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Christmas Dinner Leftovers

One of the best parts of Christmas dinner is the leftovers. The food always seen to taste better the second or third time you eat it. Here are uses and guidelines for handling Christmas dinner leftovers.

1.      Clean out the refrigerator prior to dinner. You’ll need room for those platters and bowls of leftovers. Anything that can be removed should be removed to make room for the remnants of the Christmas dinner.  

2.      Buy plastic storage bags and containers. Storing food in the original pot or dish is not a good idea. For one, it takes up extra space. Secondly, it leaves too much dead space for liquid to collect. Food keeps better and longer in containers where the leftovers are packed tightly.

3.      Never pack up warm foods. Wait until the meats and side dishes are completely cool before placing them containers to go in the refrigerator. This is another reason why it is better to serve food in bowls on the Christmas dinner table or have everyone heat their own plates at dinner time.

4.      Slice any meat off of the bone before storing. It is easier to handle and produces less mess. The turkey carcass and the ham bone can be frozen for later use in soups and stews. Turkey legs and thigh meat can be sliced off the bone and diced up for turkey salad. Add a little chopped celery, seasonings, and mayonnaise for a lunch treat on bread or crackers.

5.      Create a casserole dish with leftover Christmas dinner rice. Whether it is white rice or wild rice, add some chopped chicken or turkey, a can of cream of mushroom soup, and some shredded cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for about twenty minutes or until soup is bubbly and you have dinner for the next night.

6.      Buy sectioned plate containers and fix meals. This avoids people dipping into leftover bowls over and over. Label each container with the type of food inside. If someone wants turkey and potatoes, they can grab that plate and heat it up without bothering any other leftovers.

7.      Avoid wrapping any leftovers in aluminum foil. Foil is good for cooking but for Christmas dinner leftovers, it will begin to break down as it is opened and reopened by hungry people. If you must wrap something in foil, purchase heavy duty foil for that purpose.

Leftovers are great. They can be used for soups, sandwiches, dips, and more throughout the Christmas holiday. Remember that leftovers in the refrigerator should not be eaten after the fourth day. If you want to keep something longer, freeze it. These are only a few of the ideas and tips that can be used when working with Christmas dinner leftovers.

Planning a Family Christmas Dinner

It is one of the two times a year that families are guaranteed to get together for a meal. Christmas dinner with family is a big deal in most households. But, this year, plan ahead so that more time is actually spent with the family and not slaving over a hot stove.

Planning saves not only time but money when it comes to having a family gathering. At Christmas, most families are filled with good cheer and a longing to reconnect. Let the family Christmas dinner be the culmination of that celebration.

Here are a few tips to help that dinner turn out to be a delight instead of a disaster.

1.      Find out who is coming. We are talking about family so most people will probably attend. But, there will be the person who has to work or is out of town and can’t make it because of the weather (it does snow in a few places around Christmas!).

2.      Ask everyone to bring something. Obviously if they are traveling by plane that will be difficult, but for family members who are driving in or live nearby, it is okay to ask them to bring a vegetable dish or a dessert to the Christmas dinner. The others can pitch in on the preparations when they arrive.

3.      Make side dishes in advance of the Christmas dinner. We all like to sit and smell the delightful flavors wafting from the kitchen but that’s impractical when serving dinner to a sizable group. Before you know it, the entire house would be overheated and there would be dishes piled up in the sink for someone to wash. Fix and freeze as many side dishes as you can. A few hours before the meal, take them out and warm them up.

4.      Cook the turkey early. Turkey is the main course at most traditional Christmas dinners. Roasting the turkey early leaves plenty of room in the stove to fix smaller dishes together. It takes several hours for a turkey to cool completely, so by dinnertime, it will still be warm enough to serve without reheating the entire bird.

5.      Serve dinner buffet style. Let everyone serve themselves. Have a communal blessing over the food and then whoever is hungry can eat. It is not the sit down at the table dinner we all envision from our youth, but it is more practical. Some people like to eat early and some will be watching sports on television.

Planning a Christmas dinner for the family is about the fellowship as much as it is about the meal. Use the above tips to share the cooking and spend more time reminiscing with family and friends.

Soulful Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas

Nothing says good eating like a down home Christmas dinner. Folks gather to eat just like it was Sunday dinner only more of it. If you want to add a kick to your Christmas dinner consider adding some soulful dishes to your menu.

Any southern family can tell you that dinner isn’t dinner without a little grease. For many southerners, especially in the African-American tradition, the main reason for dining together is fellowship. Families shared laughs and made important announcements and decisions over the dinner table. It is a sacred tradition in many families.

Soulful cooking came out of a need to share love with others. If you didn’t have two dimes to give to another, you could give them the gift of a home cooked meal. A satisfied belly was a happy belly. Eating our favorite comfort foods releases those “feel good” endorphins in the brain and satisfies our entire being.

Soulful cooking is just like that and at Christmastime everyone in the family who is used to soulful cooking will expect to get some for dinner. So, add a bit of soul to your pot this Christmas season when you cook.

Try a new twist on the traditional turkey dinner. Barbeque or fry the turkey for Christmas dinner. Fryers don’t cost much but it does take a fair amount of peanut oil to fill up the fryer. Be sure the turkey is good and dry on the outside before plunking him down into the hot oil.

A whole turkey is split in half and seasoned before placing it on the barbeque grill. The time for grilling will depend on the size of the turkey. A smaller turkey can be grilled while a larger one can be fried or roasted. If you plan on roasting a turkey inject with a marinade to add extra flavor to the meat. There are commercial marinades on the market or you can create your own with a variety of spices like cayenne, cumin, turmeric, diced onion, garlic, and oil.

Any greens cooked for Christmas dinner are seasoned with some sort of smoked meat. It can be bacon, ham hocks, or smoked turkey. The meat is simmered in the water first to release the flavor and then the fresh collard greens, cabbage, or green beans are added. It takes about an hour to cook fresh greens and they will reduce as time goes on.

Sweet potatoes aren’t the same if they aren’t in a casserole. Choose to top with marshmallows or not, as long as there are candied pecans somewhere in the recipe. This is a side dish but it tastes more like a dessert.

A soulful Christmas dinner brings back memories of childhood meals. Everyone can sit around the dinner table and reminisce about past meals shared together. Introduce your friends to a bit of soul this Christmas with some soulful additions to the Christmas dinner table.