AIBU - to say Christmas Dinner is not the meal to go wild on flavours?

[StacksOfSnacks]

TLDR
My sister has just dropped that she is doing an ‘elevated’ Christmas dinner. Can I politely ask her to keep it simple?

Long Version
My sister and I share a love of food and cooking, we enjoy food and flavours from an array of cultures and will often do dinners composed of a spread of small plates - this is to say that I’m not typically unadventurous or fussy.

We are spending Christmas at hers this year, as we have previously, and were expecting her absolutely delicious yet conventional Christmas dinner. However, she has just excitedly shared what she plans to cook and I’ve been knocked for six. I have no doubts that she has the skills to execute it, and that each element will be delicious, but it seems a bit to busy to have all on one plate, I’m not sure they will mingle well together. And I just love a traditional Christmas dinner and think that it should be left to be simple and tasty, this just won’t feel like Christmas dinner to me. I will put her intended menu below.

I know she’s the host and should cook whatever she wants, and I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel this has been dropped on me. I know she would reject me offering to bring a dish or two. We’ve each said many times that having people bring a dish to an occasion like Christmas is more hassle than it’s worth. It’s too late to make alternative plans for Christmas without it being a ‘thing’. I’m a bit gutted, can I say something? If so how?

• Ballotine Porchetta Turkey
• Nam Prik Pao Smoked Prime Rib
• Rosemary Bonito Gravy
• Fried Sprouts + Cheese Foam + Preserved Lemon + Pistachio Relish
• Honey Gochujang Carrots
• Truffle Cauliflower Cheese
• Marmite Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Roasties
• Parsnip and pecorino stuffing
• Sticky Pomegranate Pigs in Blankets
• Champagne Cranberry Sauce
• Hazelnut and Nutmeg Bread Sauce
• Yorkshire Puddings

That sounds like quite a combination. I'd give it all a try though, just maybe not a marmite potato, Gochujang carrot, preserved lemon and cheese foam sprout and hazelnut bread sauce in the same mouthful.

I’d be bummed out too OP - I’m a very adventurous eater, and it all sounds delicious in its own right, but one simply does not fuck with Christmas dinner.

It sounds like she is really into her scheme and wildly excited about it, so I think I would just quietly buy the ingredients to make a proper Christmas dinner when we got home, and suck it up on the day.

exactly, if it was any other day I would be really excited. I think it's because her normal Christmas dinner is so good I know what I'm missing out on!

Way too many combinations to mix.

Wtf? Am 100% with you. Individually and on any other day of the year. Yes. That mixture of flavours all together and at Christmas? No.

Christmas is all about Tradition. Which is delicious.

Everything sounds lovely individually but together it does seem like a huge clash of flavours.

Maybe mention all the different cuisines and flavours and enquire into whether this is going to be a ‘small plate’ affair. It might possibly get her to consider whether any of it really goes on a dinner plate together.

There’s not really any polite way to tell her it sounds chaotic though so it might just be something you need to go along with. If nothing else you may have a story for years to come of 2025s crazy gochujang/marmite/nutmeg mash up :)

I have to say I'd be pretty gutted to find marmite on my roast potatoes and would definitely be making a load of my own roast potatoes the next day.

Otherwise as long as it is a buffet and no one is plating up a bit of everything for me, I'd be fine. Some of the stuff sounds interesting. As a total menu it sounds like it doesn't know where it is coming from - flavours of all sorts of cuisine together.

Still if she is a good cook, it'll probably be lovely to sample some of it.

You'll hopefully have many more bog-standard Christmas dinners in your future. I'd suck it up this one time, as your sister is hosting you, and she seems so excited by her plans.

It all sounds SO good but too much on the same plate!!! Truffle cali cheese tho😍😍😍😍

It does sound a bit much written down like that. But I honestly think that you just have to leave it to her. It does have all the traditional elements and maybe the added flavours will be relatively subtle and not as overwhelming as you fear. For example, I dont suppose you will notice the champagne in the cranberry sauce and I dont think I pomegranite glaze will change pigs in blankets much.

the marmite roasties are fab to be fair, they're not overpowering but have a little extra umami. They're her staple at a roast.

I don’t think it sounds lovely at all. It sounds like AI wrote a fancy menu out of things that don’t go together.

I’m a really adventurous eater but I agree with you op, I wouldn’t want that combination of flavours at Christmas. Is she cooking it all from scratch? I’d probably tell her it sounds like a lot of work and to not do marmite potatoes or the cauliflower cheese (which to my mind shouldn’t go on a plate with a roast anyway)

Is this an advert Joshua?

This is exactly why Christmas is so Godawful

Eat the food she's making ffs

She is a Joshua Weissman fan. I think a good amount of the recipes are his or Ottolenghis. TBH I've gone right off Joshua recently. His video quality is poor, the content less interesting, and I'm aware of some unethical practices. But that's a whole other subject.

Eat and be grateful, choose a selection I’m sure they’ll be plenty to choose from .

If this person was on masterchef, they’d be the try-too-hard weird flavour combos that don’t work and it’s a vanity meal person.

talk me through both truffles and gochuchang on the same plate, let alone with preserved lemons and cheese foam too.

It’s a taste test not skills test.

I agree with you that individually it sounds delicious but all at once it doesn't go together. But she is hosting and is being kind enough to feed you so I really don't think you can say anything. I would just make your own traditional Christmas Dinner on another day.

Cheese foam? Surely foam is rather passé now?

Seriously, sounds ridiculous and I'm with you, traditional done well is what we're having.

Honestly, if someone is enthusiastic and good enough to cook for me, I will embrace graciously.

I would go with an open heart and just try everything… it sounds like she’s putting a lot of work into the dinner and it will be an adventure if nothing else! You can always have a simple roast on Boxing Day at home.

I wouldn't say anything at all.

Just do your simple roast on boxing day.

It sounds very rich and could be quite sickly all at once.

There's a lot going on there for sure, and I wouldn't cook it personally, but she's the host and you are a guest so id never complain. If this is a big issue to you then just be grateful that you don't have bigger things to worry about