Christmas dinner alternative to roast dinner

[AudreyTattoo]

I've massively gone off roast dinners. DH loves them and makes them pretty much every week all year round. DCs also dislike them!

I need to think of an alternative which will please all of us. Most likely will just be us this year, but possibly some of my family who are low maintenance and eat everything... except the vegan, but that's another issue!

Sorry, hit post too soon.

Does anyone do something other than a roast at Christmas? Any ideas or suggestions?

TIA

I would love to ditch the roast on Christmas Day. It takes so long and by the time it’s done I just don’t fancy it anymore.
Not going to suit the vegan but I’d love a big seafood feast. Lobster, crab, big prawn cocktails

The last 2 years we have had Shin of Beef from Marks and Spencer. Served with mash and carrots. Job done.

Keep an eye out for the Marks brochure which is usually out in October. They will have different ideas. What do you all like to eat?

We make a wicked curry with lots of sides. Then Boxing Day slow cooked lamb with trimmings.

Have you looked at a Christmas dinner pie? www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-dinner-pie-with-roasted-veg

We go for something different every year
Beef wellington
Steak & chips with all the good sides
Indian feast
Chinese feast
Greek meze
Seafood platters
Not sure what we'll have this year but now you've got me thinking

Oh I think the curry or the shin of beef option might have work... DH loves spicy food.

I love the seafood idea too but kids wouldn't eat it I don't think.

my best ever xmas dinner was a mushroom lasagne...its a gordon ramsey recipe. ..its was delicious!

We are going for 'all the nice Christmas food but not the roast' - sort of like boxing day food - stilton, pate, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, mince pies, stollen, Christmas pudding, yule log. I might roast some meat for cold cuts and we are veggies so will do nut stuffing balls. Lashings of cranberry sauce, no mayo in sight, lots of crisps and mulled wine.

I'd love mezze! Not sure DH would go for it.

We have a buffet of all our favourite party foods. Sounds a bit naff but no work and we love it!

I’ve always fancied doing something Scandinavian for Xmas…. Off to google

Good post, lots of nice ideas. I can cook anything on CD, so I'll have to put a bit more love into it. 🤔😁

hope this works. ..

We had pizza one year, it was the best Christmas Day I’d ever had! Lol.

I keep broaching something different with DP and he never seems too pleased about it. He does cook on the day, so not difficult for me, plus we do M&S, so it’s literally putting in the oven or microwave 😂

I think it has been really first weekend of October M&S open their orders for Christmas food - I usually have it ordered then so I get my preferred delivery slot (and any offers for early birds).

Beef Wellington 🤩

A big Indian takeaway feast

Whole salmon, salads, new potatoes, crusty bread and pickles

Roast chicken, flat bread, salad, Turkish garlic sauce

@frizzmonster
That looks lovely 🐷

Thanks for all these suggestions!

I'm thinking we might have to do some sort of halfway house between the dreaded roast and a mezze platter! I like the Christmassy buffet / favourite food buffet ideas posted by walkabout and Dawes. Think the kids would be more likely to eat that too as they like to pick and choose what they have.

I think I'll have a battle on my hands though as DH is wedded to gravy and roast potatoes.

Last year I made a brined turkey and a ham. Then served with parmentier potatoes, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, mustard and cranberry sauce and an apple salad. All served as hell yourself in disposable foil trays. All from Nigella's Christmas book. Nothing needed to be piping hot. Was so much easier and could be eaten with a spoon or fork so people could Mill around - no formal sitting down etc.

Christmas dinner is my least favourite meal of the whole year. I'm already dreading it. I love cooking but roasts are so rubbish. Too much meat, everything has to be hot at the same time. Ah ffs. Now I'm raging just thinking on it.

I don’t think I’d mind Christmas dinner so much if I got to cook it myself. As it is, my dad insists on shutting himself away in the kitchen for the whole day and not letting anyone help.
It’s lovely he wants to do it every year but he’s never heard of seasoning, the veg has always been boiling all morning so it’s soggy, the meat is overdone and he uses frozen roast potatoes

We do pie, mash, veg or some sort of Wellington. Then supplement with all the bits of a traditional Christmas dinner that we like

Last year we made a really lovely beef stew with red wine the day before. Went out for a long walk, came back and had stew and lockdown sourdough bread - was gorgeous and nearly no effort.

This year we're either going for roast meat rolls with some roast potatoes and maybe some roast veg. Like a simpler Christmas dinner as baby 2 is due then so we don't want the whole thing, just similar.