What's your Christmas Dinner?

[hollychap]

lobster and prawn starter , goose with standard trimmings

[OverWyreGrower]

I know. I'm making the base with not quite so expensive dates and bog standard nuts; and the filling with avocados, plus cocoa, and not coconut oil [@�7 a pop] but I'll find an oil to suit when I go shopping; plus palm sugar I found on offer last week rather than agave [honestly, i thought that would be the expensive ingredient until I looked for the coconut oil ].

I've got a few recipes like that, where the ingredients are SO expensive, it's painful to buy them!!

[pauco]

A nice roasted Chicken, with roast spuds & Yorkshire puddings plus veg of course


paul.

[taff]

roast rib of beef, cauli cheese, roasties, parsnip mash, sprouts, roast carrots, some more veg, and possible trifle after...coffee and liquer for me too.

[julesapple]

Steak barbeque. We buy the whole steak rump from a farming friend (very cheaply as we do his yearly accounts for him) We do this BBQ every year, under the gazebo, whatever the weather. It's going to be the easiest, quickest less messy way to feed 23 this year. Proper coal bbq too, none of your gas cheating.

Served with roast vegetables (DD's choice) salad and chips. Then there's a selection of things for pudding, including the famous Clootie Dumpling with whisky & honey ice cream, if anyone has any room after steak.

For brunch, we do croissants, pain au chocolate and there's also bacon and eggs for anyone who wants it. No lunch as we bbq about 4pm.

Jules

[Glutton4...]

OK, we're having:

Pate to start with

Individual homemade beef wellingtons with a pink peppercorn sauce
Roasties
Celeriac mash
Carrots, Leeks, Parsnips

And a melt-in-the-middle choc pudding from M&S

Well, we were going to have Goose and all the usual with relatives - but now I think I'm heading up to OWG's!

[Thelma Sanders]

Roast leg of lamb, sausages, cold gammon, nut roast, roasties, peas and carrots, coleslaw, salads, cheeseboard. Chocolate hazelnut torte, jelly icecream and mincemeat & apple pies, christmas cake, all on Boxing day when the whole family is here. I leave it all piled high in the kitchen and everybody can eat what they want, cos there's something for everyone

Christmas day will be quiet with hot honeyroast gammon, roasties and all the usual veg, followed by trifle. Simples

[Two_Sheds]

nowt - don't do Christmas in any way, shape of form.

...to take away the boredom from the day itself, which I can't stand.

I don't really get Xmas. I'm not a Christian, and I don't have children, so I can't see the point really. It's all just been constructed by the retail industry hasn't it?

I don't like enforced jollity either: I like to see my friends & relations all year, and I like to give gifts, not just on one particular day because the calendar says I should.

Mr TS has his ritual though:
23 Dec - works party (all day)
24 Dec - pub all day
25 Dec - lots of food & drink which I have bought, prepped & cooked*
26 Dec - pub, races all day
27 - 31 Dec - pub and/or TV all day

I've no idea why I don't really enjoy it !



* oh the food. Nothing special, it's only a roast dinner isn't it, really? Aldi 4-bird roast (factory farmed, against my religion, but He likes it); nut roast, spuds & veg from the plot. No pudding, cake or mince pies (too heavy, we don't like).

[Snadger]

Same as TS with the Aldi four bird roast with all the trimmings. Cheap and cheerful!

[Headfry]

Its Turkey for the HF's, we have a little moto veg wise....
If it 'aint on the plot, it 'aint on the plate!
All veg are home grown.
Home made wine and home 'grown' and made candles - thanks to my lovely little girls!
Roast potatoes in goose fat, then a tray of roast carrot, parsnips, leeks and squash with garlic and shallots. Other veg are, peas, brussels sprouts, celeriac mash.
Home made - bread sauce, cranberry sauce, forcemeat stuffing, and chestnut stuffing
Home made Christmas pudding and rum butter (bought brandy sauce for Mr HF) cream and custard!


Breakfast will be toasted bread with a very bitter orange marmalade, both home made, and a bottle of ICE cold champagne to wash it down with...sadly not (yet) home made great fun but I have to focus really hard when cooking the dinner...hic...hic..ha ha.... oh well...oops...never mind.... hic....hic...that kinda 'focus'

Triffle too oh and mince pies which we made last night .....these are for Christmas day evening.....does that sound right????

Christmas Eve I will boil and roast a joint of smoked ham for the evenings. After roasting the ham you get this fab sticky smoked hammy stuff in bottom of the roasting pan... large chunks of bread to mop this up will be required....yum yum yum! then we drink pints of water as its quite salty, tut tut! I use mustard powder and demerara sugar to coat the joint before roasting it.

I like to stock up so that we dont have to worry about cooking and can spend the days out walking, on the plot, at parks or just reading (having time to do this is a luxury these days) hopefully no need for supermarket trips - just chill out - Bliss, I cant wait

There will be just the two of us Christmas day, friends after Christmas, a turkey curry to make and freeze for Easter, as long as there is NO food put in the bin then I dont mind what we have - if we can afford it of course. I save over the year for this huge treat. Mr HF's job goes bonkers from Jan to about May, hardly home at weekends, very late nights and much stress - so Christmas is a very, very special time together for us, and I try and make it as nice as I possibly can.

foot note added... I must just say that in my view....
There are NO bah humbugs - it should be each to his own, some people have sadness this time of year and I respect this. I am not particularly religious but respect others beliefs and I like traditions.
So a peaceful and happy year is wished to all - oh and Merry Christmas too for those that are 'Christmas'ey'

[susieq100]

Only 5 of us this year, but I do 'Christmas dinner' on Boxing Day as well when outlaws used to come, it's just FiL now, but he likes his gravy.
No starters - Roast turkey with chestnut stuffing and sage and onion, chipolatas and bacon rolls, roast tatties, roast parsnips, cheesey leeks, carrots (if carrots are not involved it is not a 'proper' roast dinner as far as OH is concerned) HFW's roast sprouts and shallots, cauliflower, maybe peas, cranberry sauce, bread sauce (eldest is making and bringing that) and gallons of gravy. Xmas pud and sherry sauce for afters (family tradition) and on Boxing day the whole thing again only I don't have to roast the turkey or make the gravy as it's already done. Not sure about pud for Boxing day this year - maybe luxury bread and butter pudding with made with brioche or a cheesecake or something .... haven't decided yet!

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Will be Mr Frosty and I for Christmas. Porridge for brekkie (as per usual), lunch will be veggie soup. As for dinner - no idea. Was going to go for a multi bird roast from M&S but that would mean a round trip of over 200 miles So we decided against that dumb idea. Went to Morrisons yesterday and picked up a turkey and pork roast, when I was in the queue I could smell something nasty. Then the man behind me starting sniffing - yup the roast was humming! So might be beans on toast or .......? We will have Clootie on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Mr Frosty will have a few zzz's in the afternoon and we will watch Dr Who in the evening. Christmas Day is a bit of a bore, if TV is really bad we have bought a few DVD's - Super 8, Harry Potter (the very last one, will be tosh but we've watched all of the others), Transformers 3 (never a storyline but really good effects), X-Men First Class and Captain America. I know we watch childish daft movies but hey that's us. Favourite movie has to be The Incredibles!

[VirginVegGrower]

Try throwing rosemary stems on top of your roast spuds and a squeeze of clementine juice across the top...scrumptious!
No bronze turkey this year, no goose, cockerel or duck. We are roast beefing and roast quorning - with all the trimmings!

[northepaul]

We decided to bite the bullet and buy a turkey - its a free range bronze one, I am planning on chopping it up, rolling the breast with stuffing, (for christmas day) and freezing the legs etc for another day.....we also have a small gammon - also free range.
By the way, anyone have any idea what I can use instead of 'butcher's string'? ?? (which i cant find in small quanitites anywhere)
Roast spuds, roast parsnips, runners, carrots and cabbage.
Pudding - my friend is making a special dietry 'cheese' cake of chocolate and cherry (its vegan as my DD is allergic to dairy) and the standard christmas pud.


Nothing exciting...

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

This thread has started to make me hungry We should have been in Glasgow over Christmas and I had the food all planned but well the best laid plans ....... So after reading this thread over again I'll go tomorrow (taking a brave pill first) and fight my way through M&S