I’m going to sound cliché, especially in this period when you’re overrun with crappy Christmas TV movies (I say that but love it) but it’s been my favorite time of year since I was little. No it’s not because of the freebies but I like the fact that everyone is more or less racking their brains trying to please their loved ones. This spirit touches me enormously and I try to keep it all year round.

To please your loved ones, I am sharing my menu for this year with you, hoping that it will give you some ideas. This will save you the hassle of searching for a full menu if you prefer to focus on other details of this wonderful holiday.

Are you ready for a belly explosion? Go!

The Drink

Moscow Mule

I don’t drink a lot other than beer when I’m with my friends but this one is my little darling for the holidays!

Per glass all you need:

• 60 ml of vodka
• 15 ml lime
• 120 ml of ginger beer
• Ice cubes

For the decoration:

• A slice of lime
• 1 sprig of fresh mint

The entrees :

Sardine canapé

Ingredients:

Toast
Sardine – 1 can
Egg – 2 pcs.
Cheese – 100 gr.
Mayonnaise
Salted cucumber – 1 pc.
Dried parsley

Preparation:

1. Roll out the slices of bread thinly with a rolling pin: the thinner, the better. Note that the toast should be the freshest, otherwise you will not succeed (the bread will crumble).
2. Cut in half to form triangles. Fold the corners to make “envelopes”. Secure with toothpicks.
3. Dry in the oven for 10 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees
4. Grind the eggs and cheese on a grater, season with a small amount of mayonnaise. Stir – the filling is ready.
5. Fill each blank with a small amount of filling.
6. Place the sprats inside and add a small piece of pickled cucumber.

Beetroot bites

Ingredients:

• beets
• cottage cheese
• walnuts
• prunes or dried apricot
• pistachios
• garlic
• salt
• ground pepper
• chili or paprika

Preparation:

1. Cut the beetroot into thin slices
2. Crush the walnuts and pistachios and cut the fruit into small pieces.
3. Mix the cheese with the prunes/apricots, crushed garlic, pepper, chilli
4. Place the cheese on half of a slice of beetroot and fold it over.
5. Dip the edge of the beetroot in the mixture of crushed pistachios and walnuts.

Mini onion puff pastry, goat cheese and figs

Ingredients (for 6 persons):

• Store-bought puff pastry
• Onion confis
• 3 figs
• 1 log of goat cheese
• Thyme
• 1 egg yolk.

Preperation:

1. Cut a thin round of goat cheese
2. Using a glass or a cookie cutter about 8 cm in diameter, cut circles of puff pastry
3. In the center place a teaspoon of onion confis, a slice of cheese and a slice of fig.
4. Brush the outline of the puff pastry with egg yolk
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 ° c
6. Sprinkle with thyme.

Kutya

an essential part of Ukrainian Christmas Eve. It is a dish that allows us to pay tribute to our ancestors and our deceased loved ones.

Ingredients:

• 200g wheat grain
• 100g poppy seed
• 100g crushed walnuts
• 70g raisins
• 50g honey (3 tablespoons)
• Candied fruits (to your liking)
• 500ml water
• 1 pinch salt

Preparation:

1. Leave the wheat soaking overnight in water
2. Drain the wheat and boil in 500ml salted water until cooked (1h to 1h30)
3. Crush the walnuts
4. Put the poppy seeds in boiling water for 15min and drain them.
5. Mix the cooked wheat with all the ingredients and leave to stand for 1h or 2 before serving.

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Crunchy salmon verrine:

A small, lighter starter in the middle of all that fat.

Ingredients: (for 6 persons):

• 1 cucumber
• 1 bunch of dill
• 6 salted crackers
• 250 g smoked salmon
• 500 ml of very cold liquid cream
• Lump Eggs

Preperation:

1. Place the bowl that will be used for the whipped cream in the freezer
2. Crumble crackers at the bottom of each jack
3. Arrange diced cucumber
4. Reserve two slices of salmon, cut the rest into small pieces and mix with the chopped dill.
5. Beat the whipped cream and stir in the salmon
6. Using a pastry bag, garnish your verrines with whipped cream
7. A few lump eggs on top
8. Finally, prick a slice of salmon on a wooden pick so as to form a serpentine and place across each verrine.

Salmon salad

Ingredients:

• Raw or smoked salmon
• fresh cucumbers
• avocado
• hard-boiled eggs

sauce:

• plain yogurt
• mustard seeds
• salt
• lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Cut the fish, cucumber, avocado and hard-boiled eggs into small cubes
2. Mix all the ingredients.

The sides for the main course

I’m very fond of mashed potatoes, but this year I wanted to change things up a bit, so I’m offering you a festive salad and mini-gratins dauphinois (a French dish that consists of a potato gratin).

Waldorf salad

Considering the number of preparations, I wanted something lighter while remaining in the festive side so I suggest this small salad, very simple and yet grandiose.

Ingredients(for 6 persons):

• 30 g of butter
• 75 g of chopped walnuts
• 1 C. brown sugar
• 2 green Granny Smith apples, with the skin, cut into 1 cm cubes
• 2 stalks of celery cut into 1 cm dice
• 75 g of minced shallots
• A few leaves of romaine lettuce
• Raisins dry or fresh (My little addition to this recipe)

Sauce:

• 2 tsp. mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper from the mill

Preperation:

1. Over medium heat, brown the nuts in the butter. When they are well coated, add the sugar and lightly caramelize. To book.
2. In a bowl, combine all the other salad ingredients.
3. Prepare the vinaigrette by incorporating all the ingredients and mix. Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce

Cheesy mini potato gratin

One day I will share with you the real recipe for this divine dish, but for the moment I am offering you a simple version to enjoy with your guests.

Ingredients(for 6 persons):

• Spray oil
• 1.2 kg of long and wide potato
• 30g butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 125 g heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon of thyme
• 75 g slice of Gruyère or counted cheese
• 75 g of gruyère or grated counted cheese
• Salt pepper

Preperation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 ° c
2. Melt the butter and butter muffin cups with
3. In the rest of the melted butter, add the squeezed garlic and cook for 20 seconds then add the cream and the salt and after 30 seconds turn off the heat.
4. Cut the potato slices into thin slices to the diameter of a muffin tin using a mandolin (be careful with your fingers).
5. Place potato slices halfway up the mussels
6. Top with a slice of cheese and continue to top with slices of potatoes.
7. Sprinkle with thyme and pour in the cream.
8. Bake for 40 minutes
9. Add grated cheese on top and brown for 10 min
10. Leave them on for 5 minutes before serving.

The main course

Christmas Stuffed Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

• 8 Chicken thighs
• 200g Chicken escalope
• 200g Mutton
• 120g ham
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 onions
• 200g button mushrooms
• 8 Chestnuts
• 40g foie gras
• 2 slices of sandwich bread
• milk
• 10 ml of Cognac/Whiskey
• 4 untreated oranges (or clementine)
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 bunch of parsley

Preparation:

1. Remove the bone from the thighs
2. Cut 2 oranges into slices
3. Squeeze two others and reserve the juice
4. Cut the sandwich bread into small cubes and soak it in milk.
5. Mix all the rest of the ingredients.
6. add the soaked bread to the stuffing.
7. Stuff the inside of the thighs, place a round of orange on each of them, tie and close with roasting string.
8. Bake for 45 min at 220°c.
9. When half cooked, pour the juice of the second orange into the dish and baste the meat with the juice obtained.

Dessert

Apple yule log

Ingredients:

• 3-4 apples

Dough:

• 4 eggs
• 110 g icing sugar
• 120 g flour
• Baking powder 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

1. Wash the apples and grate them on a coarse grater.
   Beat the eggs well with the icing sugar, then carefully add the flour and baking powder. Mix everything well and the dough is ready.
2. Grease the baking paper, then arrange the apples and sprinkle with icing sugar.
   Pour the dough on top and bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.
3. Immediately roll up the hot roll and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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I hope with all those recipes you will fine some idea for you own menu!