Unique Christmas Dinner Menu

Your Christmas dinner menu can either be a reprise of Thanksgiving dinner or you can get adventurous and cook up some unique Christmas dinner ideas.

It's Not Unusual

Christmas dinner is a time to celebrate with friends and family, so why not cook up something that will make your Christmas dinner different and memorable. Putting together a unique Christmas dinner menu might seem like a daunting task, but it really can be easier than you think.

For example, smoked trout cakes make a fantastic appetizer and are a surprising change from crab cakes. Served with horseradish sauce, these fishcakes will kick off your Christmas dinner with style.

Trout Cakes with Horseradish Sauce

This recipe serves four. They need to rest for an hour in the refrigerator or they can be made the night before Christmas.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flaked smoked trout
• 1 scallion, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons of capers, drained
• Zest of one lemon
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• ¼ cup of whipping cream
• 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, or unflavored bread crumbs
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the trout, scallion, capers, zest, and pepper.
2. Taste for salt.
3. Mix in the egg, cream, and half the breadcrumbs.
4. Mix thoroughly.
5. Form into eight even-sized balls, about a ¼ cup each.
6. Flatten into a ½-inch thick cake.
7. Place the remaining breadcrumbs in a baking dish and roll the trout cakes in the breadcrumbs to coat.
8. Leave the cakes in the dish.
9. Cover with plastic and let rest for one hour in the refrigerator.
10. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large frying pan over medium heat.
11. Cook the cakes for 3 minutes per side, until golden brown.

Horseradish Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sour cream
• 6 tablespoons of prepared horseradish
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.
2. Taste for heat.

It's A Great Pumpkin Soup

A sure sign of the holiday season are pumpkins, which usually show up in the form of pies, cookies, or bread. A fun way to serve pumpkin is pumpkin soup. This bisque uses allspice and crushed red pepper to spark up your meal and serves six guests.

Pumpkin Bisque

Ingredients

• ¼ stick of butter
• 1 cup of diced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups of canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
• 2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of allspice
• ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk
• Ground nutmeg as garnish

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in your soup pot.
2. Add the garlic and onions.
3. Simmer until the onions become translucent.
4. Add the pumpkin, stock, sugar, allspice, and pepper.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Let the soup simmer for half an hour.
7. Using a stick blender, puree the soup. If you do not have a stick blender, work in batches and puree the soup in a blender. Be careful, it will be hot.
8. Bring the soup back to a simmer and stir in the coconut milk until it is silky smooth.
9. Taste for salt and pepper.
10. Sprinkle the ground nutmeg over each bowl of the soup just before serving.

It's Just Like a Tiny Turkey

A turkey on the table is always an impressive sight, but a nice entrée for your unique Christmas dinner menu would be a Cornish game hen. You can serve each guest a half a hen, which makes an impressive presentation.

You can ask your butcher to cut the hens in half for you or you can do it yourself with a pair of kitchen shears.

The Cornish game hens need to marinate for four hours before they are cooked so plan accordingly. This recipe serves six.

Ingredients

• 3 Cornish game hens cut in half
• ½ cup of soy sauce
• ¼ cup of Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• ¼ cup of sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Mix the soy sauce, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, ginger, and sesame oil together in a bowl.
2. Save half of the marinade in another container and place the Cornish game hens in the bowl.
3. Coat the hens with the marinade.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for four hours, occasionally rotating the hens.
5. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
6. Place the hens in a baking dish, skin side up.
7. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Cook the hens for 40 minutes or until done.
9. Place the hens on a dish and cover with foil.
10. Pour the drippings from the pan and the saved marinade into a saucepan.
11. Bring to a boil while stirring.
12. Reduce to a simmer.
13. Simmer for at least five minutes so the sauce becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Unique Christmas Dinner Menu

Unique Christmas dinner menus don't have to be complicated or even time consuming to be special. You can explore different cuisines and even mix them up.

Some appetizer ideas can include:

• Oysters
• Potato Puffs
• Sherry shrimp

Followed by:

• Ceasar salad
• Green goddess salad

Your entrée can include:

• Beef Brisket
• Tuna Streak
• Rack of lamb
• Prime rib

And dessert can include:

• Churros
• Truffles
• Omm Ali
• Mini Bundt cakes