Seafood christmas dinner ideas
Here are some Jamaican Christmas dinner menu ideas to inspire your own celebration! In Jamaica, however, this meal traditionally occurs on the afternoon of Christmas Day, anywhere between 2 and 5 p. It usually involves a large gathering of family members who come from far and wide. Each person brings a dish to contribute to seafood christmas dinner ideas holiday table, and the result is a delicious, celebratory feast.
My family is small, and most of my relatives live abroad, so I’m not able to have a large, traditional family gathering. My own tradition is to invite people who I know might otherwise spend the holiday alone. I also usually try to include someone who is needy, or I might bring a plate over to someone who isn’t able to attend a gathering. Gungo peas and rice: During the rest of the year, a very common, everyday side dish in Jamaica is red kidney beans and rice. When the holiday season rolls around, however, the red kidney beans are replaced with green gungo peas, also known as pigeon peas.
Sorrel: A traditional holiday drink made from the sorrel flower, this beverage is stewed with ginger and spices before being mixed with rum. Christmas pudding: This is a traditional holiday cake made with fruits soaked in wine or rum. A Note About Christmas HamI live deep in the countryside where some people are very poor, and many people are unfamiliar with foods from other cultures. For example, many people in my neck of the woods have never had ham before—or at least not the way you might know it, anyway. My grandparents used to prepare a pork leg for the holidays by curing it for a few days with salt, then boiling and roasting it. Those traditions are now extinct, though.
The upper and upper-middle classes in Jamaica often prepare a ham for Christmas. In rural areas, people usually roast pork, beef, and chicken. Some will prepare curried goat, as well. Since I grew up in an upper-middle-class home, I was exposed to culinary traditions from other cultures, including the Christmas ham or turkey and stuffing. This year, I am getting a head start to make sure I get everything I need on time.
Roast turkey: Roasted in the oven with my special marinade consisting of white wine and fresh herbs blended together and rubbed all over. I will make a few incisions in the skin and then rub some of the marinade between the skin and the meat. Stuffing: I will be making the traditional cornbread version for my fiance’s sake. Potato salad: This is made with corn, cheese, green peas, and carrots and garnished with parsley. Green salad: Lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, sliced olives, apple slices, and grapes topped with a homemade vinaigrette dressing are the components of this salad. Grilled or roasted tofu: We top ours with a spicy strawberry jelly sauce. The sauce is made using strawberry jelly, preserves, or jam boiled with hot peppers and sugar to get the right consistency.
This sauce can also be served with pork or turkey. Traditional cornbread stuffing is a must. He’d had a makeshift version of the ham, much like the kind my grandparents used to make, in which the pork leg is cured, boiled, and roasted. However, that version is not smoked, and it does not have the same texture and taste as the traditional Christmas ham.
Cranberry glazed Christmas ham: This is a first for my fiancé! Roast chicken: Our chicken is seasoned with rosemary and olive oil. Poultry is a must for our holiday table. Sautéed string beans make my mom’s menu. My Mom’s Menu This is my mom’s holiday dinner menu, which she created herself. After 24 years of living and working in the United States, she looks forward to the many traditional Jamaican foods of the holiday season.
