Foods that become family traditions for no reason - what are yours?

[IHeartKingThistle]

DS is 16 today, and I’m in the kitchen making the three things he always asks for on his birthday - Nigella’s Nutella cheesecake, feta and herb mini filo pies from the Good Food website (random) and Betty Crocker Devil’s Food cake mix made into cupcakes with chocolate icing and topped with those Aero mint bubble things.

I can’t remember how any of them became his traditional ‘birthday foods’ but they’re what he wants and I only ever make them on his birthday! (I am not such an attentive mother the rest of the year, I’ll be honest ).

Are there random foods that you always end up making for certain occasions in your family?

Nigella's cherry Coke ham at Christmas

Eton mess made with blueberries and yoghurt not cream for Christmas dinner.

Celeriac Gratin at Christmas.
Nigella's Fudge cake for birthdays.

Trifle for breakfast at christmas. It started as I loved trifle the way my mum made it and would make far too much, so eating it for breakfast became a thing, and then we started eating it for the first time on Christmas morning

We always get a profiterole stack at Christmas in honour of the year DS came down after we’d all gone to bed & ate a whole one all to himself.

M and S ready made lasagne the night before we go on a holiday so we don’t have to bother cooking.

Pretty standard but steak chips and corn on the cob for dh birthday dinner. Even if we go out to celebrate it always has to feature in Birthday Week. Pancakes for breakfast on the kids birthdays or nearest Saturday. Home made chocolate mousse made with too much Baileys at Christmas.

Brussels sprout bennies the day after Christmas. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm DH makes excellent hollandaise.

So basic buy pancakes and flapjacks

I make these a few times a week and they all love them

Mushy peas with Christmas dinner

Murderers stuffing at Christmas.
It has blended chicken livers in it and looks like you've murdered someone.

We used to buy those croissants in a can thing that Pilsbury used to do - my mam would put a square of chocolate in them before she cooked them. Dairy for me, white for my sister because she is a chocolate criminal. So it was like our version of pain au chocolat. It was our weekend breakfast treat… which almost, but not entirely made up for being force fed bloody horrible cardboard on weekdays… sorry, I think other people call it Weetabix. We used to call it. ‘Weetanothanx!’

Domino’s for Xmas Eve
Viennetta for Xmas dinner pudding,

Bubble and squeak with cold cuts on Boxing Day, plus a James Bond film 🤣Childhood memories that have been cast in stone forever more...

for complicated reasons, for every year we have been married, we have eaten Vegetarian moussaka on Christmas eve.

it is not likely to change any time soon.

swedish meatballs although just my pee poor attempt at a swedish classic .Seems have become a family favourite to the point the kids will request it as a special treat lol

What’s a Bennie?

Nigella cola ham on Boxing Day.
Christmas morning we have scones with clotted cream and jam - very indulgent!

When I was tiny, my Mum told me that eating some orange flan would help me feel better when I had stuffed myself with Christmas lunch and too many chocolates. I have only recently realised that she was just trying to stop me whinging. She is 84 now but still makes me that flan. It does have health giving properties, though.

A recent tradition is dc makes home made pizzas on Christmas Eve.

Eggs benedict cooked for me by my husband (including home made hollandaise) for my birthday each year 🤤

Fresh american pancakes with bacon and maple syrup on everyones birthdays 😂

I tried to cheat once by heating up asda bakery pankakes in the oven. They all knew and I didn't get away with it.

I make a hairy bikers dry beef penang curry with coconut rice on Xmas eve - made it 1 year and it went down a storm so have done it ever since

Yes!! Excellent choice, we have Viennetta for Christmas Pud too. Boxing Day - gammon in cider with proper chip pan chips

Me too. Also have Delia's chocolate truffle torte