[jyl]

Okay, settled on the Xmas Eve menu. What do you guys think - suggestions/criticisms?

Shrimp & Cheese
teeny shrimpets in some sauce, on Ritz crackers - I hate these but wife thinks they are a must.
prawns in cocktail sauce, the standard way you always see them
a couple of cheeses, maybe a goat or a Camenbert and a D'Affinois, on toast

Escargots
prepared the usual way, garlic butter parsley in the shell

Beef Aspic
my experiment, I have a load of cow knuckles and neck bones to cook down, and if that doesn't work Plan B is three cans of Campbell's Beef Consomme plus extra gelatin. Also some nice meat to slice thinly and layer into the aspic.

Boeuf Hachee ?
this is raw ground beef, served with raw egg yolk, capers, cornichons, onions, sliced grapefruit, salt, oil, etc. Buy a cut of beef, sear all sides, grind it yourself, serve quickly, and it is perfectly, make that pretty much, safe
but I may make a carpaccio instead because I'm not sure anyone but me will eat the boeuf hachee

Caesar Salad
wifey's job


Potato Gratin
neighbor bringing

Sweet Beer Carrots
I like this one a lot - slice carrots into stocks, brown in butter, pour in dark beer and some sugar and braise until almost done, then remove the carrots, reduce the liquid into a glaze, combine and serve

Cracked Crab
the usual, buy them live from the Asian fish market with the sketchy sanitation, bring them home, play with them in the bathtub and give them all names, then steam them to death, crack, clean, devour

Lemon Garlic Pasta
alternative for those who don't like crab, i.e. my kids. We have some cool multicolored pasta, brought home from Italy in the suitcase, so we're going to try that

Buche De Noel
friend bringing

Phyllo Apples
peel, core apples, wrap in 6-8 layers of phyllo dough w/ melted butter brushed between each layer, fill core w/ sugar and cinnamon, gather dough at top in some artistic way, bake 350F for appx 30-40 min