Opinions on my Christmas menu!

[HerbivorousRex]

I know it’s early but this is our first year hosting Christmas and I’m very excited (I love Christmas!)
Please could you look through my menu/plan for the day and let me know what you think!
I love baking and often cook for large numbers of people but I’ve never done Christmas before (I’m also veggie so I don’t want to miss anything that the meat eaters might want!)

We have 12 adults and 2 children coming for the day and we’ll eat lunch at 2pm.

Breakfast (9am after stockings):
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels
Bacon sandwiches
Cranberry and orange mimosas
Tea/coffee/juice

Everyone staying with us goes for a long walk in the morning. Everyone else will arrive between 1-2pm. Pre-dinner drinks and nibbles.

• Spiced orange martini
• Cranberry gin fizz
• Nuts, crisps and dips
• Mince pies and gingerbread biscuits

Lunch (2.30pm)
Starter (plus pulling crackers and opening table presents):
Pate on sourdough toast with cornichons.

Main:
Goose or Turkey.
Beef.
Chestnut, mushroom and Stilton nut roast.
Pork, hazelnut and spiced apple stuffing
Pigs in blankets (veggie sausage for me).
Cauliflower and leek cheese with whole grain mustard.
Sprouts with roasted chestnuts and pancetta.
Spiced red cabbage.
Honey/spice glazed, roasted carrots and parsnips.
Mashed swede with loads of butter and black pepper.
Yorkshire puddings.
Roast potatoes.
Gravy.
Wine, water and sparkling apple juice.

Pudding:
Christmas pudding.
Christmas wreath pavlova (with berries).
Spiced chocolate orange tart.
Cream/custard/ice-cream/brandy butter.
Tea/coffee

Open presents round the tree. Play games. Christmas treasure hunt. Gingerbread house decorating competition.

Evening food (7pm):
Cheese/charcuterie board (with figs, apples/pears, salad, pickles, chutneys, olives etc).
Nice bread and crackers
Christmas cake, mince pies and gingerbread house.
Mulled wine, hot chocolate, expresso martinis.

Watch Christmas films (argue about whether ‘Die Hard’ counts as a Christmas film).

Is there anything I’ve missed or that you think I should add/cut?

And most importantly, Die Hard isn’t a Christmas film. 🤣🤣🤣

Why are people saying that there's no breakfast? She's got bagels and bacon butties.

This is a big insight in to how the other half live. Hope you have a great day OP, I'm sure your hosting will be a big success.

Why are people saying that there's no breakfast? confused She's got bagels and bacon butties.

OP is vegetarian so we’re asking what she is having.

@MacMahon

Why are people saying that there's no breakfast? She's got bagels and bacon butties.

This is a big insight in to how the other half live. Hope you have a great day OP, I'm sure your hosting will be a big success.

OP is veggie and she appears have no veggie options anywhere. What are you eating @HerbivorousRex.

Way too much food. Too much stodge for breakfast. Bagels / sandwiches is not a great start for a day of over eating.

Leftover sandwiches int he evening: let everyone help themselves saves work for you

Can I come?!

It sounds incredible but a lot of work! I also wouldn't have mince pies before lunch, I'd serve them later with the Christmas cake. I agree with a PP about putting some leftover meat, bread, nice butter out in the evening as leftover sandwiches are my favourite part of Christmas!

Personally I don't think you need a starter but I know a lot of people do have them. The main meal sounds lovely and rich so that and pudding would be plenty I'd think?

Make sure you do what you can in advance and have help on the day so you're not frazzled and can't enjoy it.

Can I have your nut roast recipe please as that sounds amazing.

It sounds delicious but I'm not sure you need all those nibbles before lunch - everyone in this house is always starving by Christmas lunch and enjoys it all the more. A few nuts etc is fine but mince pies/gingerbread biscuits is too much.

I'd like the Chestnut, mushroom and Stilton nut roast recipe please,

I'm veggie and the cook and I tend not to do much that's specifically veggie because after all that cooking I'm never very hungry, I'd be happy with nut roast, cauliflower Cheese and lots of veg. I'd also have a bagel just with cream cheese or even butter and jam rather than make a separate veggie breakfast just for me.

It sounds amazing but too much. With a big late breakfast like that I'd avoid anything more than a few crisps and olives on arrival, we never have a starter on Christmas Day either. We also eat at about 2.30 and rarely have room for more than a mince pie in the evening.

I also agree with having some plain veg, otherwise the dinner can be too rich, too many competing flavours. Personally I'd leave the carrots/parsnips plain as I don't like a honey glaze. Cranberry sauce is a must with turkey and a lot of people love bread sauce too, I'd definitely add those two. Also horseradish if you're serving beef.

Oh and I'd love sage and onion stuffing, it's a Christmas must for me.

It sounds great. I assume you will have helpers and will do almost all the cooking in advance. I suggest making a Gantt chart with all your timings for the day (we always do this for large dinners and it helps a lot to know eg exactly when your lull is for laying the table).

• your rhythm for the day is very specific, in our household people would want their presents in the morning and walk in the afternoon, or a mix of both.
• I’d suggest different nibbles and starter or losing both tbh. Otherwise by 3pm I’ve eaten nothing but white carbs (bagel, mince pies, biscuits, sourdough), feel dreadful, and have no appetite for the proper food
• I think you need something actually green as part of lunch.

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Sounds amazing OP, although I agree with PPs, no need for mince pies pre-dinner. Any chance you can share the nut roast recipe?

Also, when are you cooking all this and is anyone helping you? I wouldn't go to a veggie's house and expect a choice of roasts, one is fine. It sounds like everyone will be off for a nice walk and you'll be a slave in the kitchen - you need to relax and enjoy it too!

It looks like a huge amount of work. I agree that plain veg would be preferred by some.

Also, is your martini gin-based? You're leaving people who don't drink gin out of your drinks planning if so.

It sounds so, so amazing. I would genuinely love to do this myself one day.

My only concerns would be - are you an experienced host, because I wouldn't be able to get all of this prepared, cooked, served up (hot if applicable) and washed up without a lot of help. Even if I prepped everything in advance, it's still a lot of washing up!

Are you going to get to join in with the day at all? Totally understand if staying in the kitchen with a cocktail is the plan, I've had many Christmas' where that was the best idea, but this plan doesn't allow for a lot of sitting down.

Also, it depends on your family (if it's 12 young men with big appetites and high alcohol tolerance go for it), but my family is mainly over 70s or parents of young children, so wouldn't have the appetite/alcohol tolerance for all of that. Most of the food and drink would probably go to waste. So depends who you're catering for really.

Espresso not expresso

I also don't do a starter, I do breakfast quite early and then there's always chocolate, nuts etc. around if anyone wants nibbles, I don't do formal nibbles, but its only immediate family so I'm not hosting as such.

I have done starters when dinner has been later but I find no one wants pudding. So I just do the main course, clean up and then we have pudding and tea/coffee when we've had a break, then I'll do cheese and biscuits and a few bits later if we're hungry again, otherwise nuts, crisps and fridge picking for those who want to, there's always turkey and ham if anyone wants to make a sandwich.

Sounds scrummy- but far, far too much food and far too much work for yourself.

I would scrap the bacon sandwiches and keep it to smoked salmon (we always do burford brown scrambled eggs with ours on one nice slice of seeded bread instead of bagels), then you don't need to eat anything until the main event.

I would even scrap the starter as well to be honest- you want people to be peckish for their chrismas lunch so they enjoy it!

Also can you repost the OP with a link to all the recipes 😂

What is a spiced orange martini and where can I get one!

@SoosanCarter

Espresso not expresso

🙄

It all sounds delicious. But there's too much choice everywhere. You're making a LOT of work for yourself, and simply serving it up is going to take forever while people decide what to have, wait for grandad to pass the swede, check they haven't missed out etc.

4 different protein options for main - you can definitely lose one of those (the beef), and agree with others who say ham is a good choice - particularly as that's easiest/best prepared the day before.

7 different veg - that's a lot of prep! I'd say you could lose 2. Keep the red cabbage (make in advance), the roasted roots, the sprouts, but add in some simple steamed greens (brocoli/peas). I'd lose the swede mash and the cheese dish.
Lose the yorkshires.

Pud - Xmas pud and a chocolate option.

It sounds amazing OP.

Please post your drinks recipes.

My Xmas dinner is basically just a large Sunday roast with a trifle to follow so I really cannot comment.

Wow, this sounds amazing, can I come 🤣
You're going to be very busy preparing all of this, good luck!!