Foods that DO NOT belong on a Christmas Dinner...

[MaidenMotherCrone]

Obviously it’s all down to personal taste but some things are just wrong...

Mushy peas fgs, noooooooo

What foods would never have a place on your plate?

Don’t do gravy.
Don’t do turkey.
Don’t do peas.

I do, however, do Yorkshire puddings. And my Yorkshire puddings go with ANYTHING, I can assure you.

Yes to mushy peas.

The first Christmas I was with DH, I was gobsmacked MIL served mushy peas, with miniscule roasties, turkey and mashed potatoes. Thats all

Took DH home to a proper dinner. We never went back to MIL's

Meat, dried fruit. Controversial I know.

Another vote for cauli cheese, it does not belong on a roast dinner

Another person who regards cauliflower as having no place at Christmas.

pilchards

no words...

Who the feck serves pilchards?
That's a joke surely?

Cucumber and onion in vinegar

Never with turkey but perfect with roast beef.

We don’t have: mash, Brussel sprouts, Yorkshire puddings, peas, and pigs in blankets (controversial I know but the table is already heaving with turkey, ham and stuffing, who needs that much meat!)
We do have cauliflower cheese; along with all the usual suspects

Lol at pilchards.

For a long time I was a cauliflower cheese refusenik but decided a few years back to take the plunge and have never looked back. You have bread sauce after all, it’s not such a big stretch to cauliflower cheese.

Absolutely not to peas though, or sweet corn, or Yorkies, or beetroot.

Mash. So unnecessary when you have good roasties.

Sweet corn. MIL did it a couple of times and DH had to have a word.

I'm always a little surprised at all the ham that is going on on MN Christmas dinner tables. Ham and turkey yes, but ham and gravy sounds grim. The ham is for Christmas Eve or Boxing Day surely? Just one meat and it’s associate minions is plenty.

I think sweetcorn goes quite well with turkey - must have had too many Thanksgiving dinners...

We never have ham either, it's for Boxing Day.

I have never understood the aversion to yorkshires on xmas day, what else are you going to pour a whole pond full of delicious homemade turkey gravy into?

Yorkies for the win!

But I agree no to peas and cauliflower cheese...

MIL serves up boiled leeks with Christmas dinner. No seasoning, no butter, just boiled to oblivion. Wrong in so many ways.

@scribblygum 😮 I really feel like I’ve had an epiphany here, why do we need the ham as well? Surely turkey and stuffing is enough? Then ham, pickles, cheeses and nice crusty bread on Boxing Day? IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW

Due to DH and SILs Latvian ancestry, sauerkraut is a staple with the Christmas dinner. It wouldn't be so bad but they nick the lovely crispy bacon from the top of the turkey to put in it

Latterly, there was only me and DS over Christmas, we both wrote our fave foods down, agreed a menu, and that's what we had

So, we had a seafood salad (octopus/king prawns mainly

Followed by a sirloin steak for him, sea bass for me, and for both of us spinach aglio-olio-peperocino with lots of lemon squeezed over.

And smelly cheese with bread and olives for us both..

Sorted!

But...pilchards ?

Yes! Yes! MissMalteser the lovely lovely glazed ham then is magnificent in its own right, not playing second fiddle to the big old bird. It gets its own “oooh” moment.

We have it on Christmas Eve usually with potato dauphinoise and braised red cabbage. Then on Boxing Day you have your choice of cold cut ham or turkey or both with cheese and bread as you say.

@scribblygum you have convinced me! I’m gonna do it, just need to convince the rest of the family that this is The. Way. To. Go 😂

We usually have some party food on Xmas eve but I always struggle on Boxing Day, I’m not that fussed on turkey or actually any leftovers but the thought of a freshly cooked ham with lots of pickles and cheese could be a game changer 😍

Meringues.

I actually think that nothing is out of bounds if somebody present would enjoy eating it. Bit tricky if that same food is anathema to another diner, I suppose.

The person on this thread who can't stand gravy would struggle with our Christmas dinner. I love gravy and though I say it myself I make excellent gravy using the roasting juices and giblet stock, thickened with Bisto powder. One of the great highlights of the meal.

Agree about pigs in blankets - we never had them growing up. We did always have cocktail sausages and I continue that tradition. I love them. Much nicer without the bacon wrapped around. The turkey gets cooked with lots of streaky bacon crisscrossing the breast and that is absolutely wonderful, lovely and crispy by the time the turkey is cooked.

Roasted beetroot 😫 tastes like soil

Any boiled veg. Shoukd be steamed so keeps flavour rather than soggy mush!!

notquite agree about boiled veg.

They should be put on a low simmer the night before for a 1.00pm lunch.

Particularly important for sprouts.