Christmas Dinner

We have a mostly traditional Eastern European / Russian Christmas Eve Dinner.
Pea soup, sauerkraut and kidney bean soup, stewed prunes, pirogies ( home made potato, sauerkraut, prune, cottage cheese) homemade bread dipped in honey. My mother's parents always had the whole family there until they passed - I miss seeing all my cousins, Aunts, Uncles for the dinner. Then my mother continued the tradition for my brother, sisters, and grandchildren. Now, for the last eight years, I cook all day for my wife and our two kids. Wouldn't miss it or give it up for anything. Christmas Eve means more to me than Christmas day.
Tomorrow it will be roasted ham.
 
I just love that sourdough Bob, wish you were next door.
I've cooked so much turkey for christmas when I was in the trade that I cant stand the stuff now.
Most Aussies have fresh prawns and salads for christmas day with bbq's for the rest of the days.
Merry Christmas to everyone, only a few more hours for you guys.
 
My darling bride has talents beyond my comprehension. But Bob's bread seems beyond THAT!
We will enjoy her seafood lasagna, with elk backstrap appetizers. I dont know how any of that is prepared. I bring it, she cooks it. The only part of our lives I would consider Neanderthal! (Please don't ask HER!)
Merry Christmas to you all!
 
Had Christmas dinner at my sister's. We managed about 2 1/2 hours before we once again realized why we only see each other about once a year! (not really - I had a nice time - as long as she was at the other end of the table!!!.)
 
Bob Korves said:
We are going to my sister's house for dinner and I am bringing the bread. Simple, yes? I am making Meyer lemon and rosemary bread, half white hard wheat berries fresh ground from my grain mill and about 30% white bread flour. The white flour is mixed half and half to make a starter, started from 50 grams carefully saved in the refrigerator, and tripled until 500 grams total. Takes ~12 hours to be bubbly, expanded and ready. 50 grams is returned to the fridge. Then the fresh ground flour (~1000g) and grated Meyer lemon rind and chopped rosemary (only 20 grams each) is added along with additional water, salt and the freshly ground whole wheat and mixed by hand. The dough is stretched and folded into 9 layers, put in a 80 degree space to ferment, and repeated 5 times at 45 minute intervals. Then shaped into oval, free form loaves and placed on the bottom of a large sheet pan dusted with coarse ground wheat to rise, several hours. When ready, oven at 520F, the loaves are slightly wet, slashed, sprinkled with salt and transferred to a hot baking stone into the oven. Boiling water is added to a hot baking pan below the baking stone and the oven closed and turned down to 430F. Lots of dangerously hot steam. The water is removed after 20 minutes and the bread continues to bake for about 50 minutes total, until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom of the loaf. Cool on a rack until room temperature, slice, enjoy! Two day part time job...
Disclaimer: My first career was as a chef in fancy private clubs, starting from dishwasher, for about 10 years. Awful job to do, hot and heavy and stressful, worked odd hours and every weekend and holiday, poor pay. Wonderful to have had that experience, the boy knows how to cook!

The most important ingredient in making great bread is time, lots of it, for the flavors to develop...
Click to expand...
I got a breadmaker years ago and I made many kinds myself . I love that machine , the smell permeating the house was like being in my grandma's kitchen over fifty years ago . I loved the bread fresh and warm . I don't understand my wife it's so easy to do , even cleanup. But she refuses to make it even with the bread machine. It made the best raisin cinnamon bread , I use to plump the raisins even in rum or a mix with vanilla in it. Yum been about fifteen years ago or close.
 
Ok the rack of ribs is prime cuts . That's my birthday dinner or was till the wife bought cheap chunk , ruined my love of it.
 
OK now that we all have had dinner how about some creative tips on leftovers.
**G**
 
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