markn902 Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I thought it would be fun to find out what everyones favorite food/drink is My first thought is eggnog but I really haven't been drinking too much of that this year I think I am going to have to go with my father in law's rum balls. They only come around in December and they are good! Plus I think it's good because I didn't have to make it lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Yep, Mark, eggnog for me. And my family, going against much Christmas tradition, has steaks for Christmas dinner! Yum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I've never had much of a sweet tooth, and even when i want a sweet, ir is definitely not the extremely sweet treats of many Christmass traditions. I'd have to say my biggest beverage delight of the season would be the variety of mixed drinks (yes, the alcoholic kind!) and wines I encounter at different holiday gatherings, and that even apart from being offered during gatherings, a number of people (at least in my circle) keep a variety of mixing ingredients handy for even a casual visits unrelated to gatherings. Some of them have a "traditional" one or few kinds every year, and those I generally enjoy only with them, during this season, each year. Others offer a "sampler's variety" of options. Don't get me wrong, neither me or nor these other people are big drinkers, for myself and several others, this season may be the only time in the entire year we have drinks, and indulging to excess, drunkenness, is simply not done or acceptable to us. As for a favorite traditional food, while it was once the traditional Christmas ham dinner with all the sides, the difficulty of trying to gather everone and their kids into one place on Christmass with all the competing demands of other parts of everyone's families and the social expectations of attending holiday events with co-workers and various organizational cohorts, has pretty much ended any tradition in that. Now, I'd have to say it is definitely tamales. Not just any ordinary run-of-the-mill tamales one might find in the supermarket, but those fresly hand made in hispanic ethnic kitchens and small "tamale factories" all over this part of the country at this time of year. Tamales are the central food in hispanic Christmass traditions, and while local sources of delicious authentic tamales can be sought out year round, tamale production, marketing, and consumption kicks into high gear during the Christmass season. Many of the more reknowned tamale factories and kitchens of small eateries that cater to the hispanic clientel (which are not, and very different from, the "Mexican" restaraunts we anglos tend to patronize) actually begin taking orders for their Christmass season tamales in September, and those wanting large quantities that wait until the last minute find themselves hard pressed to find them. While tamales can be frozen for later use, they are never as good as when eaten freshly made. Jenell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I like the salads and mashed potatoes with olive oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 My mothers raisin cookie recipe now made by my wife. Yum Yum but too much and better keep your distance. and my brothers pumpkin cheese cake...heavenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 ...just a later thought, about my favorite holiday beverages.....might could say I really get into enjoying the "spirits" of Christmass.... jenell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Without doubt my favourite food at Christmas is simply one of our local ocean delicacies, the Crayfish (known colloquially as a Cray, or officially as the Western Rock Lobster). Seared on the BBQ in garlic butter, boiled in seawater then cooled and served with seafood dressing, or cooked in a creamy mornay. Yum! Unlike you northern hemisphere folks, our Christmas is smack in the middle of summer (typically our Chrissie Day is between 86-104 degerees F), so the weeks before Christmas Day perfectly lend themselves to me going out in my little boat in the mornings and pulling my crayfish pots (traps). So we usually have a number of crays available Christmas Day to share with family & friends (of course we eat quite a few leading up to Christmas too!). Great food, and the 'hunter/gatherer' instinct satisfied in addition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markn902 Posted December 16, 2011 Author Share Posted December 16, 2011 ...just a later thought, about my favorite holiday beverages.....might could say I really get into enjoying the "spirits" of Christmass.... jenell ha! thats funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Paul, I had to go look that one up, lol...sure enough, a cultural language difference here....somehow I didn't think you were talking about what us folks down here in east Texas and Louisianna call crayfish, or crawdads, or as some of us, especially those not to fond to the things sometimes call them, mud bugs. I don't find the crawfish boils down here particularly appetizing events....while I find peeling that tiny morself of meat out of the tail hardly worth the efforts in it self, the sights and sounds of those around me slurping and smacking as they are sucking heads, as they call it, which for many is the main and best part, just does it in for me. Btw, when you read some 'nice' description somwhere of what it is they are sucking out of those heads, for some reason that I do not know they refer it it as 'fat'....don't believe it...its guts! Now, lobster, THAT I can get into! Jenell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Even in Oz we have a diverse range of species that get called 'crayfish' depending on which part of Australia you're in. We too have those tiny, freshwater (or should I say fresh-ish water) mud dwelling types - we call them yabbies, jilgies, and/or kurnacks, again depending on locality. And like you Jenell, I agree, the the tiny morsels are hardly worth the effort, but there isn't anything quite like sitting by a campfire, in company of good friends, cold beer in hand, peeling, picking and making a nice fresh bread and butter sandwhich with them. I don't want to hijack this post into an Australian culture lesson, so I'll leave with a picture of the grand prize in crayfishing - the 'jumbo' cray. I've seen them on dives, but I don't take them. They are wily creatures who have lived for 30 or more years avoiding traps by living in the dark and hard-to-get-to areas of reefs and underwater caves. I think they have earnt the right to be left alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 How cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murmsk Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 That would scare most Americans out of the swimming area. For most of us in the north we call crawdads/crayfish .... bait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markn902 Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 That is crazy big..do people eat those jumbo crays or do they taxiderm them like someone would a big fish they caught? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 That is crazy big..do people eat those jumbo crays or do they taxiderm them like someone would a big fish they caught? A bit of both really, markn902 - some people eat them, and some do make trophies of them. The legs and the tail hold the meat and aussies don't normally eat the 'muck' that is in the head (the top 2/3 of the creature) but our Kiwi neighbours tend to suck them dry! But they're that big because of their age (the crays that is, not the New Zealanders ), so the meat is usually a bit tougher and less tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 'Muck." Yeah, that a real good word for that stuff folks suck out of crawfish heads....but I've always just called it plain and simple what it is..."guts!" What a favorite Christmass foods thread...by the time we get done with crawfish, no one will have an appetite left! Jenell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterkatamari Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Wow, now THAT is a crayfish. O__O I think I'll stick to eggnog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christiansoul Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Every Christmas, I prepare steaks, macaroni salad and my special fried chicken. My kids love the chicken. It's not really that special, the kind that you'd want to cook for special occasions but my kids love it so I cook it. My husband on the other hand, loves well done steak and red wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glintofpewter Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 HI, christiansoul, Maybe Jenell could use the special fried chicken recipe. Does it work with little chickens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenellYB Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Ah, yes, finger food....single bite-sized drum sticks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minsocal Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Well, looks like this year will be a renewal (of sorts) ... Deep fried squid, fresh raw tuna, and slow roasted garlic chicken (garlic juice injected into the meat before cooking). Oh .. and some fresh Korean Kimchi and a bunch of pineapple fried rice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glintofpewter Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Myron, can I come to your table? Sounds so good. Dutch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I will have Kimchi for sure. My wife is Korean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minsocal Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Dutch, You are always welcome at our table. Myron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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