My husband's parents used to celebrate the English way, or what they thought was English (they're from Hong Kong). A full dinner at 6p on Christmas Eve, putting up the tree, opening presents at midnight, and then eating a full meal AGAIN at 2am in the morning Christmas Day! This really wasn't very enjoyable for me, and since my MIL worked it was pretty stressful for her, too, doing all that stuff! They would make roast leg of lamb (Chinese will eat meat in huge quantities if they can afford it!), shepherd's pie, several Macanese (Portugese recipes adapted from Macau cuisine) dishes, and one little lonely package of Green Giant creamed spinach for 8 people. Eventually over the years, they stopped doing these parties, due to ill health and just getting tired of all the work involved. I was secretly relieved, although my husband STILL misses opening presents on Xmas Eve, LOL! My family of third-generation Asian Americans, celebrates Christmas Day. We never have a set menu, as all of us, including my now-grown-up nephew and niece, are dynamite cooks and love to experiment. Although we do a mostly traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas is always different. Sometimes we do "theme" ethnic cooking; sometimes we do more traditional stuff. This year it's slow-roasted salmon and prime rib, because my nephew is anxious to try cooking his first Big Piece of Red Meat :)) I make a smoked salmon sushi appetizer that the family really likes, so I offered to do the hors d'oeuvres this time. My BIL is vegetarian so he'll do a Greek salad and we'll have a couple of desserts -- probably a tiramisu and a fresh strawberry tart with lemon curd filling. My sister is in charge of the starch this year, could be pretty wild as she approaches cooking as a science experiment! New Year's we celebrate individually. My sister and her family do a buffet drop-in. My husband and I usually make ourselves a nice festive brunch -- blueberry French Toast or Chocolate Pancakes, and then maybe rack of lamb or filet mignon for dinner.

A couple of more to add to the mix here. Thanks for the shrimp and grits recipe...we also love the sausage egg casserole. We mix up with various stuff...ham, bacon, or a combo of all of it. Always a hit with my group. SIMPLER TIMES FRENCH TOAST Chef & Innkeeper Cindy Belford Simpler Times Inn 8 c. sweet French bread in 1" cubes 5 eggs 1 c. sugar 1 tsp. nutmeg 3 c. milk or Half & Half 3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries 1 c. chopped pecans 1/4 c. butter or margarine 1/2 c. brown sugar Put bread in large bowl. Whip eggs, sugar and nutmeg until light in color and thick. Add milk, stir and pour over bread. Cover and place in fridge overnight. In the morning, mix 1 c. blueberries into bread and put in greased pan; sprinkle balance of blueberries on top, then pecans. In pan, melt butter and brown sugar until bubbly. Pour mixture over blueberries and pecans. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until puffed. Serve hot with syrup. Simpler Times Inn Grand Lake O'the Cherokees I love this crust and use it for other recipes too. This is a favourite recipe from my daughter in Canada who has made herself popular in her neighbourhood with this quiche. SALMON QUICHE WITH WALNUT CRUMB CRUST (Sharoncb) *********************************************** Preheat oven to 375 degrees F Pastry: Easy - doesn't require rolling, just press down with fingers and back of a spoon into a 24 cm (9.5 inch) pyrex flan dish or pie plate. 1 - 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped Mix these ingredients in a bowl, cutting in butter with two knives until crumbly then press into a pie dish, including up the sides. Bake in pre-heated oven for five minutes. Then remove from oven. Meanwhile mix the following ingredients in a bowl: Filling: 3 eggs beat till frothy 3/4 cup sour cream 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated) 1/2 onion, chopped 1 can salmon (7 3/4 ounces) - I prefer fresh piece salmon that has been baked - 'smoked salmon' is really good too. 1/4 cup mayonnaise Pour these ingredients into the pie crust - bake in oven approximately 45 minutes or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. The top is usually a nice golden brown colour. If you don't have salmon on hand, tinned tuna works well too in this recipe. SharonCb David

Bring on the heart attack. That is my kind of breakfast. I like this one: Brunch Egg Dish Crust Mix 1 egg into a 24 oz. bag of frozen hash browns. Salt and pepper. Press into a 9x13 pan, or a Pamperd Chef stone (this really keeps it hot). Bake @ 400° for 20 minutes. Egg Topping 7 eggs 1/2 C. Milk 1 1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever you have on hand) 1/4 C. chopped onion 12 strips cooked crisp bacon. Whisk eggs and milk, and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir, and cook an additional 3 minutes. Stir. Spread eggs evenly over baked crust. Top with bacon, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Let set for 15 minutes before serving. If you use pre cooked bacon, it's a snap to make that morning. Leslie

Really enjoyed looking @ everyone's lovely trees! Sorry a bit late, but here's ours. After years of elaborate real trees decorated w/ traditional ornaments, garlands, lights & candy, once our kids were grown, I got a small vintage aluminum tree on eBay & have enjoyed its convenience & simplicity ever since. No lights, no topper, no watering - takes me about 1/2 hour to complete... Here it is the first year we had it - 2007. Only year w/ icicles, after I learned (the hard way) that my cat liked to eat them... & here's a tree @ work - all decorations by kids in my arts & crafts classes... Merry Christmas to everyone!