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I doubt anyone can beat radley's meatballs in nacho cheese, that's just plain wrong. A close second would have to be my aunt's "tomato soup surprise", a can of condensed tomato soup combined with a packet of unflavored gelatin plopped out of a ring mold and meant to be eaten as a savory and festive spread for crackers. I'm generally wary of any food with the word "surprise" in the name.

Before I even read your answer, I said out loud "mashed potatoes." I know I'm in the minority but I just don't see the point. I find it hard to justify ingesting something with almost no nutritional value (regardless of what Denise Austin might say...) and so little flavor. Not to mention the 42 lbs. of fat you have to add to give them any taste at all.

Don't get me wrong, I use mashed potatoes to make other things. Croquettes come to mind, and a favorite potato pie we make for celebration meals. But standing alone...Um, not for me. (Qualifier: I was with someone from Idaho for eight years and it didn't end well. This might have something to do with my general disdain for mashers.)

@Kathy...OMG. That's Culinary Terrorism. Next thing you know, your aunt will be waterboarding you.

@Jerz...Two food fests over Christmas. Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve - for 14. Lasagna, Prime Rib and Ham for eleven on Christmas Day. I feel like someone beat me up (but know that all my guests ate well and really appreciated my work).

Tonight? Leftover Seafood Risotto or what I call my December 26th Risotto. It's become almost as much of a tradition as Seafood on Christmas Eve.

To add insult to injury, my aunt spends a great deal of time printing the Tomato Soup Surprise recipe out on embellished index cards which she carries around in her pocket. Any newcomers to the yearly event automatically receive a copy of the recipe whether they want it or not (definitely culinary terrorism!!).

We only permit my aunt to do this on Christmas Eve so she can get the urge to make Tomato Soup Surprise out of her system. Christmas Day and all other major food holidays are at my house, and there are no surprises. Ever.

Unlike Thanksgiving, I prepared the whole Christmas meal at my house. (Thanksgiving I made a handful of dishes that were brought to my mother-in-law's home.) The long and the short of that? Like Jerzee, I make what I know I like to cook and most importantly to eat.

My MIL did bring some cole slaw, but it was the kind from a fast food restaurant that another in-law works at and in those little portion cups. Now, I'm going to put this stuff out with all the food that I lovingly prepared? Weellll....whether it was a freudian slip or who knows what I forgot that I had this slaw. It langoured in the fridge until I needed room for all the leftovers and then was tossed so I could make room. Darn! ;-)

I do all meal prep for almost all the holidays, so I'm in the lucky camp when it comes to liking everything, because I make favorites and specialties. Unless I'm overdue for one of my rare-but-oh-so-serious f-ups and it happens to land on a holiday. Like the year I was using an unfamiliar oven and the $27/lb, prime beef tenderloin I made came out medium-well. Okay. It might have actually been well done. I was mortified, and almost cried. But nobody complained (gotta love family), especially since I also grilled ahi, and it was done perfectly.

Most of that pathetic hunk of beef was still there the next day, so I made an awesome -- albeit very expensive -- batch of chili.

When I'm not the one cooking, it's almost always one of my talented family members or in-laws, so I'm still usually lucky.

But memories from the past... my former M-i-L could barely cook, and certainly couldn't make gravy to save her life. I still shudder thinking of it. Something along the lines of flour or cornstarch, lightly flavored water and no salt... you get the idea...

The year somebody ordered a pre-made dinner from the grocery store and the stuffing was some gloppy, pasty mess full of rubbery chestnuts, *something* sweet (still not sure what it was) and an unidentifiable herb that took it all to beyond nasty. Of course, it was a perfect pairing with the mushy, flavorless ham, and the no-need-to-bother-chewing green bean casserole. Yikes.

But, never, EVER, would I dream of complaining when somebody as done the best they knew to do to feed the people they love. I eat at least a bite or two of everything, explain that my IBS is acting up, and find SOMETHING to say that can be interpreted as complimentary.

Great stories! I was disappointed to hear that we weren't having a formal sit-down dinner at my parents' house this year; just hors d'oeuvres and a ham. Usually my dad makes a pork roast.
So, the disappointment this year was the ham. I think it was overcooked; my husband said it tasted like bacon. The best part was my mom's lasagna, which is always good. The hors d'oeuvres were run-of-the-mill crackers and "fancy" cheese, chips and veggies and blue cheese dip, canned oysters, and stuffed mushrooms.
Also, my dad did not make the traditional Tom and Jerry batter.