Food on xmas day...

[LivingMyBestLifeNOT]

What do you all eat on christmas day?
It is going to be me and my 3 girls and we are staying at home. I probably wont do turkey because I am not overly keen on it. Looking for other suggestions. Did think lamb shanks because lamb is my fave and I dont normally cook it.
Or a big breakfast and a big buffet late afternoon...

I love turkey so for me and my two teens it will be a stuffed turkey crown, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, roasties, french beans, bread sauce, cranberry sauce. Not sure about dessert yet. Probably skip a starter.
Lamb is my favourite all time meat (have it every Easter) but I'd go for a leg. Beef i suppose is the traditional alternative and gammon for boxing day.

We will be 3 veggies and one carnivore, and I'm going to be as lazy as possible!

Have bought a nut roast in M&S, which is in the freezer ready to defrost on Christmas Eve.
DP will make dauphinoise on Christmas Eve to just warm through on the day.
Bought stuffing.
A pan of roasted vege.
Sprouts and carrots.
Done.

If it was up to me we'd have a big brunch and then a curry feast, but I've been out-voted.

Our turkey substitute is a kapon which is a male chicken so apparently bigger than your usual bird. There's 5 grown ups here none of whom are too keen on turkey but I'm buying a couple of extra legs to roast along side. Just in case.

Our full menu is

Breakfast - bagels & cream cheese & salmon or bacon

Mid morning - chocolate, coffee and fizz

Around 2pm - kapon, roast pots, parsnips, carrots, gravy, pigs in blankets & stuffing (white pudding, shop bought). We don't like sprouts so it'll be petits pois instead.

Pudding - i have one tiny xmas pud just for tradition. I'll make a choc cheesecake.

We switched away from having a starter so now our supper is brown bread & smoked salmon. Cheese & biscuits. Or a second helping of xmas dinner.

I'll also make lentil soup so ham sandwiches & soup will be on offer too though that stretches to boxing day too.

Oh. And satsumas. Usually get through a box a day.

In a previous year when we had a smaller Xmas, we had a gammon joint with orange slices and pigs in blankets.

Preferred it over to Turkey tbh

I wish we could have lamb but DP hates it, it's not the taste so much but the smell of it cooking. It makes him heave. So this year we have turkey, ham and beef. We have Turkey and ham every year, the third meat depends on what we fancy, last year we had hog roast, year before that it was duck. We use any left over meat to make sandwiches, cold meat platter, curries and pies in the days after Christmas so there's never any waste. We have all the trimmings with our dinner and we have a strater, classic prawn cocktail and we never have a pudding, there's always one available but we're far to full to eat it. I make one sweet and one savory casseroles for breakfast and dinner is a case of whatever you fancy, usually Turkey sandwiches and cheese and chutney.

I’m doing this sausage plait on Boxing Day realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-plait-with-caramelised-onions.html served with fried cabbage and pancetta

We're having Beef Wellington this year.

We have a whole salmon cooked in a fish brick with lemon and dill. Still goes well with roasties!

There are only four of us. We will start with canapés - smoked salmon on blinis, chicken liver pate on little crunchy toasts, devils on horseback and melon wrapped with Parma ham.

We will do a chicken for a main course with all the turkey type trimmings and finish with a pumpkin cheesecake, which was a Thomasina Meirs recipe in a Guardian a few years ago, and is delicious.

On Christmas Eve we will have ham and various salads, Boxing Day brunch is American pancakes with bacon, maple syrup and crepe fraiche.

Other than that I expect people to forage for leftovers.

I think it would be really fun to do a big party buffet in your situation OP. We have traditional Xmas dinner but with only 1 adult and the rest DCs I’m sure a buffet would be more appreciated

We do a buffet on Christmas Day, which runs from lunch to evening, then a roast on Boxing Day (though it'll be 27th this year).

Normally, I do beef and a turkey crown or pork as usually have a lot of people round.

This year is just me, DH, DS(7) and MIL so we are having roast beef glazed in honey and horseradish, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings (DS would be outraged if we had beef without Yorkshire puddings!), sprouts, carrots,parsnips, roast potatoes and maybe dauphinoise potatoes if I can be bothered to make them. Gravy made from meat juices and red wine.

Christmas pudding and brandy sauce for dessert.

Probably smoked salmon on brown bread for a starter.

Quite looking forward to having a more restful day this year!

I really like the idea of a lentil soup for Boxing Day. Might steal that, and have with bread and the the rest of the Christmas Eve cheese.

We don't bother with a starter.

I tend to get Quorn chicken and some bread rolls, to have with leftover stuffing for a late tea/supper, with pickles etc.

We have 2 breakfasts an early one of mince pies and tea or coffee whilst opening the presents, then a later brunchy type thing of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and bucks fizz. We sit down for our main meal at 3 or 4 oclock. This year were having capon with all the trimmings as there's only 3 adults. For dessert DS1 will do a cappuccino cheesecake, probably eaten early evening. That's usually our food for the day, unless someone can summon the energy to go and get the after dinner mints.

What do you all have for Xmas eve dinner? Any traditions or special meals?

Christmas Day this year will be the 4 of us (2 adults, 2 kids) and my dad. Going to do a turkey crown, pigs in blankets, roast pots, stuffing, carrots/parsnips, brussel sprouts, gravy/ cranberry. Not big on puddings so will prob just get some mince pies.

Prob eat around 2/3ish. Then afternoon/ evening will be cheese+biscuits with chutney, twiglets, grapes, quality street.

Boxing Day will be gammon with trimmings although not sure who will be here, might just be the 4 of us.

Then lots of cider and rum!

Christmas Eve = basically, all the cheese! Hot vegetarian sausage rolls a must too.

We do the gammon on Christmas Eve and accompany with lots of salads - potato salad, coleslaw etc. The salads very a bit from year to year, but there are usually plenty of leftovers for the next few days. It also works if people are coming and going.

We often break out the cheese and port on Christmas Eve as well.

I believe a lot of people have fish pigeon Christmas Eve.

*pie
(Autocorrect fail!)

On Christmas eve this year I'm planning a sharing board Christmas tree picnic :)

It will consist of fresh crusty baguette, lurpak, tapenade, pate (mushroom for me as I'm vegetarian), mixed shelled nuts, Christmas pork pie for dp, baking camembert, celery sticks, tomatoes, pears and blackberries.

On christmas day we will have an "Aftenoon" tea in the morning with mini pastries and fruit and bits. Christmas lunch will be the whole traditional affair and will be the only main thing we eat, evening will be picking at leftovers, snacks and chocolate.

Boxing day's food will be christmas leftover sandwhiches/brie and grape sandwhiches for me, and evening meal will be a cheese board - good variery of cheeses, grapes, figs, honey, walnuts, various fancy crackers, pretzels, cold cuts, picallili, sweet and savoury nut mix, chocolates.

Christmas Eve we are doing rack of venison, with a port and blueberry jus, with creamy garlic mash, baby carrots and asparagus.

Followed by a triple chocolate mousse cake.

Christmas Day, we have eggs benedict (I'll not say bene, which I normally do, in deference to the trauma caused to some, when I did it last. . . ) with mimosas for brunch.

For dinner, we do a roasted chicken with Grandmum's not so secret stuffing, with gravy and cranberrry sauce, creamy garlic mash, a medly of beans, asparagus and peas, maple and thyme roasted kumara, parsnip and pumpkin, multi coloured carrots, and braised red cabbage. I want to do a starter this year, scallops seared in chilli butter. And we're still arguing/negotiating/discussing dessert. Well, desserts. Because apparently a trio of desserts is now a concrete hard tradition set in stone, because some two idiots did it two years in a row. . .

This all sounds so nice!!!

I think we’re decided now:

Christmas Eve morning is quick porridge as we have a busy day baking a cake for Santa and then out walking with family. When we get home, it’s a smorgasbord with baked Camembert, cold meats, pork pie, breads, pretzels and rocket. Then we’ll have a slice of cake and leave a slice out for Santa.

Christmas Day breakfast is orange juice, croissants and strawberries all in bed with the kids in opening their stockings.

Then downstairs with them opening their presents and we’ll have a coffee. I’m sure the kids will break out some chocolates.

Christmas lunch served at midday. Roast duck, stuffing, roasties, raw spinach, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets. May mash Rudolph’s carrot with some parsnip and serve too .

Then off to the pub for one drink if we’re allowed at that point and home for pudding (chocolate mousse).

In the evening we set up a cheeseboard in the lounge with plenty of crackers, breads, grapes, satsumas for us to pick at.

Boxing Day I’m making brunch with eggs, smoked salmon and bagels, rocket. We will go to the beach if allowed at that point and when home it’ll be steak, Mac and cheese. More chocolates and films in the evening I imagine!

I can’t wait!!!!

We always have a buffet Christmas Eve, it's been just me and DD the last few years so I usually just put everything out on the kitchen worktop and we help ourselves. I usually heat up a quiche and some cheese and onion rolls, the rest is cold so cheeses, salads, sliced meats, a baked ham, nice bread, scotch eggs etc. the objective of the exercise is to have lots and lots of leftovers that are put back into the fridge for grazing on over the next few days.

If we're at home, which I'm anticipating, then I'm thinking butchers steak, baked potato and salad for Christmas dinner. Or maybe a lasagna and nice garlic bread. I might make a biscoff cheesecake. Wine, prosecco and cheese and party nibbles if anyone wants any later. I'll get some fresh brioche and fruit for breakfast.

Dh won't eat anything that I've made that's not at least 70% healthy (he'd indulge himself at my parents house). DS likes simple food that he knows. I have no appetite so I'm not doing it for my benefit.

Chicken or pork roast dinner

Then a cake that usually does us

We usually have chicken and honey roast gammon.