Christmas Traditions You Can Eat
My first Christmas living at Seven Mile Beach, my next-door neighbors rang my doorbell during my family’s Christmas morning gift-opening, and they presented us with a home-baked platter of warm, sweet monkey bread. The following year on Christmas morning, it happened again, and then again and yet again. It continued for 10 years until we both moved to different homes. I miss it. My daughters miss it. It wasn’t a grand gesture or an expensive gift, but a kindness that we could count on, the making of a tradition, and I’m not sure my neighbors know how much we loved it. Traditions, especially Christmas traditions, are so important for creating the proverbial “comfort and joy” by bringing families and friends together to create memories.
Hosting holiday gatherings with special foods provides excellent opportunities to create and embrace traditions. And while the monkey bread isn’t quite the same when I prepare it myself, still it serves as a reminder of the sweetness of years gone by. So, in preparation for this holiday, let’s explore some make-ahead Christmas morning foods. Prepped the night before, these recipes allow for a delicious and stress-free Christmas morning, and perhaps you’ll find one you’ll make every year, or give every year, creating one more Christmas tradition for your family.
First, let’s remember our nod to outdoor entertaining during these chilly months when we must take it indoors. Fortunately, bringing a touch of the outdoors inside is easy at Christmas, particularly if one of your traditions is putting up a real tree. I do it. Nothing beats the fragrance and novelty. Admittedly, it’s more trouble that an artificial one, but as long as I can do it, I will. The tree, the greens, pine cones and nature’s other gifts of winter will largely provide the décor. I believe in entertaining often during the holidays. With so much time and attention already having been paid to setting the stage, take advantage of it. On Christmas morning when the stockings are hung and the gifts surround the tree, having a few special menu items ready to go allows you to reap the rewards of all your efforts.
Now for the menu. I’m adding a tradition this year, and I confess it’s a Hallmark movie-inspired one. It will become part of my holiday season ritual going forward: a self-serve hot cocoa bar. A dry cocoa mix, a carafe of hot water, sealed jars with mini-marshmallows, peppermint sticks or candy canes, mugs, lidded cups for kids, spoons and festive napkins – that’s all you need to create a special festive mood for one guest or a dozen. Aside from replenishing the hot water daily and the other supplies when necessary, this takes very little effort. Sure, the kids and grandkids will be drinking a little more hot cocoa than they normally would, but isn’t that the fun of Christmas?
Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients:
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups powdered milk or instant nonfat dry milk
Directions:
In a large bowl, sift the confectioners’ sugar, then the unsweetened cocoa, to get rid of any lumps. Stir in the powdered milk and whisk well until everything is combined. Add mini marshmallows to the container, if desired. These can be kept in the pantry for 6 months.
When you want to make hot cocoa, combine equal parts hot cocoa mix and hot water. I like to put the hot cocoa mix in the cup and add the hot liquid on top, and stir, in order to not get any lumps. Enjoy!
Note: As a guideline, a half-cup of cocoa mix and a half-cup of hot water is the right amount to enjoy in one serving.
Next, bring out a Crock-Pot for a slow-cooker breakfast casserole. Now, if you don’t have a programmable electric cooking pot, it might seem like a problem that this only cooks for 6 hours on low. I have to say, if you are getting more than 6 hours’ sleep the night before Christmas, you are my hero. I guess you will just need to set an alarm to turn the pot on/off and be happy you get to go back to sleep. I’ll be happy with my 6 hours. Waking to the aroma of baking eggs, bacon and sausage is enough reason to make this recipe; the deliciousness and ease of serving are bonuses! You can switch out the sausage for turkey sausage or add ham and spinach instead. You can and even omit the bacon, if you’d like. I won’t.
Slow-Cooker Breakfast Casserole
Ingredients:
• 1 pound package frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
• ½-pound breakfast sausage browned and drained (can use turkey sausage)
• ½-pound bacon cooked and crumbled (optional)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
• ½ medium sweet onion diced
• ½ green pepper diced
• ½ red pepper diced
• 12 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions:
Grease a large 6-quart slow cooker (or bigger) with cooking spray or butter.
Layer half the hash browns in the bottom of the slow cooker.
Top with half the sausage, bacon, cheese, onions, green pepper and red pepper. Repeat layers with the remaining ingredients, except cheese.
Whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and sour cream.
Pour over hash brown and sausage layers.
Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high.
Sprinkle on remaining cheese and cover until melted.
Serve warm with lots of fresh toppings.
This casserole is gluten-free. Check the ingredients on your sausage and hash browns, to make sure.
Don’t thaw the hash browns. It’s not necessary and could cause them to dry out.
Add diced ham or other ingredients that you love in omelets, such as mushrooms or spinach.
Mix in a can of diced green chiles with the sausage for a Southwest-style casserole.
To really make this breakfast shine, add lots of fresh toppings such as sour cream, tomatoes, salsa, avocado, green onion, or chives.
Note: Not all slow cookers cook at exactly the same temperature. You may need to adjust the cook time to your specific device to avoid burning the edges.
Just before serving the casserole, turn your oven to broil for this next healthy and delicious treat I call Grapefruit Brulee. It’s so easy and looks and sounds so fancy. The night before, simply halve grapefruits and use a paring knife to loosen sections. Place halves on a platter and refrigerate them, covered tightly with plastic wrap or foil. In the morning, simply remove them from the fridge, uncover, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and broil.
Grapefruit Brulee
Ingredients:
• ¹/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 3 or 4 Ruby Red grapefruits
Instructions:
Preheat the broiler. Position an oven rack in the top third of the oven. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Halve each grapefruit. Using a paring knife, cut around the edge of the grapefruit and between the segments.
Arrange the grapefruit halves on a baking sheet or broiler pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the grapefruit halves. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is golden brown and bubbly. Keeping the oven door open a bit will help prevent burning. Be sure to watch closely, the sugar will burn quickly.
Finally, here is the monkey bread recipe. It’s so easy to prepare the night before, just have the ingredients on hand. It really has become one of our Christmas morning must-haves. When you finish broiling the grapefruit, just turn the oven temperature to 350.
Franny’s Monkey Bread
Ingredients:
• 24 ounces frozen dinner roll dough
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• ½ cup melted butter
Directions:
The night or several hours before, grease and flour a 9- or 10-inch bundt pan. Mix brown sugar and pudding mix together. Mix white sugar and cinnamon together. Place frozen dinner rolls in pan a layer at a time. Sprinkle brown sugar and pudding mix over first layer of rolls. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mixture over the brown sugar and pudding mixture. Spread half the nuts and melted butter over first layer. Repeat with the next layer.
Place on counter overnight. Do not cover. Next morning, bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Let stand a few minutes and turn pan over onto serving platter.
So, let the Christmas traditions continue and evolve. Whether they happen spontaneously, are passed from generation to generation or are even inspired by Hallmark movies, what’s important is that we take care of them, count on them and wish for them all to happen again and again.
