Baked beans on toast for Xmas dinner-your thoughts please

[FillyjonkTheFireEater]

Pros

1. Everyone likes baked beans, unless they are weird. No pushing sprouts round a plate

1. No issues re vegetarians/vegans/people who eat meat but call themselves vegetarian

1. Quick to prepare

1. Looks rather festive

1. Goes rather well with ale

Cons

???

If you like baked beans then why not, you only have to please yourselves, it's no-one elses business.

However, roast is my one of my favourite dinners and so easy to do. One of the easiest I reckon. I cooked the works last night and it's only me. I get to eat a 2nd helping tonight and dd can have some too.

We visit grandparents Christmas eve and boxing day, and they both do variations on the massive Christmas dinner, so on Christmas day I either do the deli thing, or a big fry up for breakfast (eassy to accomodate veggie options for me)and assorted snacks the rest of the day.

No cons to beans on toast

I love Xmas dinner and all the trimmings but if your don;t then have whatever you like and if you "give yourself permission" to stray from the "norm" then go the whole hog and make it as easy for yourself as possible.

If that means buying lovely ready meals from M&S or great deli bits or beans on toast then Happy Xmas!

Last year ALL my family came to Budapest and we did the whole works (ordered 2 turkeys in cooked from a hotel though!!!) and it was great. My DS had some Xmas dinner. My nephew had marmalade sandwiches and my niece had chicken nuggets and carrots. DS stayed in PJs all day.

I just don't get stressed by it - in fact i get more stressed by my MIL or mum hovering round the kitchen asking if they can help or have i tried cooking it this way or that.
I cook my turkey on Christmas eve. DH carves it all up when its cool and its put in the fridge. I get all the veg ready then as well. On Christmas day i put as many slices of turkey as i need in a roasting tin, cover it with gravy and let it heat through, and put the veg on. Loads of time for me to spend in the living room "testing" the wines, and spending time with the Dss. However, if you really don't enjoy turkey, or can't be bothered then do what you want, it's your house after all.

No. It's got to be the full roast dinner whether you like it or not. I insist that DP gets up at 5am to start, gives me a glass of bubbly at 6am (while I supervise frenzied present opening with my feet up) and then slaves over roasties, parsnips, yorkies, bird, carrots (glazed in honey), peas, cauliflower cheese, stuffing, redcurrant jelly etc etc.

I'm planning on insisting on this tradition even if it's 120' in Sydney and we can't get any of the ingredients.

filly: have you tried a quorn roast ? They're like a giant sausage in a plastic wrap IIRC and you stick it in, forget about it and it comes out like roast turkey ! Recommended if you don't mind quorn / fake meat.

@ "I am hardcore food fascist the other 364 days of the year"

So beans on toast is you going all free and easy on the food?

My relatives are very traditional with Christmas dinner. I'd love to do something different - maybe one day.

no I am sorry xmas day has to be the turkey and all the trimmings , it wouldnt feel the same without it

Certainly not for the turkey.

I am not a lover of turkey so it sounds great to me, the farts as mentioned before could be an issue but no worse than sprouts i wouldnt think?!

If you don't enjoy cooking well then you should do whatever is easy and tasty.
I do enjoy cooking and all my family do too so that Christmas dinner was a big deal to us and tbh making a fab dinner is an expression of love for my family.
But if I diddn't enjoy it, I wouldn't bother.

What a fab idea!!! sis in law is doing buffet this year and were all bringing something. Im bringing twiglets and asda mince pies. but if it were just us 3, wed be having beans too

I would definitely do it. If you want to go gourmet you can put parsley on top of the beans

or for a festive poulty touch chuck in some chicken frankfurters

poultry even

I do actually love cooking

and I love nice food

I am just kind of fed up with spending xmas day faffing with food when, actually, I want to spend it with my kids

ok, front runners for the Jonk's Xmas meal are:

1. baked beans with parsley (ta tripot)

1. lots of very nice deli stuff. Bought and, if I am feeling posh, frozen and defrosted. The trouble here is that I will get tempted to make it all myself, using the excellent book, Vegan Fayre From The Middle East, a week before, and freezing...

dunno, baked beans seems fantastic in its simplicity...maybe a nice goats cheese on top...and poshola bread.....and vine leaves on the side...

We drove past KFC in New Zealand last Xmas day, it was packed i was amazed by how many people were having there Xmas meal there! They were even serving Turkey aswell as Chicken!

I love Xmas dinner we pull out a big table and dress it up, i cook everything (turkey xmas eve) and put it all in dishes on the table and everyone digs in, it's lovley to see all the famly enjoying it.

We couldn't have beans on toast 2 DSs can't stand them!
All love BBQ, salads, & lovely fresh bread. It's a pity we don't live in Australia.

Nothing stopping us having a BBQ though.....DH could do the cooking. Kids could make the salads,and hardly any washing up.

Filly, go out on Christmas Eve and get the deli stuff. Done. That's it

Cons! You want cons?? 'Cos it's christmas day and it's special. Because everyone I know loves turkey and the bits. Because roast anything is one of the easiest things to cook. Sorry but baked beans on toast just smacks of sad desperation to me.... student bedsit supper anyone??

You could do the turkey the night before and have it cold on the day with baked spuds and lots of salad incl all the deli stuff if you want. I find that Boxing day is a much better slob out and spend time with the kids day.

I don't actually like Turkey and yet we have had it every year so this year im getting a Goose as i have never had it i thought it would be different. I always do a small Chicken aswell though as we have a huge amount of people here!

We have our big dinner (roast with trimmings) at lunch then in the evening we have a buffet with cold meats, salad, potatoes, cheeses, pickles ect ect.

I don't like christmas dinner that much. I normally have to eat two (one at my Mums on Christmas Day and then one at MILs on Bosing Day), so I would love Beans on toast instead.

What about lunch at a restaurant/pub/hotel? (Not sure if there would be a good veggie option though)

I'll tell you what is really tempting me

for the dc, their ides of fabulous treat food is, sadly, beans on toast.

For me, with what will be freshly made (breadmaker) olive bread and, I have now decided, a nice, local goats cheese, and some other bits, its certainly ok.

I might make the baked beans though myself ...and freeze them in advance...