Trends Show Prime Rib is #1 for Christmas in Montana

I love Christmas for a lot of reasons. One of the big ones is all of the fantastic food. Delicious treats - oftentimes shared freely among friends or coworkers - are a big part of it it, but I’m not really a huge fan of sweets. I’m all about the savory flavors of the holidays, and what kind of meats or seafoods I will get to indulge in over the next few weeks.

I’m already contemplating my options and mapping out choices for Christmas and New Year's Eve. Should I make a ham for Christmas and do prime rib on NYE? Or should we go with beef on Christmas Eve and steam some crab legs on New Years? What about a brunch? And I definitely need mimosa ingredients (tip: instead of orange juice, try making them with sparkling apple cider, toss in a few pomegranate seeds). Decisions, decisions.

The folks at TreeTopia.com ran some Google Trends data to see what the favorite holiday dinner and desserts are in all fifty states. Not surprisingly, the #1 choice in Montana was beef. Specifically, searching for prime rib tips and recipes online. Prime rib (with horseradish or without?) is one of my favorites too. It can be slightly intimidating to make at home on your first attempt. Prepare to have your house filled with smoke while searing the outside, but the results are SO worth it. Another reason I’m leaning towards a prime rib is that I have a left-over roasting pan from Thanksgiving. Bonus! 

When it comes to dinner dishes, mashed potatoes dominate the west, while sweet potato casserole is king in the south. Those crazy midwesterners apparently love their cooked carrots. 

For dessert, TreeTopia says the winner in Montana was sugar cookies, which are also the most popular holiday dessert nationwide. Hawaii and a handful of other states had gingerbread cookies in their top searches. Wyoming residents were searching fudge. 

You can read the rest of their favorite holiday food trend results HERE. 

H/T TreeTopia.com