Christmas main course

Not Christmas Main Course, but Christmas Main Courses.

Traditions for us here are very important. The Swedish Christmas is celebrated on the 24th, and will always be ham. As the British Christmas is the 25th., that means for us the traditional turkey.

New Year is a bit different. On that day, the tendency is to have "something special." This year, that will be as exotic as we (= quite a few villagers) can make it using only locally sourced items. Nothing from the bigger stores, only locally produced things. The exception being the drinks. Even if we can get locally brewed beer, and there is a good whisky distillery in the area, that will be wine from different EU countries. Italy, Austria, France and Germany.

 

I expect some combination of diced venison, pheasant, rabbit (if I happen to come across one at the butcher), marinaded in wine and spices then casseroled. Served with potatoes, leeks, brussels and parsnip.

 

With our family scattered far and wide, Mr S and I are on our own John. There's no real chaos to escape here though..... so would you like to join us, you're more than welcome?

Glen Affric

 

What a stunning view Sheal, thanks for sharing

 

Our Christmas happens on 24th, the main focus is on starters. Fish in all formats, (mostly herring and smoked salmon but anything fun will do- vegan or real caviar etc), cheeses and charcuterie, pates, pickles and nice finger veg (mangetouts etc), olives, capers, baby potatoes with dill, various crackers and breads and something odd we haven't had before on courtesy of any shop that has something interesting. It's really a collection of nice bits and bobs we fancy without any bigger plan- it looks so festive to have the table covered with small bowls and plates of the various delights.

Then we open the presents and when we are again able to move, eat the slow roasted ham with veg and gravy.

The following days it's ham AND- meals. We try different kinds of veg dishes with it, celeriac remoulade one day, beetroot- horseradish salad the next, something posh with carrots or cabbages... cooking is a pleasure and the best thing to do over those days between.

After boxing day a trip to Aldi is a tradition, it's about an hour's walk away and they always have something unexpected to try when the ham is really not an option any more. (I freeze the ham leftovers to be used in pea soup etc. ). One year we ate Aldi lobsters, sometimes they have duck and goose or quail.

Now reading back what I have written, our meal plan sounds like a true mess. It is! Actually, the focus is on various veg and the treats are eaten in small portions. Apart from the ham which is the biggest I can get.

When we moved to UK after living in a country that just didn't have ham culture, I went mad and bought a 12kg one for Christmas. It just fit into the oven and was delicious... but perhaps a tad too much when there were only 3 people eating

 

It is a tradition in Germany to eat potato salad on Christmas Eve.

After that the flood gates open and anything goes. Besides the aforementioned duck breasts we've had a variety of meals over several years of Christmas celebration. Ranging from sour roast, carp, goose, turkey to various mixes like hot pot and a lava stone grill

 

Potato salad !!

Ive only ever eaten it over Christmas, and have never
been able to find any that tastes like l remember .

Can anyone share a recipe for real potato salad ?.

 

Is that the hot version with bacon and vinegar? We love it, must make some.

 

@Loofah this is the menu we have come up with for NYE:

Delice de Bourgogne, semi-dried strawberries and biscuits
Louis Bouillot No. 7781

Lobster soup, cream on roasted crown dill, seafood starter,
fröknäcke & roasted romanesco.
Kloster Eberbach Risling Spätlese Nr6257


Hang-tender beef fillet, riette on duck, red wine sky, roasted pumpkin cream, wine-cooked red onion, fried parsley & potato gratin
The Butcher Pinot Noir, 2020 No. 70521
Pago de Los CapellanesTinto Reserva, 2017 No. 82152

Chocolate cake, beetroot meringue, toasted butter caramel & raspberries
Nivole No. 7787

Apologies to all for the poor english. It was originally written in Swedish and translated by Google. Some of the words I dont even know in English any more!

 

I can give you my recipe. But there are thousands of them in Germany since every family has their own.
Cant even give you the exact amounts of ingredients since it always changes depending on how much was left in the fridge at the time of making.

1. Cook the potatoes with some a generous amount of salt and peel them afterwards (bonus points if they are still hot)
2. Cut them into pieces
3. Add a small cup of beef or vegetable stock/broth.
4. Let it soak for an hour. If you used potatoes that tend to fall apart after cooking, the broth will be completely absorbed. If not, it doesn't matter.
5. Mix them with a pack of packaged meat salad in mayonnaise. If the meat salad is really sweet you can cancel it out by adding some of the vinegar water pickles normally swim in.
6. Add as much yoghurt as you want and/or a bit of crème fraiche to get a creamy mixture and give it pepper, spring onions/chives and, if you like them, capers.

Problem with this is:
It extremely depends on what kind of meat salad you use. I tested a dozen of them until I found one that makes the perfect taste. There is some trial and error but you can't ruin it. And the worst potato salad is still potato salad, sooo......

 

Mine is (again no specific quantities) T'other Half is from German background and my sister lived there for 47 years.

Fry bacon (preferably smoked) pieces with diced onion. Add beef stock and equal quantity vinegar with one spoon sugar. Add sliced/diced pre-cooked potatoes. Add flour to thicken. Season to taste. Serve hot.

 

Regarding the German potato salad. Isnt there a tradition of eating Frankfurters with it? I have a vague memory that was usual in some areas, but may be wrong.