Christmas Dinner ideas

[ScottishStottie]

So this year itll be just me and dp, normally we would go to a parents which is not possible this year (mine too far away, his covid vulnerable)

Want to still have a nice christmas day and do something different and special to all the other days we've spent together this year.

So agreed to get a nice bottle of champagne to drink (nothing too £££ but saw i can get a bottle of veuve for about £30 in tesco which is affordable but still a treat) but want to do something nice but manageable for dinner!

The plan was to go to the shop on around the 23rd and see what they have in terms of meats, probably beef or maybe something more adventurous like venison if they have it? Also looking into frozen lobster tails as some sort of starter but no idea how to prepare or cook them, or if the quality is worth it. Rice pudding is the plan for dessert, ambrosia version is a regular go to for us so a nice home made one will be nice.

Any ideas on what i can cook that will be easy to do but still a nice treat?

I really dont want the day to pass and not feel special.

I’d probably buy a tin of lobster bisque www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/baxters-chef-selections-lobster-bisque/029492-14429-14430 or make my own crab version www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cornish-crab-bisque-lemony-croutons

Sausage plait realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-plait-with-caramelised-onions.html with roast potatoes, bacon sprouts www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/brussels-sprouts-bacon-chestnuts and honey roast parsnips and carrots.

Or.... Mary’s beef fillet with brandy mustard sauce www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/peppered_fillet_of_beef_77230

Why not get some really lovely steaks and make a potato dauphinois and some nice vegetables? For a starter you could do scallops or some nice juicy prawns cooks with chilli and garlic

Salmon (or pork) in a cream sauce.

Fry the meat / fish in a little oil with the mushrooms, take out the meat / fish and keep warm. Stir up the mushrooms and any juices, add cream (I prefer double but it's up to you) once the cream bubbles serve.

You can add a teaspoon of mustard or a sprinkling of paprika.

My 'go to' starters are filo parcels or stuffed apricots.

Get a packet of filo, choose your filling. Cut the fil into quarters, arrange a couple of layers, add filling, pull the filo together to make a parcel.

Fillings can be mushroom and cream cheese, brie with mango chutney, smoked salmon trimmings with cream cheese, spinach and ricotta.

For the apricots you need a bag of dried apricots, a packet of streaky bacon and a soft cheese, brie is my favourite.

Soak the apricots in water overnight, they will plump up, they look like egg yolks but have a slit where the stone was removed, use this to put brie into the apricot.

Wrap each stuffed apricot with streaky bacon, 1/2 a rasher usually works. Put in the oven for 10-15 mins.

Rack of lamb is just right for two! There are lots of recipes available, look on the BBC website for ideas. Or just keep very simple, brush with mustard and roast. It doesn't take long to cook.
If you've not cooked it before, look on YouTube or BBC Food for how to carve it, it's very easy.
Serve with your favourite green vegetables and potatoes parmentier, also some red currant jelly is good, bought is fine.

Thank you for the lovely suggestions! Love the idea of lamb rack, although lots of research will need to be done in how to cook them... Very daunting but fits the criteria for something special, and dp loves lamb.

Also love the filo parcel idea, made some a few years ago with brie and cranberry, and were messy looking but delicious! Dp doesnt like cheese though so would need to think of a different filling for him

An alternative filling for the filo parcels for your DH could be mushrooms, dice some mushrooms and fry gently with a knob of butter. Add seasoning to taste, eg chopped parsley, crushed garlic, chopped spring onion, a few thyme leaves.
When almost cooked, stir in a little double cream, not very much as you don't want the filling too wet. Allow to cool completely before using to fill the filo parcels.
Another idea would be to use finely chopped smoked mackerel fillets, again adding a little double cream or cream cheese such as Boursin, this filling could be used without cooking first, just fill the parcels.
You could serve with bought creamed horseradish sauce.

Not sure about dinner, but I came across this and was going to try it -
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/coconut-rum-raisin-rice-pudding

Don’t forget the cheese board.

Damn I wrote a long reply and then lost it.

Basically alternative fillings

sausage meat - with an onion relish
any mashed veg as a plain basis and add some spice / herbs to spice it up.

Mashed chestnuts would be festive.

You can also use quiche flings, but use a muffin tin because the egg will be too liquid forth filo to stand up on its own.

Link to a page with a pic - this is what they should look like

cookingthebooks.typepad.com/cooking_the_books/2009/02/baked-haggis-filo-parcels-with-plum-sauce.html

Oo i like the idea of the haggis parcels, or sausagemeat...

Would the cook times for the filo be enough to cook a meat filling or should i pre cook it first?

LOL OP I hadn't noticed your user name.

I think it would depend on the size of the parcel but Iceland pigs in blankets only take about 25 mins from frozen.

The one in the link has plum sauce, I'd suggest an easy cherry sauce, stolen from Delia and usually served with duck.

1 jar of Morello cherry jam
1 bottle of red wine

For an entire duck you would use 1/2 the bottle and the entire jar, but I find a 50/50 ratio works. Just put the jam and wine in a pan and reduce until you have a thick sauce.