What are you having for your starter?

[Noofly]

For the first time in years and years, I am being “allowed” to host Christmas! I love to cook, so this is very exciting.

I have the whole main course, veg and sides and dessert(s) planned out, but am stumped on the starter. MIL usually does prawn cocktails, but I’d like to do something different for a change.

What are other people having?

Our starter is breakfast. I make poached salmon with dill the night before and serve it with a heavy whole grain bread and scrambled eggs. The kiddies get snowman pancakes (shake icing powder over the pancakes, blueberries as buttons, a strip of streaky bacon as buttons, orange for the nose, strawberries for the hat, green grape cut in half for the eyes and a slice of chocolate orange for the mouth).

I have done the BBC one it's nice and easy, not heavy and the horseradish gives a different tweak. Am doing a salmon/prawn terrine.

I'm doing a fig, goat's cheese and Parma ham... something. Haven't decided yet. There will be melon for fussy people.

I normally do pate or a terrine but have limited prep time this year.

Potted salmon, based on a starter I once had out, basically fresh salmon, smoked salmon, horseradish, bit of Philadelphia, parsley blended but still chunky topped with clarified butter. DS loves it. DD will have pork scratchings!

Usually seafood platter or soup but this year I'm taking the starters to the in laws and think it will be breaded Camembert and soup x

We're don't have a starter anymore because I'd be worried the kids wouldn't eat their Christmas dinner. If we did it would be soup or salmon.

We have smoked salmon on buttered brown bread with lemon and cucumber- just as a sort of canapé - not at the table usually served with a glass of champagne.

Bacon and black pudding starter on a bed of lettuce with peppercorn sauce for me, dp and Dad😋.

Prawn cocktail for my mum otherwise she refused to come

Ds (16months) probably not going to do him one.

Thank you everyone, I am going to go with the BBC prawn and salmon starter.

Chicken liver pate is one of the easiest things to make and you can make it ahead.

1 pack of chicken livers (usually somewhere hidden in the frozen section)
1/2 pack of botter
1 small onion chopped
salt and pepper

Optional

garlic, herbs, brandy

Put all the ingredients in a frying pan and cook until the livers are cooked throu.

Put through a blender

Put in a dish (or individual ramekins) and chill.

We have smoked salmon on buttered brown bread with cucumber and lemon. We don't sit at the table for this just have it with a glass of champagne in the lounge about half an hour before the main.

Scallops

I'm hosting so it's vegetable broth as that's what my ma has always done & I do love it.

Me and my father in law are having prawn cocktail and my BF is having pate, no one else eats starters.

We have a seafood platter that everyone helps themselves to. Anything we gave - this year isn't the best just prawns, smoked salmon and fresh mussels but we do try to get lobster, clams, crabs etc - been manic this year!!DD has cheese and cucumber as she has decided not to do seafood!
We live on the east coast of Scotland so not as fancy as it sounds!

Figs with pears, goats' cheese and prosciutto. A tad rich for me but 'tis DD's choice.

I've a choice of three - prawn cocktail, melon or home made vegetable soup. Not remotely exciting, but traditional for us.

Prawn cocktail canapes (basically prawns, mixed with sauce and little spoons put in baby gem leaves and on top of blinis). We have this as a sort of nibbly starter with fizz.
Oh dear, I can't believe I used the word nibbly starter, sorry 😳

Foie gras torchon, toasted brioche, sauternes jelly, and granny smith cubes.

French DH so not really an option to have a different starter.