Prep ahead Christmas Day starter

[foodiemama26]

Looking for some inspiration of starters I can get ready on 23rd/24th to make the day a bit easier as I'll be cooking for 14 this year and don't want to spend all day in the kitchen! No allergies to cater for but a few don't love fish based starters but have said they'll happily go without.

Soup
Pate

Thanks...I did pate last time so wanted to try something different I think

You couldn't prep a fish starter that far ahead anyway.
How about caramelized onion and beetroot tart tatain ready to pop in the oven on the day or wild mushroom and thyme filo parcels.

We do very light starters- smoked salmon and capers, a couple of prawns with a little garnish etc. You could do Melba toast with houmos/taramasalata? Caprese salad? Caesar salad?

Personally, I don't want to use the oven or hob as the other food is in it!

Smoked salmon is lovely but as you have fish dislikers I'd rather make something everyone would eat (even if they said they didn't mind going without). It's a bit of a tradition in our house to farm out the starter and puddings, someone usually brings a starter and a pudding and I'll make the main meal and possibly another dessert. Christmas cake is always made by a relative too. Makes everything easier and it feels much more of a 'family effort'

Gravadlax is luxurious, smoked trout or crab?

We've abandoned the starter completely. Everybody is about to eat one of the biggest meals of the year so we all agreed it was just not needed. We have a champagne cocktail instead then straight into the main course

Goats cheese and balsamic onion tarts - it's incredibly easy, and you can prep the balsamic onions in advance. Plus they only need 10 mins in the oven so it doesn't interfere too much with things cooking for the main.

Slice up red onions, and fry in olive oil and butter until really soft and starting to caramelise. Throw in salt, pepper, brown sugar. Balsamic vinegar and some thyme, then stir until the sugar dissolves. Whack them in a Tupperware and they are ready whenever you want them.

On the day, just cut up ready roll puff pastry into whatever shape you want - triangle, circle etc. Then indent the same shape leaving a 1cm gap for the edge. You can also shape the pastry in advance and then pop them in the freezer. Plonk a generous spoon of the onion mix in the bit in the middle, pop a big slice or two or goats cheese on top of that, with a crack of black pepper on top, and then just wash the edges with milk or a beaten egg. 10 mins or so in the oven until the cheese is melting and the edges are golden.

Fab ideas, thank you! Lots of thinking/planning to do now

Melon and grapes. Simple, not too filling and if you want tot be posh wrap some Parma ham round the melon.

I'm going to try poached pears (in basically mulled wine) in salad of Stilton, rocket and walnuts. So i can poach the pears in advance and then just plate it all up when needed.

Love the idea of the salad with blue cheese!

Gordon Ramsay has a fab recipe for pear and fennel salad sliced very thinly with a honey mustard dressing. You can make the dressing thr night before, and if you have a mandolin, it's really fast to put together

Last year I preprepared portabello mushrooms topped with boursin, they only take 15 mins or so in the oven.

I used to make a salmon mousse which was very light, tasty and popular, and was better made the day before. It was a bit of a fiddle to make, but well worth it.
I don't bother with actual starters on Christmas Day any more. We have dinner quite late, about 5, and I just get a nice assortment of M&S nibbles to go with drinks a bit earlier.

Delia's rillettes of duck.

Roast tomato soup.