Planning Christmas Meals

We were having the big debate over Christmas dinner in our household. It would have been easy enough to just roast a chicken like we do on Thanksgiving, but why not be a little different?

We've had fish in the past, and salmon is a family favorite and one that we are happy the kids enjoy, but then A&N started debating that issue, as well. On the one hand, A thought having beef for a change would be nice. On the other, N said we don't eat salmon enough, though we eat it a lot more than we eat beef.

As far as beef goes, there was the option of a roast, or even a brisket, but with large hunks of meat, you really have to get the quality stuff, or you're going to end up with tough meat. That seems almost unavoidable with roast beef, especially when you're challenged at cutting the meat thin.

With this in mind, we thought of steak, specifically filet mignon. The question was, should we go local/grass fed, or get the killer beef that is more industrial. The local store, BG's, is small but has somehow really established a name for themselves in terms of their meat. In fact, my Mentor, who used to be in the restaurant business, says they have the best filet that he's ever eaten, and that's saying a lot considering that he's a gourmand. However, it is not local and grass fed. The local stuff tends to be a little tougher.

Also, finding local filet is not easy. They tend to have lots of ground beef. I searched around and could only find it at our local and reliable source, Cloudland Farms. CE said she had filet steaks and I could get them any time, just let her know, so I went over and now we have them.

So, the plan is as follows: we'll do salmon with asparagus and sweet potatoes on Christmas Eve, and then filet with Yorkshire pudding, squash and green beans on Christmas Night. This plan, for record, met with the approval of the relevant parties, namely A&N.

I love when things work out.

Happy holidays to all, and thanks to Rob Owen-Wahl and Clint Rankin for the pics.