What are you serving up for Christmas lunch? I fucked the turkey up last year..

[Dustysilkflowers]

Last year I bought a ridiculously expensive free range turkey. It was so big it needed the seat belt on in the car as it was setting the seat belt alarm.

I followed Jaimey Oliver’s recipe to the T, basted the life out of it. Looked fantastic when I took it out of the oven and drew gasps of delight but in it was soooooooooo dry.

Never getting turkey again. Normally we eat out or if my arm is twisted I cook a rib of beef but I’m bored of that now.

What are you eating for lunch? Starters and desserts included please!

If your having meat how do you dress it? What veggies do you have? I hate the sight of a massive plate of food so would rather do a nice starter, a ‘posh’ main and a dessert. Then coffees ect..

( not sure what a posh main is but in my minds eye I see every thing piled up like a pyramid )

Never do turkey ever..
Once I managed to get that fancy turkey organic bronze, reduced in marks, we had it a different day and it was awful.

Duck? Goose? Fancy chicken?

Beef Bourguignon (is that a posh main? :) It simmers for a couple hours and makes the whole house smell delicious.

Scallops with creamed leeks is another favourite, very easy but decadent.

Homemade chocolate mousse for dessert!

Duck. And I made the Christmas pudding at the weekend.

I’m liking the idea of goose! Then I can do my roasties in the fat

Love a prawn ring!

We always have duck. Cheaper than a goose, just as easy to cook (no need to baste!), duck fat saved for roast spuds...

We had a cockerel last year. Basically a big chicken, more flavoursome, much more leftovers, but not as preposterously huge as a turkey. And I got to make jokes to DH all winter about having a nice juicy cock on Christmas day.

Last year I bought a ridiculously expensive free range turkey. It was so big it needed the seat belt on in the car as it was setting the seat belt alarm.

This made me laugh so much.

I don't know what we're having for Christmas dinner this year... off to read the thread now for inspiration.

I'm in awe of those of you cooking goose. I've done it twice and I have the scars to prove it, fiddly, slipper fuckers!

It was so big it needed the seat belt on in the car as it was setting the seat belt alarm

🤣🤣

There's just me and DH plus the two kids (3 and 6). Probably won't have a starter but DH and me will have some posh nibbles (probably M&S) before and the kids will hoover up some crisps. If it wasn't for the kids, I'd have beef Wellington, but we'll probably have a turkey crown with roasties, gravy, pigs in blankets, carrots, sprouts, cranberry and bread sauces plus Yorkshire puddings (because they're awesome). Kids will have some sort of ice cream for dessert, DH and I likely to have a cheese board.

Depends on the covid situation. If it's 8 people, turkey, if it's dinner for 2 or 3, beef Wellington

Xmas day there will be DH and I, 2 adult sons who live at home and foster child. Depending on rules at time son hoping girlfriend can.join us. We will have

We are having choice of melon or choice of Brussels or mushroom pate on toast fingers.

Turkey crown and large beef with roast and buttery mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower cheese and peas, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, roast onions, cranberry sauce and wine gravy and DH will have a homemade lentil loaf and veg.

Choice of desserts: pofita rolls pyramid (M&S), Sicilian Lemon cheesecake orint Vienetta.

Cheeseboard, and cracker selection with grapes

Coffee and After Eights

Served with copious bottles of Nicholas champagne and tropical fruits for 1 child.

Xmas Eve I cook boiled gammon and mashed potatoes and green.beans and swede. The left over gammon will be used on Boxing day when I do a buffet.

Boxing day buffet

Part baked warm bread rolls and tomato soup

Mini sausage rolls
Sliced turkey breast, beef and gammon

bread rolls

Cherry tomatoes
Cucumber sticks
Carrot sticks
Tortila chips
4 dips
Bacon frazzled
Mixed lettuce leafs
Pigs in blankets
Warm Pasta salad
Hot spicy potato wedges

Choice of desserts
Fresh fruit salad with cream/ice cream
Chocolate melt in the middle pudding with ice cream/warm custard
Leftover lemon cheesecake

Later in evening
Pigs in blankets
Tray of toast potatoes
Scotch eggs

Chocolate gateaux
Chocolate fingers
Ginger bread Christmas biscuits (home baked)
Mince pies and cream

Washed down with several bottles of red and white wine and Martinis in evening. After Eights

Chocolates and satsumas all day long.

A do a pork and a leg of lamb for New Year's Day. I am do hoping my dd, Dil and 2 dgc can come but we will see.

Christmas tree shaped crumpets for breakfast. Prawns to start lunch; main course: turkey, sausages, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, sprouts, parsnips, mushy peas, gravy, stuffing, apple sauce and cranberry sauce; dessert: Christmas pudding and cream for me and probably cheesecake for DH and DD. DD is nearly 4 so I am sticking with tradition to give her as good a Christmas as we can when it's likely she won't have her grandparents to share the day with her

Have you ever tried a turkey crown. Delicious and easy to cook x

@Jayaywhynot

We're planning a smaller/quieter Christmas this year, usually have a choice between prawn cocktail and pate for starters, then a turkey crown, beef and gammon, pigs in blankets etc and veg. Trifle, mince pies, cheese cakes and gateau for dessert and a cheese board. This year we're having a charcuterie board, I'm so excited not to cook!

Aww sounds lovely and very reminiscent of my childhood. Pate or Prawn-cocktail starters. I haven't seen or hard either for years!!!! I want a juicy prawn cocktail now!!

@bakewellfizz

We usually get the Christmas meal from COOK but have decided to have pizza this year. We won't be seeing family most likely so have decided to do something that the kids will actually enjoy (and doesn't require much cooking). We might get fancy pizza.

that's hysterical!!!!

Chicken (I don't like turkey)

Roasties, maple roasted parsnips n carrots, red cabbage (made in slow cooker à few weeks earlier), sprouts, pigs in blankets, cake-on (nigellas gingerbread stuffing) and gravy.

YUM

If by some miracle families are allowed to gather for Christmas, we have a helpful combo of vegans, pescatarians and die hard carnivores, so we’ll be having: rainbow pie (vegan), salmon with champagne sauce, and gammon (boiled in cider then roasted with mustard and maple syrup), with all the trimmings.

We never have turkey, it’s something different every year. Last year was beetroot wellingtons, coquilles st jacques or fillet of beef with horseradish and shallot purée, wrapped in prosciutto.

I have just ordered the turkey today.😄

All being well 5/7 will be there. DD and partner are still stuck in NZ not that they are very bothered other than running out of money. She won’t need to buy any presents though.🤣

So DH and three DS, good eaters.

Canapés probably from M&S these are to starve off hunger as one is always late. They normally all work on Christmas Day so we have a late lunch.

Seafood platter. DH had just retired last year and wanted lobster but was too late to order but good ole M&S had some so he bought two and crab and king prawns, scallops with salad garnish. It went down well so probably have the same and hope to rein DH in a bit.

Roast Gammon cooked in coke or ginger beer on Christmas Eve.
Roast turkey crown. I put a layer of stuffing between skin and flesh then streaky bacon and some butter on. Never been dry.
Three stuffings. One in bird and two made into balls. Pigs in blankets and small bacon rolls.
Roast potatoes, sweet potato, squash, parsnips, baby onions, carrots, peas and broccoli. Gravy. Homemade cranberry sauce.

Christmas Pudding, Christmas ice cream pudding or pavlova.

Coffee and homemade truffles(DS1 gave me a kit last year.)

Then we plate up a large plate each with a bit of everything for them as they work on Boxing Day so they will enjoy it when they come home.

DD is vegan and I used to have a vegetarian to but he has turned.

I know you said not beef but we had the most amazing spiced beef a couple of times ( think it was a BBC Good Food recipe). Don’t always bother with starters, although I fancy Aldi’s scallops in shells this year.
I like turkey though because of all the trimmings.
Turkey crown
Stuffing
Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
Goosefat roast potatoes
Roast parsnips & carrots
Brussel sprouts
2 foot long Pig in Blanket - heaven!
Gravy made with meat juices
Peas
Maybe red cabbage, although I never cook it particularly well!
Love cauliflower cheese too
Sometimes we have St Stephen’s pudding, which is much lighter than Christmas pud ( it’s made with oranges & lemons).
Always look forward to Christmas evening sandwiches with cold meat, bread sauce, stuffing, cranberry sauce plus cold veg on the side. So hungry now!!

With my cupboards thread bare until my shopping delivery why did I click on this thread brilliant ideas though I haven’t even thought of the dinner yet with everything else going on.

Rib of beef sounds lovely. Or maybe tournedos Rossini or beef Wellington? Dauphinoise potatoes and broccoli would do me. If it wouldn't be too stressful, an apricot soufflé would be heaven, much nicer than stodgy pud and (yuck) trifle.

Usually do a stuffed turkey crown bought from the local butchers if we’re at home (3 out of the last 4 years have people at our house for Christmas and the other year I was working the morning so cooked for a client with dementia and the colleague who took over from me for the rest of the day) but this year we should have been away on a cruise and would have had it all laid on.

There will likely just be 4 of us (DH, myself and DTs aged 1) Think I’ll probably do chicken rather than turkey if that’s the case but will do pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puds and roasted veggies as well as sprouts and peas. Unlikely to have a starter or dessert but will have lots of nibbles around if we want something more.

If things are back to tiers with the same rules as at the moment for Christmas we might also have DMiL with us but she might have DSD staying with her which means we can’t have her over as that would be mixing 3 households.

We will have turkey as usual. We have tried different meats over the years but always come back to turkey.

The secret to getting it moist is: shove an obscene amount of butter under the skin, then lattice streaky bacon over the top. Cover with foil for the the first half of the cooking time, then take it off to crisp up the bacon.
We always have braised reg cabbage with ours, plus all the usual trimmings.