What do you have on your christmas day menu

Hawthorn

There are six of us, as usual for christmas dinner this year. We got a goose ( a huge one) for about a tenner earlier in the year, so we are having that. With it, we will be having sausagemeat stuffing, Roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes, and roast parsnip. Mashed potatoes (with butter and either cream or soured cream - not decided yet), Sprouts....I'd love to do both chestnuts and sprouts, roasted in goose fat, but DH is allergic to chestnuts! Yorkshire pudding too, and maybe a small baked dumpling each. Home made gravy, of course.
For starters a leek and potato soup, with a fresh bread roll each. For pudding, Christmas pud with brandy sauce (got to look up a recipe for that) or I might make a cheesecake yet

dannodw

Its a tradition for our family to go to my grandparents for Christmas lunch. We meet around 1pm, eat, then open each others gifts and talk about how the year has flown over.

This year there will be 13 of us.

Its a tradition for us to cook a roast turkey with all the trimmings.

It usually consists of;

Mashed Potato
Roast Potatoes
Carrots
Swede
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cauliflower
Pigs in blankets
Yorkies
Sage and onion stuffing
Cabbage
Peas
Green Beans
Glorious gravy
The bird itself.

Over the last few years i have done most the prep on Christmas eve. Preparing all the veg, covering the bird in butter and bacon and so on....

I also do the yorkie mix, (a mix of equal quantities of plain flour, eggs, 1/2 milk, 1/2 water with a pinch of salt. Mixed until airy and smooth) Never let me down yet!

Once i arrive the turkey is almost cooked and the veg is out into serving dishes..

Then we eat!

Once that's all finished we will do our thing and later on we will eat so home made Christmas pud, made months ago by me with some high alcohol brandy sauce (alcohol free for the kids).

Then its off home with some leftovers for a fry-up later on!

Cant wait!

Dan.

deb68_2

We will be having Roast Beef, roasted veg carrots parsnip,brocli, mash,roasties, yorkies, gravy stuffing
will make a cheesecake some scones can have with custard,cream or icecream
I cook the beef on christmas eve, also cook ham for boxing day. we all help make biscuites, cakes scones quiche saus rolls, scotch eggs,kids really enjoy this.Its all ready for boxing day
for christmas day will be hubby,me, our eldest son hes 19 maybe his girlfriend, our 2 teenage lads 14 and 16 and my brother, same boxing maybe my inlaws will come round which they do useually i find it awkward as father in law wont speak to me hasnt done for years not good enough for thier son try not to let kids see it,I just carry on as normal i speak to him, up to him wether speaks or not I will not lower myself to his level by ignoring him
i hope you all have a wonderful time dont work yourseles to hard take it easy
will all work out
take care
deb xx

brazilianwax

I never bother with a starter - waste of tummy space!

Turkey for the meat eaters, http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cheese-and-parsnip-roulade-with-sage-and-onion-stuffing,894,RC.html plus roast spuds, roast parsnips, cauli cheese, broccoli, peas and carrots, meat and veggie gravy

several hours later, pudding. last year i did pavlova. have done baileys cheesecake before and tia maria cheesecake before. not decided on this year's yet, but wil be attempting something slightly low carb!!

thriftlady_2

Turkey, chipolatas wrapped in bacon, gravy, bread sauce and cranberry sauce. Roast potatoes and parsnips and some peas and carrots.

Christmas pud and fruit salad for those who don't like it.

Definitely no starter a roast dinner is big enough as it is never mind all the trimmings. A starter is a waste of the cook's time and money. I also don't do loads of complicated vegetable dishes -the bird is the point of the feast so I make sure there is plenty of it (we like leftovers).

I don't do anything for tea either beyond turkey sandwiches and mince pies. As for special breakfast menus for Christmas day, I just don't get it -toast is enough for OH and me (if that) and the kids have Father Christmas chocolate:D

I've had too many Christmases where I've overcatered and ended up throwing away food. I can't stomach that any more, many people are starving in this world still. Here in the developed world I feel some of us feast every day.

We do manage to get through a fair amount of alcohol though, just in case you thought I was sounding too good to be true:rotfl:

jackiealing

If you are to also have a break keep it simple and for peace of mind after keep it cheap. No one is likely to go hungry as most homes are awash with nibbly things all day long. 1st. forget the kids ..all of them.. they are usually far too excited to eat much anyway so the smallest helpings you can get away with. the crown or breast should be big enough for the adults especially if there is a chance the teens/twenties will be hung over and also not want too much.
so if you are really worried you could
1, buy in extra sausages and streaky bacon and some sliced turkey from the deli counter as an emergency and bung them straight in the freezer. Also either make your own or buy in some canned decent soup.
you have enough then if when you roast is cooked it doesnt look enough for all you can ditch the light weight starter that most people opt for and serve up a good helping of soup which is much more filling. the extra frozen stuff can be rescued from the freezer and while the turkey is resting be defrosted and put in the oven or grilled to reheat/cook.
or 2, if the money will stretch throw in an extra course perhaps fish and/or a cheese board
but mainly don't drive yourself crazy with it before you have finished clearing the kitchen after your visitors will be tucking into the chocolate biscuits and shortbread whether you have laid on a banquet of seven courses or a straightforward roast dinner with pud

Olliebeak

I'm with you on this one, thriftlady! I just don't see the point on overloading myself, the cooker OR the table.

Last year, my son and his g/f joined us for Christmas Dinner and we ate around 6.00pm. She had regaled us with stories of her mother's Christmas Fayre of Turkey, Roast Beef AND Roast Pork all in the one meal with every trimming under the sun, for days beforehand. My thoughts were 'no way, Jose!'.

We had HM Winter Veg Soup to start with (but only because we had guests!), minted Lamb Shanks, mashed pots, roasties, carrot&swede, honey roasted parsnips, sprouts and gravy - she asked if there were any yorkies! About an hour later, we had raspberry pavlova (shop-bought).

We don't normally eat meat every day of the week - in fact we will have a meat meal in the evening one day and something much lighter the following evening - perhaps HM soup with crusty bread. No point in cooking off lots of different joints of meat for them to then sit in the fridge waiting for somebody to come along and turn them into endless sandwiches - or for me to start conjuring up lots of HM meals to freeze. It'll be Yuletide and my holiday as much as anybody else's. I'm back in work the day after Boxing Day so Christmas and Boxing Day are very precious to me - don't intend to spend them entirely in the kitchen .

kunekune

We have never done big family dinners, before children it was just OH and myself, and now it's us and the children. I can think of 2 or 3 Christmases when we had more, but that's all in nearly 30 years of being together (28 years next month). Most of our traditions go back to the before children days, of which there were a lot.

Normally, I serve 'lunch' in the middle of the day. For the last 9 years, since DS was a baby, it has been a big italian style platter, with lots of different things from the deli. I usually include home made bread, and some things the children like, so some garlicky prawns, serrano ham and boiled eggs are a must. Bubbly goes with this, usually something italian.

The other meal arrives a bit earlier than usual, maybe around 4 (we'll go for a walk between lunch and dinner). There's no first course, that was the point of lunch. It's rarely the same two years running. Mains I remember include duck in cherry sauce, chicken stuffed with cornbread and prawns, mushroom wellington (a vege year), beef fillet in a reduced red wine sauce. Last year it was turkey, only the third time I've ever done it.

This year, as the children are older (7 and 9), they are starting to like the idea of tradition, so it will be turkey. We're heading up to Scotland on the 27th so we don't want too many leftovers (yes, they freeze, but last time we were away the power failed ...). I am planning:

turkey crown with a home made stuffing (not sure what recipe yet)
roast potatoes
boiled carrots (for DS)
boiled sprouts (for DD)
stir-fried sprouts (for us)
honey-glazed carrots (for us)
gravy (hm)
cranberry sauce (hm)
plenty of wine

Then christmas pudding and cream. We all like that. If we're hungry later, the nibbles left over at lunchtime will come back out. After the children are in bed, me and OH will have amaretti biscuits and some sweet wine.

fluffyb

I too have less to cook for this year, but always do turkey plus roast gammon. Any leftover meat is nice cold on Boxing Day with salads etc.

I do pigs in blankets,stuffing,sausagemeat,Yorkshires, a selection of veg,gravy, cranberry sauce

Starters is usually something cold I can prepare in advance like prawns in avocado or prawn cocktail

Dessert is Christmas pud or also ice cream and a home made trifle as Christmas pud can be so heavy after a big lunch and trifle or ice cream are often more welcome.

Ooooh, I am hungry now :rotfl: :rotfl:

mother_noah

A bottle of champagne and a box of thorntons chocolates for me and a bottle of coke and a selection box for Master !!!!.