Home cooking. Or lack of. Post Christmas meal.

[MarianneSolong]

If you have people round for a big meal, would you expect to do some actual cooking i.e. bake or roast something, do veg prep etc etc?

I didn't see my family over Christmas, but went to see relatives for a 'big' meal yesterday. I brought prosecco and a large chunk of the Xmas cake I made.

The host couple provided a lot of Waitrose-type things. A pate for starters, and a quiche for main course. Cream doughnuts and carrot cake slices for desert.

There had been plenty of effort when it came to shopping, table-setting etc I realised that I had been harbouring an expectation that some actual cooking would have taken place.

(Cooking equals generosity/love? Do other people think along these lines?)

Also no exchange of gifts - other than my bringing bottlle plus cake - as the couple don't 'do' presents.

When the host couple had last come to me it was more of a just passing through visit, but I'd done a home-made soup (from stock I'd done myself) and home-made desserts.

However, I enjoy cooking. Not everyone does.

I get you, Ragwort. I did the same this year, after years of hand knitted parsnips and fifteen poncetastic side dishes, I let M & S provide the bread sauce, gravy and cranberry sauce this year. I did the rest but didn't fuck about it with it. No one noticed the bloody difference and I got extra Prosecco quaffing time. Win win.

YABU however......We are a group of pals that have been friends for years and now we have wives and husbands too. The men from our group have always been very competitive about everything (although love each other too but in a manly way!) Now we are middle aged the competition revolves mainly around cooking. The women in the group (now joined by the wives) have learned how to manipulate this. We photograph the man who has cooked alongside his dish when we go for dinner and then send the photo to the other guys with comments like " This is the best yet - you need to up your game for next time etc" This results in the most fabulous meals every time! Last night we were served the most beautiful beef wellington I have ever had at one family's house. His wife and I started receiving texts before pudding from one of the other blokes wanting to get a date in the diary for dinner at his! We also make a huge fuss of the cook...but add little comments just to keep them on their toes...last night his wife and I came up with...."it's absolutely stunning...a bit like a posh sausage roll" We high fived that comment when alone in the sitting room!

Not really, I think it was just a light hearted throw away comment

plop