The most awaited Christmas season has finally knocked our doors with a reason to eat, party and have unlimited fun. It also gives us a chance to explore Christmas delicacies across the world. Let us hace a look on this in alphabetical manner.

Australia: Australians love to have a Christmas lunch which is often barbequed prawns, steak and chicken with ice cream or sorbet for desert.

Brazil: Christmas meal could be chicken, turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork, fresh and dried fruits, often with beer. Poorer people will just have chicken and rice.

China: Chinese believe to have everything as a whole. Dishes that are served as whole are who;e fish, or whole chicken or duck, this is to keep away from bad connotations.

Czech Republic: In Czech republic, the Christmas tree is not lit before Christmas Eve when they have a big dinner of fish soup, salads, eggs and carp. Also, the number of people at the table must be even  ensuring that each one has a partner.

France: Traditional Christmas food followed in France is a family meal with good meat and the best wine.

Germany: The favored Christmas meal of Germany is Roast Goose, accompanied by potatoes, cabbage, carrots, parsnip and pickles. The meal is usually eaten on Christmas Eve.

Hungary: A Hungarian Christmas meal is a fresh fish usually with rice or potatoes and homemade pastries as dessert.

Italy: Seven courses including antipasto, a small portion of pasta, roast meat, two salads, two sweet puddings, fruit, brandy and chocolates together make an Italian Christmas food.

Jamaica: In Jamaica, Christmas dinner usually consists of rice, pigeon peas chicken, ox tail and curried goat.

Korea: Korean Christmas doesn’t include any turkeys or hams, but plenty of Kimchi, hot peppers and bean paste.

Latvia: The special Latvian Christmas Day meal is cooked brown peas with bacon sauce, small pies, cabbage and sausage.

Mexico: In Mexico people like to have traditional food like tamales, Romeritos with mole, Bacalao (a fish dish originated in the Veracruz state and influenced by Spain cuisine) and Pozole (made with corn grains, pork, chicken and beef stew, red chiles)

Norway: The Christmas meal for coastal regions is traditionally cod, haddock and lutefisk. Inland pork chops, Christmas meatloaf and special sausages are eaten.

Poland: The traditional Christmas Eve supper consists of 12 non-meat dishes, representing the months of the year and featuring fish such as pike, herring and carp.

Russia: The traditional Russian Christmas food includes cakes, pies and meat dumplings.

South Africa: Christmas is during the hot summer season but the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings is eaten at Christmas.

United Kingdom: Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies are top grub. Mince pies, which are the first sign of Christmas in the UK and served with mulled wine, start popping up everywhere, from workplace canteens and coffee corners to the local Starbucks.

USA: Christmas lunch is often in small town and rural America goose, turkey, a variety of vegetables, squash, and pumpkin pie are traditionally eaten .

Baking gingerbread for Christmas is an ages-old tradition enjoyed by people around the world. Every year we make gingerbread men and a gingerbread house or Christmas tree with  everybody getting in on the fun. We all enjoy the spicy flavors of gingerbread in cake, scones, and other baked goods throughout the year. Traditional gingerbread spices include cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, and some other flavors complement them well, such as molasses, orange, chocolate, pumpkin, or cardamom.

There are a plenty of ideas to make some gingerbread in some creative ways for the holiday season.

GINGERBREAD MAN

Christmas baking wouldn’t seem complete without a batch of gingerbread men. The first gingerbread man is credited to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, who impressed important visitors with charming gingerbread portraits. The classic gingerbread men are often decorated with simple white icing piped around. The most popular gingerbread men decoration includes shirt buttons, which are traditionally represented by gum drops, icing, or raisins.

COOKIES

As the reigning king of all Christmas cookies, gingerbread can be made in a variety of ways. You can vary the spices, add chocolate, make it vegan or gluten-free, or use the spices in other types of cookies. And if you are looking for homemade holiday gifts, gingerbread cookies are a delicious addition to any cookie basket.  For a different taste, try the cardamom white gingerbread  or the chocolate gingerbread. For special diets you can make them gluten free and for a delicious variation, try fat free Vegan’s gluten-free gingerbread biscotti.

HOUSES

Once you start making gingerbread cookies, it’s a short jump over to making gingerbread houses, another treasured holiday tradition. The tradition of baking a Gingerbread house began in Germany after the Brothers Grimm published their collection of German fairy tales in the early 1800s. Among the tales was the story of Hansel and Gretel,children left to starve in the forest, who came upon a house made of bread and sugar decorations. The houses are decorated with candies and icing, in order to  resemble the witch’s house found in the woods by Hansel and Gretel in Grimm’s Fairy Tale

Thanksgiving, the time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude has finally arrived. Scrumptious cozy dinners, hot roasted turkeys, corn meals, and  tasty dishes, that’s what thanksgiving is all about. Everyone has their ideas and plans for a relishing thanksgiving dinner.  To to bring you the best of thanksgiving dinner menu, we have got the best of recipes for you to try, and make your dinner special.

APPETIZER

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

3 to 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, approximately 2, seeded and quartered
Unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the quartered squash onto a half sheet pan, brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon of the salt and 1 teaspoon of the white pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is soft and tender.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a 6-quart pot. Add the broth, honey and ginger. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree the mixture until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with the remaining salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

MAIN DISH:

Honey Brined Smoked Turkey

Ingredients

1 gallon hot water
1 pound kosher salt
2 quarts vegetable broth
1 pound honey
1 (7-pound) bag of ice
1 (15 to 20-pound) turkey, with giblets removed
Vegetable oil, for rubbing turkey

Directions

Combine the hot water and the salt in a 54-quart cooler. Stir until the salt dissolves. Stir in the vegetable broth and the honey. Add the ice and stir. Place the turkey in the brine, breast side up, and cover with cooler lid.. Brine overnight, up to 12 hours.

Remove the turkey from the brine and dry thoroughly. Rub the bird thoroughly with the vegetable oil.

Heat the grill to 400 degrees F.

Using a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil, build a smoke bomb. Place a cup of hickory wood chips in the center of the foil and gather up the edges, making a small pouch. Leave the pouch open at the top. Set this directly on the charcoal or on the metal bar over the gas flame. Set the turkey over indirect heat, insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the breast meat, and set the alarm for 160 degrees F. Close the lid and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour check the bird; if the skin is golden brown, cover with aluminum foil and continue cooking. Also, after 1 hour, replace wood chips with second cup.

Once the bird reaches 160 degrees F, remove from grill, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 1 hour. Carve and serve.

SIDE DISH:

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 ounces grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.
Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

DESSERT:

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

For Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

For Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.
Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.