Foods Associated with Holidays

my mom always makes beets and horseradish for Easter. I never ate it until a few
years ago and have made it a couple of times myself since then.

we always have lupini beans at Christmas. They have absolutely no taste to them (you need a lot of salt on them) but like a potato chip you can't eat just one.

Beets and horseradish? My hubby loves beets, don't think he has ever had em with horseradish. JoAnn, how is it made?

We always have turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I tried to have something different on a couple of occasions for our Christmas dinner and although the kids complimented me on the meal, they asked that I do a turkey thereafter.

for New Years we always have sauerkraut and pork. with mashed potatoes.
easter always have paska bread and easter cheese
for thanksgiving it is turkey stuffing candied yams and spoon bread
Christmas is turkey also with all the fixings and a birthday cake for dessert that says
"Happy Birthday Baby Jesus:"

When the kids were home I made lasagna for our New Years meal. It was served with salad and garlic bread.

St. Patrick's Day was boiled dinner that included corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

it's really easy. Use canned beets (drain them really well) then grate them and some horseradish and mix together. It tastes better after it sits for a couple of days. It's really good on ham.

Easter wouldn't be Easter without a ham. My family prefers it to be boiled along with the cabbage, potatoes and carrots. With the leftovers I prepared a split green pea soup.

I will have to give the beets a try with the Hubby. I don't care for beets myself. Thanks for the recipe JoAnn!

we used to have pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes for New Years too. I forgot about that.

Birthdays dinners are the choice of the one we are celebrating. I prefer a pie over cake.

you're welcome Sarina.

Lefse, pickled herring, lutefisk...

I'm so gald I posted this. I'm really enjoying reading about some of your favorite foods for special occasions. I don't really care for beets execpt pickled but JoAnn I would try your way. I do like horseradish. I'm not familiar with the beans you mentioned but I like most beans.

Sarina I've done the boiled dinner before as well.

Becky I've never heard of paska bread either. I'm learing about new foods from all of you.

We always have a turkey and a ham for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter. I think we do this so there are plenty of leftovers and everyone gets what they want the most. Then we of course have the dressing and potato salad. For St. Patrick's Day we always have corned beef and cabbage and potatoes, beer and desserts.

Lupini beans are an Italian bean that you buy dried. You soak them in salt water for about a week (changing the water every day). I've also seen them in Italian grocery stores already to eat in a jar.

forgot to mention on the lupini - you have to remove the outer skin before you eat them.

Samantha thanks for adding your favorites.

Lynn, thanks for your comments as well.

Joann, thanks for the information on the lupini beans. Very interesting.

Other than New Years, our traditions sound similar to yours.

We just like something different every year on New Years. This year we are doing BBQ ribs and shrimp.

Cookies at Christmas are traditional. I make certain cookies only at Christmas time.

always ham & black eyed peas on new years day

We do an English Christmas with roast beef and yorkshire pudding. When my parents were still alive, in late summer we used to have a lobster picnic to celebrate the birthdays of my sis, bro and I since we are all within 3 weeks of each other. My youngest daughter has a special dish she requests for her celebrations--pork sate (pork tenderloin strips marinated in a spicy peanut sauce and then grilled)

My liile girl, loves tacos for her birthday dinner, and we always have prime rib roast dinner for christmas.

Birthday's it depends on the person but usually Steve wants buffalo wings or chicken. Trev wants a banana pudding cake and pasta. I want to eat out! For Chanukah, it's latkes with sour cream. For New Years, usually I make some type of seafood dish (or 2), and always end with Chocolate Fondue. For Passover, its potato kugel (made with matzo meal) and a brisket. For Fathers Day, I usually make Steve a steak and on Mothers Day we always go out.

My is somewhat like yours Joan, I do Ham every Christmas but on Easter we try to eat out or order in. I don't do the collards or black eye peas because I don't believe in all that but if someone cooks it, I'll eat it, LOL.

Corned Beef and Cabbage are a must have for St. Patrick's Day!! I don't think I'll make a Ham next Christmas, it's time for a change!!

New Years Day...no hog jowls, collard greens and black-eyed peas for us out-west gals!
Heck, we won't even eat spinach unless it's raw!

It really is interesting how different regions eat different foods...must have depended on what was fresh and available. Cows and deer. That's what ran wild and not wild where I grew up.
But, ham was a traditional for Christmas or New Years.

Coming from the land of dinner and supper...as opposed to lunch and dinner...we had a big meal on New Year's Day...every bit as formal as Thanksgiving or Christmas. Because Thanksgiving was turkey, Christmas was usually ham...and New Years would be beef...roast or something.

Summer is always the time for barbecues at our house: steak, burgers, chicken, pork tenderloin or Italian sausage, with potato salad or pasta salad. I always make lemon bundt cake for birthdays. Once in a while, I make a square angel food cake, slice it in half horizontally, and put lemon pie filling between the layers. Then I frost the outside with cool whip. Turkey with corn pudding at Thanksgiving, ham for Christmas Eve, rigatoni for Christmas Day. I think we all look forward to our old favorites every holiday.

We always had pork w/saurkraut and mashed potatoes for New Year's too. I think it's a Pennsylvania thing. At least no one I've talked to here in New England has heard of it since I've lived here. My mom usually also made stuffed mushrooms.
For Easter my mom always took the eggs after the egg hunt and made pickled beets and eggs. I need to find out how to make that! I love pickled eggs but have no idea hwo to do it.

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Shannon, BBQ ribs and shrimp sound good.

Sarina, we also make cookies at Christmas that we don't normally make at any othrer time of year.

Fran yours is similar to ours. When I was growing up we didn't have the hog jowls always but Mom did always make some kind of pork. We also didn't have the collards but cabbage instead, since Mom doensn't care that much for collards, even though she adores most other greens. We did have black eyed peas and also stewed potatoes, since Dad didn't think we had a meal without potatoes.

Ellen M, an English Christmas sounds good. I've only had yorkshire pudding once in a restaurant but it sure was good. I should try to make some since I have a few recipes.

Bridget, prime rib sounds delicious for Christmas. My son would probably request tacos like your daughter if he didn't like lasagna so much.

Risa, chocolate fondue -- Yum! We don't celebrate Chanukah, but I do love latkes. Thanks for sharing your Chanukah and Passover favorites. Your mention of Mother's and Father's day made me remember we usually try and have something with pumpkin on Halloween. I've made a stew in a pumpkin before and also chicken pot pies in small individual pumpkins several times.

Carolyn, you're probably right, it probably doesn't work for the luck, money thing with the black eyed peas, hog jowls and collards but I like them and it's fun to continue a tradition.

Donna, on the years we have ham I'd really rather have a change too but don't think the rest of the family would.

Ellie, come on spinach sauteed lightly or a wilted spinach, mushroom and onion salad is pretty good. Of course I also like it raw.

Marianne, my nephew barbecues or grills as we call it in the south almost year round. I've seen him out there shivering to turn or check on something and then run back in the house. You're right I think we do look forward to our favorites whatever they may be on holidays.

Kim, we always make either deviled eggs or pickled eggs either before or after Easter. My Mom makes wonderful ones but mine never taste quiet as good even though I do the same thing. Guess it's that Mother's love?

Thanks Austin and everyone else to for all the comments!

Ellie, I realized just now I missed one of your comments above. I agree it's very interesting to see what different regions eat. I've found some things I didn't know about but now love on other groups from people from different states and also different countries. We do eat deer here too and lots of other things.

Referring back to the yorkshire pudding, we have a family saying: the yorkshire pudding is done when the smoke alarm goes off! You use meat drippings in the bottom of the baking pans, and when the popover batter cooks at 450 degrees, often the grease ends up spilling over. Voila--instant clouds of smoke!

Elaine, that's too cute.

Used to do all that traditional stuff when kids were small and family at home, now just eat whatever we have on hand, Happy New Year Joan

New Years Eve, we usually have a buffet of appetizers, deli meats, bakery bread, chips dips, little smokies with barbecue sauce. And all kinds of drinks. New Year Day, we go to my mother in laws for dinner. This year I think she is having a pork dinner. Happy New Year!

Elsie Kimi, and Marsha, thanks so much for chiming in. Hope you all have a wonderful 2008 and enjoy what ever you're making for supper tonight.

Somehow it wouldn't be
Thanksgiving OR Christmas
without stuffing and cranberry sauce.

For Christmas we always have pork tenderloin, dumplings, sweet & sour cabbage and gravy - we call it The White Christmas :)

cool