Hosting My First Christmas Dinner!!!!!!

I hope you'll have a great time. I love to cook for company on holidays, and have done so for many years. Here are a few suggestions:

If you choose side dishes that "keep" well, you can make them all the previous day, and just throw 'em in the microwave just before you serve dinner. My favorite, hands down, is kale and/or collard greens braised with bacon and onions, which is a great make-ahead side dish, and my kids love it better than anything else.

I also like French green beans (haricots verts) with sauteed mushrooms and shallots, which are easy if you cook the mushrooms and shallots the day before, then just microwave the beans and stir everything together.

I did a succotash for Thanksgiving that was super easy, and tasted even better the next day -- a package of frozen corn and a package of frozen lima beans braised in bacon and onions with chopped red and green pepper--- it's very colorful, and goes really well with ham.

You might want to pick up some Martinelli's sparkling cider, and serve it in stemmed glasses. I like to serve cider with the food on holidays, because it's light and festive, and it cuts down on the consumption of alcohol, which is always a good idea!

As far as desserts go, if you like to bake, go for it. I always do pies, because my family loves pie, and, of course, you can do most pies the day before. And you can always do a cake the day before. If you aren't an experienced baker, however, the best way to go is just to ask your guests to bring desserts, pot-luck style. You get a nice assortment of desserts, your guests feel part of the production, you have less coordination to worry about, less kitchen clean-up to do, and more time to spend socializing with your guests. Cheers!

A few easy recipes:

Yams - cut them up in squares, bake them with butter and brown sugar until soft and when done broil marshmallows on top.

Green Beans/Bacon - cut bacon in small pieces and cook, then steam grean beans and when done combine both with a little butter/salt/pepper.

Dressing from a box (I still like dressing from the box).

Tossed Salad or Greek Salad (to include olives, feta cheese, baby tomatoes, yellow/red bell peppers, greek dressing).

Mashed Potatoes (add milk and sour cream at end and season)

Jello squares (add less water about 1/3 less than box says).

I have 3 kids and do my best to keep things simple, but yummy. Good luck. Happy Holidays.

Hi M.! How are you? I am so excited that you are hosting Christmas, it will be so much fun. I have the absolute best Christmas side dish ever, the one thing that no matter how much I make, there are no leftovers. It's creamed corn, and the recipe is from the old Gulliver's restaurant. It's super easy but the recipe is at my mom's house, so I'll get over there some time this week and find it for you. If I forget, send me a message on FB. I also have a really good easy dessert, a gingerbread bundt cake. The link to the recipe is here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Molas...

I've made it several times and it's so easy and always gets rave reviews, plus it serves 15 people easily. Also it keeps nicely so you could easily make it 1 or even 2 days ahead to save work at the end. Just wrap it tightly in plastic wrap.

If you need any other suggestions or need cooking tips just let me know! I saw the new pictures of Sean and his cousin and they are SO cute!

a few favorite side dishes that have been well received at potlucks

Amazing Butternut Squash - casserole recipe from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Butternut-Squash/Det...

Mandarin orange salad - toss salad greens with a can or two of mandarin oranges, some caramelized toasted almonds (heat blanched slivered almonds in a skillet over low heat with about 1Tbsp sugar, add a little water when sugar starts to melt), and a sweet parsley vinagrette (1/4 cup salad oil, 2T sugar, 2T vinegar, and about 1-2T chopped parsley).

I made creamed spinach for the first time for Thanksgiving and it turned out really great (and it disappeared.) The recipe is pretty simple.

In a food processor combine 1 ½ cup whole milk, one thick slice onion, 6 tablespoons softened butter, 2 tablespoons flower, 1 teaspoon paprika, several grates of fresh nutmeg and one clove garlic. Blend until smooth. Chop off the stems and wash 2 bunches of fresh spinach. Add the spinach one handful at a time and pulse in food processor. Final product will be bright green and have big and little chunks of spinach in it. Poor into a sauce pan and heat on medium-low until it begins to bubble. Stir and cook for another 4-5 minutes (salt and pepper to taste) then poor into a serving dish and allow to rest and thicken before serving.

I kept mine in a warm (180 degree) oven until it was time for dinner.

hey M.,

Depending on the ingredients that you might have available - such as thse which can be found at farmers markets and in small towns, my first step would be to look on allrecipes.com. They have a web page where you can put in ingredients that you might have available and then it brings up a page or pages with recipes and and reviews from people who have tried them.

It has been a great source of inspiration for me and made many memorable meals for my family.