Fact: All Jews really do go to the movies on Christmas. (What’s that, you know some Jews that don’t go to the movies on Christmas. Shut up, you’re ruining my post. Can you just go with it!?)
Fiction: Not all Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas (OK a lot of Jews do…), especially Jews like me with food allergies that make Chinese restaurants unsafe. Sesame, beans, nuts… it’s a mine field of food allergies.
So what did I eat on Christmas? Well, back before my mom retired she started the tradition of making a special fancy meal on Christmas for no other reason than she had plenty of time to cook. Unlike the Jewish holidays when my mom had to cook a festive meal, but also get ready for synagogue or prepare for guests we literally have nothing to do on Christmas but relax (and take in that obligatory movie). So our fancy Christmas meal tradition was born though now that my mom is retired and she has every day off, the meal has moved to Christmas Eve instead.
We started the meal with caviar, blinis and creme fraiche!
Then for the main attraction, filet mignon with horseradish sauce, roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potato!
And of course I had to contribute a delicious dessert, but as I plan posting the recipe later in the week I’m not telling you exactly what it was just yet 😉
All in all it was quite a delicious Christmas Eve followed by a very musical Christmas day because of course musical theater nerds like me and my mom had to see Les Mis the day it came out!
For those of you who were celebrating, how was your Christmas? What are your Christmas food traditions? For those of you who don’t celebrate, what movie did you see and how was the Chinese food?
26 Dishes 
My mom makes a cornbread dressing that’s amazing, and I prepare a pumpkin roll (cream cheese filling). We had a mere 10 people to feed, but the women in the family always cook to feed 25.
Dressing is southern speak for stuffing right ;). Seriously that all sounds great and leftovers are one of the best parts of any celebration so I hope all that extra food went to good use.
Great post! We normally do Chinese food on Christmas Eve- :).
Why, is someone in your family Jewish 😉
Ha- can’t imagine. We are just good Irish folk. 😉
Nice! My wife and I try to blend our food traditions, prime rib on Christmas Eve (for me) and baked ham (for her) on Christmas day. Needless to say we always feel like big blobs on Boxing Day.
You would think that one of the benefits of being Jewish is that you wouldn’t stuff yourself silly on Christmas and feel like a big blob the next day, but trust me I’m feeling very blob like right now.
Yum! That looks like a delicious meal! Our big meal is on Christmas Eve and we have a big seafood feast. This year we had crab and shrimp, and my mom also makes oyster stew which I will not touch with a 10 foot pole.
A seafood feast sounds heavenly. I’ve heard of oyster stew, but I’ve never had it and I don’t know what’s in it besides oysters.
OMG I’m drooling. Drooling! Our Christmas was lovely but hectic so Ben and I are setting some boundaries next year about when we’re going to people’s houses because I felt like we spent the whole day running around and had no time for us. (It might have helped if I’d taken the day after off).
Seriously I need that food in my belly. NOW.
I love when cooking is recreational. That’s when the creativity/experimentation can really come out! More, new tastiness!!!
I love that your mom has always cooked a really nice meal for Christmas. Sort of warms my heart! It reminded me that not too long ago, I made a mayo and horseradish sauce for salmon (I think) and not only did Gavin like it, but he started eating the horseradish straight from the jar! Starting at the age of 5, we went to a dear family friends’ house for Christmas dinner. They moved from St Louis to Boston the same year we did, so that tradition continues to this day for my parents. Hilariously, once we all moved to Boston, the families they invited to their home for Christmas dinner were all Jewish! Now that I’m married to a gentile, we spend Christmas with his family … and our meals aren’t nearly as interesting as they were when I was growing up. A small price to pay.