Christmas - One of the Most Important Parts of Holidays
The Christmas Dinner
When you think of Christmas, you think of a lot of different special moments. Moments like decorating the Christmas tree, singing carols, putting up Christmas lights and even baking cookies.
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But the one moment everyone in the family adores (even Grandpa) is the dinner on Christmas day.
Whether you’re with your close or extended family, the parents mainly prepare the dinner. To the small children, this pretty much means nothing.
To teenagers, it means they get the opportunity to relax and pretty much do nothing.
But the main point is that the dinner brings families together. Even if a relative forgot the cranberry sauce, the dinner would still go on!
Because once everyone’s seated at the table, stressful thoughts and worries are forgotten. Instead, everyone is involved in a cheerful conversation that creates smiles and bursts of laughter.
However, how come the Christmas dinner always tastes amazing? No matter what dish is missing or what the weather may be like, the hearty meal is always delicious.
To keep that unique but wonderful tradition going, the following are some tips and ideas for your next holiday dinner.
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The first thing when planning a dinner is to figure out what your main course is going to be. Whether its roast beef, ham or turkey, the important part of the meal determines what side dishes you’re going to serve.
Depending on what type of meat you serve, you should also speculate how it will taste. Just simply find out if you’re going to make the main course sweet, salty, spicy or even bold.
Once that decision is made, you can then start choosing what side dishes you’re going to make to compliment the meal. For instance, accompany a ham, which is very salty, with a sweet side dish, such as a sweet sauce or chopped pineapple.
Also, pick mild vegetables when serving ham because the meat itself is already well-seasoned. Some good choices would include spinach, dilled cucumber or steamed broccoli and cauliflower.
If you’re serving a juicy and flavourful roast beef, then prepare at least one side dish that will absorb its juices. One popular dish that is the perfect accompaniment is mashed potatoes.
But if you’re tired of the same old side dish, then steamed or sautéed vegetables will do the trick.
If you do decide to serve turkey, then make sure you don’t serve a lot of starchy dishes (only one potato and stuffing dish will do).
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The thing about serving turkey is there are endless variations of stuffing you can prepare. Depending on your taste buds and how you want to compliment the turkey, you can serve an ordinary stuffing, or a well-seasoned kind.
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Chestnut stuffing and raisin-walnut stuffing are good choices that will delight and impress your family and friends.
But aside from the side dishes, remember that there are other dishes you must serve as well. Cranberries are the life of the party during Christmas time and everyone loves a good cranberry sauce.
You should also serve a delicious green salad and dinner rolls because like at any other holiday feast in the year, they compliment the dinner well.
With the main course and side dishes prepared, the last thing you need to worry about when it comes to a Christmas dinner is the dessert.
Most people are satisfied with simple desserts such as pumpkin pie and fruit cake, but if you really want to make an impression, go the extra step.
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Rich and moist chocolate cakes and carrot cakes will have everyone licking their fingers and will disappear fast! So if you’re hoping to have leftovers, you might need to make another one.
All in all, the Christmas dinner may take a while to prepare, but it’s worth it in the long run.
It not only satisfies everyone’s hunger, but it also makes everyone glad that Christmas is an amazing holiday. With terribly cold weather, that’s a fact that can warm anyone up this winter.
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Mushroom-Sauced Roast Beef
http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/31558/
Chestnut, Apple and Sausage Stuffing
http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/4442/
Do-Ahead Party Mashed Potatoes
http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/8013/
Andre Black’s Carrot Cake
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