Christmas Menu 2010

Christmas is fast approaching, so it's time to think about the menu for the Christmas Eve table. This year I'm spending the holidays “on the road” at my family's, but I'll still be involved in deciding on and preparing the dishes. Traditionally, we will definitely have:

red barszcz (clear beet soup) with uszka (little mushroom dumplings), delicious, clear, slightly sour and perfect for Christmas Eve

barszcz with uszka

herring under a duvet (śledź pod pierzynką), a herring salad with beets and potatoes. But watch out, I make a huuuge amount of it, and it disappears fast!

herring under a duvet

plus 2 kinds of other herring (1 maybe in marjoram), and one of them will probably be Kashubian-style herring.

Kashubian-style herring

Carp in garlic and wine, à la R. Makłowicz, will be there too. It's perfect.

carp in garlic and wine

Or carp with mushrooms, a very traditional Christmas Eve dish. It can't be missing from our table.

carp with mushrooms

and some other fish as well (last time it was salmon in aspic - YUM!)

salmon in aspic

Dried fruit compote, which I wait for all year, and which tastes special only on Christmas Eve

dried fruit compote

pierogi (dumplings) with cabbage and mushrooms - if we don't manage to eat them all on Christmas Eve, then pan-fried the next day they make a great dish for the holidays.

pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms

makówki (a poppy seed dessert), which will be on the table thanks to Tuptusia, because until now I didn't know this dessert

makówki

and of course cakes: Viennese cheesecake, without which it just isn't Christmas

Viennese cheesecake

makowiec (poppy seed roll) or poppy seed strucla, perfect because it has lots of poppy seeds

poppy seed strucla

and loads of gingerbread cookies

snowflake pepparkakor

On the first day of Christmas we don't cook a big dinner. We spend time together and rest - we celebrate. Instead, we prepare pieczeń rzymska (a Polish meatloaf) ahead of time, which can be reheated if someone feels like it, or simply eaten cold.

Of course there is also bigos (hunter's stew). It can't be missing.

That leaves dinner for the second day of Christmas.

Well, yes… we probably won't have a huge amount of food, because our family decided long ago that it's better to make more later if needed than to throw food away. Something will surely be added to the list so that we have the traditional 12 Christmas Eve dishes. I just don't know what yet.

Maybe you have some suggestions? What are you making for Christmas?

I'll share recipes for my favorite holiday dishes soon. Unfortunately, I can only add the photos after Christmas, once I've taken them. (already added)