What's special about your Christmas Dinner?

[ODFOx]

What do you have that makes it special for your family?
I am pretty much a traditionalist, but I do add a lot of trimmings: 3 stuffings, pigs in blankets with full size chipolatas, cranberry and bread sauce. But the touches we have that most folk don't: devils on horseback alongside the pigs in blankets (a revelation that I wouldn't get away without adding now) and an American style green bean casserole made with green beans in a creamy sauce topped with crunchy fried onions.

What additions do you recommend?

Would you mind sharing the green bean recipe? It sounds delicious!

It’s good we all really like rather than a traditional turkey roast, it takes me less than an hours to make and washing up is minimal. This means I can spend the day relaxing with my family rather than being stuck in the kitchen all day. That’s what makes it super special.

I normally host Christmas and we are pretty traditional but it’s not Christmas dinner without the following…
Being handed cranberry gin fizz cocktail on arrival to have as we exchange gifts (homemade cranberry gin).
Delias braised cabbage without the cinnamon but with a glug of port!
My grandmother’s secret recipe Sherry trifle.
Cheeseboard from J Mellis in Glasgow served with un-iced slices of homemade Christmas cake served with vintage port at 8pm.

This post makes us sound like alcoholics . We truly aren’t!

Nigellas gingerbread stuffing it was a revelation and now made every Christmas!

Devils on horseback - amazing idea! Adding that to my menu this year.

Brussels sprouts fried in garlic and bacon. I learned to make them that way because my ex didn’t like them boiled. They are really nice like that, even he would eat them without complaining.

This post makes us sound like alcoholics . We truly aren’t!

It makes you sound awesome

@TwinsandTrifle

Would you mind sharing the green bean recipe? It sounds delicious!

It's an American campbells soup recipe which uses condensed soup as a sauce. It'll be on their website. Except my DC didn't like mushrooms so I used a home made chicken or turkey stock made into a thick sauce with cream, and then I couldn't get French's onions so made my own by soaking thinly sliced onions in milk, tossing in seasoned flour and deep frying until crispy. The friend who gave me the original recipe uses a condensed asparagus soup for hers (and it is delicious). I have since found crispy onions for sale but haven't tried them on the casserole yet!

@Mumoblue

Brussels sprouts fried in garlic and bacon. I learned to make them that way because my ex didn’t like them boiled. They are really nice like that, even he would eat them without complaining.

Do you part cook them first or fry from raw? Thanks

We love turkey! So I'm traditional with that however I don't buy frozen (or fresh and freeze) as I'm scared I'd poison everyone 😱. Plus I don't have to account for days And days defrost time. This year could be interesting with that... but as long as I have my pigs, stuffing and yorkies I can make anything work. My daughter would be on cloud nine with sausages as the 'roast' bit.

I usually buy a crown again, for ease/quicker cooking and there's not many of us. I love leftovers but there's a limit of what you can use in time! I do big bowls of help yourself at our table (groaning with food, I'm known for providing a feast but nothings wasted usually means next to no cooking boxing day.) but I serve the meat in the kitchen. No carving at the table pomp/ faff.

Why do men get that job when chances are they've not cooked it?! 🤔

I buy my pigs in blankets and a fresh stuffing (jazzed up gf Paxo is my back up plan) and freeze those. Extra special range and best I've found so I buy them early each time as they sell out. I tend to get different flavours.

I do serve apple sauce and yorkers with everything (chefs benefit 👍). Utter sacrilege to some but I use beef gravy instead of turkey/chicken with whatever meat.

I normally do a seafood starter that I serve about an hour before the turkey dinner. Usually lobster claws, crab or prawns depending on what I can get hold of. Then aioli to dip them in is a must.

I always make Jamie Oliver’s get ahead gravy because it’s easier on the day and tastes amazing (DH would drink it from a wineglass all day if he could!).

I do sprouts with sage, bacon and chestnuts along with all the other veg.

I’m tempted by the gingerbread stuffing now!

We have Devils on horseback before dinner, a little like canapés I suppose. We also have angels on horseback but a few years ago swapped the oysters for scallops. Wouldn’t be Christmas without them! Oh and bread sauce of course, the most underrated sauce ever.

Wow that was long... Basically wear comfy clothes and get ready for leftovers 😉

I'm so looking forward to it already yum yum

Our table decorations, BIL's red cabbage, and my brothers' lifelong obsession with After Eight mints.

Proper sausagemeat stuffing, pigs in blankets and homemade Yorkshire puddings rather than frozen.
Also we wouldn't have Christmas pudding with a normal roast

It’s not part of lunch but leftover roast spuds taste amazing with Double Gloucester with chives!

My DH always cooks our Christmas Dinner. He is a great cook and he always gives me the crispy bacon from the turkey. Then late at night we have turkey sandwiches on batch bread and a packet of Tayto crisps.

@ODFOx
You can do them either way, I usually just parboil them because I like them to be a bit softer.

Brussels Sprouts blanched, refreshed, drained and halved (you can do this hours earlier or the day before), added to a frying pan in which pancetta has been cooked, no oil needed, stir-fry and top with some toasted almond slivers if you like.

And in this part of Ireland, we'll have Spiced Beef alongside the turkey and ham, very simple to cook and delicious sliced thinly the next few days too.

BIL will hopefully gift us one of his homemade Christmas puddings.

Much later we will have a cheeseboard - Cashel Blue, Timo's Cheddar, and a local Brie with some locally made crackers.

Thanks @JesusInTheCabbageVan. You are the kind of guest I like!

@SageRosemary spiced beef sounds lovely. Could you please share the recipe?

My brother coming

Ours is special in that we don’t have turkey. Or even a roast, most years! We just decide as a family what we fancy having that year. Haven’t decided what we’ll have this year yet.

@Jumpingintosummer cranberry gin fizz sounds fab. Care to share your recipe??

I freeze raspberries and blueberries from our allotment so we can have fresh smoothies for breakfast.
We don't have traditional Christmas dinner and puddings. I save apples from the allotment to make apple crumble, this year we also have damsons.
We go to the allotment on Christmas morning to feed the birds and forage for any spuds, parsnips etc