so christmas dinner, what's on yours and what do you prepare beforehand?

[mamapants]

I normally assist at xmas day food prep but having xmas at our house this year so more work but get to do everything how I want to.
So we will be having:
Turkey
Cranberry sauce
Bread sauce
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Roast carrots
Stuffing- normally we have paxo but I want to do homemade
We would normally have broccoli and cauliflower but I'm not sure I'm going to bother
We also normally have pigs in blankets but don't think will bother
Sprouts- normally we have boiled but I have seen recipe for a kind of sprout cheese bake which looks good thinking of trying that
Gravy we normally have bisto on xmas day but at home we make our own but I don't know how to make a veggie one??

Am I forgetting anything obvious??
And what can be made in advance? I normally make the cranberry sauce and bring with me but normally we do everything else on the day which I find a bit time consuming and you miss out on lots of the fun.

Oh and what's for pudding?

Turkey crown from M &S.

Potatoes roasted in goose fat.

Sausages wrapped in bacon are the law. I can't even consider a Christmas dinner without them.

I do my sprouts with bacon and Chestnuts.

Red spiced cabbage.

My carrots are roasted with thyme and honey.

Parsnips also roasted in honey.

I add a sweet potato - because I love them!

Stuffing is homemade, as is the gravy.

Pudd is Hestons hidden orange Christmas pud. Already bought when it was on offer in Waitrose.

You can do all veg prep the night before and leave in cold water overnight.

Stuffing can be made in advance.

As can spiced red cabbage.

Not much help as we all have our favourite meals on Christmas Day, but I adore sprouts with Brie and bacon. Yum yum yum.

I can't even contemplate Christmas dinner without sausages wrapped in bacon. There would be a mutiny in our house. People would rather eat a plate of them than the turkey!

I'd definitely add spiced red cabbage with apples to the menu. It can be made a day or two in advance, so just needs heating through before serving. I make my cranberry and bread sauce in advance too.

Oh had forgotten the cabbage.
But am still not convinced with pigs in blankets, I love sausages and I love bacon but I find the combination yukky. Plus have 4 vegetarians coming so the turkey will do for the rest of us.

We will have
Turkey Crown
Mash potatoes
Roast Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Sproats
Cauliflower
Carrots
Broccoli
Pigs in Blankets
Stuffing
and maybe a yorkshire pudding ;) because i like them lol

Stuffed Duck, used to get M+S/ Waitrose but not keen on the stuffing they have been using for the last few years so do it myself. I stuff it with two different flavoured stuffings pre made by Waitrose

Pigs in blankets, last couple years from the butchers, or ready done

Cranberry sauce, sometimes I will make it in advance

Roast Potatoes

Croquette potatoes (ready made)

Potato Dauphinoise

Creamed Parsnips sometimes make in advance and freeze

Sometimes Roast Parsnips

Various steamed veg

Last year I bought a ready made veg gratin, twas nice

OH has Fillet of Beef

It only takes as long as the Duck takes to cook and rest so couple of hours tops, so dont see the need for much advance prep

Oh and homemade gravy...how can I forget the gravy

This year:

Starter: smoked salmon & blinis
Main: Turkey & gammon roast, goose fat roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, stuffing & gravy
Pud: Treacle tart & clotted cream

Oh - and DH / DS will have pigs in blankets with their main. I might do Yorkshire puds as well.

Quiet one this year, as just me and DH and the kids.

Usually do a smoked salmon starter, but might skip starters this year as no guests to impress

I'm doing a chicken rather than a turkey
Nigella's ham in coke with the sticky glaze and cloves (plenty of leftovers for boxing day from this)
Roast potatoes
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing - usually do chestnut & pork, and a vegetarian spiced cranberry one...not sure this year, might switch it up!
Yorkies (weird with Xmas dinner, but kids love them)
Veg will be a bit more basic this year I think - not going to ponce around glazing carrots and frying up pancetta and chestnuts with my sprouts just for us ...maybe sprouts, carrots, peas and cauliflower/broccolli
Cranberry sauce and gravy obviously!

Havent decided on dessert. Might break with tradition this year and scrap the Xmas pud...

I do Christmas lunch at home every year I always prep the turkey, veg, do the stuffing/pigs in blankets the night before. We have,

Turkey
Stuffing
Mash/Roasties
Pigs in blankets the
Roast Parsnips
Peas/Carrots
Sprouts stirfried with bacon off the Turkey leg
I'm doing Cauliflower cheese for DP this year
Cranberry sauce/Schwartz. turkey gravy

Not sure about pudding this year yet.

I'm cooking thiss year, not done it for a few years, but this is what I'm doing:
Turkey
Spuds in goose fat
Roast parsnips and carrots
Sprouts (not decided how)
Pigs in blankets
Cranberry sauce (could poss make in advance, or may get M&s)
Bread sauce (as above)
Gravy (last time make Jamie oliver's gravy made in advance, everyone complimented it)

That's it, no other veg is right on Christmas day)

Well have spoken to DP and turns out we will be having pigs in blankets.
We will also be having sausagemeat apparently? Never had that.
I am now wondering about doing a veg gratin for the vegetarians.

We will be getting xmas pud in but not many of us like it so need something else too.

For four people we have:

Smoked salmon on wheaten bread

Chicken roast with sage and onion
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing balls
Roast potatoes
Roast carrots and parsnips
Sprouts and other greens with bacon.
Gravy.

Chtistmas pudding/slice of yule log/ lemon honeycomb pudding thing that someone mentioned on an earlier thread and I want to try.

Cheese.

The things I do in advance to enjoy the day more are: par boil the spuds the night before, drain them and let them dry then in a bowl in fridge overnight, get them out 45 mins before you put in the oven. I make my own yorkies, but freeze them, they only need 10 mins then in the oven. Blanch the parsnips days before and freeze (I don't want to peel anything Xmas morning!) peel Brussels, carrots day before - keep in a bag in the fridge. FIL always makes the stuffing the day before so we stuff the turkey and get it oven ready the night before. On the day we use the Schwartz Turkey gravy and I prepare that way before we dish up, add a splash of sherry and shove it in the slow cooker on keep warm setting so it's ready to go at dishing up time!

I'm cooking for 9 this year
We're having
Turkey crown ordered from Copas farms, gave ordered their gravy too this year
Pigs in blankets
Loads of roast potatoes
Roast parsnips and maybe carrots
Stuffing (maybe 2 kinds but won't be homemade)
Red cabbage - made beforehand
More veg of some kind, yet to be decided

We'll have prawn cocktail to start as easy and doesn't need the oven and I might ask someone to bring the pud but I will ensure we have brandy butter

These can be made a day or so in advance if stored well (they wont last that long in my house!).

I reduce the caster sugar by atleast 100gms if not more because the original recipe is just too sweet.

Cut up in to squares, pile up high, dredge with icing sugar & stick long candles/sparklers on top.

www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/nigella-lawson/snow-flecked-brownies-recipe

Smoked salmon and blinis first

Turkey cooked on the BBQ

Roast pots ( par boiled the day before )

Roast parsnips ( also par boiled in advance)

Cauliflower cheese
Yorkshires
Pigs in blankets
Paxo stuffing
Sprouts with pancetta
Bourbon gravy made with juices from the BBQ Turkey.

Every year I buy a Christmas pudding and every year we are too full to eat it.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, nice bread.

Snacks/starters: canapes (what?) Sausage rolls nibbles

Dinner:
Turkey crown (possibly aldi)
Roast pots in goose fat
Spiced red cabbage
Honey roasted parsnips & carrots
Sprouts with.bacon & chestnuts
Pigs in blankets (shop bought)
Stuffing (paxo mixed with sausage meat)
Fresh bread sauce & gravy from either aldi or m&s
Yorkshire puds

Grasmere xmas pudding with aldi or m&s brandy.sauce. Probably in the evening.

Cabbage & parsnips already in freezer.