What’s more? You can stop in and pick up some unique eats for the foodie in your life, or a gift box or two to send to your friends and loved ones who live near and far. Meinhardt’s deli is open through the busy shopping season, so if you want to stop by for a quick bite between buying presents, we’re here with some warmth and tasty food.
But now, we’re talking about the main event: Christmas dinner. Isn’t dinner a major part of any holiday? Whether it’s Canada Day barbecues or Easter ham, the holiday season at the end of the year is certainly no exception. But you know it can be time-consuming, and if you’re new at making dinner, you could end up scrambling to order carry out! Avoid the mess and stress, stop by Pacific Centre or South Granville, and grab an unforgettable holiday dinner. Here’s what we have:
Start with a hearty soup
Who doesn’t love a big bowl of hot soup on a winter’s day? Meinhardt’s creamy spiced pumpkin soup fits the bill for heartiness and flavour. Pumpkin’s full body and light flavour make it a suitable substitute for more “carby” soups like cream of potato, so it will leave you satisfied, but a cup will leave room for the rest of your holiday dinner.
The seasoning is where the distinct flavour of this soup really comes into play: warm winter spices bring this soup to life and really make it feel like Christmas. Pair our hearty soup with some rye toast or a Reuben sandwich for Christmas shopping lunch and your tastebuds will thank you.
The stars of the show
This year, Meinhardt Fine Foods presents an Herb-roasted turnkey breast and a honey and mustard-glazed ham with pineapple chutney.
As the folk song “Scarborough Fair” lists: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. These four herbs are commonly roasted with a buttery turkey. The more pungent flavours of rosemary and sage balance out the sweetness in the buttery turkey skin, the parsley compliments and adds to the lighter, sweeter turkey flavours and thyme adds a distinct zip.
And this turkey comes with a yam and sage stuffing that takes the sweet and bitter flavours and amplifies them, leaving your tastebuds dancing. And don’t forget the classic turkey gravy!
And we’ve paired the ham with all its favourite friends. Think honey-baked yams, a ham and cheese sandwich with mustard, or even the polarizing Hawaiian pizza. We took the honey, the mustard, and the pineapples to bring all the flavours you love about ham into a holiday treat you won’t forget. If you’re sick of turkey from Thanksgiving, especially if you’re from Stateside where they celebrate Thanksgiving in November, ham for Christmas is a must.
If you’re vegetarian, don’t fret! Our deli offers Lentil Kofta with Fresh Herbs and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. It’s a cold dish, but one to delight, especially since you don’t have to heat it up to enjoy leftovers.
Sides for everyone!
We have some unique sides that you’re sure to enjoy this year. Mushroom, Spinach, and Potato Strudel brings a unique twist on this Austrian dish. While most people think strudels are sweet thanks to the traditional apple strudel, they can be savoury. Potatoes bring the smooth starchiness and a hint of sweetness to the bitter, flavourful spinach and umami mushrooms. The taste and mouthfeel combinations are sure to have you asking for seconds.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash, Toasted Pumpkinseeds, and Roasted Garlic Cream is a winter delight that will make any picky eater want to eat their greens this holiday season. Well, that might be a stretch but we can assure you, the tangy garlic cream, zip from the pumpkin seeds, pungent sprouts and soft, sweet squash will burst with flavour on your palette.
Sweet endings
Did someone say dessert? First, whet your appetite with a twist on a classic: spiced cranberry and pear sauce. The cranberry brings the classic tartness, perfect with a turkey and stuffing. Pear may offer a sweet, milder flavour, but the sweet heat from classic Christmas spices livens this dish up.
But save some room! A Christmas favourite has been turned into a luscious dessert that you’ll be craving long after Christmas is over: toffee pudding drizzled in a toffee sauce.
Toffee has been used in Christmas sweets and traditions for ages. Amgueddfa Cymru, the National Museum of Wales’s article about Christmas traditions highlights toffee making as a longstanding Christmas Eve tradition where families will spend Christmas Eve together swapping stories and making this candy from scratch. To honour the tradition, we’re loading toffee into our Christmas dessert and then drizzling it with some more!
If these tasty options sound better than cooking a whole meal from scratch, order your Christmas dinner from Meinhardt and leave the cooking to us this year! Stop by our locations in Pacific Center and South Granville and see what’s cooking for the holiday season this year.