ideas for scaled-back but festive Christmas dinner

(scaled way back)

On Christmas Day this year, I expect to serve 3 people at home.  Restaurant is not an option (and anyhow, we're not in Jersey anymore), and I'd prefer not to do takeout.  I will serve lasagne on the 28th when our vegetarian is in town.

Ideas please??  In the past, I have usually pretty much repeated Thanksgiving on Xmas, but I'm just not up for it this year.  Meat/fowl/fish is OK, as are small dishes of some kind, and dishes based on takeout from, e.g., Whole Foods.  No garlic.  I will bake pies but am at a loss for the rest.

TIA and best holiday wishes to all!

Not saying this is for you, but we are also very scaled back. We buy the Carrando quarter ham at Kings. Oh...you're not local. Hmmm....we like the ham because we can munch on it during the day. Good bread. For hubby and me nice green salad, maybe with pear or clementines. We live with so much stress we have to keep it simple, simple, simple.

maybe just a steakhouse meal.  Good steaks, baked potato and a nice spinach or other veg side.

gerryl, exactly our situation, thanks.  The ham sounds good, and could finish it with sliders....  Good thing about ham is you don't have to rush to use up any leftovers.

mod, thanks, that sounds really good too.  Or maybe a small roast or pot roast, one plain and one "fixed-up" veg....  This is beginning to feel doable.

So grateful to you (and all of MOL over the years)

m

(revised)

Easy and festive sides: asparagus (little salt and olive oil, roast in oven at 425 for 20 minutes, can grate fresh parmesan over if desired); red and green salad (arugula or greens of your choice, goat cheese, grape tomatoes, hazelnut or nut of choice, drizzle with red wine vinegar, olive oil, s and p); roasted fingerling potatoes or cut red potatoes (drizzled with olive oil, s and p, roast in hot oven for 45 minutes to an hour). Also easy: buy precut butternut squash, cut a red onion into eighths, sprinkle with s and p, roast in hot oven an hour. Yummy drizzled with tahini and pine nuts and parsley for color.  

Emeril's brisket recipe is a big holiday favorite at our house, and no one ever minds using up the leftovers!  Of course, you'd have to skip the embedded garlic

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/passover-brisket-recipe.html

Thanks again! 

soresident, great to have details!

susan1014, and links!

When we're by ourselves or just one or two more, I make shrimp scampi over linquini with a nice fresh salad and good Italian bread.  Easy to make and clean up.

At our house it is always a pretty small crew, but I still go reasonably traditional. I do a turkey breast instead of the whole bird, with traditional side dishes, but on a smaller scale. I like it. Still festive, but not huge. I make a few things, like desserts and some sides, ahead of time. 

And I do love having leftovers to eat for a couple of days.

Not sure if this helps at all. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!

we do a filet mignon roast. Usually on sale for $4.99 or $5.99 lb this time of year. If it's fewer people, cut some off into individual steaks before cooking and freeze individually. The roast can go in oven or on Barbeque. We usually make twice baked potatoes which can be made day before and are even better leftover. Add a salad and some bread and you are all set. 

My new favorite thing is pasta with roasted butternut squash and brussels sprouts. Roasted with salt and olive oil and tossed all together- it's that simple, and it looks really pretty.

Thanks so much, everyone!  I am feeling much less daunted tonight, if still not exactly UNdaunted.

Happy hols and happy new year to everyone!

Best I could offer is latkes and applesauce..Not sure how that would go over! 

Just wanted to wish you and your family the best this season. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year, old friend.

latkes sounds good to me, although I prefer sour cream with mine.

Love this site.

You can find some great ideas and simple recipes here:
http://www.epicurious.com/holidays-events

I was thrilled when I saw this post.  I'm also trying to figure out what to make except I'm having 16 over and REALLY want to keep it as easy as possible.  Any suggestions on a FAIL PROOF beef roast?  What cut and how to cook it?  Last time I tried this on Christmas we ate 5 hours late as the amazing slow method I was hell bent on trying would have been done by New Year's if someone did not take it out of the oven and cook the thing...

If I have a repeat of that no one will ever trust me with Christmas dinner again and I will once again have to start dragging the kids away from their new toys to go somewhere with no other kids, etc etc.  

Thank  you!  Happy holidays.  16 people, mostly adults, some won't eat ham, others no pork, others...

you get the pic?  

an amazing not too complicated chicken dish might work as well.  

This sounds like a job for Chicken Marbella. 

I'm tacking on to this for ideas - daughter is hosting in-laws and us for Christmas Eve - In-law traditional Eve food is a dish of grated potatoes & eggs baked in a casserole and then individual portions are slathered with sour cream - she IS going against tradition and having lasagna too since her kids don't eat the other thing.   I'm to bring hors d'oeuvres - but no meat or cheese, and no fish due to allergies and a pregnant person - which are pretty much the ingredients of any hors d'oeuvre I make.   Stuffed mushrooms obvious option,  but any ideas for anything else?

bruschetta, marinated vegetables, eggplant spread like Babaganoush, hummus and assorted olives with pita or flatbread

I made a smitten kitchen mushroom recipe that would work really well as an assortment of different bruschetta for an appetizer spread. (And it's substantial enough to not need to be eaten on bread if you can't eat bread). I think she calls it mushroom escargot. Super easy to make and rich enough to be special. 

Appreciating this thread too. Having family over for the first time on Christmas, and they are all cooks, some professional!

So many good ideas.  Thanks.

pauli - are any of the 16 people bringing side dishes?? Could you ask them to bring potatoes, bread, vegetables, or appetizers?  Also dessert. For a main course, if you want to make a roast beef, go to the butcher and ask about the different cuts, the prices and the cooking time.  Avoid braising/slow cooking unless you make it the day before and then just heat it up. Another main dish could be chicken thighs, skinned, bone-in with excess fat removed.  Put in baking pan - olive oil, salt and pepper, and whatever dry or fresh herbs you like.  Top with a little paprika for color.  375 degree oven. Check it after 40 minutes.  Or go to the website recommended by phoenixrising for other ideas.  Good luck!

Maybe an easy make your own taco bar ... just get some sour cream, jar of salsa, shred a little lettuce, some canned diced tomatoes, jalapeño to taste, then fry up some ground turkey with a bit of salt, pepper, and chili powder with onions, a nice avocado, a bag of tortilla chips as a side. 

I'd also cook up this hanger steak as well and that can be sliced to order so you have make your own turkey tacos and steak tacos. Boil up some rice dump in a can of kidney beans put a bottle of hot sauce on the table and wallah the feast she is served. 

http://www.thecrepesofwrath.com/2012/10/15/hanger-steak-with-garlic-butter/

Then you can have left over hanger steak and eggs for breakfast on boxing day and just throw the left over turkey meat together with the diced tomatoes and rice with beans add a bit of spices and you got a pot of chili on the stove for lunch.

Sounds like a lot but shouldn't be too bad plus you got your Boxing day meals together as well.

Large platter of varied appetizers... served on lazy suzy, if available(or buffet style).  I'm thinking along the lines of tapas dinner.  Since you like to bake how about 2 different quiches?  Ceviche is quite easy tho make or available at various markets; serve with large crackers.  A couple of egg rolls + bought sauce.  A rack of ribs- cut individually and served heaped on a platter or bowl(s).

I can't believe I started this post yesterday 

Oh these ALL sound so good!  thank you thank you!  and happy happy!

@LL, I am sure everyone would be delighted with latkes and applesauce, esp. me!  However, I'm sort of a failure at frying.  Applesauce could work though, and (shhhh) frozen latkes or hash browns.  How excellent would that be with leftover roast??

@pauli - When figuring the time for the roast beef, find out whether your book or other info source is starting from refrigerator temp meat or room temp.  I can tell you, Fanny Farmer is starting from room temp, but I didn't know that for years and years.  And there's nothing like having to wait literally hours longer than you thought....

I've always made a whole tenderloin. Simple, easy and doesn't take too long. 

I also always made a whole tenderloin, it is easy, I severed it with twice baked potatoes, and asparagus. Once I got really fancy and made a beef Wellington, that was not so simple. Enjoy your day, whatever you decide on.

I just saw an Ina Garten post for a festive holiday dinner that looked super simple: some type of roast beef with Gorgonzola sauce, roasted tomatoes, and Parmesan smashed tomatoes. 

Last year I bought a huge roast instead of the brisket I would usually get for Hanukkah. (Someone at the store told me to get that instead). I asked about recipes here and ended up cutting it in half and freezing half for New Years, then making it with the high heat method 500 degree oven for x amount of time per pound, then super low oven). I made a horseradish sauce to go with. (And since I don't eat meat and my family is pretty picky with veggies I made many other dishes too). The roast came out great though. 

For our xmas eve which follows (somewhat loosely at this point) the Italian tradition of all seafood dishes my job is to make a few salads. I know as a host, a complicated salad is the last thing I want to make, so as a guest I'm happy to make them! Since we have a few who avoid cheese/dairy I like to make salads without them. This year I'm making an orange fennel/endive salad, with kalamata olives, hearts of palm served over spinach—either my dad or his uncle said it was just like the salads they had growing up on Christmas. I'll also do, by request, the salad I made for thanksgiving. It's red and green so it works. Chopped up (raw) broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale with apples, dried cranberries, toasted pecans and red onion/shallot with a maple Dijon vinaigrette. This one is great because the greens are hearty so it won't wilt.