Holiday Dinners Light

Holidays meals, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas can be lavish and sumptuous affairs with enough food to feed an army. Yet what happens when there's only three or four for dinner? Or two? A lavish meal can seem wasteful. Then it's time for holiday meal light.

A whole turkey would be too much for three or four people. Even one as tiny as an eight pound one can be too much and can lead to a week of leftovers.  Think one half turkey breast which is three pounds and will satisfy diners nicely.  Cooking time is also cut in half - anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour as opposed to the two or three hours for the entire bird. For Christmas you could roast a half ham or even ham steaks if you have one or two people over. Many home chefs love a standing rib roast for a holiday meal yet it would be like a huge feast for just four people. A London broil would be better . You can still serve it with gravy  - and even better Yorkshire pudding to sop up the juices.It'll also be good the day after in sandwiches or on toast with hot gravy. Seafood lovers always want a briny buffet for their Christmas Day or New Year's Eve dinners. You can still have this even if it's just the two of you. Think the smallest one  such as a one pounder.It's an easy boil or cook and quite filling.  You'll only need one side really if you serve it. Open the meal with a small sized ring of shrimp cocktail that you can easily buy at your fish market or even grocery store.

One thing about having an intimate holiday dinner is that you don't have to go crazy with the sides. Mash potatoes can still be served. You'll only need about a pound and a half of Yukon Golds to create a small pot. Another idea is having baked ones which is a nice change up from mashed. Add small bowls of different toppings - such as melted butter, sour cream, shredded cheddar and bacon along with chive and different spices. You can also do the same with sweet potatoes. If you're mashing them , then use only two or two and a half. If it's individual ones , have little ramekins of melted butter along with cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on. Of course the holiday meal would be nothing without stuffing. You could go the easy route and use Stovetop Stuffing which is great for a dinner party of four. A regular stuffing could be made but be prepared for a lot of it to be left over (great if you're planning on creating take home parcels). As for green sides,  buy bags of Brussels sprouts and broccoli. These steam bags provide enough for three to four people. They're perfect - easy to cook and no cleanup along with no to little leftovers. They can also be served hot or cold as a fun non-traditional salad.

A small holiday dinner can still be lavish in taste.It's just buying and cooking smaller version of the main course and halving the sides. It just the right amount of food for the right amount of people.