Main Entrees for Christmas Dinner

Christmas dinner is the one dinner of the year that takes weeks to plan. It’s not that the dinner itself takes weeks to prepare, but it too often obsessing that transpires over the most important dinner.

Many people either make the turkey dinner all over again or they make lasagna. It was actually googling spinach lasagna 16 years ago that inspired me to start a food blog.

We usually make something with beef and then add in the fancy side dishes. Here are some ideas for you.

Tenderloin Roast of Beef – I think this is what we will be doing again this year, although I am going to make some kind of fancy sauce.

Prime Rib of Beef – This is still one of my all time favorite dinners with sour cream horseradish sauce. I have friends who use my recipe every year and brag about it.

Leg of Lamb – This should not be restricted to easter. Leg of lamb is scrumptuous and more affordable than many cuts of premium beef.

Beef Bourguignon – This very fancy beef stew, made with a whole bottle of wine, is good enough for Christmas Day. My oven broke a few years ago and this became Christmas dinner.

Stuffed Shells – I think this is one of the pasta dishes that should be made sometime during the holidays if not for Christmas day. You can get the whole family in the kitchen with piping bags filling the large shells. Fun and delicious.

Mock Porchetta with Root Vegetables – This pork roast (considered street food in Italy when sliced onto rolls) is one of my favorite ways to eat pork. I found this recipe in the Zuni Cafe cookbook (a San Francisco restaurant I can attest to). It’s stuffed with fennel and lemon and has all the Italian feels. Surround it with your favorite root vegetables.

Short Ribs in Wine – Yes, this is a great Christmas dinner idea that can be made in advance. It took me a while to create a great short ribs recipe. This is it.

Pork Loin (how to brine and roast) – Perfect with my no lump mashed potatoes. Another affordable entree that pleases a crowd.

If you are going to have a small Christmas dinner gathering, you might want to make this very easy Rack of Lamb.

Veal Osso Buco – I know you probably don’t make this very often, if at all, but it’s just delicious and something to try.

Pot Roast of Beef served with Parmesan Whipped Potatoes – This is a Marcella Hazan recipe, the queen of Italian cooking. She passed some years ago and her book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking continues to sell. The first 50 pages discuss the fundamentals of Italian cooking and is worth the price alone. This book has no pictures, but many accolades over the last 50 years!

Fancy Sides