Non-traditional Christmas recipes

You're welcoming people for Christmas or Eve? You want to make it different? Turkey or meat pie, everyone will eat it. Yule log and sugar pie too. What's left? A lots of options! With this article, we give out ideas of different and original meals for Christmas. Non-traditional, we like it!

Complete menus for Christmas

Have you seen our complete guide to get inspired? From appetizers to desserts to a wine bottle that goes with everything, we gave out tips! Download it for free :

• Volume winter 2014 : 2 menus including 8 original recipes
• Volume winter 2015 : 17 recipes to impress your guests
• Volume winter 2017 : Christmas recipes - Traditionnal and non-traditional

You consider yourself more independent in the kitchen? No problem, we let you go ahead with your recipes and creativity! But we also want you to remember those few precious tips to cook meat. Follow these advices from a butcher!

Appetizers recipes for Christmas...  like no others

Try out one of our recipes as appetizers to titillate the appetite of your guests :

• Mushrooms, leeks and ricotta strudel
• Leeks and brie scalops miniburgers with raifort tartare sauce
• Champaign and cream roasted oyster
• Leeks salt
• Oven baked asparagus
• Duck spring rolls
• Leeks with Oka cheese au gratin little toast from Basses-Laurentides
• Avocados carpaccio with wild blueberries

Ideas for original main meals for Christmas

What to do for Christmas besides a classical stuffed turkey, meat pie or cipâtes? Here 7 options which contains meats, are festive and will please everyone :

• Leeks broth fondue
• Veal roast covered with bacon
• Caramelized duck ribs
• Green vegetables trout
• Chopped veal casserole with mashed leeks 
• Trout and vegetables coulibiac
• Parmigiana veal escalopes with roasted asparagus

Different Christmas desserts

Need ideas to do something else than a Yule log or a sugar pie for your Chirstmas meal? Pick one in our inspiration list! Try ones light and more decadent to please smaller and bigger appetite :

• Orange and blueberries cake
• White chocolate and raspberries brownies
• Fresh fruits tartlets
• Blueberries fudge
• Fruits puff pastry
• White chocolate and raspberries cream
• Wild blueberries crème brûlée

Tips to planify your meal for Christmas (without panic)

1. Start to determine the exact number of guest and prepare a budget. Filet mignon for 20 person, it'll cost a lot! Opt instead for more economic recipes, but as great and delicious.
2. Evalutae your cooking skills. If you try a new recipe, please, practice beforehand!
3. Write down your menu and divide your grocery shopping for over a week not to be overwhelmed with foods all of a sudden. Don't derogates from your menus, because you will have way too much foods.
4. Ask your guests to contribute by bringing their favorite recipes. It'll make less for you to prepare and people loves to participate.
5. Prepare as much thing posible beforehand and thaw everything in the morning.
6. Start to prepare dessert (which could be done beforehand if possible), then the meal, and then appetizers. An advice : do your menu the opposite way you'll serve your plate.

Eat differently... celebrate differently!

Celebrating Christmas isn't for everyone! Some wants to relax, avoid numerous expenses or simply avoid same annoying questions from family, there are many respectable way to avoid all this!

• Go serve meals in a shelter for homeless people  : it's more festive than you could believe it, and it'll bring a very good sides of human being to Christmas times.
• Welcome a  foreign student : there a few programs of twinning at cégeps and university for international students to spend Christmas with family... from Quebec. It's a great way to make a culture exchange without leaving the country!
• Go slide, do ice-skating or ski the night of Christmas : Instead of eating for hours without any interruption, go to a ice rink with headlamps. Theres great chances there won't be anyone!

• Make visit to your family at their retirement home, hospital or a CHSLD : if they can't go out, do something good and go make a change. There's often a room or a living room to these kind of metting. Order pizzas and there you go!
• Do an exchange " I got one, I don't want it. " It's surprising how badluck for few can makes other happy! This humidifier is not more useful? Bring it to your exchange " I got one, I don't want it. ", and someone could probably exhcnage it for a wine glass set that was left in his basement for ages. It's a great way to recycle and avoid other expenses.
• Faites un potluck : the formula "community buffet", it can take off lots of pressure... and expenses! If your friends don't know how to cook, ask them for an appetizer or a dessert form a grocery store. They will contribute in any way, but without following a recipes and risk a fail! To ensure the culinary sucess for the evening, suggest to your guests to opt for a local grocery shop. It's often way better!

• Go to a variety or humor show : if you're not into family meeting, plan a night outside with a lover or go spend the weekend somewhere else. It's the kind of thing that can be planned way beforehand!
• Take a break...somewhere else! : It's allowed to take a flight away to celebrate (or not) Christmas in another country! Instead of 25 gifts to all your nephew and niece, gift yourself with an all inclusive under palm trees or famous european Christmas store.