Boxing Day food

[wintersdawn]

Help settle an argument please. Would you cook a full roast beef dinner on Boxing Day?

My DH family does this and in the past I've accepted it as the years it's been with them I've cooked Christmas Day and we've gone to the inlaws on Boxing Day and she's done a roast beef then. However this year we are hosting both days and I've just commented whilst planning the food needed for the two days how nice it'll be not to have two roasts in a row as we can do cold meat and chips on Boxing Day this year.

Needless to say DH has just thrown an almighty strop at the suggestion and can not understand why I would possibly not want to continue what his mum does!

I can't be the only one who finds this odd?.

No way. No one cooks on boxing day! Definitely a day for leftovers. The only thing 'cooked' in this house is an oven pizza for dinner .

I think there is a difference in just eating leftovers where it is only the immediate family and a situation where you serve them up to invited guests. I completely understand that some people just want to stay in their pjs all day and eat leftovers, pizza etc and I am not criticising them at all.

I just think that in this particular situation upon which OP has sought views, it is not really a big deal for her or DH to stick a piece of meat in the oven, if the in laws usually cook beef for them on Boxing Day and if it means a lot to DH. But then I don't understand why people generally make such a song and dance over Christmas lunch - it's just a roast dinner with a few more trimmings.

Cheesebuster

The beans and toast are usually from the store cupboard and freezer, I can have them in there for weeks beforehand, I don't have an extra £5 to spend at Christmas.

DHs family always has mash with leftovers on Boxing Day. There was no way I was chopping and mashing potatoes for 11 with my 2 small children in the house to play with the day after I'd cooked a Christmas extravaganza for them all so I changed it to baked potatoes (11 spuds shoved in oven, job done).

Their faces were a picture when they say at the table expecting mash for the 35th year in a row! But they accepted it because they weren't cooking and it was less strange than my habit of serving Christmas pudding on Christmas Day

At Christmas, the cook decides.

Plus nobody's traditions are better than anyone else's so you and DH need to compromise and decide between you what your Boxing Day traditions will be and his family need to then have the good grace to accept them if they're accepting your invitation.

We skip Boxing Day forward a day, as we don't want too heavy meals. So we have a goose on the 27th December and the 26th is a day to eat leftovers, chocolate and relax.

Anybody who goes to somebody else' spouse expecting anything, be it mashed potatoes instead of baked, roast beef instead of a turkey curry, would be incredibly unreasonable. If you want a say in what's for dinner, buy it and cook it yourself!

Definitely leftovers on Boxing Day! No way would I want the hassle of doing a full roast dinner two days on a row. It definitely is a lot of work with all the prep, the actual cooking and all the dishes too because it is so much more than just sticking a bit of beef in the oven.

I'd find it far too heavy and also pretty expensive when there's plenty of Turkey yo go around.

Your DHs relatives will survive. They might even prefer it!

The difference is op is also doing Xmas dinner, her in laws normally host boxing day so wouldn't have had the stress of Xmas dinner, op tell your dh that if he wants a roast beef dinner then his mil can host on boxing day

His mother not mil.

We host my family on Christmas Day, which is roast rib of beef.

We host DH's family on Boxing Day, cold buffet, plus sausage rolls, pigs in blankets that the adults kids like.

Agree with most everyone else, Boxing Day is for cold meat, bubble & squeak, cheese, salads, pickles, etc. If your husband wants roast beef then fine, he cooks it.

DH's family don't just have two roasts in a row. They have two full Christmas dinners in a row. Turkey with all the trimmings on Christmas day then the exact same again on Boxing Day. They don't think it's odd and when you ask them why they just say "we've always done it". I always end up picking at my lunch on boxing day as I just can't face it, then they think I'm being rude

My advice is stand your ground. Why shouldn't you make your own traditions?

Rules are made to be broken.

OP, it's your house and it's time to start your traditions, whatever they might be.
Personally, I couldn't sit down again to a full roast as I'm still pretty full from Christmas Day so would prefer something different - depends where we are and what we're doing, but I like homemade soup, crusty bread, cold meats, coleslaw, jacket potoates and different salads - such a contrast to a roast and very welcome.

We have bubble & squeak on Boxing Day, then a selection of turkey curries/casseroles/Sarnies in the days after.

My dad insists on buying us our turkey every year...this year we have one that feeds 16-18 people, for dh, me and two dc...so we'll be eating it for a while!

couldn't agree more with everything previously said - we will have cold turkey and left overs for lunch - I will probably make a turkey pie for the evening - I wouldn't consider doing 2 x roasts - the expense for one thing!

We always have a full English breakfast on boxing day, this is my one concession to cooking, and so I get it out of the way first thing. After that it is a free-for-all of fridge raiding, cold meats, sandwiches, leftovers, basically if you see it in the fridge and fancy it then go for it! Everyone seems to survive!

If I was hosting guests I would do the same thing- cold meats, left overs, etc, but I would serve it up for them rather than expect them to find scavenge for themselves, and I would probably pad it out with loads of cakes and biscuits. But the effort of cooking another full roast- no way!

I wouldn't wnat to eat two roast dinners in a row and I certainly wouldn't want to cook them!

I have guests both days so I do the full monty on Xmas day.
Boxing day is a buffet with cold cuts, cheeses etc. However, I sometimes add a ham boiled in Coke, to provide warm food, and maybe some hot diced and roasted root vegetables.

Fry-up for brunch, Leftover meats, M&S party food (with a few bits from Waitrose thrown in!!), choccies and Prosecco in the evening!

I know people who do a full Christmas dinner again on boxing day. We have the cold meat and chips etc. If you are cooking then do what you want

my parents do Christmas dinner again on Boxing Day, but crucially everything has been cooked the day before, and then what's left reheated for Boxing Day. Occasionally we need more roast potatoes, and there may be an excess of sprouts, but it's actually nicer eating it on Boxing Day.

Last year DD needed to get on a plane at 3 o'clock, so made us eat at midday so she wouldn't miss out on "the best bit of Christmas" .

Bubble and squeak, cold meats and pickles here. Don't you just love the "that's not how my mother did it"! Not a good sign for your relationship.

How can it be nicer eating the same meal 2 days running when it's just reheated the 2nd day?

Ha!

Boxing Day is the best day of the year in my kitchen.

We have friends who bring their leftovers and we make all sorts of great indoor nicpic foods.

I am planning an indoor BBQ this year. We are having slow roasted pork so the leftovers will be doused in a hot, smokey bbq sauce, served in wraps.

We will make a coleslaw but the other bits n bobs will entirely depend on what leftovers there are.

bonkers the flavours seem to mix together better and DDad's skirlie (a Scottish oatmeal stuffing) benefits from the extra day. Plus you haven't eaten your own body weight in the chocolate Father Christmas filled you stocking with before dinner on Boxing Day .