For the vigil.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/feast-of-the-seven-fishes

My choice would be just the cioppino. Easy!

And don't forget the struffoli! Make in advance.

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a45522399/struffoli-recipe/

For bad teeth, eat them with some coffee or tea. And brush right after. (Honey)

Mangia! 🇮🇹
Buon Natale.

Take some Christmas traditions from a specific country and do a French, Italian, Spanish, etc meal.

in case it helps.

https://marketgrow.com/paleo-salmon-cakes/

I'm leanng towards scallops with a scampi pasta.

Either one is quick, easy, & super healthy

My goal this year is to avoid stress.

Super quick too!

I tried making bay scallops once and they were horrible. I could try scallops again, I think.

After rubbing with olive oil & sprinkling with lemon pepper or whatever youf fav is.

Nuke a couple of potatoes, toss a salad, maybe pan sear some asparagus, & wa-la quick, easy, stress free, & super healthy.

I can't wait to hear what you decide on. Lol

My folks always had a huge turkdy for Thanksgiving, Christmas, & New Years Day. I'm finally ready for something diffrrent at the ripe old age of nearly 70. Lol

We are going to an Asian buffet & I'll make either the scallops & linguini scampi or salmon later in the day.

Enjoy!

could even do a small ribeye if you can find a prime. choice might be fine too if ham worked.

It's like $28 a pound. Thanks anyway. I'd like to point out that the reason ham works for my wife is that I make it in a slow cooker (instant pot, actually) on top of some pineapple tidbits and topped with brown sugar and some ground cloves. I cook it for 4.5 hours and let it rest for 30 minutes; it's incredibly tender and moist. Too much time.

I did a rib roast last month (they periodically go on sale this time of year) using a new technique, instead of into a hot oven to sear, then turning down to cook you cook low(300 or even less) and slow to temp, take it out for its 15-20 minute rest then hit it for 10-15-20 minutes (depends on size) at highest oven temp to get perfect crust. that all may be too much time for you as well. it was almost too tender but I did it at 250 for a long time. I think next one will be at 300 or even 325. I really liked the rest before browning, though. such a perfect crust with so much less smoke in the house.

On a visit to California about 30 years ago, my wife got sick as a dog and blamed the salmon we ate for dinner. I thought then and think now she caught a flu bug; I got it myself and suffered incredibly on the flight home (on a plane is the absolute worst place to have a flu!). Nevertheless, she contends to this day that she's allergic to salmon. She's ever so stubborn about some things.

Anyway, salmon is a great idea but unfortunately it doesn't work. I like to make it en papillote, baked in a parchment pouch. I put thinly sliced celery and onions on the bottom, a nice fillet of salmon on top of that, some kosher salt and seasoning, and top it with butter and lemon slices. 20 minutes at 400 degrees and serve on a bed of rice, and it's awesome. But the wife won't eat it and I'd like to make something all three of us will eat.

That way you can pop it in the oven to heat while making some nice side dishes. And there will be leftovers for sandwiches for a few days, as well as something to work into breakfasts (ham biscuits, fried ham with eggs, etc).

My first thought was also baked salmon, lol.

week for $19 a pound).

pork tenderloin would be another (way cheaper) option

There's a hitch, though. I've been making pork tenderloin for years in my mother's fashion: butterflied; seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder; coated with crushed saltine cracker crumbs, egg wash, and cracker crumbs again; fried until golden brown in oil with a little bacon fat added; and finished in the oven on a rack over very hot water at 209 degrees for 20 minutes (a gentle steam bath). Tender and delicious; my family loves it. Unfortunately, they like it so much that if I make pork tenderloin any other way, they're unhappy. I've made it with stir fry. I've done the traditional sear in a cast iron skillet, place in foil topped with butter and herbs and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. They were both terrific, I thought, but unless I make it breaded the wife is displeased.

Breaded pork tenderloin is a fair amount of work and time but the bigger issue is that it makes a really big mess!

Still, pork tenderloin is a really good thought. Thanks.

Hmm. I mentioned the stir fry. I might just do that. I use linguini instead of traditional lo mein noodles; its cheaper and more readily available. I have access at my regular market to celery, mushrooms, bean sprouts, pea pods, and green onions. It really is excellent with pork tenderloin. I'll have to see if I can find the time to hit the store by Tuesday.

Thanks everyone for the ideas.

just do a pot roast. (I raise beef, so apologies for pushing it so much, and I just love beef for Xmas). I would think it would be perfect when you wake up. some kind of fresh veg or salad and root vegs cooked with meat. yum.

I don't think we had a special recipe for the meatballs, just mixed meat, breadcrumbs, onions, garlic, egg, browned them, removed to a dish and made pan gravy. served over broad noodles.

When I was young, they were an elegant holiday dish

Hope you find something good!

I preheat the oven to 425. I put the chicken, no stuffing, in a roaster with a lid. It bakes in about an hour.

Another thing with chicken. I would put a mix of cut vegetables into the bottom of the roaster, add a 1/2 cup of water, brush with olive oil, then take pieces of checken, boneless or not, and cover the vegtables. I'd sprinkle a pack of dry chicken gravy mix on the chicken pieces and roast at 400 until the chicken and veg were tender. The mix makes the chicken tender and juicy. I called it chicken gravy chicken.

I'm doing a Polish Wigilia tomorrow, and expect to have a lot of leftovers. Most of the dishes are pretty labor intensive, but the main course - a simple baked salmon - doesn't take long, especially if you replace the Hollandaise sauce with lemon juice.

Some groceries around here carry rotissaried chickens, which just need to be kept warm. Serve with potatoes or a pasta or couscous and simply cooked vegetables. If there are any Mexican groceries near you you may be able to find tamales, which are popular this time of the year.

Rather than roasting a whole chicken, how about chicken thighs? They're smaller, so they take less time. There are a lot of recipes available online from practically every cuisine. One of my go-to ones is chicken with paprika: salt and pepper the chicken thighs, and brown. Remove from pan, add sliced (or minced or diced) onions, and mushrooms if you like. Add the thighs back, add enough stock to barely cover, and simmer for a half-hour or so until it's done (insert plug for meat thermometer). Remove thighs to a warm plate in the oven while you reduce the stock, then stir in sour-cream and add paprika until it's a pleasing color. The sour cream is optional, but I think it's festive. Serve with egg noodles. (This also works with pork chops, if those are an option)

We are also doing a Wigilia tomorrow night. My wife made pierogies yesterday and my bother’s doing the fish- probably breaded fried haddock. Also many other sides and desserts being prepared by other attendees, like sweet and sour cabbage, mashed potatoes, cucumber in sour cream and dill, crusciki and platzak. Before dinner we break the oplatek with each other and give each other 5 wishes. Been doing this my entire life. This year we have some new members of the family who are old enough to participate and understand the tradition. Hope you enjoy your wigilia!
Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

Smoked from our local BBQ place. Sweet potato mash, done some kind of savory way - probably thyme butter, parmesan and black pepper. Asparagus. And a chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting.

Regarding the cake - the recipe came from the caterer for DH's first wedding. It was their wedding cake and is now traditional for our winter holiday, which includes 3 birthdays, 1 anniversary (our 45th this year), Xmas, and New Year.

DH's son was told as a toddler that the 3 layers represented all of our birthdays. He protested with all of the drama he could muster that 3 birthdays required 3 cakes, no fewer. We compromised for 2 years with 1 cake, but each layer of a different flavor (so, Neopolitan) before we could finally convince him to let it go. With the addition of 3 grandkids, we now have to split each layer in half for a 6-layer chocolate cake and we'd add a 7th layer for DIL if it were possible. But everybody's old enough to agree that the cake, while delicious, is mostly an excuse for as much frosting as possible. As long there there's enough of that, nobody's counting.

However, we took everybody to Little Mermaid instead of having a holiday get-together this year, so it's just the 2 of us. The cake will be unsplit.