Light starter for Christmas Day lunch?

valk_scot

Pee wrote: »

Lots of good suggestions, but I wonder how many people who don't eat smoked salmon eat prawns?

My son likes smoked salmon but not prawns. My DD likes prawns but not smoked salmon! My OH likes smoked mackerel but not smoked salmon, I like everything. We'll all eat mussels. Except the cats. So a mixed platter works for us, lol!

claret1980

I'm doing a meze type thing. The day before I'm going to char-grill some slices of aubergine, roast some peppers and 'oven-dry' some tomatoes. Serve them all up on a platter with some houmous, toasted pitta and olives.

Picky, almost healthy, light and a nice meat free starter. Perfect preparation for stuffing our faces with the main - which will be steak and chips!

janb5

Lovely recipe in the Sainsbury magazine for smoked salmon and vodka which I`m going to try. ( December issue)

Vaila

hmm maybe something cold
pear and stilton salad etc
the mezze idea sound good as well


how about pineapple sashami ie very thin slives of pineaplle with a citrus based dressing

lizziebabe

Hi - I tried this the other day and was very pleased with it - and it's so easy.

Use the thin asparagus, about 6 per person,(rinse them) snap off the woody part of the stalks. Lay them on 2 slices of parma ham laid out separately. Cut some soft goats cheese and lay it in slices on top of the bundle of asparagus - then wrap the parma ham around the goats cheese and asparagus so you get a sort of parcel. You can add a drizzle of olive oil but not too much - then roast in the oven - 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. It is yummy!

Have a lovely Christmas everyone :xmassmile

Vaila

lizziebabe wrote: »

Hi - I tried this the other day and was very pleased with it - and it's so easy.

Use the thin asparagus, about 6 per person,(rinse them) snap off the woody part of the stalks. Lay them on 2 slices of parma ham laid out separately. Cut some soft goats cheese and lay it in slices on top of the bundle of asparagus - then wrap the parma ham around the goats cheese and asparagus so you get a sort of parcel. You can add a drizzle of olive oil but not too much - then roast in the oven - 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. It is yummy!

Have a lovely Christmas everyone :xmassmile

it does sound a great,quick idea but asparagus isnt seasonal and i doubt it would be as tasty now as it is during the late summer

lizziebabe

I did it the other day and I think that it is the combination of ham, cheese and asparagus that makes it tasty as asparagus on its own is not that tasty anyway. I got the asparagus a week ago and it was fresh and fine for this time of the year.
You can always practice beforehand and see if you like it. Happy cooking

psso

Melon,mandarin and pineapple cocktail used to go down a treat when my Mum made Christmas dinner many years ago and still does in my house now.

Recipe/method
Open however many tins you think you`ll need and chuck them all in a bowl then mix them together a bit. Easy peasy, then serve up in small bowls. No faffing about as they can be put on the table before the guests are seated.

Only snag is I don`t think you get tinned melon nowadays so I buy a melon a couple of weeks beforehand and leave it in a cool place, usually nice and ripe and juicy when it`s needed.

picklepick

Hi Guys

This is our first year of hosting Christmas dinner so I'm under pressure to impress!

Usually, we'd have something cold and simple to do in advance, like pate or smoked salmon, but as me and the hubby are trying to conceive at the minute and (fingers crossed) we may be expecting come Christmas day, both of those things are ruled out.

Can anyone recommend something I can do that's easy but still impressive?

If not, I'll just do those for everyone else and I'll have soup or something. Would be nice for us all to have the same though.

Thanks for any replies

mrsJef

Hi there,

Last year we had the parents over and i was fed up of serving prawn cocktail (the good old stand-by!) so i made butternut squash & red pepper soup, served with small homemade rolls and everyone (including my 2 littlies) loved it! It was easy to make the day before & then warm through when ready to serve, rolls were baked the day before & warmed up for 5 minutes, so no messing around on xmas day when have lots of other things to do & cheap!
1 x butternut squash
1 x red pepper
1 x onion
2 pints stock
pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

HTH.x