Looking for a Christmas Eve Menu? If you like pasta & seafood you are sure to love this menu.
Christmas Eve Morning
Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year. My family has so many special traditions on Christmas Eve that I treasure. The morning starts with my Dad and I heading to our favorite grocery store, Wegmans, to have breakfast and coffee/tea and then we complete our shopping list for the evening meal as well as Christmas Day. Fresh seafood, fresh bread and any odds and ends we might have forgotten during our earlier shopping trips. It might seem silly that a morning at the grocery store is special but for me it something I really look forward to each year! The kids then decorate their gingerbread house with my Dad while Mom and I finish wrapping any last minute gifts and set the dining room table for the evening meal.
Christmas Eve Afternoon
Later in the day we get dressed in our holiday best for the Children’s Mass. After mass we put together an amazing meal. We settled on this menu years ago because it’s one you can prep ahead of time and assemble quickly after mass. My husband is Italian so even though it is not be the feast of the seven fishes it is pasta and shrimp so it works for him and our family.
Christmas Eve Dinner
Giada De Laurentiis has the best Christmas Eve pasta dish. Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce is the recipe I found in one of my favorite cookbooks, Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites. We serve the pasta in my husband’s Grandmother’s pasta bowl! My kids love eating dinner in the dining room on Christmas Eve. Please find Giada’s recipe below from the Food Network.
Along with the pasta dish we serve a salad. This year we will serve a caesar said with Martha Stewarts Casear dressing recipe. We recently made this dressing for a Martha & Marley Spoon meal and we have made it three times since. Everyone loves this dressing! It’s sure to be a hit.
Fresh warm bread from the bakery can always be found in a basket on our dinner table. Our favorite butter to serve with it is the Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter. You can find this at most grocery stores and WalMart too!
We always serve a crisp white wine to go with this dish.
To conclude our meal we watch Santa’s messages sent from the North Pole via the Portable North Pole console! Some years the Pajama Elves also drop off a special delivery of magical PJs! The kids look forward to listening to a knock on the door or the doorbell to chime. We then set out Santa’s snacks (and the reindeer’s too) and then they quickly head up to bed in hopes that Santa will come sooner than later!
If you are looking for a delicious Christmas Eve menu I hope you try this one and I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours. Merry Christmas!
Do you have a Christmas Eve menu tradition? I would love to know your favorite recipes!
Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce
GIADA DE LAURENTIIS
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, and deveined
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/3 cup clam juice
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- optional **I added 2 ounces of chopped Prosciutto
DIRECTIONS
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the shrimp turn pink and is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and set aside (this is when I added and sauteed the Prosciutto).
- Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, clam juice, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, the cooked shrimp, the cooked pasta, and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve immediately.
Casear Dressing
MARTHA & Marley Spoon
INGREDIENTS
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 lemons
- 1 tsp anchovy paste
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup Parmesan
- olive oil
- coarse kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Grate Parmesan cheese.
- Peel one large clove of garlic. Grate one clove into a medium bowl. Into the same bowl with garlic, grate 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest and squeeze 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
- Add anchovy paste to bowl with lemon and garlic. Wisk in mayonnaise and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Gradually which in 1/4 cup of oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several coarse grinds of pepper. Whisk in the Parmesan.
- Let it set for one hour for the flavors to mix.
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