579172 Wed Dec 10 22:16:38 -0800 2008 79 31 Home Cooking 0 4237784 I saw a recipe for baked hash browns in the December issue of Bon Appetit or Gourmet. I think I'll make those and a strata and maybe baked oatmeal. Maybe some cinnamon rolls. What do you make? I'm especially interested in things I can assemble the night before. Thanks! Wed Dec 10 22:16:38 -0800 2008 12426 janehathaway 1 4237814 Nuclear potatoes, baked french toast, crustless quiche. EZ. Or big crowds: I have like the whole earth at my house Christmas morn. I precook sausage, dice veggies and mix them in 4 huge bags of shredded potatoes. It can be mixed and frozed way ahead of time. Christmas: Get every skillet within a four block radius plugged into the kitchen sockets, pour in the fat and fry away. Dump 36 beaten eggs (yes 36, no more, no less!!!) in among the pans and then cheddar on top and let it ride. Make salsa and guac the day before, lay out some sour cream and hot soft giant flour torts and it is breaky burritos for 50. I also make like15 coffee cakes and quick bread ahead (freeze and thaw-heat) and enough fruit salad to scare off a herd of monkeys. By noon I am insane and need a whiskey drip feed. Wed Dec 10 22:49:17 -0800 2008 4237784 137755 Sal Vanilla 2 4239282 WOW sounds great,,,,what time is breakfast served...I'll bring my own fork! ;) Thu Dec 11 11:54:17 -0800 2008 4237814 237148 bermudagourmetgoddess 1 4238052 Slices of panettone, coffee and hot chocolate. Thu Dec 11 04:51:34 -0800 2008 4237784 177724 tmso 1 4238062 Cinnamon rolls and coffee. Thu Dec 11 05:03:57 -0800 2008 4237784 12144 CeeBee 2 4238071 Yes! Cinnamon rolls, coffee and hot chocolate for the boy. Thu Dec 11 05:23:16 -0800 2008 4238062 63569 flourgirl 2 4239337 That's what we do. I have to admit to extreme laziness - I bake Grand's Cinnamon Rolls. We always have the inlaws and they are very basic in their tastes and I have a child who likes everything "plain", so I generally just go for easy. I'm not a huge morning person anyway and I have to cook Christmas dinner that afternoon! Thu Dec 11 12:08:31 -0800 2008 4238062 71196 dalaimama 3 4241178 We always have as well, though this year I may try and make them myself. Maybe. If I get all my shopping done this weekend and it I have everything wrapped and the house cleaned and all the cookies baked. Maybe. Fri Dec 12 04:40:33 -0800 2008 4239337 12144 CeeBee 3 5178602 We always do the Grands!! One year, I tried to make homemade sticky buns, and everyone was very kind and ate them, but the Grands reappeared the very next year. Now I just focus on Christmas dinner. Fri Nov 13 08:26:04 -0800 2009 4239337 62469 happybellynh 1 4238084 I made a ham and tomato strata for last year's Christmas breakfast, and it was a huge hit. It was really easy to throw everything together on Xmas Eve, stick it in the fridge, and then bake it up in the morning. The recipe called for oven-roasted plum tomatoes to be mixed into the strata, but I forgot to roast them, let alone add them. So I just chopped them with a bit of onion for a quick tomato relish! I also do cinnamon rolls, making them a day or two ahead of time and refrigerating them. I let them come to room temp on xmas morning, and then stick them in the oven right alongside the strata. Thu Dec 11 05:36:58 -0800 2008 4237784 201585 RosemaryHoney 1 4238098 Hardboiled eggs, kielbasa, and some sort of yeasty sweet roll. And coffee. Thu Dec 11 05:42:12 -0800 2008 4237784 245669 rememberme 2 4240042 Hey! That's my Easter breakfast, although I have a yeasty sweet babka rather than a roll. Thu Dec 11 15:30:56 -0800 2008 4238098 13599 Ellen 1 4238110 We are having our version of cinnamon rolls, which are made the night before. *FULL* of fat and sugar, but that's what Christmas is for, right? In fact, I've already made mine for Christmas and put it in the freezer; I take them out in the late afternoon christmas eve then bake them Christmas morning after they've risen. My kids would never forgive me if I didn't make these (we have them again New Years day): "Diane's Cinnamon Rolls" Melt one stick of butter with 1/2 cup brown sugar; heat and stir till very thick. Put in bottom of bundt pan and sprinkle in 1/2 cup or so pecans. Cut 1.5 lbs of partially defrosted frozen bread dough into 48 pieces (it should be half frozen to make the cutting work better). Melt another stick of butter. Mix 1 cup of sugar with 2 tsp. cinnamon. Roll each piece of bread in butter, then in sugar mixture. Put in pan on top of caramel layer. Cover with plastic (held with rubber band) and rise overnight. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Remove from oven, let stand 10 minutes, then flip. Thu Dec 11 05:44:39 -0800 2008 4237784 18353 DGresh 2 4240684 I make, in the tradition of my mother, a very similar thing and add a healthy side of cointreau soaked fruit salad. Oh the memories. Thu Dec 11 19:55:44 -0800 2008 4238110 190434 raidar 2 4243135 so did you basically just stick your whole bundt pan in the freezer? thanks Fri Dec 12 18:10:49 -0800 2008 4238110 53762 geminigirl 1 4238115 This is a tradition which started in childhood. I always make Pillsbury Orange rolls Christmas morning. We also take brunch to my in-laws (my FIL is in a nursing home). Thu Dec 11 05:47:07 -0800 2008 4237784 11990 Janet from Richmond 1 4238139 I have made this eggnog french toast w/cranberry apple compote every year since '01 when it first came out in Bon Appetit. It can all be done the night before. I serve thick smoky bacon alongside. I'm already craving this! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eggnog-French-Toast-with-Cranberry-Apple-Compote-105976 Thu Dec 11 06:03:46 -0800 2008 4237784 11404 gansu girl 2 4240049 That's exactly what i am planning to make for breakfast this Christmas. With mimosas of course. Thu Dec 11 15:32:17 -0800 2008 4238139 13599 Ellen 3 4240164 Cheers, Ellen! It's darned good. Thu Dec 11 16:15:51 -0800 2008 4240049 11404 gansu girl 1 4238180 Strong coffee and this ooey, gooey, a baked French Toast casserole of sorts made wtih slices of day-old baguette soaked in heavy cream, topped with butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, mashed banana, maple syrup and vanilla. It is heavy enough to keep the family satisfied till dinner time! Thu Dec 11 06:24:46 -0800 2008 4237784 239703 jarona 1 4238203 Always eggs benedict, has been a tradition for years. There's always plenty of hot coffee to go with although sometime mimosas aren't bad. Thu Dec 11 06:35:29 -0800 2008 4237784 10925 rtmonty 1 4238266 I'm kind of in the point in my life where my boyfriend and I are establishing our own traditions so we don't have a standard yet, but I think we are moving towards one. The past couple years we have spent Christmas Eve with my family, then on Christmas Day, we drive 5 hours to see his family. It's kind of nice to have our own little breakfast together so we've been doing... breakfast fried rice. Totally untraditional, but it's nice to have something that savory rather than more sweet stuff (Christmas is sugar overload!) We do the rice the night before you could probably also do the bacon and sausage the night before. Scramble the eggs in the morning, then stirfry it all together with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic... Thu Dec 11 06:55:36 -0800 2008 4237784 239731 scarletfan 2 4239267 I know this is a little OT, but you drive 5 hours to see his family?!? You are a VERY good girlfriend.... Thu Dec 11 11:51:16 -0800 2008 4238266 63569 flourgirl 3 4241298 Thanks, I try! :) We're going to stay there for a few days after xmas. Fri Dec 12 06:10:03 -0800 2008 4239267 239731 scarletfan 1 4238272 A strata. It takes about 1-1/4 hours in the oven. Pop it in before we open gifts and it's ready about when we finish. Serve with a fresh fruit salad. In the meantime, we have coffee and OJ. Thu Dec 11 06:57:16 -0800 2008 4237784 25595 masha 1 4238283 PUMPKIN WAFFLES! MMM! Thu Dec 11 07:00:16 -0800 2008 4237784 15632 BackBayGirl 1 4238293 This is really our "big" meal for Christmas... we don't necessarily have a traditional Christmas dinner or anything. We've had brunch at my grandma's Christmas morning for my whole life and then some. She always makes: an egg casserole/ strata of some sort, sausage balls, dirty rice, cheesy potatoes, a fruit salad, jello, or cinnamon apples of some sort, and my dad makes egg nog. It's my favorite meal of the year, and is completed with a can of Pepsi, because everything tastes better at Grandma's house, including the Pepsi! :-) A few years ago, she was sick, so I came over to help her cook (she usually does everything either the day before or even a couple of days before- she's the queen of freezing and crockpots!) and we've been keeping up that tradition every year since then. Sometimes she's already fixed everything, so we just chat... either way, I love it! I can't wait! Thu Dec 11 07:03:38 -0800 2008 4237784 12813 Katie Nell 2 4240779 That's a priceless experience, Katie Nell. Hope you're learning those recipes too. (I'm sure you are!) Thu Dec 11 20:46:43 -0800 2008 4238293 19542 Karen_Schaffer 3 4241360 Oh, definitely, but it never tastes quite the same as Grandma's! Fri Dec 12 06:41:24 -0800 2008 4240779 12813 Katie Nell 1 4238294 Christmas morning at my parents' house has been the same meal my whole life. My mother makes a strata that seems to be in every Midwestern home cook's collection: a lot of sausage and cheese with a little hint of mustard. We have hash browns, a frsh fruit salad and coffee cake along with it. I don't know the name of the dish, but everyone refers to it as just "Christmas Brunch." Thu Dec 11 07:03:42 -0800 2008 4237784 221440 kathrynanne 2 4238369 I might add a strata to my menu; for this New Jersey girl can you give me the typical midwestern recipe? Thanks! Thu Dec 11 07:30:48 -0800 2008 4238294 18353 DGresh 3 4239250 This is our recipe, and it actually derives from an old family friend of my husband's family from when they were in NJ (although I suspect she may have obtained it from a Campbell Cream of Mushroom soup label 30 years ago). It is not health food: The night before: Ingredients: 10-12 slices of Bread, cubed (you can cut off crusts but it is not necessary. I use the least expensive store-brand white bread) 1 lb breakfast sausage (Bob Evans sage best) 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated 8-10 eggs, or equivalent egg substitute 1/2 cup milk 1/2 tsp dried mustard 1. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 9x13 in. baking dish. Cover bottom of dish completely with a layer of cubed bread. 2. Crumble and sautee sausage until completely cooked. 3. Scatter sausage in a layer over bread cubes. 4. Scatter grated cheese over sausage. 5. Beat 8 of the eggs, milk and mustard. Pour evenly over bread/sausage/cheese mixture. If all bread is not moistened, beat additional 2 eggs and add so that remaining cubes are moistened. (If you use a Pyrex baking dish, it's easy to see the bread layer). 6. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning: Ingredients: 1 can condensed mushroom soup (we use reduced fat Campbells) 1/2 cup milk 1. Preheat oven to 275. 2. Whisk together milk & soup. 3. Carefully score casserole mixture with a luncheon knife (so that soup/milk mixture will penetrate surface). Spread milk/soup mixture on top of casserole and using the back of a wooden spoon spread it around so that all portions of the casserole are moistened but do not disturb layers. 4. Bake for about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. Thu Dec 11 11:46:29 -0800 2008 4238369 25595 masha 4 4240486 Oops! 2 mistakes in the recipe above: Cheese layer should go on first. Sausage should be on top. Oven temperature should be 300 (not 275). Thu Dec 11 18:36:23 -0800 2008 4239250 25595 masha 1 4238384 For as long as I can remember, we've had creamed chipped beef on toasted english muffins. It's the only time of year that I eat it. Thu Dec 11 07:36:38 -0800 2008 4237784 108111 gatorfoodie 1 4238406 Cinnamon rolls made the day before and taken out to rise early xmas morning - whenever my hoodlum children drag my bleary-eyed self out of bed. Later on we have the big meal of the day: 'brunch' of tamales, eggs (sometimes huevos rancheros), beans and rice. Thu Dec 11 07:44:19 -0800 2008 4237784 75012 jencounter 2 4238462 my parents have made Christmas Morning Wife Saver out of the Best of Bridge books (a strata with back bacon and cheese) for as long as I can remember, it is ingrained in my mind, so much so, that I make it now at my own home when we are not with my folks. here is a link to the recipe: http://www.bestofbridge.com/Recipe2.aspx oh...and of course champagne and OJ!! Thu Dec 11 07:59:59 -0800 2008 4238406 105701 cleopatra999 1 4238610 We always have biscuits, link breakfast sausage, sliced cheddar cheese and fig preserves. You make a biscuit sandwich with it. I can remember having this at my grandmother's house growing up. My mother carried on the tradition and now so am I. My boys expect it and look forward to it every Christmas. Thu Dec 11 08:38:47 -0800 2008 4237784 135679 suites 1 4238727 We've begun a tradition of Williams Sonoma chocolate filled croissants (left to rise overnight and baked in the morning) with cappucinos to start the day. These croissants are some of the best I've had, and incredible for a bake-at-home variety. Then after we are finished opening presents, we'll have a strata with bacon on the side. It just isn't Christmas morning without bacon! Phoo-D http://www.phoo-d.com Thu Dec 11 09:11:35 -0800 2008 4237784 226727 Phoo_d 2 4240783 The Trader Joe's bake-at-home chocolate croissants are pretty good too, though I haven't done a side by side comparison. What a great idea for Christmas morning! Thu Dec 11 20:48:31 -0800 2008 4238727 19542 Karen_Schaffer 3 4241666 I heard they're both made by the same company, but that might just be an internet rumor. Fri Dec 12 08:34:13 -0800 2008 4240783 130504 pmody 4 4242422 I don't know if that's true. Here's a video interview with French Pastry Chef Jean-Yves Charon of Galaxy Desserts who makes all the croissants and ships them directly for Williams Sonoma: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku4276325/index.cfm?pkey=ccroissants%2Dbread%2Dpastries&ckey=croissants%2Dbread%2Dpastries Watching this video I couldn't wait for this year's box to arrive! We're giving a box of the chocolate filled croissants along with a Silpat to bake them on to a few relatives for Christmas gifts this year. Fri Dec 12 12:54:57 -0800 2008 4241666 226727 Phoo_d 1 4238771 Until a few years ago we were always the traveling branch of the family and Christmas breakfast wasn't something lingered over and it helped to do the major prep the night before. Our typical breakfast is bacon, eggs, and monkey bread. Usually my mother and I (or most recently my SIL) make it the previous night. This year I plan to make creme brulee french toast (found on another CH thread) and probably fruit salad. Hopefully my 30 yr old brother doesn't get too upset that I'm changing tradition. Thu Dec 11 09:21:16 -0800 2008 4237784 14495 viperlush 1 4239224 Dad's biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, oj, milk and hot coco. Thu Dec 11 11:37:37 -0800 2008 4237784 17495 Kari 1 4239259 After a pre-breakfast of chocolate from our stockings we have a meal of potato pancakes (hard to call them latkes of Christmas morning) and sausage. Plus cookies. And hot chocolate. Thu Dec 11 11:48:43 -0800 2008 4237784 135311 mpjmph 1 4239262 we have prawns (cooked the night before) chilled with cocktail sauce and our own "house" cocktail sauce, bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese, thinly sliced onion, the mandarin oranges found at the bottom of stockings, tea, coffee, champagne. Trying to keep it light for the big turkey dinner later in the day. Thu Dec 11 11:49:35 -0800 2008 4237784 69079 starlady 1 4239301 We always have the little breakfast and the big BRUNCH. The little breakfast is my eldest daughter's favorite. Freshly squeezed orange juice, hot coffee and wassail and orange rolls. The rolls are made with a standard hot roll recipe - even the boxed hot roll mix would work. Add a little sugar to the dough and form into pan rolls. Mix butter, powdered sugar and orange juice to form a stiff, sweet paste. Form small balls of the paste, enough for each roll. Use your thumb to make a depression in the roll (make it deep) for each paste ball. Pinch the roll closed. Finish the rise and bake. The rolls should burst open with an orangey sweet center. The second breakfast is usually either a big Southern spread with homemade bisquits, bacon, sausage, gravy, hashbrowns and eggs as you like them. OR a Mexican spread with ponche, quilachiles, tamales, green chile, thick cut Mexican bacon and jazzed up hash browns. Everyone leaves by about 2:00pm and DH and I veg the rest of the day. Thu Dec 11 11:59:12 -0800 2008 4237784 60822 Pampatz 1 4239493 wow this is a great thread - I guess we all take our traditions for granted so its surprising to see the diversity. Our norm is coffee with some sort of pastry warm from theoven- blueberry buckle and stollen have been favorites with some nice pink grapefruit. Thu Dec 11 12:51:41 -0800 2008 4237784 11130 jen kalb 1 4239577 Ours is and has been for some time: OJ, coffee, mimosas, a few different types of sausages (maple link, kielbasa, linguica), cheesy grits and a casserole of what my mother calls "heart attack potatoes" which consist of a pound of velveeta, a pound of bacon, two large bags of Texas cut home fries, mayo, and baked. I think it's similar to what is called funeral potatoes here on the boards. It's not Christmas if we don't have grits and potatoes. Thu Dec 11 13:13:58 -0800 2008 4237784 45170 lrostron 1 4239605 Ours is the terribly named 'wife saver'. (I have no idea where the recipe came from, but I know that's what it is called, because it gets made fun of every year.) Essentially country ham and old cheddar cheese sandwiches with lots of grainy mustard - laid out in a lasagna dish and covered with eggs. Leave overnight and bake in the morning. Delicious! I love this breakfast, and am sad that I won't get it this year as I'll be with my SO's family.... Thu Dec 11 13:23:46 -0800 2008 4237784 70075 tochipotle 1 4240192 At my folks, the traditional Christmas Breakfast, for those who are there to share it, has always been referred to as "The Rock". By definition, and I'm sure by the original recipe, it's a cinnamon ring. Basically yeast dough cinnamon rolls, uncut, wrapped into a ring, ends mushed together. Then cut most of the way through and twisted a bit. Am I making any sense? Anyway, Mom has never been a fantastic cook, and no matter how she tries, her dough comes out hard as a rock on the outside. Hence, the rock. Occasionally, she goes easy on us and does cinnamon pull-aparts from canned biscuit dough now. Thu Dec 11 16:27:19 -0800 2008 4237784 237929 tracylee 1 4240210 for as long as I can remember: quiche lorraine cinnamon rolls fruit salad orange juice in wine glasses (an old holdover from when i was a five and wanted to be fancy, but we still do it) a friend of mine does Norwegian Christmas breakfast every year and it sounds fantastic: beer, cheese, pancakes with bacon in them, smoked fish. Thu Dec 11 16:34:34 -0800 2008 4237784 171458 eeejo 1 4240535 Great replies and ideas! I have done the quiche et al. beforehand and its not the same and I like group participation and it cuts into my cherished X eve time which I like better than Christmas. This year, I am doing a veggie/cheese frittata with hash browns, maple bacon, chicken sausages, tofu sausages for me..fresh mango slices..english muffins and homemade blueberry muffins. super easy and less than 30 minutes on all. We have some old school Dennis Day and Bing Crosby Xmas music cranking and I usually play some Jingle Bell Rock on the drums. Bloody's, OJ, coffee and then a good bottle of champagne to toast such a happy festive time with friends and family. Log fire on the tv along with the real fireplace is mandatory! Thu Dec 11 18:58:03 -0800 2008 4237784 97452 Beach Chick 2 5177838 Damn...that is one good Christmas Breakfast..it's worth repeating again and again.. Maybe do the bloody's with a rosemary sprig decorated as a xmas tree...olives make good ornaments. Have to pop upon the Taittinger, Pol Roger and a pedestrian bottle of Veuve.. Gosh, I love the Holidays! Thu Nov 12 22:18:47 -0800 2009 4240535 97452 Beach Chick 1 4240619 Not necessarily a Christmas tradition in my house since we are Jewish (the only tradition on Christmas is Chinese food!), but this Paula Deen Baked French Toast Casserole is sinfully delicious and you assemble it the night before... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/baked-french-toast-casserole-recipe/index.html Thu Dec 11 19:29:50 -0800 2008 4237784 10205 valerie 1 4240753 I usually make aebelskivers with maple syrup/butter, bacon, and soft scrambled eggs. But since I am doing dinner this year I don't feel like spending over 2 hours in the kitchen in the morning. I am going to make a quicker breakfast by making either sweet potato or pumpkin biscuits with bacon and eggs. Thu Dec 11 20:27:09 -0800 2008 4237784 166921 gmk1322 1 4241084 Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with bagels or English muffins, champagne or mimosas and coffee/Earl Grey tea. There's something about champagne for breakfast that screams Christmas! Fri Dec 12 02:30:15 -0800 2008 4237784 110146 greedygirl 1 4241119 Very, very strong coffee. Sourdough waffles (provided I have remembered to take the starter out the night before & make up the sponge -- I use the recipe from the King Arthur Flour site, http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=93, substituting some rye (for flavor), rice (for crispness) &/or wholewheat flour for part of the white flour, & adding some chopped pecans when it's time to bake the waffles; if you aren't cooking for a crowd, halve the recipe). Navel oranges that a relative sends from California. Fri Dec 12 03:45:24 -0800 2008 4237784 138056 mshenna 1 4241140 Creme Brulee French toast, streaky bacon, fruit salad & coffee. The kid(s) gets hot chocolate since it is a special day. After reading this thread, I think I'll add Mimosas to the mix now. Of course, that probably means I'll be asleep on the couch by noon! Fri Dec 12 04:15:22 -0800 2008 4237784 24350 dexters 1 4241155 We usually have Rhodes cinnamon buns. They are in the freezer section with the frozen bread dough, and you let them rise overnight and bake for 20 minutes or so in the morning, then cover with their cream cheese icing. Easy and good, and give me time to cook for later in the day. I made gingerbread pancakes last week from a recipe that took a little bit from several sources, and they were delicious. Topped with warm pears sauteed in butter, fresh whipped cream, and maple syrup. Mmmm...warm gingerbread for breakfast. I may just make those this year instead of the cinnamon rolls. Fri Dec 12 04:25:58 -0800 2008 4237784 77061 bear 1 4241175 My family usually has a huge brunch. Eggs benedict, stufffed french toast, homemade breakfast potatoes, ham, sausage, bacon, quiche, sour cream coffee cake, and a family favorite: Monkey Bread! Of course, need those mimosa's. 2 hours later we have to be at hubby's family for dinner. Tough to even look at food at that point. Fri Dec 12 04:39:43 -0800 2008 4237784 89250 catrn 1 4241280 We make a Christmas Bread , which is essentially a yeast bread with some sugar, candiesed fruit and icing- so good toasted chilled glaceed oranges or sometime pannetone french toast Fri Dec 12 06:00:33 -0800 2008 4237784 12675 cocoagirl 1 4241391 Hot chocolate made from melting chocolate into leftover Christmas Eve eggnog. Then omelets filled with leftover Christmas Eve ham. And we all gain 5 pounds, and it's delicious. Fri Dec 12 06:55:32 -0800 2008 4237784 131105 Emmmily 1 4241608 Always, always my grandmother's banana bread, bacon (only time I let myself have some), and home made hot coca. Last year my mom got a waffle iron and wanted to use it instead of the banana bread. I almost threw a fit Fri Dec 12 08:13:23 -0800 2008 4237784 38492 anunez 1 4241642 Great topic. I never realized how many people have cinnamon buns on Christmas morning! They are my absolute favorite. We are all about the sweet stuff in our house, so for years, my mom made a version of that, cinnamon twists, all homemade and delicious. Then, a couple years ago, we lost both my dad and my aunt (my mom's sister) so we decided we had to start some new traditions. So, we have been ordering kringle from WI to have on Christmas morning. It's SOOOo good. And of course, coffee and OJ. YUM! But, that creme brulee french toast sounds awesome. Must research... Fri Dec 12 08:26:09 -0800 2008 4237784 141672 Scirocco 1 4242951 Dh, the older kids and I have peach bilini's and the younger kids get "Shirley Temples" I saw Ina Garten demonstrate a super easy (uses puff pastry) cinnamon bun on Good Morning America (recipe is on the site) so I'm going to give that a whirl. We always put out fresh fruit. Dinner is much later and untypical of us much larger for that hour. Morning is more about the holiday music, the kids, taking it slow. Fri Dec 12 16:33:11 -0800 2008 4237784 36312 HillJ 1 4242966 Christmas Morning... the favorite of my parent's holiday traditions. We would buy a pot of Menudo from our local butcher along with a wheel of smuggled Queso Fresco & a bag full of freshly made "blank" Sopes... a bottle sparkling wine (Asti Spumante if you must know.... they were not connoisseurs)... one of the times in a year they would make dessert they would go all out with a Mexican style Cheesecake flavored with Guayabas... and served more fresh Guavas. We would head up to the mountains... start a mesquite fire and use it to reheat the Menudo and Sopes... spoonfuls of spicy, gelatinous beef hoof, accompanied with gloriously salty & pungent queso fresco Sopes... washed down with Asti... a nature walk followed by a soccer game in the thin mountain air... then Guava Cheesecake and a some brewed cinammon for the cold. Not much better. Fri Dec 12 16:41:59 -0800 2008 4237784 42572 Eat_Nopal 1 4243342 On XMAS am, I want coffee. mimosas, fruit salad, and a plate that is half eggs benedict and half bagels w/ cream cheese, gravlax, capers red onion and tomato. so good, half of each the best of both worlds. I dont need presents just that breakfast by tree Fri Dec 12 20:20:25 -0800 2008 4237784 158016 cassoulady 1 4243423 Smoked salmon and creamy scrambled eggs. Nothing else will do! Fri Dec 12 21:37:27 -0800 2008 4237784 156990 Robin Joy 1 4245215 While my family (mom, dad, younger brother and I) were all about an easy Christmas breakfast/brunch of coffee/tea, sparkling apple cider, and some kind of pastry, this year is different. We've added another contingent to the family - My brother is getting married and has a child. So both of our small families will be getting together Christmas morning for brunch and present-opening. I hear we're having strata (yum!!), a WONDERFUL cranberry coffee cake, and I'm bringing bloody marys and fruit of some sort. I'm glad I found this thread. I see several other people mentioning fruit and/or fruit salad. For those of you who do a fruit plate or fruit salad, care to share any tips or original recipes? I'd like to have something out of the ordinary. I'm pretty creative, but like to hear what others do. :) Sat Dec 13 22:59:12 -0800 2008 4237784 77555 luvsseattle 2 4259278 We usually do a mix of fruits that are in season during the winter. I will choose kiwis, banana, grapes, apples, and oranges (but only if I can get them off of our tree), chop them, and mix in a large bowl. Fri Dec 19 07:49:03 -0800 2008 4245215 166921 gmk1322 1 4259319 Our morning starts with mimosas and then I make breakfast casserole with hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, cheese and lots of green onion. Add a little sour cream and pico on top and all is well. Fri Dec 19 07:59:50 -0800 2008 4237784 222865 FoodChic 1 4259529 I make Christmas Bread - something i dreamed up - which is a sweet yeast dough filled with chocolate (chips or grated bittersweet) and nuts rolled into the dough. Sometimes I substitute or add Nutella for the chocolate. The pastry ring is iced with a cream cheese frosting and decorated with nuts and red and green cherries. I only make this once a year and everyone looks forward to it. Fri Dec 19 09:08:01 -0800 2008 4237784 162997 lattelover 1 4259833 Cheese Danish, Coffee and Mimosas Fri Dec 19 10:51:29 -0800 2008 4237784 249862 jjlsdr 1 4259987 I make Paul Prudhomme's version of Hangtown Fry with bloody marys. Fri Dec 19 11:45:10 -0800 2008 4237784 43622 JenBoes 1 4260116 We have Christmas Angels (puff pastry cut into angels and 'wings' pressed on their shoulders, sprinkled with cinnnamon sugar), scrambled eggs and bacon. And coffee - lots. Fri Dec 19 12:25:19 -0800 2008 4237784 90565 Cookiefiend 1 5177750 I have a recipe for a harvest salad with homemade salad dressing (red leaf lettuce, sliced pears (can do the smaller pears and red skinned ones for more color), candied pecans, blue cheese). It gets topped with pomegranate seeds which makes it a beautiful salad for the holidays. Thu Nov 12 21:37:34 -0800 2009 4237784 1124168 sue423 2 5178018 Hold on - I find this interesting - do you eat this for breakfast, or, did you maybe reply to the wrong thread? I'll eat almost anything for breakfast, but I have to say, I've never had a salad!! Yours sounds good, though! GG http://www.semisweetonline.com Fri Nov 13 03:39:11 -0800 2009 5177750 11404 gansu girl 1 5178244 mimosas/bloody marys. With eggs benedict and smoked fish platter. Fri Nov 13 06:25:54 -0800 2009 4237784 158016 cassoulady 1 5178605 This year will be: Eggs Benedict and Rosti potatoes Bagels with cream cheese, salmon, tomatoes, red onions, and black pepper Coffee Mochas Gin Ramos Fizz oops and I can't forget my Bloody Marys! Still coming up with something sweet -perhaps a sour cream and dried cherry&pecan coffee cake or scones Fri Nov 13 08:26:55 -0800 2009 4237784 50431 chef chicklet 2 5178687 cassoulady or cc, care to share a tried-and-true hollandaise recipe? Fri Nov 13 08:58:02 -0800 2009 5178605 77061 bear