Vegetarians invited themselves for Christmas- got beef ordered!

[EdenFlower]

So, my vegetarian relatives and asked if they can join us for Christmas? I have it planned- joint of beef on order, I've perfected my roast potatoes and like them cooked in beef dripping, likewise the yorkshire pudding, my sprout recipe is cooked with pancetta, starter is parma ham and figs...and so on! Grrr! Now everything will need to adapted to be veggie because I'm not doing two versions of everything. It was already adapted to be gluten free for MIL but now two more special diet guests is a push.

Would it be rude to ask them to bring their own veggie options with them- nut roast and vegetarian gravy or whatever it is they eat?

And nobody here has said they will be eating only meat-based side dishes! Only you said that!
Yes, exactly! It’s infuriating. In our house, our version of the traditional is turkey with the bacon crisped on top, so yes two meats but it’s not a dish veggies would have eaten anyway, chipolatas done separately (can’t bear pigs in blankets from name to concept), potatoes in goose fat, gravy done from the roasting pan. Everything else is veggie: lemon stuffing, bread sauce, honey-glazed carrots and parsnips, piles of vegetables and here were not traditional but go with everyone’s preference: broccoli (not with soy…), green beans, non-traditional spring greens. The vegetables taste of vegetables which is only bland if you’ve knackered your palate with salt or don’t like the taste of them. The harping on about meat sides and meat residues is a vendetta against one poster’s cooking, for some reason I can’t fathom. Hanger from the raw sprout diet perhaps.

Frankly we tend to have very few leftovers of turkey/bacon/sausages as we buy small cuts, so all the “leftovers” meals are 100% veggie, side dishes only, and no centrepiece – still perfectly filling. I don’t think you need to cater for vegetarian guests to replace the beef – there’s no equivalent. But I would do two trays of potatoes, one in animal fat and one in olive oil.

@TractorAndHeadphones here are the screenshots if you advance search my username with ‘asylum seeker’ (no results) and ‘refugee’ (two results, one on the feminism board and one on this thread). So, I’m fairly safe to say, you’re thinking of someone else.

Folditin said they only have three meat-free dishes on their entire Christmas table, and one of them is cranberry sauce. That’s how this discussion started.
Yeah, about eight pages ago. Can we move on and find more solutions for the OP who, like me, doesn’t want to serve ready-made but also wants her Christmas dinner how she wants it. I’d like to hear more recipes and meals, not keeping slating one poster for her delicious-sounding dinner.

It's cheeky of people to ask if they can join you for dinner. Just tell them the truth, that you've planned to have beef, etc. (the same as you've said here), and that perhaps they could come in the new year?

@hotmeatymilk

And nobody here has said they will be eating only meat-based side dishes! Only you said that! Yes, exactly! It’s infuriating. In our house, our version of the traditional is turkey with the bacon crisped on top, so yes two meats but it’s not a dish veggies would have eaten anyway, chipolatas done separately (can’t bear pigs in blankets from name to concept), potatoes in goose fat, gravy done from the roasting pan. Everything else is veggie: lemon stuffing, bread sauce, honey-glazed carrots and parsnips, piles of vegetables and here were not traditional but go with everyone’s preference: broccoli (not with soy…), green beans, non-traditional spring greens. The vegetables taste of vegetables which is only bland if you’ve knackered your palate with salt or don’t like the taste of them. The harping on about meat sides and meat residues is a vendetta against one poster’s cooking, for some reason I can’t fathom. Hanger from the raw sprout diet perhaps.

Frankly we tend to have very few leftovers of turkey/bacon/sausages as we buy small cuts, so all the “leftovers” meals are 100% veggie, side dishes only, and no centrepiece – still perfectly filling. I don’t think you need to cater for vegetarian guests to replace the beef – there’s no equivalent. But I would do two trays of potatoes, one in animal fat and one in olive oil.

Folditin said exactly that - only three non-meat items, one is cranberry sauce.

Let it go, let it goooooooo

@hotmeatymilk

Folditin said they only have three meat-free dishes on their entire Christmas table, and one of them is cranberry sauce. That’s how this discussion started. Yeah, about eight pages ago. Can we move on and find more solutions for the OP who, like me, doesn’t want to serve ready-made but also wants her Christmas dinner how she wants it. I’d like to hear more recipes and meals, not keeping slating one poster for her delicious-sounding dinner.

I’d suggest you stop bringing it up then, if you don’t want to talk about it anymore.

ANYWAY. Here’s the stuffing we always have, it’s Jane Grigson’s and it’s brilliant as a leftover in sandwiches, with Ploughman’s type leftovers plates, or just sneaked in spoonfuls from the fridge:

250g of celery, chopped
250g of onion, chopped
125g of unsalted butter
350g of white breadcrumbs
1 lemon, juiced and zested
4 tbsp of chopped parsley, mixed with any pale leaves from the celery
2 small eggs
salt
pepper

Melt the butter and sweat the onion and celery for 20 mins til soft, but not brown. Let cool a little and stir in everything else. Bake in a buttered dish for 30 mins. Very forgiving if made in advance and quite soothing to do the chopping in the run-up to Christmas. Vegetarian but could be made vegan with dairy-free spread.

I'm veggi people have told me over the years I m really awkward,no I'm not I'm happy with bread and cheese. Didn't know anyone used lard dripping anymore for any cooking. I've got turkey and a nut roast,shock horror I bought it.

M&S have a mushroom, Camembert and parsnip pie that looks v professional.

On a separate baking tray cook some roasties in olive oil for 50mins. They’d take up half the tray. Add a Quorn roast to same tray for same amount of time. That takes up a quarter of the tray. Add sprouts set aside without pancetta to same tray when you put the pancetta ones in the oven. Add vegetable bisto. Done.

So the entire country will not be eating only meat-based sides?

I have really lost the convoluted plot of what your argument is now. I am not sure you even know. You are just being like a dog with a bone for the hell of it.

No-one is serving ONLY 'meat-based sides.' With the possible exception of a sausagemeat stuffing or pigs in blankets, most sides are not meat based. My carrots and parsnips and sauces and cabbage or other veg (if I make them) don't contain meat product. My sprouts don't always contain bacon but they sometimes do. My stuffing rarely contains sausagemeat as I find it a bit too rich when there are pigs in blankets as well. Although my stuffing and gravy always contain at least some chicken/turkey stock because it's a deeper more interesting flavour than using water.

That doesn't make them 'meat based side dishes', it just makes it a non-vegetarian side dishes. But it's easy enough to not use any meat fat/juices if you prefer. I honestly don't care which people choose to do, I just know what my family prefers, I know what most chefs would do.

No-one has tried to say that 'the entire country' does any one thing. The entire country can't even agree on whether they want turkey or not. Even if you take away the people who do not eat a traditional British Christmas dinner at all, and just focus on those who do, there is still no such thing as 'an entire country' of people eating the exact same thing. There are many variations and nuances on a theme peas and sweetcorn. yorkshire pudding with turkey cauliflower cheese. mashed potato All an anathema to me with my Christmas turkey, but each to their own.

But that doesn't change the fact that most people will be cooking the same bloody things as me because they are traditional, and many many of them will be using meat juices and animal fats to baste their roasted veg, or to enhance their gravies, and possibly putting some bacon in their sprouts. Telling people that the most important meal of their year is a 'weird tradition' using 'bizarre' methods that result in that result in 'bland' food is just rude and goady.

On the other hand, I imagine the number of people serving semi-raw broccoli in soy sauce as a side on to a Christmas roast can be counted on one hand. Or one finger. But if you like it, knock yourself out.

Folditin said exactly that - only three non-meat items, one is cranberry sauce.

I don't consider sage and onion stuffing a 'meat item' because it uses some of the stock/juices in it.

I don't consider roast potatoes to be a 'meat item' either, just because they might be roasted in goose fat. No more than I consider my carrots or sprouts a 'dairy item' or sprouts because they are glazed with a bit of butter.

@YouJustFoldItIn

So the entire country will not be eating only meat-based sides?

I have really lost the convoluted plot of what your argument is now. I am not sure you even know. You are just being like a dog with a bone for the hell of it.

No-one is serving ONLY 'meat-based sides.' With the possible exception of a sausagemeat stuffing or pigs in blankets, most sides are not meat based. My carrots and parsnips and sauces and cabbage or other veg (if I make them) don't contain meat product. My sprouts don't always contain bacon but they sometimes do. My stuffing rarely contains sausagemeat as I find it a bit too rich when there are pigs in blankets as well. Although my stuffing and gravy always contain at least some chicken/turkey stock because it's a deeper more interesting flavour than using water.

That doesn't make them 'meat based side dishes', it just makes it a non-vegetarian side dishes. But it's easy enough to not use any meat fat/juices if you prefer. I honestly don't care which people choose to do, I just know what my family prefers, I know what most chefs would do.

No-one has tried to say that 'the entire country' does any one thing. The entire country can't even agree on whether they want turkey or not. Even if you take away the people who do not eat a traditional British Christmas dinner at all, and just focus on those who do, there is still no such thing as 'an entire country' of people eating the exact same thing. There are many variations and nuances on a theme peas and sweetcorn. yorkshire pudding with turkey cauliflower cheese. mashed potato All an anathema to me with my Christmas turkey, but each to their own.

But that doesn't change the fact that most people will be cooking the same bloody things as me because they are traditional, and many many of them will be using meat juices and animal fats to baste their roasted veg, or to enhance their gravies, and possibly putting some bacon in their sprouts. Telling people that the most important meal of their year is a 'weird tradition' using 'bizarre' methods that result in that result in 'bland' food is just rude and goady.

On the other hand, I imagine the number of people serving semi-raw broccoli in soy sauce as a side on to a Christmas roast can be counted on one hand. Or one finger. But if you like it, knock yourself out.

you're staying the voice of reason during this marathon

Omg no! It’s not rude, they’ve asked to come but they really need to accept the menu you’ve planned. They can’t expect a whole different one.

Casually text… “you guys gonna be ok with the meat options though, nothing on the planned menu is veggie. You’re more then welcome, but you might feel more comfortable if you brought a few but with you. Looking forward to it!! xx”

can’t bear pigs in blankets from name to concept

Thank god it's not just me!

SInce when did we start calling them that? I don't remember it as a child, I'm sure it's a relatively recent thing? We always just had chipolatas in bacon.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

can’t bear pigs in blankets from name to concept

Thank god it's not just me!

and I don't see how a vegan version is 'made to look like animals'. Pigs in blankets look nothing like a pig. In fact, much meat bears no relation to the animal it came from in looks - most people don't serve whole boar's head anymore. A sausage or burger looks nothing like an animal so why the distate for veggie versions?

Anyway, if you don't want to cater for veggie family member tell them that. If that feels rude, it is because it is, a bit. However, if they have been rude inviting themselves then you may feel you can be rude back - sauce for the goose, to stick with the meaty theme.

Either cater with good grace not at all - there is nothing worse than being served by a xmas martyr and I bet we've all had to endure one of those. I'd take a muslim, vegan, gluten free guest over a pained unwilling host any day of the week.

Pigs in blankets were never part of a traditional Christmas dinner in my childhood- or anyone else's I knew. Even at school lunch or eating out they have only become mandatory in recent years. We had sausage meat stuffing instead- don't need two different forms of sausagemeat in my opinion.

Sausage or burger shaped vegetables are ok, but pretend bacon is obviously trying to imitate the look and texture of meat. The worst are those vegetarian burgers that actually bleed! Of course meat doesn't't look like an animal- it's chopped up because whole animals are like cows and pigs are huge- but it does look like meat.

Sausage or burger shaped vegetables are ok, but pretend bacon is obviously trying to imitate the look and texture of meat.

Why is this a problem? I love animals. I used to enjoy the taste and texture of meat. A quorn chicken nugget isn’t the same as a meat one but it still tastes nice to me. Nothing had to die so I could have them with my dinner.

Some very odd posts on this thread determined to argue.

I don’t know if you see your veggie relatives often, OP. If you’re likely to see them again through the year, I have a useful tip:

If you do go for a nut roast (and they are delicious!) portion the rest up into decent slices. Separate them with greaseproof paper then double wrap in foil and freeze.

My DH likes the odd roast dinner. My slices of nut roast reheat well in a frying pan and I’ve got an instant veggie alternative to his roast chicken or beef. The slices kept well for over 6 months.

@PurpleDaisies

Sausage or burger shaped vegetables are ok, but pretend bacon is obviously trying to imitate the look and texture of meat.

Why is this a problem? I love animals. I used to enjoy the taste and texture of meat. A quorn chicken nugget isn’t the same as a meat one but it still tastes nice to me. Nothing had to die so I could have them with my dinner.

I guess a lot of people must feel the same as you @PurpleDaisies otherwise there wouldn't be a market for those things.

@YouJustFoldItIn

SInce when did we start calling them that? I don't remember it as a child, I'm sure it's a relatively recent thing? We always just had chipolatas in bacon.

We just had chipolatas, prunes were wrapped in bacon to make devils on horseback.

Pretend bacon is not good

I think it's a great idea to ask them to bring the main items themselves

You can adapt some of what you're planning (keep some brussels out before adding pancetta; have burratto with the figs; etc). Trickiest bit will be the roasties unless you've got enough oven space for olive oil ones as well as beef fat.

I can see why it's making you feel grumpy, but as you will enjoy their company, focus on that upside, and ask them to bring stuff to make it easier.