What do you have for Christmas dinner - all the side dishes etc?

[HuevosRancheros]

I'm hosting Christmas this year - it will be me, DH, DD (7), DS (5), MiL and FiL.

DH and I are veggie, DS is a fussy sod, so it'll only be DD and the in-laws who will be eating meat.

For that reason, I'm going for chicken rather than turkey
I don't want tons of leftovers and can't justify the extra cost of a turkey crown just to say we've had turkey - is it really that much better than chicken?

We don't do roasts during the year ( again), but the in-laws do, so I want to make this seem special, not just another roast chicken lunch.

So far, I have planned:

Chicken/quorn roast/nut roast
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Mash (I wouldn't, but DH loves it)
Yorkshires (I know they should be with beef, but I love them, and kind of think the joy of Christmas lunch is that you can have what you like, within reason)
Stuffing
Red cabbage
Sprouts (possibly with shallots and chestnuts)
Carrots
Cauliflower cheese
Pigs in blankets (this will be DS's protein )
Bread sauce
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

Have I forgotten anything obvious? Any additions?

TIA

I agree turkey is a must. I would be disappointed if I got chicken - that's something you have all year.

I buy a rolled turkey joint from the butchers. For 8 of us it never costs more than £25

Turkey
Cranberry sauce
Gravy
Bread sauce
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Spiced red cabbage
Pigs in blankets
2 types of stuffing
Leeks in cream
Sprouts with bacon & chestnuts

I would always want the whole turkey presented on the table with someone ready to carve - I know it's a faff but re-heated turkey in gravy doesn't sound so special to me (fine for Boxing Day etc of course).

We're having chicken this year too. We are overseas and the imported frozen turkeys are £50 a pop. It's only me, Dh and two wee ones so I'm not paying that! We had chicken last year and it was just as lovely when you add all the side dishes.

So...:
Chicken
Roast potatoes
Roast sweet potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Roast carrots (no parsnips available here)
Peas
Another veg that Dh will choose
Stuffing from the chicken
Bacon and stuffing rolls
Pigs in blankets
Yorkshires
Gravy

Chicken
Little sausages in bacon
Carrots
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Peas
Sprouts stir fried with bacon
Yorkshire puddings
Stuffings
Gravy

Ragwort it's just the 4 of us including two teenage boys - no-one is willing to hang about at the table while meat is carved - they just want a plate of everything they like (and nothing they don't) put down in front of them so they can hoover it up - make a show of attempting conversation for a few minutes and then ask to be excused.

We usually reconvene for a movie and pudding a few hours later.

I've done chicken before, it still felt quite Christmassy with all the sides, although turkey is a bit nicer perhaps. Still I'd rather have a really good quality chicken than a cheap turkey I think. Thinking of duck this year.

You have a lot of sides!

We tend to have:
Meat - turkey/goose/chicken/duck
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Braised red cabbage
Steamed sprouts and carrots
Gravy

So from your list, no mash, yorkshires, cauli cheese, bread sauce or cranberry sauce (the red cabbage I make is quite fruity and I find it does the same job) I also like to keep the carrots and sprouts simple as a contrast to all the other rich stuff on the plate. (Also plain carrots especially are useful for fussy eaters) Sounds like you have more than enough to me.

mymoher - I do the whole turkey on the table routine and there's only three (including a teenager) of us .

So long as everyone is happy it really doesn't matter what your own 'tradition' is .

Actually, I will re-phrase that, I think it is up to the cook/chef to decide what makes her/him happy in the way she wants to serve the meal.

I will have 8 for Christmas:
DH vegetarian
DS (16) the fussy sod , likes everything very plain,
DD (13.6) eats everything except tuna,bacon and garlic bread
DDad diabetic, plain food, not spicey, buttery or creamy (doesn't drink)
DBro eats anything
DSil eats minimal meat
DMum eats no meat
Me (the worst) vegetarian, no gluten, very minimal dairy.

So: Christmas Dinner....

DBro is bringing a Turkey Crown (he knows a really good butchers)
Quorn Roast for us vegetarians (DH is but IMO Christmas Dinner has to be as simple as possible , the time to potter about is not Christmas Day)
Bacon on the turkey or wrapped round the sausages (those tiny Sainsburys ones)
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips (no honey or any nonsense like that)
Sprouts (of course)
Turnip (pureed)
Brocolli
Red cabbage (ready made )
Paxo Sage& Onion stuffing (in a loaf tin to slice) no sausagemeat so it's ok for vegetarians
Bread sauce ( I make)
Vegetarian gravy
Yorkshire puddings (Aunt Bessie) . I might buy the ready to cook ones and do them in the little halogen oven, they are much better than the ready cooked ones (DS loves them)
Chesnuts (the ones in the vacuum pack, whole ones)

I think that's all.
I can't eat all of it sadly, I'm going to 'save' myself for a mince pie (and have horrible wind but hey! it's Christmas)

No cranberry sauce, no-one ate it last year.

Rib of beef
Roast potatoes in goose fat
Carrots with maple syrup
Brussels sprouts with chestnuts
Yorkies
Gravy
Horseradish

Plain and simple for such a nice cut of meat

Pudding will be Christmas pudding with clotted cream and chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream for the kids.

One thing you haven't mentioned, which we enjoy, is baked onions.
Smallish onions, stuffed with breadcrumbs, sage, thyme, parmesan, olive oil and breadcrumbs and bake in the oven.
Am sure you could start them the night before and finish off for lunch. I try and get white onions, if not use red but brown will also be good.

We do our red cabbage with balsamic vinegar and stewed apple.

Admittedly we do a big variety but there are enough of us to just take little bits of what we fancy.
That said we never have leeks, cauliflower cheese or yorkshire pudding on our Christmas Day menu.

There's 7 of us,myself,DH and 5DC,DS19 ,DS17, DS14, DD12, DD8.

Turkey crown.
Stuffing,made with sausagemeat.
Pigs in blankets.
Last year I made Honey pork belly, Tom Kerridge recipe as well.
Not sure what other meat I'm doing yet to go with the Turkey.
Roast potatoes.
Mash potatoes.
Cauliflower cheese.
Brussel sprouts.
Christmas carrots,again last year and another Tom kerridge recipe.
Roast parsnips.
Yorkshire puddings.
Cranberry sauce and gravy.

Any left over Turkey,stuffing,meat,pigs in blankets is laid out with the buffet in the evening and DH usually likes to have a turkey and piccalilli sandwich before he goes to bed as well.

Turkey (used to call it chicken to please little dd!)
Roasts
Potato croquettes
Yorkshire puddings (DC insist!)
Raw carrot for DC as a token veg...
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Selection of pickles for df including 'horrors' such as pickled cauliflower (according to DC that is gross)
Pickled onions (separate from other pickles so everyone else will eat them)
Pickled beetroot - again DF
Bread sauce just for DM
Brussels with bacon and chestnuts for em and DF
Separate chestnuts for me as I hate sprouts!
Cauliflower cheese, carrots, parsnips
Sounds a lot but mostly a roast dinner with the additional
Opening of various pickle jars! DC have turkey, rosters, croquettes, Yorkshire pud and half a carrot. Every year. When they were babies they are broccoli, but no more!!!

pigs in blankets!!! Stuffing!!! How could I forget them!!! DC love the pigs!!! And red cabbage for DF again! So glad he gets sent he with Adam at the end of the evening with all those pickles!

He doesn't go with Adam! Bloody phone! He goes home!!!!

Turkey.
Stuffing (two types).
Roast potatoes.
Potato gratin.
Carrots.
Peas.
Red cabbage.
Gravy.
Cranberry sauce.

Christmas pudding with cream/ice cream.
Mince pies.
Chocolate.

Oh yes, pigs in blankets!

My Christmas dinner - which is for 3 of us, includes:

Turkey, with sausage meat/bread stuffing
Spiced beef (cooked day before and served cold)
Roast potatoes
Sometimes a bowl of mash or potato stuffing (i.e. well-seasoned mash!) as well
Roasted root veg (carrots, parsnips, butternut squash and onions)
Cauliflower cheese
Brussels sprouts (sometimes with bacon)
Peas or corn (DD not a great veg person so we need one for her_
Giblet gravy (boil the giblets the day before for the stock)
Yorkshire puddings

I don't do LOADS of each, but I like the variety on Christmas Day. I'd often do 2 veg for a roast dinner anyway.

I DO like turkey, and am happy to have leftovers (we have a few special dishes for Christmas, and it works well with pasta sauces or in curries a few months later too). I also use the carcass for stock on Christmas night (and keep the veg peelings for that purpose as well).

But we're not big fans of things like cranberry sauce or bread sauce.

I'd put out mustard (a grainy one) if I have some ham on the table (some years but spiced beef usually wins).

Starters are usually the nibbles (a couple of M&S packs or some naice crisps) as we cook and open presents rather than anything at the table. Although sometimes that may include some smoked salmon on brown bread (which could be eaten at the table if timings require).

I always have a good cheese board for later, and over the season, as well. So a good cheddar, a hunk of stilton, nice camembert or brie, and at least 2 more cheeses (at least 1 more hard cheese). Just with crackers and grapes, and port. No quince jelly or similar generally.

We might have dessert, or just Christmas pudding.

And I will usually have a large bag of orangettes to nibble on later, as we let it all settle. Maybe a few Scots Clan as well - but no big tins of biscuits or Quality Street/Roses etc tins.

We are going to have pork or gammon this year.
Roast potatoes
Oarsnips
Carrots
Sprouts and bacon
Broccoli
Peas
Pigs in blankets
Yorkshire puddings
Gravy

Not sure about pudding yet. There's 5 in our family and I will probably invite my dad and brother (who is veggie so will need to think of something for him.)

Our Xmas dinner is very similar to yours. Don't do Yorkies, as my family aren't that fussed, and I find they can be a bit of a fiddle with needing the oven up high enough while juggling everything else.

My mum has made me a 3 roast bird twice (not at Xmas), and both times I've really not enjoyed them, so would be disappointed (but polite enough not to show it) if that came out on Xmas Day.

My MIL pre-cooked the turkey and gravy once for Xmas and I've not been back for Xmas at her house.

Basically, I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to Xmas food. I don't mind some pre-prepared food (I do a lot of veg prep the night before, and usually do the cabbage well in advance), but my meat and gravy in particular must be made on the day. After one (stupid) year dashing up the motorway for 3 hrs on Xmas morning with my young children I vowed we would always have Xmas Day at home, and anyone would be very very welcome to come and join us.

Oh and turkey is kind of Xmas to me, but I understand your dilemma, and would be happy to have chicken in this instance (although I love leftovers at Xmas, and your ILs may be happy to supply and take back home with them, so worth checking).

For DH and I, DPIL and DCs 9 and 11 we do

Turkey
pigs in blankets
sage and onion stuffing
carrots
mashed swede
roast sprouts
roast parsnips
roast potatoes
cranberry sauce
bread sauce
Yorkshire pudding
gravy

No cheesy stuff, no spicy or sweet flavours apart from cranberry sauce. Any more than that and you either need to cook each thing in tiny amounts ir have masses of leftovers, which is a total no for us, we don't like leftover roast dinner stuff.

It's a very similar menu to what I serve. Am waiting to find out whether I am cooking for 15 or just us (I told them no one needed to make a decision before dec 10th, it's the whole family or none at all). If everyone comes I am adding a nut roast and beef Wellington to the list.

Roast turkey with:

• Boiled potatoes
• Roast potatoes
• Julienne carrots
• Honey glazed parsnips
• Cauliflower cheese
• Broccoli
• Sprouts
• Savoy cabbage
• Peas
• Stuffing
• Yorkshire puddings
• Kilted sausages
• Cranberry sauce
• Lashings of gravy

Pudding wise we have a selection of mince pies with cream and homemade brandy butter, Christmas cake and sticky toffee pudding with custard. Cheese, biscuits and more wine after that. As soon as we've shaken the first food coma, we make warm turkey sandwiches and snuggle down to watch a movie.

I'm hungry now. And so excited!