Christmas Eve 2012

Want a lay back evening. Tired of going out for fixed price dinners, made at 11:00 AM & rewarmed at premium prices.

So NO COOKING. ALL APPETIZERS. NO STUFF ROLLED IN DOUGH.
Going to church, in the afternoon 3:00 PM or so.

ALL CARRY IN.
I'm open looking for suggestions. Having Baby Backs on Christmas Day, home made. Fried shrimp on NY's Eve. Capt Porkeys.

SOURCES:
Shshi Kushi
Food Stuffs
Convito Italiano Deli

Any thoughts????????????????

Thanks,

Wally Wade

Hmm no stuff rolled in dough?

I am assuming most places are open earlier on Christmas eve. What about chicken wings, a deli tray of small sub sandwiches, cold shrimp cocktail, you could get some Indian samosas with dipping sauce but its in a dough or shell. You do not mention how many people this is for. If its just for a few people, maybe just order take out meals from your favorite restaurant that is open. If I am doing appetizers and I do not have time to make them, I'd look at target and Trader Joe's. Then I would get some fresh nice shrimp and make some cocktail sauce, I would probably have raw vegetables and dip, some guacamole from Whole Foods and chips, I would make a cheese board with crackers and maybe some fresh fruit with a pound cake for dessert. Xmas cookies, made or bought. Maybe some nice ham and salami with fresh rolls or rye bread, and a variety of mustards. This is all stuff I would glean from a few stores around me that did not require cooking.

I always go Full Metal Swedish on Xmas eve - shrimp, a couple of different herring treatments, various cheeses, Limpa bread and rye crackers, and cold seafood, e.g., steamed shrimp, crawfish, crab legs, and/or lobster salad, and if you want to go nuts - caviar. If you can bear cooking the day before, make some meatballs, reheat, and bust out the chafing dish for service. Other than the meatballs, everything is either precooked and chilled, or bought at is. Damn shame that Wikstrom's is gone; that place was my 12/23 one-stop shopping trip for absolutely everything other than Aquavit and beer and/or Champagne. *sigh*

Seriously, though, it's really the way to go. Prep is minimal, and the dinner is both delicious and drop-dead elegant.

Hi- The only game left in town as far as smorgasbord items in Chicago is Erickson's. I like the place, and their potato sausage is to die for, but if you there on 12/23, you are going to wait forever. When I was there two years ago on 12/22 just to get a bag of brown beans, I was there for an hour and a half. Since I had to wait so long, I decided to get some potato sausage too to make it worth my while. This was my second trip there that week too. I went on 12/20, assuming that they would be open, and they were closed. I decided that this time I would get my beans before the Christmas rush commenced, and I was in the neighborhood last week at 10:00am, and when I got there they weren't open, even though their facebook page says they open at 9:00am. The only other place that carries the beans is Ikea, and it would take me 45 minutes to drive out there. Thanks, Nancy

Bastardized Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes at my family of 70 every year. Lots of appetizers, mostly seafood culminating in spaghetti with lobster gravy. For the starters, many of the items are purchased on 23rd or 24th and just plated. Some highlights:

Fish salad from Elena's Cucina, tart mixture of squid, octopus, shrimp, cuttlefish and a few veggies. excellent. ( Josephs on Irving Park uses basically the same recipe, they are related in some way, but the place can be a real pain at the holidays even if you preorder).

Smoked fish, hopefully Chubs, from either Calumet Fisheries or Hagen's. Chubs are a family favorite but have become increasingly difficult to secure over the last few years. Each has other alternate options including Sable at Hagen's or Smoked Shrimp from Calumet. We like the whiter fleshed fish rather than the Salmon. Don't forget to enjoy little bag of fried shrimp for the errand runners.

Room temperature Pizza from Damato's. Seems simple but it will be a hit for all ages and provide something filling for the non fish people.( in looking for the exact address I discovered a Nick and Frank Damato bakery in Schiller Park. Assume its another family fight and split. http://www.damatobakery.com/)

Antipasto platter from Riviera foods. Salumis, cheeses, peppers, olive and other salads make a nice platter. BY SALADS I AM NOT REFERRING TO MAYONNAISE BASED ABOMINATIONS OF JEWEL OR DOMINICK'S CHEF KITCHEN

A little Tuna Shashimi works wonders also.

Have a happy holiday

Babaluch

Elena's Cucina
800 W. Lake Street
Roselle Commons II Center - Suite 106
Roselle, IL 60172
Tel: 630-307-0130 | Fax: 630-307-0137

Hagen’s Fish Market
5635 W Montrose Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60634
ph. 773.283.1944
info@hagensfishmarket.com

Calumet Fisheries
3259 E. 95th Street
Chicago, IL 60617
773-933-9855
http://www.calumetfisheries

D'amato's Bakery
1124 W Grand Ave
(between Aberdeen St & May St)
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 733-5456

Riviera Italian and American Imported Foods
3220 N Harlem Avenue
Chicago, IL 60634

A lot of places will make antipasto platters or so called deli platters that are nice. Some places will make sandwich trays too which can help.

We have done the Italian 'Feast of the Seven Fishes' for Xmas Eve, but over the years it has morphed into more than that, a throwdown one-upsmanship of seafood delicacies, both carry-out and cooked, all in good fun & cheer.

My Japanese buddy Rick set the bar way high a few years ago by starting the evening with a massive sushi & sashimi tray from Sea Ranch in Wilmette. He orders it a week in advance, and knows it will be made-to-order upon his arrival on Xmas Eve late afternoon. In fact, it is so good that the stragglers to the Feast, the ones that used to show up fashionably late, now are Johnny-on-the-spot 6PM arrivers, ready to attack the tray with a jackal-like vengeance. The ikura (salmon roe) is bursting with flavor, the sake (salmon) richly-colored, and the unagi (fresh-water eel) still warm. Incredible quality for carry-out. It must cost him a pretty penny, but I'm happy I can count on it to get the festivities started.

Sea Ranch
3217 Lake Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 256-4404

Thanks for posting about the Damato bakery. I grew up a few blocks away from there. I'll have to investigate although I do not get back there often. Good ideas all. If people do not like fish, maybe sub in other things like meatballs, good deli meats, etc. With careful planning I think you can do a good spread.