Well, Christmas has come and gone again for another year. I hope you had a joyous and peaceful holiday. I thought I would share with you the traditional components of my Christmas dinner. Guests were greeted with a glass of Sparkling Cranberry Apple Juice from Verger Belliveau Orchard in Memramcook, New Brunswick.
I like to set a pretty table. This year, I used a gold-colored tablecloth, a couple of gold-colored glass Christmas trees and some gold and ivory Christmas balls and used them to start building the tablescape. The gold theme seemed to blend in nicely with the tree and mantle in my dining room.
I kept the tablescape fairly simplistic and uncluttered since my dining room table is not large. It can seat six but four, more comfortably.
I like to add a bit of bling to the tablesetting. These blingy napkin rings were a find a couple of years ago. Napkin rings are very useful when you want to keep the napkin fold simplistic or when you are in a hurry and don’t have time to fold napkins into designs.
My choice of centerpiece was seasonally-inspired. The gold container and piks were in keeping with the gold theme and gold charger plates.
The Star of Bethlehem flower was the focal point of the centerpiece.
The holly berries came from one of my holly trees just outside my front door.
Since I couldn’t bring the snow indoors, bursts of Baby’s Breath gave the illusion of snow drops throughout the centerpiece.
Christmas Dinner was a four-course meal. The appetizer was a red pear drizzled with a pomegranate molasses dressing.
I love the burst of flavor in each of the pomegranate arils.
Not only do the arils add flavor but they also add texture and color to the plate.
Some Islanders have roasted parsnips as a traditional vegetable on their Christmas dinner plate. Parsnips were not a traditional vegetable for Christmas dinner in our home. However, I have included parsnips in the Parsnip and Apple Soup.
A dollop of sour cream surrounded by a drizzle of good quality olive oil dresses up this flavourful soup.
The soup’s golden color continues the gold-colored theme.
I love this little soup tureen I came across a couple of years ago.
Of course, the star of the show is the roasted turkey!
There is nothing like an old-fashioned roast turkey dinner! I dressed the turkey platter with a citrus theme of orange, lemon, and lime wedges along with green grapes and cranberries.
My choice of wine for this year’s Christmas dinner was Chardonnay that came from Matos Winery, St. Catherine’s, PEI.
We are very traditional in the components of the Christmas dinner – turkey, stuffing (dressing), mashed potatoes with homemade gravy (no gravy mix for me!), carrots, turnip casserole, and peas. Condiments included my homemade cranberry sauce along with mustard pickles and pickled beets that I made earlier in the fall.
Plum pudding is the traditional Christmas dinner dessert in our household.
There are various toppings that are served with the steamed plum pudding; however, in our home, the brown sugar sauce (served hot) reigns supreme!
When presenting the plum pudding on a glass pedestal plate at the table, I kept the citrus theme going and added some fresh raspberries for color.
Plum pudding with a good cup of coffee – a fitting finale to a wonderful Christmas dinner!
I hope you have enjoyed a glimpse into our 2013 Christmas dinner. Best wishes to you and yours for a wonderful holiday season.
To view other Christmas and New Year’s Tablesettings, click on the links below:
Glitz ‘n Glamour New Year’s Eve Tablesetting
Twas the Night Before Christmas
The Warmth of the Christmas Light Tablesetting
A Tartan Holiday Tablesetting
Pretty Poinsettia Tablesetting
Poinsettia Trio Tablesetting
The Holiday Table
The Pink and Green Holiday Table
Christmas Eve Tablesetting and Dinner
Purple Tablesetting for the Holidays
Evergreens and Reindeer Christmas Tablesetting
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today.
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