Holiday traditions

So, as mentioned in paragraph three of a recent blog post, this season I have been gobbling up the food traditions of folks around me as if my life depended on it. I have loved, loved, hearing what people have to say. Because it's not just about food. Its about what defines a family during the holidays, what anchors them, what makes their holiday special.

Here are some of my favorite traditions from others (note, the word "tradition" can be used interchangeably with "food" in this whole post):

Our downstairs neighbor Shalita was taught to cook by her dad, who was a cook for the US Army and learned early how to feed a crowd. He also taught her mom to cook. We originally started talking about food in the basement over laundry. Every morning (I mean every morning) she makes a full breakfast for her family, including eggs, biscuits, bacon and sausage, hashbrowns, and sometimes donuts. I imagine there's also orange juice, milk, and coffee on the table. Anyway, we were in the basement together and I asked her about the brilliant smells filling up our building every morning, and eventually we got to the holidays. Here's what she likes to make for Christmas to supplement the more traditional fare she finds at the grandparents' houses (all homemade): fried chicken, macaroni & cheese, sweet potato pie, collard greens, a cold mashed potato salad, and a handful of cakes. This is what got my whole quest going.

Karen at work has filet mignon & crab on Christmas Eve with her family. Her kids have their own tradition and make several fondue courses.

Phil, another coworker, has all his kids and grandkids spend the night on Christmas Eve so they can go to church and share Christmas morning together. The night before they eat Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes.

My mom makes a prime rib on Christmas Eve. For Christmas she'll have some fresh rolls and havarti cheese on hand for prime rib sandwiches, which she serves with several fancy side salads.

Ryan's family enjoys the French-Canadian tradition of meat pie on Christmas morning with butter & cranberry sauce and half a grapefruit with a bit of sugar and a cherry on top. Ever since we started dating, we too have made this magical combination (also for Thanksgiving). It's especially great when a more seasoned pro, like his mom or Aunt Sharron, makes it for us.

My Mama in Mississippi (no, I was not going for alliteration there) makes both a ham and turkey, potato salad, sweet potato casserole, dressing, chicken dumplings, and a corn casserole, among other sides, for Christmas. She always makes several mouth-watering desserts (she easily could have run a southern restaurant or bakery) - this year it was red velvet cake and pound cake.

This is the stuff, people, that holidays are made of.

Here's what made our list:
for Christmas Eve - we were striving for light but comforting and fairly healthy
- Tomato and Three-Cheese Tart
- Bitter Greens Salad with Spice Pecans and Persimmons

for Christmas Dinner
- Crab dip on potato chips (as an app.)
- Some type of beef dish - this year it was a marinated tri-tip - served with a horse-radish sauce and light and fluffy dinner rolls
- Potato-leek gratin (what a magnificent taste sensation potatoes and leeks are!)
- Gingered Carrots
- and Gingerbread for dessert with freshly whipped cream
- This also sounded good as an aromatic bevvie, maybe for next year: Glühwein, or hot spiced wine (a German tradition)

Delectable. Fortunately, everything we made was a savory hit. We'll keep these around to look forward to the next time we find ourselves hosting Christmas.

What holiday traditions do you savor?