What are you planning for Christmas Dinner this year?

[thelegohooverer]

Anyone fancy some dinner chat?

We have always been hosting or hosted until this year and Christmas dinner has always been turkey and gammon and loads of trimmings. But this year it will just be our own little family.

I’m guessing that turkeys might be in short supply this year if families like ours that would have come together and eaten one big one between them are eating 3 or 4 separately. And while it’s usefully big for feeding a crowd, it’s telling that we rarely eat it (and never cook it) any other time of the year.

So we’re trying to decide what to have instead.

I fancy a nice roast beef but I’m not keen on cold beef and the left over sandwiches are nearly as important as the main meal in our house. I’ve never been particularly keen on gammon either, just cooked that for everyone else. I’d quite like goose, but dh finds it too gamey. We both love lamb but it’s the wrong time of year, I think. It will probably have to be pork. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a cold pork sandwich.

I’m used to thinking in such big quantities for Christmas that i have to make an effort to pare it back. 3 types of potato is probably over doing it?

I’ve always longed for a quieter Christmas with just ourselves but now I’m fretting that it might not feel festive without a crowd of big eaters!

I’d love to hear what everyone else is thinking/ planning

KFC - just like in Japan

I order a turkey from the butcher a few mins walk from us so it's easy and fresh to collect on christmas eve. I don't bother with gammon. I make my own stuffing but use fresh herbs & breadcrumbs. Butter and onions.
I cheat and but the individual gratings from lidl (pack of four) as I love them. I make Jamie's gravy a few weeks before and freeze. I make the carrot and parsnip mash on Christmas eve and just cook sprouts and brocolli on the day. We have roasties too. I have an electric warmer that's so easy as I cook something I can leave it in the hot tray. I tend to use the slow cooker for mulled wine.

I don't but the individual gratings. I buy the individual gratins from lidl

We are only ever 6 for Christmas- DH and me, DS8 and my parents plus MIL.
We’re planning the same for this year- MIL in our support bubble as she lives alone. Isolating for as long as we can plus private tests for the 3 of us so my parents can come (they live round the corner).
Food plan is smoked salmon, prawns etc for starter.
Roast pork with crackling from the butcher bought in advance and frozen, pigs in blankets, apple flavour stuffing, Yorkshire puds, roast potatoes, cider gravy, apple sauce, carrots, parsnips and Brussel sprouts with chestnuts.
Leftovers are hot roast pork sandwiches with stuffing and apple sauce plus bubble and squeak.
Pudding is ice cream Christmas pudding.

Last year we had wild boar from a wild meat supplier ( I don't eat anything abbattoired and then only once every quarter). Marinated it in dark beer and fig chutney which I also stuffed in the centre with shallots. Fussy uncle said it was the best Xmas dinner he'd ever had!!

@Gurufloof I do coke gammon in the slow cooker, there's loads of recipes for more festive ones online though. They do usually benefit from the last bit of time in the oven with a glaze on though but they're pretty straightforward

Due to the rules this year will just me me and my DS's. We are having pizza

Hmmm hopefully beef, gammon and I will get a turkey crown as only DH likes it...

Then
Pigs in Blankets
Parsnips
Mashed Potato
Mini Roasties
Yorkshire Puddings as DS loves them
Stuffing
A mix of vegetables
Gravy

Mint Sauce and Cranberry Sauce

For afters DS wants a M&S Colin the Catapillar and I fancy cheesecake

It’s lovely to read all these ideas. I’m getting quite hungry too!

I wholeheartedly agree that stuffing is a must. That may even require it’s own thread

I’m tempted by duck. But I’ve never had it cold. It would probably have to be ducks to stretch to leftovers.

Are the 5 bird roasts nice? I’ve seen them in Aldi over the years but they’ve always seemed a bit medieval to me and Henry VIII puts me right off my dinner.

Turkey and gammon.
Hopefully gammon is coming on my tesco shop next week and then will go in the freezer. As soon as I see pigs in blankets on aldi ill stash some of them too.
I normally order a turkey as we host but won't this year as it may just be 4 of us.
If I can't get a turkey off the shelf ill be happy with a chicken.
If its just the four of us we may just have the gammon with trimmings!

Swedish christmas dinner on the 24th, so a ham, meatballs, ribs, little sausages, salmon, herring, vodka, cheeses and this weirdly delicious spicy bread. And then a standard Turkey job in the 25th.

How many will you be feeding on the day? Sorry if you’ve already said but I couldn’t find mention...

Anyway, I’m surprised that your DH finds goose too gamey - surely it’s just a much more flavourful turkey! Has he had it often or was it years ago? He must be mis-remembering... Maybe you could do it again this year and get him a little poussin to have instead?

(I love goose so much, I really want you to be able to have it!! )

If it’s just the two of us we will probably do a duck. And there will be a ham. And possibly a turkey crown too (we’re —I’m— greedy). I really want goose (see above) but I’ve had my way a couple of years in a row now so it’s DH’s turn to make the final decision.

I'm having whatever DH can be arsed to cook. I hate cooking. But love xmas! If it was left to me I'd buy it all ready made and shove it in the oven.
I did see a good recipe for pasties filled with sprouts, Turkey, bacon and stuffing.

Willowkins I hope you have a good day, whatever you decide to do
Just me and dd. I haven't had a roast dinner since February or March, so could go for proper food, but dd will want anything but, so if she is choosing, it will be a picnic in front of a box set.

@TheCrow I may have to do a trial run. At least gammon isnt prohibitively expensive. And I think i can spring for a can of coke too.
Although for Christmas it's not about the cost so much as will everyone eat it. I wont make loads of different mains to cover all eventualities and tastes but my God it does get tiresome at times, thinking of who will eat most of what I end up cooking.

We almost always are just us 4. We normally have a nut roast for the vegetarians and a chicken for the meat eaters. Then we have all the extras - pigs in blankets, stuffing, cranberry sauce, lots of gravy. Served with roast poratoes and parsnips, brussel sprouts and a couple of other veg. We have a decorated table and crackers. It doesn't feel like a normal meal at all!

We are going to stick with a big turkey and have ordered it for collection already. As a big family who often host we would usually have 2 turkeys along with beef and a veggie option, none of which we’re doing.

I like to do my impression of Bridget Jones mother and it isn’t Christmas If we don’t have a turkey curry and a turkey pie in the in between days.

If you don't like cold beef you could always use the leftovers to make cottage pie or stovies? I love cold beef though, beef and mustard sandwiches are amazing.

I can't decide what we'll have. The kids will only eat the trimmings anyway. We did rib of beef last year and I'm not sure I fancy beef again. I did consider beef Wellington but we did a pie the year before last and it was just too much with the usual trimmings. I'd rather carb out on roast potatoes and Yorkshires.

I have no idea to be honest! The meal numbers will be the same as every year, just 4 of us. But DD8 has just decided she is a vegetarian and I haven't had to cater for a veggie at Christmas before! So I need to find a way to cater for all. I'm hoping that as long as there is a heap of cauliflower cheese, she'll be happy 😂.

Was thinking of pate and toast for starter, veggie will be happy with warm crusty bread.
I like a duck main course so maybe we'll go with that, and I'm making a Yule log for pudding.

We’re not a big fan of turkey and we usually have duck. We did a duck curry with leftovers on Boxing Day. However, we did a slow cooked pork loin with cranberries and orange on the 23rd and had some cold pork on Boxing Day. At some point over the Christmas period, we also did a ginger beer ham and had cold leftovers for that too.

Last year I went all out for our Christmas dinner. I’m not sure if I’ll do the same this year or just go easy. Anyway, to start we had crusty bread (bought from the local bakers) with baked Camembert with balsamic figs. Then roast duck with hazelnut and orange stuffing, gravy, duck fat (topped up with a bit of goose fat) potatoes, honey roasted carrots and parsnips, sprouts with pancetta, gravy, Yorkshire puds. I also made some paxo for leftovers and butties.

We never bother with a starter. As it's just DH and me (no children and no waifs and strays this year), I think I'll get a chicken from the butcher up the road, endless pigs in blankets and the veg/trimmings we like not the ones people expect. Will probably buy a fancy Christmas pudding and make a trifle. We normally eat at lunchtime and have a cheeseboard in the evening. No reason to change that. Then a left overs oven bake thing on Boxing Day.

www.oceanspray.co.uk/Recipes/By-Occasion/Christmas-and-Leftovers/Leftover-Bake

Probably rib of beef
Pigs in blankets
Roast potatoes
Yorkshire puddings
Carrots and parsnips
Celeriac mash
Sprouts roasted with cranberries
Stuffing
Gravy

There will be lots of leftovers! Not decided on pudding yet, I don’t like Christmas pudding or Christmas cake.

I usually have my parents (plus the 6 of us) my mother in law when she was alive and occasionally my brother and his family. So this year will be very different. I'm also due a baby Christmas week. So Xmas dinner will be all ready to go in the oven/microwave from marks and Spencer. Which reminds me I need to organise that now......

@Ninkanink that’s a good question about dh and goose. We’ve been together 15 years and he’s not had goose in that time so he could well have been a child when he last had it.
He also doesn’t like curry and will only taste a small bit if I make it, but then polishes off a plateful and seconds. He’s the same with stew and fish pie.
Why am I listening to him at all?

There will be 2 and a half (dd) for dinner, and ds who is genuinely fussy and will probably want pasta. I’m going to really miss the satisfaction of cooking for people who actually like food!

@RaspAsYouChokeOnTheToupee your dinner last year sounds fabulous.

[quote Gurufloof]@Tanfastic have you actually asked your local takeaways if they are open? A few near me usually are.[/quote]
Just assumed they wouldn't be, but maybe they are! Whoop!