Your son is, of course, wrong. Plain and simple, shrimp is most certainly used as a main course all over the world. It’s veratile, easily adapted for for any kind of cuisine or culture.

So sweet of you to host.

I commiserate with you. While we wait for the gourmet remembers of our group, my first thought is, what do you usually make for Christmas? You can still do the shrimp and polenta as a side dish with DIl eating that dish as her main dish.

I wonder who said shrimp wasn’t an entree? Sigh.

Personally I wouldn't do a new to me dish for a group of new relatives.

My thought would be to keep things simple. Roast a filet mignon, or a spiral ham. Prime rib?

Get fancy with appetizers and dessert.

Saying that shrimp is not a main course is bizarre! Very few restaurants do not have some type of shrimp dish as a main. I have several shrimp recipes that I serve as a main course and I have never found them lacking.

If you want to make shrimp and everyone else is enthusiastic about it I'd serve shrimp and an easy protein like ham. Honestly, I'd be tempted to tell my son to have a "meat" snack before he comes over. My DH is a meat and potato guy and my adult kids are vegan and vegetarian. I don't alter our normal menus for them but do make extra sides.

So shrimp and pasta with asparagus, shrimp stir-fry with asparagus and shrimp soup aren't good as entrees? huh. Perhaps your son doesn't find it filling enough and he's more of a meat eater? But he must be eating a lot of fish.

I would still make the shrimp and polenta as the main dish and if you feel the need maybe barbecue or roast some sort of a sausage. After all, shrimp, polenta and sausage is a popular combination but you could offer the sausage separately.

Thank you! I was starting to think that I was crazy to think that I could serve shrimp as a main!

Pre-pandemic we always went out to dinner on Christmas Eve, and I always cooked a turkey for Christmas day. Thankfully, everyone has agreed that turkey once a year at Thanksgiving is enough, and we will have something different for Christmas dinner this year - as yet undecided. I suggested prime rib, but no one was excited about that idea. And none of use really like ham.

Probably the easiest thing to do will be to make the shrimp and polenta, and throw a tri tip steak and some potatoes in the oven.

Although I love to have dinner parties we rarely had them even before the pandemic, so I was excited to have this occasion to plan the menu and cook for a group.

I already ceded the appetizers and dessert to the others because my son told me that "of course, his wife and her family will want to help."

I agree - shrimp is most certainly a fine main course.

Why do you feel you need to accommodate one person's quirky opinion - especially when it seems like everyone else is fine with it?

Instead of changing the entire menu, you could also add some meat, something easy, so you're not making yourself crazy with the cooking.

Yes, call them prawns. Not only are they a main dish/entree, but you're likely to have to pay more for them.

We always have Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi for Christmas eve ... as well as other italian dishes (spinach stuffed shells, meatballs and sausage in sauce, pasta in a white wine sauce)... this combo keeps all the various eaters happy.

Winter is when scallops are in season-- perhaps scallops, filet mignon and asparagus?

Isn't this also Halibut season? Grilled Halibut with potatoes, asparagus etc.

I think we can give you ideas for a menu if you select a protein that would please your crowd.

Why do you feel you need to accommodate one person's quirky opinion - especially when it seems like everyone else is fine with it?

I was actually surprised that my son came out so strongly against shrimp as a main course! But he knows his in-laws much better than I do, so maybe he heard something from them? I don't know.

Instead of changing the entire menu, you could also add some meat, something easy, so you're not making yourself crazy with the cooking.

So I'm going to roast a tri tip and throw some potatoes in the oven too.

That seems like a yummy meal 😋

This is just an aside. If someone invited me to Christmas Eve dinner, I would be more thrilled to eat whatever was put in front of me.

Gotta love kids no matter how old they are. I can see my son saying something like that! Sheesh. Love the idea of scampi.

Well, if he told you to coordinate with DIL and DIL thinks it's a great idea, then I'd go with that. Have pepperoni or something with the appetizers to keep him happy.

Just like one time I wanted to serve stuffed filet of sole for dinner to company and DH thought it was "too pedestrian"...until I told him the price! Then suddenly it was fine!

Of course, he's the one who balks at baked beans with my roast pork for xmas dinner, but everyone likes them so I serve them anyway. By now, he should've figured out how "pedestrian" his wife is!!

If the food is tasty and people like it, I really don't care how "pedestrian" it is. It's not like I'm entertaining the Queen...or I guess now I should say the King of England.

Annie, have your DH watch the movie “Ratatouille”. Comfort food is where it’s at!

P.S. I can’t imagine stuffed fillet of sole being thought pedestrian. Y’all must eat “high on the hog” every day!!

Fillet of sole stuffed with shrimp! maybe the OP could serve that for dinner. Now that would be a show stopper. Yumm.

I know, right? Stuffed filet is high test AFAIC. We used to have a fish market in town that was so wonderful...made the best stuffed filets and they were cheap! They used to have t-shirts that said, "We rip off the other guy and pass the savings on to you."

Then we found out why they were so cheap...it was a front and money laundering operation...they were running guns and drugs out the back!

^OMG!

I'm all for accommodating everybody, even those who are extremely annoying. But the tri-tip and the potatoes in the oven as an addition are excellent! And plan on everybody wanting some too!

AD, that is hilarious!

Your son gave you the out without realizing it. Just talk to your DIL and you two decide the menu. Just shrimp, just tri tip, or both or neither. Problem solved, lol.

Annie - so something very fishy was going on in that market.

blfenton . LOL.

LOL blfenton! Apparently the cops thought something smelled....

I talked to my son again tonight. He had an idea for an idea of an entire Italian themed dinner, cocktails, etc. (hello! I'm making polenta!) I told him that he could do that when he hosts at his house. 😉

The thing is that he takes after me in this respect - we both get something in our heads that seems perfect, and can't give it up or give in (easily). 😊

We settled on my shrimp dish with polenta and short ribs in red wine reduction, which I think will complement the shrimp and also is good with polenta. Plus I found a recipe that says that it's better made a day ahead, so that saves time in the kitchen the day of.

Sounds like a nice compromise.

I've followed along and think this menu sounds great. I have never heard of tri tip so I googled and I wonder if it's called something else here? ( I am now in SE Pa, but born and raised in NYC and then lived in NJ for close to 40 years). From googling, I wonder if we call it sirloin tip?

Anyway .... the short ribs in red wine reduction sounds really yummy and I would love a recipe if you are so inclined.

Is your dinner seated or buffet? If seated, could you do a classic shrimp cocktail as the starter then short ribs and polenta as the main?

I love short ribs beyond reason!

Since he's YOUR SON I would tell him to eat elsewhere or shut up. Shrimp scampi/lemon shrimp over pasta/shrimp salad... tell him to google main course with shrimp!! Why are we serving MEAT we know offends because of an odd ball comment?

"Why are we serving MEAT we know offends because of an odd ball comment?"

Gee, maybe because it's Christmas and she wants to make everyone happy and do what she can to be sure they all enjoy themselves... especially since it's new family joining the celebration.

For someone who is so quick to criticize others for not knowing the meaning of Christmas just because they don't have a creche on display, it seems to me it's the lack of Christmas spirit on display with your remark.

Cue HU-whatever to chime in.

Haha - way to bring the spirit of the holiday season, I must say; 'eat elsewhere or shut up' - who would actually say that to their own kid? 😳

P.S. Anyone else having issues with houzz today? I can't access the main forum pages, getting 'no posts found', but I can access the posts through my notifications - weird...

Yep, everything is working sometimes and on and off. It is their glitch, not our computers. They have let the babies play with the programing again, lol.

I'm also having trouble with the site - isn't the new Houzz grand? 😂

I imagined they're doing maintenance or updates or something - Sundays and weekends are often when that happens...

Oh good someone else is having the same issue. I get No posts found as well.. I'm accessing through my activity log.

I posted to this thread and now that description of the same problem has disappeared or been removed. We need to actively seek another place to congregate!

Ha yes I accessed this from the notifications. Then when I thought gee let me see what other posts are happening---- I got the no posts found. oh well. I guess I'll just comment on threads I've already contributed to

They let the babies play with programming on the weekends.

They’ve deleted a lot of comments from the end of this thread.

I don't see anything missing now - perhaps that was before everything came back completely?

P.S. I don't have any problem with such temporary downtimes - but it sure would be nice if maintenance/updating was announced. Most other sites do that.

Sites go down-- it happens. Unfortunately, not all maintenance is planned. In the scheme of things the site was partially down for a few hours. Not a big deal.

Also, I wasn't watching the site like a hawk lol.. but I don't see posts missing. Are we sure the posters didn't remove them? It seems odd that some are here and some are not.

I was keeping my eye on this thread, and I don't see any missing posts.

Short ribs sound like a great addition to the menu. I like that idea better than the tri tip.

I don't see any posts missing either.

Update: The dinner went really well, though I was rather stressed, and couldn't eat much myself. Everyone loved the shrimp, and my son admitted that it was really good. The short ribs were also delicious.

Terri, any chance we can get you to share your short ribs recipe?