Who buys cauliflower cheese at Xmas?

[noblegiraffe]

And red cabbage??

Christmas dinner is, as far as I'm concerned, turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, sausages wrapped in bacon, some peas and carrots, a token sprout and lots of gravy. Maybe some gammon too. Other people may have parsnips.

I've been looking at the ready prepared stuff for Christmas and there's red cabbage and cauliflower cheese on offer. What? Why? You can't smother that in gravy and thus they are surely wrong?

Never have peas or mash though. It's usually:

Turkey
Roast potatoes
Parmesan parsnips
Sprouts
Carrots
Garlicy cabbage or broccoli
Cauliflower cheese
Yorkshire puddings (I know, but daughter insists)
Cranberry sauce
Gravy
Stuffing
Pigs in blankets

Boak at mashed potatoes! That would out me off of the whole meal. Yuk

We are discussing this this evening.
DH - your mother makes too much for xmas lunch (speaking to DC)
me - so you don't want turkey this year?
DH - no I mean all the extras
me - what do you mean?
DH - the cauliflower cheese and 101 vegetable
me - but that's the best part!

So I make - along with the turkey - roast potatoes, roast parsnips, roast beetroot, cauliflower cheese, carrots, sprouts, pigs in blankets, chipolatas, stuffing. I am wondering about adding this red cabbage you all speak of to my list??

We always have red cabbage.

I make it with cranberries, instead of Apple, to make it really Christmassy.

I've never considered cauliflower cheese. I may do, as this is the first year DD1 has been a vegetarian, so I'm a bit concerned that she gets plenty of nice variety of things to eat. She'll have red cabbage, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, sprouts, roast beetroot, porcini stuffing balls, onion gravy, vegetarian pigs in blankets, and green beans. Hmm. I'll ask her.

We usually have,
Turkey,
Pigs in blankets,
Roast potatoes,
Mashed potatoes,
Roast parsnips and carrots,
Red cabbage,
Cauliflower and broccoli cheese,
Sprouts,
Sage and onion stuffing,
Pork and chestnut stuffing,
Red currant jelly,
Mustard,
Cranberry sauce,
Gravy

Other sometime additions are ham, leeks in white sauce, mashed swede and carrot and sweet potato.

Peas are a bit mid-week for a Christmas dinner IMO and Yorkshire puddings too filling but if we didn't have mashed potatoes I'd serve them.

I used to boak at the thought of cauliflower cheese with a roast then I tried it and loved it.

Nobody has mentioned swede and potato, in proportions about 1:6 mashed together. We always had that, with roast potatoes as well with a roast dinner.
Cauliflower cheese was a whole meal with bread and butter when I was young, but have recently learned it's perfect with almost any meal. DS considers it a whole meal with fusilli cooked in, but I try to push all the pasta to his side of the dish.

Not cooking Christmas dinner this year But now you've reminded me I think I will have a stonking cauliflower cheese on boxing day with some fancy cheese.

Would Stilton work?

I'm with you OP, red cabbage and cauliflower cheese have no place at our Christmas table (or any other roast dinner) and never will do.

I serve cauliflower cheese on Boxing Day with rum spiced roast pork and all the usual trimmings, and red cabbage on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Red cabbage really livens up the bubble & squeak made with leftovers too.

Think we over do it here

Turkey
Roast and Mashed Potatoes
Roast Parsnips and Onions
Pigs in Blankets
Chiplolatas
Veg stuffing
Forcemeat Stuffing
Mashed Carrot and Swede (50/50 for us)
Glazed carrots
Peas ( for DH)
Sprouts
Cranberry Sauce
Apple Sauce

Occasionally leeks in white Sauce and pureed Parsnips included.

All leftovers get used up though

Never done mashed potatoes, but have done mashed swede/carrot and swede.
Yes to red cabbage - I do lots and freeze some or freeze ahead of time. It smells of Christmas. Cauliflower cheese is also on the menu because the kids love it. Also leeks and sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts. Not liking the sound of this year's monsters too much though! I do too many veg but just everyday stuff looks sad on the plate. Anyway, we love them. Stuffing and cranberry sauce done today and in the freezer. I like to cook absolutely everything ourselves, but enjoy a very chilled Christmas morning. I think it's the only time of year I use the freezer to good effect!

Never done peas, but they are not particularly popular round here.

Forgot about the Yorkshire puddings! I know they don't go, but it keeps the children happy, even though they're grown up! It's an annual discussion when we talk about what to have. They always win.

We usually have lamb, and cauliflower cheese goes wonderfully with lamb, so yes, we have it.
Mashed potatoes with a roast dinner is just odd.

hesterton I've never made red cabbage but I believe you have to have something acidic in the mix to kept the lovely deep red colour. So maybe that's why it works with apple.

We're having braised red cabbage this year, plus -
Turkey
Roast spuds
Roast parsnips with cumin seeds
Creamed leeks
Glazed carrots
Sprouts with chestnuts
Sage and onion stuffing
Gravy
Chipolatas
Pigs in blankets
Cranberry sauce

I can't believe the outrage over mash and peas 😁 its the done thing over here in the Midlands. It seems absolutely bizarre to me that you guys are so shocked by it.

I love red cabbage at Christmas but no one else seems to care in my family.

This year we are having dauphinois potatoes as well as roast potatoes. I'm not sure we need both, but there would be a mutiny if the roasts were missing.

Turkey
Roast parsnips
Roast carrots
Roast potatoes
Rosti
Sprouts with bacon bits
Two kinds of stuffing
Pigs in blankets
Sweet pickled onions
Red cabbage
Cranberry sauce
And Yorkshire puddings.

We used to have bread sauce as DH grew up having it with Christmas dinner but then realised it was just thrown away untouched so silly to continue getting it. I loathe it personally. It's the exact texture and appearance of wallpaper paste.

I want leeks on Christmas day now.

I sometimes do a leek bake but how do you do creamed leeks that go with a roast?

We don't have mash, cauliflower cheese or red cabbage. We are having a crackling gammon this year with the following accompaniments:
Roast potatoes
Roast carrots
Roast parsnips
Sprouts with bacon
Peas
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Yorkshire puddings
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Bread sauce

I can understand the mash. I love mash so sometimes we do.
Yes to cauliflower cheese.
Yes to red cabbage.
Yes to yorkies (don't care how controversial)
But peas?! No. Especially marrowfat. Grim.
And bread sauce = heathens food

Those with gravy and cranberry sauce and bread sauce - do you put them all on your dinner?

Not much bread sauce love here! I'd never had it until a couple of years ago when a few people here were saying how wonderful it was and I must say I agree. I wouldn't buy it ready made, though. It's very easy to make. It needs a bit of cream in it, a lot of butter, a bayleaf and a strong flavouring of nutmeg and/or clove - very like a good bechamel. I make a very small amount as I'll probably be the only one touching it and I use up what's left in sandwiches. Mmm! Turkey sandwiches with stuffing, bread sauce and cranberry relish!

One of the many things I love about Christmas dinner is that all the leftovers get used up in delicious ways over the succeeding days. I don't need to think about shopping or meal planning for days and days.

noblegiraffe - yes, I do. I keep them separate, though, so I can take one mouthful of turkey with bread sauce and another with cranberry relish.

Bread sauce is another no for me, the flavours are totally out of place with a roast. I make it for DM but never touch it myself.