What constitutes a Christmas dinner?

[Ajollyhappysoul]

What does your meal contain? Starter, main and dessert, especially the main meal? Do you include Yorkshire’s, brocolli? Or are these just for roast dinners?

We don't do starters
Lots of champagne
Rib of beef and a small turkey crown
All different veg - pimped up to the max
Pigs in blankets (kids fav)
Roast potatoes in duck fat
Homemade Yorkshire puds
Proper gravy from bones and stock

Christmas pudding and a fancy tart with ice cream, cream and custard

All served with some lovely red wine

This year we are having

Starter is blinis, mini sausages and crisps with champagne when parents arrive.

Meal is filet of beef cooked rare, chunky marks and Spencer goose fat chips, creamed spinach (and possibly peas for my parents)/Xmas ham for DS

Pudding is trifle or Xmas pudding for parents, asda sprout cake for DC, more red wine and chocolate for me and DH.

Then chocolate all afternoon and cheese board/ham sandwiches in the evening.

We abandoned turkey/goose last year and I absolutely feel liberated. No utter exhaustion on Xmas afternoon now.

Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables.

So it might feel a bit excessive, but the list is below, combination of all the bits required by various family members, and I eat it all!

Breakfast:
Eggs Benedict

Lunch:
Roast turkey
Pigs in blankets (minimum ten per person)
Roast potatoes
Mashed Potatoes
Carrot and swede mash
Roast parsnips
Roasted sprouts with panchetta
Cauliflower cheese
Green beans
Tenderstem brocoli
Yorkshire puddings
Bread sauce
Cranberry sauce
Gravy
Stuffing

Christmas pudding
Apple crumble
Vanilla Custard
Clotted cream

Dinner:
Rolls for sandwiches with leftover turkey
Ham
Salad
Cheeseboard
Olives and nibbles

As required:
Beer, wine, soft drinks, tea and coffee

@MatildaIThink 10 pigs per person wow that's a lot considering all the food you are serving with it!

[quote actiongirl1978]@MatildaIThink 10 pigs per person wow that's a lot considering all the food you are serving with it![/quote]
My husband and brother are of the opinion that there can never be too many, whatever doesn't get eaten on Christmas day gets eaten boxing day or thr day after so no waste. We may put on a few pounds over Christmas though...

Starter- smoked salmon mini things with champagne
Main: roast turkey, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, pigs in blankets, stuffing, carrots, braised red cabbage, sprouts with pancetta, sweet corn (just DD) cranberry sauce.
Pudding: Christmas prodding with brandy butter. Christmas pudding ice cream with hot toffee sauce
Cheese & biscuits

Drinks: G&T before, then champagne, red wine, pudding wine, port, Bailey's/amaretto
Kids- coke & lemonade.
We eat in the evening.

This year we are going for a cream of mushroom soup for starters (usually a prawn cocktail or smoked salmon roll mops) then main course is turkey, sausage meat stuffing, roast potatoes, cooked veg, Yorkshire puddings, macaroni salad, Greek salad, potato salad, macaronia tou fournou and koupepia. Dessert will be Christmas pudding for those that like it, chocolate bread and butter pudding for those that don't, and this year I hope to make a birthday cake so we can all blow out candles for the two birthdays we have missed. I am hoping to see my sister and her family this year for Christmas as long as restrictions and air travel allow!

I was pondering on this earlier. I have two turkey crowns on order (we have a full house this Christmas) and I was wondering what I'd do if they weren't delivered. I came to the conclusion that as long as people have a plateful of roast potatoes, stuffing, chipotalas, veg, Yorkshire pud and gravy they probably wouldn't even notice the missing turkey. For the veggies I have wee cheese soufflés to serve with all the side dishes.

We don't have starters at Christmas but there will be a choice of desserts. This year it's sticky toffee puddings, brownies and blondies all served with a choice of ice creams and cream. I also have a tiny Christmas pudding for the one person who likes it.

We're total gluttons:

Prawn cocktail

Soup with crusty bread

Turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, peas, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, stuffing. Gravy, bread sauce

Trifle, cheesecake

Cheese and crackers

Seafood platter — lobster, crab, Langoustines, prawns, smoked salmon, trout. Salad garnish. Brown bread and butter.

Turkey, ham, pigs in blankets, homemade sausage meat balls x 3 varieties.
Roast potatoes, roast parsnips, roast beetroot, roast sweet potato.. Carrots, baby onions, turnip, peas, broccoli.

Gravy, cranberry sauce, apple sauce.

Pavlova with whipped cream and layered fruits. Base: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. Middle:Mango, paw paw and pineapple. Top: Banana and passion fruit.

Coffee with mint chocolate or truffles.

Later on:Cheese board — this year we have bought local cheeses from a small dairy. Brie, smoked, blue.

DH, 3 DS, 1 visitor (male) and myself. We might have another visitor as the boys bring home friends who would be on their own, usually other nationalities that can’t go home. DD and DP are abroad unable to get home. Then I would have a vegan to cater for too.

We don't have a starter but no starter is weird.

Main: roast turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, roast parsnips and carrots, steamed brocolli, sauted Brussel sprouts with green beans and leeks, gravy, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, stuffing (sage and onion).

Dessert: we have a frozen chocolate dome thing from Lidl we will have either on Christmas day or Christmas eve and a pear and frangipan tart with cream we will have the other day - with ice cream Sundays for kids (vanilla ice cream, mini marshmallows, Christmas sprinkles)

Then cheese, biscuits and cold cuts later on.

Forgot sprouts. I slice them finely then stir fry with a bit of finely chopped onion and bacon.

Everyone gets a plate to take home because they all work on Boxing Day. This year no one is working on Christmas Day so we will sit down about 2 pm. Some work until late on Christmas Eve so it gives them a chance to sleep in.

I usually make mackeral pate (with home made blinis if I'm feeling enthusiastic) for a starter.
Traditional main, turkey or goose with roast pots, sprouts, another green veg, roast parsnips, pigs in blankets, stuffing, yorkshire puddings, port gravy and cranberry sauce.
Choice of puddings, Christmas pud (usually a bought one from a few years ago, 'fed'for two weeks before Christmas and Mrs Grumpy makes a trifle.
Boxing day is a repeat, but with lamb & mint sauce (plus the addition of bubble and squeak if any veg left over from the 25th)
10 in for Christmas this year all being well.
I absolutely love Christmas meal preparation 😁

mackerel (ffs)

No starter.
Thus year we are having beef and roast duck with mash,roasties,sprouts,carrot and swede mash,parsnips stuffing,pigs in blankets,Yorkshire puddings

We have

Starters

Salmon mousse
Prawn cocktail
Melon
Pate

Main

Turkey or mushrooms stuffed with goats cheese

Chipolatas, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, mashed potato, roast potato, sausage, sage & onions stuffing , cranberry sauce

Desert

Profiteroles
Chocolate Yule log
Jelly & ice cream

We used to have a turkey broth soup course as well but dropped that as no one made it to pudding.

The above serves 10

@Redsquirrel5

Seafood platter — lobster, crab, Langoustines, prawns, smoked salmon, trout. Salad garnish. Brown bread and butter.

Turkey, ham, pigs in blankets, homemade sausage meat balls x 3 varieties.
Roast potatoes, roast parsnips, roast beetroot, roast sweet potato.. Carrots, baby onions, turnip, peas, broccoli.

Gravy, cranberry sauce, apple sauce.

Pavlova with whipped cream and layered fruits. Base: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. Middle:Mango, paw paw and pineapple. Top: Banana and passion fruit.

Coffee with mint chocolate or truffles.

Later on:Cheese board — this year we have bought local cheeses from a small dairy. Brie, smoked, blue.

DH, 3 DS, 1 visitor (male) and myself. We might have another visitor as the boys bring home friends who would be on their own, usually other nationalities that can’t go home. DD and DP are abroad unable to get home. Then I would have a vegan to cater for too.

Are you taking in any other waifs and strays please?!

Still undecided about starter. I don't have time to sort out soup (traditional for us is clear beef broth with vegetables and dumplings but it takes hours of slow cooking), DD is not keen on most traditional starter food and I am tired of the usual ones we eat.

Main is duck for parents and guinea fowl for DD, roast parsnips, carrots and sprouts for DH, I don't do red cabbage for just one person, pigs in blanket

Dessert is yule log but cream or ice cream

Good sparkling wine and port. Not sure what DD would like.

Smoked salmon, salad leaves, balsamic dressing.

Turkey
Brown sugared ham. (Trust me, I've tried roasting ham with every preserve/honey and soft drink known to mankind.....and brown sugar beats them all).
Pigs in blankets.
Roast potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Roast parsnips and carrots
Braised red cabbage and apple.
Stir fried, shredded, sesame sprouts
Stuffing
Yorkshires (DS is obsessed with them)
Cranberry sauce
Big jar of kimchi
Gravy

Sticky toffee pudding about 2 hours later

Cheese and biscuits after a further couple of hours!

Sometimes smoked salmon starter if we have guests but usually nothing if it's just us, saves room for the main event!

Turkey
gammon
pigs in blankets
stuffing
roast potatoes
honey roasted carrots & parsnips
broccoli/cauliflower cheese
sprouts
peas
gravy
cranberry sauce for Mr Larry, apple sauce for me

something light and lemony for pudding - cheesecake, posset etc.

Oh and not forgetting a few glasses of Asti!

I’ve never made a starter on Christmas Day. We normally have pudding in the evening after a Turkey sandwich or cheese and crackers. Christmas lunch is a massive roast.

We eat in the evening & over the course of the day we have:

Opening presents:
Coffee/ crusty bread toasted with fancy jam/ lots of coffee

Brunch:
Eggs Benedict with champagne & coffee

Starter - around 7pm

Local smoked salmon with homemade brown bread & real butter

Tempura prawns with sweet chilli sauce (aldi) for DH & dd - has become a weird tradition over the years. I suggested dropping it this year but was met with dismay all round

Main:
Roast turkey
Baked brown sugar glazed ham
Rosemary & garlic roasted potatoes
Maple roast parsnips
Red cabbage
Steamed buttered carrots
Home made sage & onion stuffing (NO meat)
Marrowfat peas
Cranberry sauce
Gravy

No sausage meat stuffing, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings or bread sauce though as none of us like these things. Some Christmas dinners listed here are basically 90% sausage!

Dessert:
Sherry trifle
Banoffi pie with the caramel from local deli

Red wine/ champagne throughout

Perhaps a champagne cocktail

Also available but rarely touched till the next day or so

Cheese board, grapes, pears, chutney, crackers
Good Chocolate
Frozen m&s pastries
Bailey's cream

[quote actiongirl1978]@MatildaIThink 10 pigs per person wow that's a lot considering all the food you are serving with it![/quote]
I always have to double up the amount in our house as these are the first to go and if by any slim chance there “are” any left over will be picked at until they’re all gone. So about 10 per person would be a good amount!

DappyApple
I do 40 for 5 adults (4 male and me).