Have you finalised your Christmas menu?

[OctoberMoon]

Hi,

So have you finalised your Christmas menu? If you have, what are you serving? And how many are you cooking for?

I'm cooking for 3 adults, 1 child.

We aren't having a starter, as i'm having people over for Christmas breakfast so will probably still be comfortably full.

Main course is Turkey crown (cooked to a Jamie Oliver recipe) Jamie Oliver sausagemeat chestnut and sage stuffing, garlic and rosemary roast potatoes (roasted in goose fat) Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, creamed mashed potatoes, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, clementine and honey chantennay carrots, parmesan parsnips, mushy peas, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce & bread sauce.

I think dessert will be a chocolate yule log with fresh pouring cream.

In the evening there'll be cheese, crackers, picalili, chutney etc.. and plenty of Baileys

I have a really busy day on Christmas and want to prepare what I can in advance. I plan on making Jamie's get ahead gravy on 23rd (although wasn't a huge fan last year, so will change it up a little this year) prepping my turkey and sorting my stuffing out on Christmas eve (so that they only need shoving in the oven on Christmas day) But what about my roasties? Can I peel, parboil, shake, throw a bit of flour on them on Christmas eve, let them cool and stick them in the fridge ready to roast on Christmas day? I'm terrified to try incase they go horrible?

I'm not cooking this year so not entirely sure! But pudding is ALWAYS Christmas pud with brandy butter and lots of cream.

Wrt to your roasties - I would only go as far as the peeling and putting in water in pans stage on Christmas Eve. If you parboil your carrots and parsnips you can do the same with them. I leave the pans out overnight (no need to refrigerate) and then parboil them in the morning while doing other bits. It's the peeling and prepping stage that's the time consuming bit.

Unless you are using different types of potatoes for your roasties and mash, you could actually just pre-prep all your potatoes in one pan, then take out the ones for roasting and finish off the mash in that same pan.

Other things you can do in advance:

22nd/23rd: Red cabbage, cranberry sauce
24th: Bread sauce, prep pigs in blankets, mushy peas, cheese sauce for your cauliflower cheese (reheat carefully to avoid curdling!!); prep cauliflower and into a pan with water

So all you are left with on the 25th is: Parboil veg and into oven with herbs/glazes/etc; finish cauliflower cheese; Yorkshires; bird and stuffing into oven; reheat everything that needs it. Very do-able!

Finalised it last night.

We're having a smoked salmon starter, then whole turkey cooked with citrus butter, spiced red cabbage, roast Brussel sprouts, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, goose fat roasties, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and stuffing of some kind. Pigs in blankets too.

Stuffing, cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets will likely be bought in, iM afraid.

Pudding will be brioche bread and butter pudding with clementines (a Jamie recipe) and/or ginger and Guinness Christmas pudding, which is in the slow cooker as I type.

It's a fairly simple menu. Stock for the gravy will be made when the turkey is delivered. Red cabbage will be made ASAP and stuck in the freezer. B&b pudding is a piece of piss because it can usually be left to soak for a bit before going in the oven.

Roasties will be prepped and parboiled, and roughed up the day before. Not only can you do this, you can also open-freeze them and bag them up, and they can then be cooked from frozen as usual. Double check the specifics though -- I'm not sure whether they'd need to be cooked for slightly longer than usual.

Last year I did all the roasties prep including par boiling on Xmas eve, left them in the stock pot out in the shed over night and into hot goose fat on Christmas day - they were lush!

This year we are having pate and baked camembert's with chutney's / melba toast etc etc for our starter, main is leg of lamb and Mum has added last minute a Turkey Breast to that as well so its 'a bit more special' then roasted potato, sweet potato, parsnip and shallots, plus green beans.

Will buy GF stuffing and pigs n blankets from M&S.

Desert is Bailey's and Toblerone Cheesecake and a small xmas pudding with brandy butter for the two of us who like it! My brother has sent a chocolate hamper for the family and we'll do cheese board / fruit platter as well.

Last year we just had too much food and quite a bit of waste so this year we are having the starter at 12pm, main lunch at around 2pm, desert about 4pm and picky nibbly things if heaven forbid anyone is hungry later in the evening... obv not set in stone but trying to be realistic!!

We have ours finalised. We're cooking for 4 adults & 1 toddler. We're also cheating and getting rather a lot of it from M&S!

Starter: M&S seafood platter

Soup: Scotch broth

Main: M&S three bird roast, with pigs in blankets, yorkshire puddings, brussels with pancetta & chestnuts, roast veg, roast potatoes/mash, pickled red cabbage, bread sauce & turkey gravy

Pudding: M&S passion fruit mouse with raspberry coulis, or M&S chocolate opera dessert

I've also ordered some nice cheese & pate for later in the evening.

I can't wait!

No breakfast... Never do.

Starter is seafood, with melon and prawns for children.

Main course is 1 turkey,2/3 crowns depending on deals, pork, beef, a nut roast and a mushroom Wellington with every conceivable vegetable, roast potatoes, mash potatoes, swede, parsnips, carrots (roasted & tinned, because as much as I try to love roasted carrots, I need tinned!!) sausages, bacon, couple of types of stuffing and Yorkshire pudding.

Dessert is trifle ( alcoholic & not), chocolate log, lemon cheesecake, profiteroles, jelly and ice cream, Christmas pudding, and some kind of meringue as my DD (3) newly loves it.

A little while after that, lay out sandwiches of all meats and lots of nibbles for evening buffet.

About 3 am my mum does bubble & squeak for the hardcore eaters

33 for dinner.

Oh good lord, 33 for dinner??!!

I hope its a joint effort!

33?! Where do they all sit? How many ovens do you have?

Can someone please explain the pre-prepping potatoes? Can you parboil and leave in water? If you take them out and flour them then fridge them do they go brown by the morning. I've got loads coming for dinner and need to prepare ahead as much as I can.

Breakfast is champagne and crumpets and chocolate and just generally rubbish although I will make DS eat a banana!

Lunch will be some snacks, party food type nibbles from marks and spencer.

Dinner is M&S. Smoked salmon to start, DH is having seabass and we are having the 3 fish roast thing along with douphinoase (sp) potatoes and green beans. Don't do desert but once DS is in bed it will be cheese, fruit and port.

All repeated on Boxing day

28th December I have 33 for curry.

Baking- it's at my mums. She has a long dining room that leads into the conservatory and so we hire trestle tables, cover them with long white tablecloths and decorate... and it leads through to there. Also a massive range cooker, but every meat is cooked Christmas eve and served cold. All desserts etc are in the second fridge / freezer pre prepared in utility room.

Lots are kids though

We peel and chop everything and have ready in pots of water from night before too.

Breakfast will be cinnamon rolls (for me), streaky bacon (for DH) and little boxes of cereal from the variety packs in their stockings for the DCs.

For dinner, it's dry-brined spiced goose with cider gravy, glazed ham, gingerbread stuffing, sausagemeat, onion and sage stuffing, goose-fat roasties with rosemary and seasalt, butternut squash gratin, mint and lemon roast carrots, and buttered sprouts with pancetta, spiced maple cranberry sauce and bread sauce.

My sister is doing the starter and my dad's looking after dessert.

I'll have some nice bread in for leftover sandwiches once the visitors have gone and the kids have been put to bed, if DH and I can manage it. It wouldn't be christmas for me without that!

What is good to do this week and frozen?

I haven't finalised yet but am not going too ambitious. I have never done this before and my guests are traditionalists who would be suspicious of anything too highly flavoured. But I would like a few fancy bits/sides to be reheated on the day so no one sees me flustered and feels obliged to eat stuff they don't like.