So the next question is, aside from ham, what else should you serve for Christmas dinner? Well, if you want to be ahead of time and prep early, keep on reading for some Christmas meal ideas with ham!

Why does Christmas ham mean so much in the Philippines, anyway?

You might be wondering why Pinoys love Christmas ham so much, or why the typical Pinoy Christmas dinner menu comes with ham. Well, there are two possible reasons.

Ham is a Spanish influence

One possible reason is that Filipinos were just imitating the Spaniards, as this post from Quora details:

In short, like arroz con pollo and basque burnt cheesecake, we have the Spaniards to thank for bringing one of the most delicious dinner ideas to the Philippines.

Ham makes Christmas dinner menu special

Here’s another reason, also from Quora:

Admit it: we Pinoys use Christmas as an excuse to splurge, right? And because ham isn’t exactly cheap, Christmas is a good occasion to spend more than the usual. Besides, plenty of us get Christmas bonuses anyway.

Might as well use it on something delicious, right?

Okay, cool. So… what are some Christmas dinner menu ideas with ham I can do?

As much as ham is delicious, you’re going to want to do a palate cleanser for you and your family and friends. You can’t just be eating ham all the time! 

So whether you’re looking for Christmas dinner side dishes with ham or anything else that can fill up your menu with ham, we’ve got you!

Check it out!

​​Christmas dinner menu with ham – possible appetizers or side dishes

1. Mashed potatoes – Mashed potatoes are already originally paired with lots of meat, so why not with Christmas ham? Make sure to incorporate the gravy for some really great taste! You can also add cheese, because cheesy potato? Why not?

2. Bread – What we love about bread is that it’s versatile. You can eat it as an appetizer or it can serve as the accompanying food of the ham. You also have the freedom to choose what kind of bread you want – sliced, pandesal, dinner rolls, and so on!

And if you want one of the best bread recipes you can ever find, check out our Crusty European-Style Whole Wheat Bread class. You can pair the bread with either chicken liver pate or some quatro formaggi.

3. Mixed vegetables or any salad recipe – Just because ham is your main course doesn’t mean you should avoid vegetables, right? And the great thing about vegetables is that you can get any, mix them together, roast or grill, and you’re good to go! Choose from broccoli, brussel sprouts, squash and so on. Veggies will definitely freshen up your palate since they’re contrasting to the sweet and salty taste of the Christmas ham.

​​Christmas dinner menu with ham – additional main courses

Nope, we’re not talking about other kinds of ham that are brown sugar glazed or something. We’re talking about actual other main courses. That’s especially if you have guests who (GASP!) don’t like ham.

Hey, it’s the holiday season. Let’s make them feel welcome, yes? Even if you have to think of Christmas dinner ideas that aren’t ham.

1. Paella – This rice dish will be a big hit for your Christmas dinner menu. Rice is life, after all! You can even use the rice to eat with your ham as a bonus. 

And if you’re going to look for a paella recipe, look no further than our House of Lechon and Paella class by Chef RV Manabat. Yes, not only will you get to learn his recipe for paella, but you’ll also get recipes for lechon and a garlic-baked salmon. 

2. Ribeye Steak  – If you have guests who are not ham lovers, maybe they’re steak lovers? And the great thing about this is that you can easily pop it in the air fryer and it will cook quickly. That’s in case you need some fast-cooking food for your guests.

But if you’re looking for one of the best recipes to please any steak lover, check out our Ribeye Steak with Mini Fries and Bordelaise Sauce class by Chefs Miguel and Angel Prats!

3. Baby Back Ribs – If you want your Christmas dinner to really feel like a feast, add this item! You’ll get a smoky, sweet, and savory meat that your guests will really enjoy. Who’s going to say no to tender and juicy meat?

And if you really want your guests to have a delicious time, enroll in our You have Died and Gone to Heaven Barbecue Baby Back Ribs class by Chef Joey Prats!

​​Christmas dinner menu with ham – desserts

No Christmas dinner menu is complete without dessert, even if you have ham! Here are some ideas:

1. Christmas cookies – Why not include or make some Christmas-themed cookies for your dessert menu? They can be chocolate chips, peanut butter, and so on. Make a batch then decorate them with Christmas-themed colors.

If you’re looking for a great base for cookies, check out our Gourmet Cookies class by Chef Bam Piencenaves!

2. Christmas cake – Like we said, this isn’t the traditional Christmas menu, so Christmas cake can be anything! But may we make a suggestion?

We suggest a Tres Leches cake. It’s light and simple, making it a good contrast to the heavy ham you would have consumed for dinner. It’s refreshing and again, will cleanse your palette.

You don’t have to buy a Tres Leches cake either – just enroll in the Tres Leches Cake class by Chef Joey Prats and you’d be good to go!

3. A whole bunch of desserts – If you can’t decide on one dessert, why not just make a lot? Fruitcake, fruit tarts, and chocolate mousse are just a few options for your menu. And if you’re up for this idea, enroll in Christmas Holiday Bestsellers with Chef Chona Laureta. You’ll get all these and more!

The biggest question: where can I get the best glazed ham for Christmas?

Now that you have ideas on what to serve with the Christmas ham, all that’s left is acquiring some ham in the first place. Of course, you should schedule a pickup or purchase way ahead of time. Remember, you won’t be the only one hunting for some Christmas ham this holiday season!

The worst thing that could happen is that your order cannot be accommodated. That could ruin your Christmas dinner!

Unless… you just make your own Christmas glazed ham!

Okay, but what’s the best Christmas glazed ham recipe for my dinner menu?

The term “best” is subjective, but what we can offer for one of the best Christmas lunch ham recipes ever is inside The Bailiwick Academy. It’s one of our newest classes.

Presenting: Delicious Glazed Hams by Sir Rodney Martinez!

That’s right! You’ll no longer have to order and line up to complete your Christmas day menu with ham. Enroll in this class and you’ll learn to make two glazed ham recipes: Pineapple Glazed and Honey Glazed Belly Ham!

Just in time for the holiday season, wouldn’t you agree? 

Sir Rodney will show you various kitchen tips and tricks like properly choosing, curing, and cooking the meat. He’ll even talk about proper storage, and how to reheat it when you have leftovers. This class is easy to follow and comes with step-by-step instructions, so you won’t be left confused.

Ham will definitely be a great addition to your food business menu – for example, you never know who will be looking for honey-baked ham for their company Christmas dinner!

And the best part? You won’t just be stuck with so-called “holiday ham.” After this class, you can make honey-glazed ham any time! Ham is very versatile, after all.

You can eat it sliced, as filling for sandwiches (i.e. put it between French baguettes), as meat for soups, and so much more! Who says honey-baked ham is only for Christmas meals?

You never know, this might be your next bestseller!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up at The Bailiwick Academy and start making some ham-azing, delicious hams!

— 

Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

The post Christmas Dinner Menu with Ham – 9 Must-Haves! appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.

Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas – Appetizers or Meryenda

Macaroni salad

Ahhh, macaroni. This very versatile pasta pops up a lot as salad form during Noche Buena, Christmas, and even New Year. You serve macaroni salad cold, with cooked macaroni, mayonnaise, sweet jelly, and vegetables as the ingredients. You can consider this as a Filipino recipe since the salad is served with a sweeter taste than other versions. Variations of the macaroni salad can involve adding shredded chicken or tuna to the dish.

Pancit/Noodles

Pancit is basically Filipino noodles. It is valued during special occasions because it symbolizes long life.If you can’t think of any Filipino Christmas party food ideas, just think of pancit. There are many pancit variants in the Philippines, such as Pancit Malabon, Lomi, Pancit Canton, and Sotanghon soup (sometimes, the noodles come with soup). If you’re lucky, the event you’ll go to will have pancit topped with crispy pork. Yummy!

Queso de Bola

Queso de Bola is known as such because it’s… well, it’s cheese in a ball form. The red is red wax or paraffin. It is actually Edam cheese, a Dutch semi-hard cheese designed to last on long trade route voyages. It ages well, and the more it ages, the harder it becomes. But not only that: the flavor becomes more intense! According to Vice, it is popular in the Philippines because round things symbolize money. Plus, the color red is a symbol of good luck. Serve this with hot pandesal and hot chocolate, and you’re sure to have happy eaters.

Lumpia

Lumpia is a popular snack in the Philippines. Pinoys even have a running joke where they’d be happy to be paid by unlimited lumpia access. We aren’t really sure where that joke originated. What we are confident of, though, is that lumpia are spring rolls made of thin paper-like “lumpia wrappers.” Inside are pork and other ingredients. You can present lumpia as either deep-fried or fresh, but the deep-fried version is more known in the Philippines.

Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas – Main Courses

Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas – Various Chicken Recipes

Chicken is a staple food in the world, and you’ll find that many Filipino dishes involve chicken. For Christmas, you might find chicken adobo, chicken empanada, or even a simple roasted chicken being served. If you can be sure of one thing, it’s that chicken is a popular Filipino ingredient!

Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas – Various Pork Recipes

Aside from chicken, pork is another constant in Filipino Christmas recipes – and even in non-Christmas ones. You have the delicious and crowd favorite crispy pata (pata is pork leg), pork belly, and the lechon kawali. Lechon kawali means pork belly slabs deep-fried in a pan, which is different from lechon, which we’ll get to later. There’s also hamonado, a sweet pork dish that uses pork shoulders, pineapple, sugar, and other seasonings. You’ll never run out of pork dish ideas or recipes!

Christmas Ham

If we’re talking about Christmas food in the Philippines, it has to be Christmas ham! We wouldn’t be surprised if this ham comes with a note: “Serve on Christmas ONLY.” After all, the ham is called Christmas ham for a reason. It’s a delicious mix of sweet and salty and is perfect with rice or bread. 

Relyenong bangus

The relyenong bangus is a fish recipe that’s usually seen only on special occasions. You call it stuffed milkfish in English. One makes relyenong bangus using milkfish meat, carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables, as well as raisins, pickles, and spices. It’s one of the favorite seafood recipes of Pinoys!

Lechon

When you say “lechon” in the Philippines, it usually means roasted pig cooked over hot coals served on special occasions. But lechon is not limited to just pork. There’s also lechon manok (roasted chicken) and lechon baka (roasted beef or cow). All are equally delicious, but lechon baboy (roasted pig) is generally the most celebrated in the Philippines. If you taste the crispy skin, you’ll see why.

Inihaw

Notice the names of Filipino dishes? The names usually mean the way that the dish is cooked. Inihaw means to grill or to barbecue; therefore, inihaw na liempo simply means grilled pork. And when it comes to inihaw, you can grill many things, such as fish, chicken, and beef. 

Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas – Snacks or Desserts

Buko Salad 

In English, you call buko salad as coconut salad. Its primary ingredients are coconut milk and delicious coconut meat. Add fruit cocktail, condensed milk, cream, and you’ll get a cool, sweet treat that’s distinctively Pinoy.

Leche Flan

It’s the Filipino version of the French dish creme caramel. This custard dessert with caramel sauce is always a hit among Pinoys. It runs out without fail, to the sadness of slow eaters.

Fruit Salad 

We can say that fruit salad is definitely Filipino Christmas food! It’s another sweet, delicious treat with condensed milk, cream, and canned fruit cocktail. Some even add peaches and sugar palm fruit (known as kaong) for added flavor and texture. A variant is the macaroni fruit salad. What’s the difference? It’s still basically the same fruit salad but with macaroni. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Buko Pandan

Buko pandan is almost like buko salad; in fact, one can say they’re related recipes. You still make buko pandan buko with shredded coconut and cream, but there are a few differences. Some of those is that buko pandan is green, has fewer fruits involved, and has pandan flavoring, hence the name. Oh, and there’s jelly too. Some people also add tapioca pearls, probably for more texture while eating this cold treat.

Kakanin

We talked about kakanin in a previous blog post, so make sure to read it if you haven’t yet. Again, kakanin is an umbrella term for any traditional Filipino glutinous rice or sticky rice cake. Specific examples of kakanin are maja blanca, bibingka, suman, and puto bumbong. Did we mention Filipinos love rice so much that rice dishes even become dessert?

(If you want to enroll in our Kakanin course, click here!)

What are the Pinoy Christmas party food ideas that you like best?

These are some of the top Filipino Christmas meals we can think of, or at least, these are the party food we can remember usually served on Christmas. Did we miss out on anything? Do you have favorite Christmas recipes that we didn’t mention, like beef mechado, or fish recipes, or vegetable recipes?  Let us know in the comments so we can be sure we have an updated list for next year.

—

If you want more Pinoy Christmas party food ideas, why not try our class with Chef Chona? We call this class Christmas Holiday Bestsellers. Check out the preview video below.

In this class, you’ll learn to make fruitcakes, fresh cream tarts, and two other yummy desserts! Enroll so you can make these certified delicious treats during your Christmas gatherings!

Enroll in the Christmas Holiday Bestsellers class now!

The post Pinoy Christmas Party Food Ideas! appeared first on Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy.