Xmas eve - evening meal inspiration

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

Not sure what to do this year. Previously I've done beef wellington but we're having beef on Xmas day.

I've done Barefoot Contessa truffle pasta but DD wasn't keen.

Any indulgent but easy recipes? Or shall I just get a takeaway?!!

Helenatroy, What does that involve, I'm always looking for new ideas.

I have mates and their families over- so always roast a ham, jacket spuds, salads/slaws etc. at lunch time. We then do 'a big walk', nip to the pub for early evening pint with a gang of local mates. Leave at half six/sevenish- grab a takeaway. Means we've got ham / salads/ leftovers to rock out for Xmas tea buffet.
We have end of turkey on boing day in a pie with the end of the ham with a sweet potato mash topping. Then it's all done/gone

I ll probably do a huge bolognaise put halve in freezer few days beforehand and then use it to make lasagne and crusty rolls.

My BIL is Swedish but this is he said a good guide.

The basics
How to serve and arrange a smörgåsbord.
Laying the table: Arrange in the middle of the table or, if serving for many people, at a side serving table. Served as a lunch and should take around 2-3 hours to eat. The focus here is on slow eating and drinking, with much talking and being together.
Drinks: Lagers such as Tuborg and Carlsberg will provide authenticity – but any good bottled lager is fine. Wine is fine, but less traditional (wine really doesn’t go with herring and shots of aquavit).
Aquavit (aka snaps): We recommend shots of a good, super-chilled OP Andersson or Ålborg. Crisp and strong, they’re perfect partners for pickled herring. If you can’t get hold of aquavit, you can use chilled Absolut Vodka. Leave the bottle in the freezer for a good few hours before serving in shot glasses.

How to arrange the dishes
If arranging on a separate buffet table (recommended for 15 people or more), always arrange the fish at one end, starting with the herring, followed by any other fish dishes. Follow it with cold meats, then warm meats, side dishes and finally bread and butter. Cheese can be placed by the bread section or served separately at the end as a cheese board. Dessert is not brought out until the main smörgåsbord has been eaten. If arranging the food where people are sitting around a table, add all fish dishes first, then cold meats. Bring out any warm dishes as needed. The main thing is to let your guests know that they have to:

1. Always start with herring and aquavit (butter some rye bread or crisp bread, add a few slices of herring on top, eat with a knife and fork, drink a shot of aquavit, and everybody cheers together).
2. Once the herring is eaten, enjoy any other cold fish dishes – from prawns to salmon, egg with roe, and so on. Make your own little open sandwiches on the plate, but always use knife and fork. Never hands!
3. Sliced meats are next, and so on. Then repeat.
4. Warm dishes come next!
5. Replenish as you see fit throughout. We graze for hours, going back to our favourite sections again and again. Plate arrangement Arrange each seating with a large plate for main part of the meal and one small plate on top, for herring only. Herring has a very strong flavour, so once everybody’s done with it, the first plates are usually collected so the rest of the meal isn’t herring-flavoured. If you hate washing up or simply just love meatballs that taste of herring, knock yourself out. Singing We do like to sing a few songs as we drink our snaps. These are called ‘Snaps-visor’. After a couple of shots of aquavit, it is generally accepted that most people speak fluent Danish, even if they come from Middlesbrough and the closest they have been to Copenhagen is watching The Killing. Plenty of songs to be found on the internet. If you don’t fancy trying real Nordic songs, just pretend to be the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Every family has they own version and way to make a smörgåsbord. This is our version – make changes as you see fit. There is no smörgåsbord police (there might be smörgåsbord police in Sweden, actually).

It's a bit of a theme to go to my SILS on Christmas Eve, last year we had pulled pork and sides

We have a ham (cooked the day before, so eaten cold), plus a proper buffet of nibbles - blinis with smoked salmon, sour cream, dill and caviar, vol au vents with smoked salmon paté/smoked trout paté, garnished with cucumber or dill and lemon. Also crackers, cheese and chutney. Ales to go with it, or prosecco.

It's lovely and we all really enjoy it. It's light enough to not overload us before the big day, but it feels special because it's a little fussy and retro which makes it out of the ordinary for us.

Christmas cake and/or mince pies to follow, with port or whatever else people fancy.

helenatroy I am Danish, born in Sweden and reading that made me very happy!

WOW! I love the sound of a smorgasbord!

smorgasbord sounds bloody amazeballs !

It is. Our Christmas lunch (On Boxing Day) was very like this. I really miss home at Christmas.

Ah fab, the smorgasbord reminds me of a Christmas Eve in Vancouver years ago. Lots of snaps and herring and then crab and lobster.