northern aggression.

Two meats are essential for Christmas dinner in the south, ham and roast turkey. The ham can be spiral, country or smoked . The turkery roasts in the over all day long, driving us all insane with the delish aroma.

Homemade mashed potatoes with milk, lots of butter, salt and pepper are a must at a southern Christmas dinner. Southern potato salad is made with red potatoes, finely chopped celery, hard boiled eggs, onion, Miracle Whip and a bit of mustard to give it that zing.

Christmas dinner has to have everyone's favorite pasta dish, homemade baked macaroni and cheese. Don't be stingy with the butter when the elbow macaroni is done. One or two different cheeses may be used, shredded cheddar and American cheese. Some southern households only use one or the other, some use both.

What are you serving for Christmas dinner? What is your favorite dish in your part of the country? Do you have fruitcake? Eggnog with lots of nog? Sauerkraut and ribs?
We'll be having ham, potatoes and green beans for Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we have a big family gathering with more ham and everyone brings something to share. My favorite dish is cheesy potatoes - yum! Have a Merry Christmas, Reagan!
ReplyDeleteTraditionally, I cooked a Swedish ham for Christmas Eve. The apple cider in which it cooks leaches out the salt to which my husband objected.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas ham, however, is stuffed with collard greens. Alas, it's fast becoming a lost art.
One of the great things about this time of year is the early darkness, necessitating candles on the table and a fire in the fireplace. No one can see how much I heap on my plate...
ReplyDeleteTurkey with stuffing & gravy, mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts done in some manner (I'm always looking for a new way to entice my bro-in-law into admitting he actually likes this veggie) are the staples. Also, I (who am not a baker at heart) make my Mom's recipe for Swedish Coffee Bread. That's a treat, esp. real early Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what we'll be having yet, except there will be a birthday cake for Jesus. May we bring our cake and come have dinner with you, Duffy? ;-)
ReplyDeleteGayle, I'd love to have you for dinner!! That would be truly wonderful. The birthday cake idea is great.
ReplyDeleteErika, I love brussel sprouts. Now to get the rest of the fam on board. LOL
Janet, candles at dinnr is lovely. Beautiful time of year.
Liz, how do you stuff a ham with greens? Sound amazing...and delish!
Darcy, cheesy potatoes are always one of my favorite dishes. And at Christmas they have zero calories!
Family members cooked stuffed hams, not I, but you may find this interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hearthcook.com/Monthrecipe/aaRecham.html
Wow, Liz, that is way different. I want to try cornbread stuffing and redeye gravy. Maybe this will be the year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for chatting everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnyone wanting Duffy Brown tote and goodies drop me a line at: DuffyBrown@DuffyBrown.com
Liz is the winner of the $10 Starbucks gift card!
Liz email me at DuffyBrown@DuffyBrown.com and I'll send you the eStarbucks card. :-)
See you all next year and have a wonderful Christmas.
Duffy