Christmas can mean many things — and many cuisines and dishes — to many people, from a table laden with appetizers to the big roasts that can be the highlight of the meal. And dessert, always dessert, which some people can even choose to eat first. Here are some menus from the Food staff to give you inspiration.

, Russ Parsons, Noelle Carter and Alice Short

Dec. 22, 2014 6:27 PM PT

[The Perfect Menu]

A most excellent Christmas

Christmas can mean many things — and many cuisines and dishes — to many people, from a table laden with appetizers to the big roasts that can be the highlight of the meal. And dessert, always dessert, which some people can even choose to eat first. Here are some menus from the Food staff to give you inspiration.

Russ Parsons,
Food Editor Noelle Carter,
Test Kitchen Director Alice Short,
Assistant Managing Editor Amy Scattergood,
Daily Dish Editor

(Los Angeles Times)

Russ Parsons

Food Editor

Christmas Eve we keep very simple — a small gathering of family and very close friends for all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab. Christmas dinner we have a bit more fun. There will usually be a series of appetizers (maybe pastry puffs stuffed with leftover crab), then some kind of a big roast; that always feels so celebratory. Dessert? I used to make buche de noels, but now I usually wind up going with something a little lighter.

- Appetizers -

Dungeness crab puffs

Salmon rillettes

- Main -

Spiced crown pork roast with glazed root vegetables

- Side -

Spiced squash and pear puree

- Desserts -

Mandarins with rosemary honey

Tart with grapefruit curd and Campari

Mini pecan pies

Alice Short

Assistant Managing Editor, Features

If Thanksgiving is an event with rules and behavior that is generally understood by most of the participants, then the Christmas holiday season is a modified bacchanal. At least it is at my house. There will be waves of company with various demands: vegetarian food, vegan fare, dishes for a sensitive stomach. There will be "intimate" family dinners for 12. The smokers will be banished to sit behind the garage, but then they'll creep up to the patio because they want to be near the snacking. If the weather is hot, we'll go with fowl, and I like to lobby for duck. And after the duck and side dishes, we'll conclude with a somewhat traditional, completely fabulous dessert of sticky toffee pudding. But the most important decision in my household involves cookies. I will bake four kinds, and then I will put 24 cookies in a tin and hide it my bedroom so my allegedly adult children cannot decimate my personal supply of sugar.

- Main -

Crispy spiced duck with roasted baby turnips

- Sides -

Marinated flank steak salad

Gazpacho

- Desserts -

Chef and owner Deborah Scarborough was happy to share her recipe so you can have a little taste of the restaurant at home. Read the recipe »

Black Cat Bistro's sticky toffee

Recipe: Midnight chocolate brownie bites.

Double-fudge frosted brownies

See's fudge

Chocolate peppermint snaps

Almond sweeties

Amy Scattergood

Daily Dish Editor

Now that my daughters are teenagers, I don't (sadly) spend all day making Paula Wolfert's oxtail daube for a big family holiday meal. (Too bad, but at least I have more time to watch movies and go hiking with my dog.) After all the bird madness at Thanksgiving, for Christmas I like fish and soup and chocolate, all things I can happily eat myself if they're at Grandma's house or at a party.

- Appetizer -

Fennel-aquavit gravlax with caraway creme fraiche

- Sides -

Potato-leek soup

Rice and cucumber salad

- Main -

Grilled salmon with Moroccan spice rub

- Dessert -

Chocolate espresso pots de creme

Noelle Carter

Test Kitchen Director

Christmas for me tends to be an intimate affair, savored with close family as we catch up and reflect on the year and our blessings. We always begin with clam chowder, a tradition my mother-in-law began decades ago. The table will include some sort of gratin, Yorkshire puddings and one or two colorful vegetables. And no meal is complete without a glorious crown roast. Growing up, we always had my mother's pies for dessert, and I now do the same, baking at least one pie to share after the main meal.