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?

Why are pigs in blankets so popular? They're basically sausages on a roast dinner? I don't get it at all

Imo Christmas dinner is...

Roast Turkey
Stuffing
Pigs in blankets
Roast potatoes
Roast parsnips
Carrots
Peas
Swede
Brussel sprouts
Cranberry sauce
Bread sauce
Gravy

Christmas pudding with brandy butter

This year we are simplifying, not having all of the above and adding Yorkshire's by popular demand

I've never had ham but I think it sounds nice to include ham.

We'll be having smoked salmon on brown bread with butter as a starter (although this will be served approximately 2 hours before the turkey).

Followed by roast turkey, roast potatoes, parmesan parsnips, roast carrots, peas, sprouts and red cabbage. There will be a chestnut stuffing and a sage and onion sausagemeat stuffing as well as pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and bread sauce.

Pudding is either the traditional Christmas Pud, or trifle.

Starters:
Mini prawn cocktails in shot glasses
mini brie and cranberry filo crackers
garlic dough 'baubles'
Star toast with pate

Main:
Turkey and Ham joints
Nut roast for veggies
Pigs in blankets (and halloumi wrapped in aubergine for veggie DD)
Roast potatoes
Honey roast parsnips and carrots
Mashed Swede
Cauliflower cheese
Red cabbage
Sprouts
Bread sauce, Gravy and cranberry sauce

Pudding:
Christmas pudding
Chocolate orange cheesecake
Strawberry trifle
with a choice of creams/custard/icecream

Then there is a supply of mince pies, christmas cake, satsumas, chocolate, nuts and a cheese and pickles board if people are hungry in the evening. This will all be eaten on boxing day.

Starter is smoked salmon and prawns, little bit of salad, Marie Rose sauce and a slice of rustic crusty bread. We have this when we get back from the pub about 2pm and keeps us going until the main is ready.

Main is turkey, chestnut stuffing , roast ham, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, braised red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, sprouts, carrots, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy.

Dessert is Christmas pudding, mince pies or sherry trifle.

Main is 'ready when it's ready' and this (along with making ahead and freezing items) removes all the stress and makes for a relaxing Christmas day.

We don't do starters.
Main will be turkey, stuffing,pigs in blankets,roast potatoes,honey carrots and parsnips, sweet potato mash, Brussels with chestnuts, gravy, cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
Vegan version for me, without the pigs in blankets, bread sauce or Brussels.

Kids will have Christmas pudding and might make a trifle.

Why are pigs in blankets so popular? They're basically sausages on a roast dinner? I don't get it at all
They’re not even nice, either, because the outside of the sausage doesn’t get brown because the bacon prevents it, and the inside of the bacon is minging too. We do chipolatas roasted on their own, and crisp the bacon on top of the turkey for the last 15 mins or so, then lift it off – brown sausages, brown turkey, crispy bacon.

Can’t answer WHY we’re putting sausages on a roast dinner other than (a) tradition and (b) it’s nice.

For the rest of it we have roast potatoes, roast carrots and parsnips, sprouts, spring greens, bread sauce, gravy, lemon stuffing. Pudding is Christmas pudding with ice cream, creme fraiche or cream, or lemon tart, and industrial quantities of booze.

I literally couldn't eat an unbrowned sausage even if I knew it was cooked through.
And I don't like bacon on the top of the turkey either.
I didn't grow up with it & so I now think the taste of sausages really doesn't go with Turkey. For the same reason I really dislike stuffing with sausage meat.

One year due to an ordering mix up m&s substituted our turkey for a crown with bacon & sausage stuffing & we found it practically inedible as the flavours were totally overwhelming.

I switched to Aldi specially select the next year & never looked back

DH is Jewish so we order in a Chinese and go to the cinema . It's the traditional Jewish Christmas meal.

Spare ribs, lo mein, tea smoked duck, spicy lamb with leeks and ginger, pork soup dumplings, egg roll, sautéed pea shoots with garlic and several sides of rice.

We do the rest of the Christmassy stuff for me - tree, carols, presents etc. but I'm pro not cooking
.

Starters, prawns in chilli and garlic or soup usually red pepper and tomato
Mains bird of appropriate size, pigs in blankets plus chicks in blankets for me, stuffing both types, roast potatoes and roast parsnips sprouts, carrots and red cabbage. Cranberry and bread sauces plus my amazing gravy(made with giblet stock, Turkey and wine juices and thickened with bisto Turkey)

Breaded garlic mushrooms perfect for a starter. We usually have fish - previously prawn cocktail (lovely take on the classic sauce - spicier than classic Marie -Rose); smoked salmon, smoked mackerel pate. This year thinking little spicy fish cakes with picked cucumber and dipping sauce, maybe made from tinned crab?

Main we have turkey, roast beef and nut roast and pigs in blankets; sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce, cranberry and port sauce; cauliflower cheese, red cabbage with ginger and orange, carrot/swede mash with butter and nutmeg; sprouts with roast chestnuts, peas, roast potato and parsnips, Yorkies and gravy.
All sauces, stuffing, red cabbage and carrot/swede and nut loaf already in the freezer.
Then Christmas pudding or raspberry sherry trifle (I freeze some from the allotment to use).
I love Christmas Dinnerbits my favourite meal of the year.

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon bits.
Glass of Bucks fizz

Lunch:
Roasted goose (cooked in cider), chipolatta sausages wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, leeks in white sauce, sprouts with chopped chestnuts, honey glazed carrots, sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce, Cumberland jelly, gravy.

Christmas pudding flamed with brandy and served with cream.

Tea:
Mince pies with brandy butter, yule log and Christmas cake

Dinner:
Nibbles from a selection of nuts, crisps, cheese and biscuits, fruit and chocolate usually eaten while watching a Christmas film.

If anyone is hungry after all that then they can help themselves/make a sandwich from the left overs!

@StrongCoffeAvalanche

Starter: booze

Main: turkey, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, variety of veg for the whole family - parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, green beans. Cranberry sauce and loads of gravy.

Dessert: selection of Christmas pudding and sticky toffee pudding with custard and ice cream.

Love your starter. My favourite

To make it Christmas dinner, someone needs to be sitting on a laundry basket or similar makeshift chair.

Otherwise it's just a normal roast dinner.

@Sothisischristmas2021 I think it because it is something we both like, it is relatively easy, very tasty, and, well, DH isn’t keen on turkey. It seems to me that you should celibrate how you like. I also will admit though, DH is British, I am American, and Thanksgiving is the holiday that is important to me. I also have my MIL when possible over for lunch New Year’s, and do a ham, and spuds, and xmas pud, so it seems a little much to do two large meals in one week.

No starter.

Dinner: Turkey, pigs in blankets, roasties, carrots soaked in gravy, parsnips, cauliflower cheese, stuffing, way too much bread sauce. Served in plate sized Yorkshire pudding, tons of beef gravy.
Bucks fizz for adults, fizzy orange for kids.

Pudding: Yule log, brandy butter, cream.

Evening: Cold cuts of the Christmas ham, crisps and dip, cheese and crackers, chocolates. Whiskey.

Main course varies from year to year between ham and roast beef. Side dishes are usually corn pudding or rice and gravy, grilled asparagus, green beans, fruit salad (if ham is main), possibly roast sweet potatoes, and some kind of yeast roll.

Dessert is a big white coconut cake: the traditional Christmas dessert in the Southern US.

Alcohol and chocolate before starting prep!
Nice starter eg smoked salmon/ prawns, Parma ham
Soup course if very hungry
Roast with all the veg and trimmings, can have YPs, must have stuffing and pigs in blankets
Trifle
Biscuits and cheese
Nuts crisps and chocolates and more alcohol until everyone's passed out.

Around 9am booze and bacon sandwiches.

Main meal about 2:
Best chicken we can find (about £20 cost). We all hate turkey. Roasties, carrots, sprouts , parsnips, stuffing, gravy. Plus more booze.

Pudding about 7pm. Maybe a mince pie or Xmas pudding or a chicken sandwich.

We basically eat a 3 course meal throughout the course of a day. Can't manage any more booze past say 6pm so sober up by bedtime and sleep hangover off. Wake up brilliantly refreshed Boxing Day. Love it.

No starter

Turkey
Ham (left over from Xmas eve)
Stuffing
Pigs in blankets
Roast potatoes
Dauphinois (also left over from Christmas Eve)
Honey mustard parsnips
Roasted carrots
Sprouts
Red cabbage
Gravy
Cranberry sauce

Sometimes Yorkshire’s, can never decide

Pudding- Christmas pud or trifle

Ooh and stuffing for me can only ever be packet paxo. I hate meat stuffing!

We are rarely more than 6. We have open smoked salmon sarnies at about 11.30 with champagne and presents. We get back from church at 11ish so breakfast is tea and biscuits at best.

Lunch at about 3.30/4
No starter
Turkey, stuffing, pigs
Fab gravy, cranberry sauce and bread sauce
Roast potatoes and parsnips, red cabbage, sprouts, runner beans (last picking of summer from the freezer).

Tiny amount of Xmas pudding, boozy cream and something bought for the pud haters.

6.30ish pot of tea and birthday cake and ds's presents.

That's it. We are all too full for anything else except wine and chocolate

No starters as we both prefer to save room for dinner. We have turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings, sprouts, sweetcorn, peas, carrots and broccoli with DH’s home made stuffing his Nan taught him to make. We don’t like parsnips but I cook them for my DM. For pudding, we like to have the choice between something fruity and something chocolate, so it’s usually an M&S Black Forest gateau and a lemon & passion fruit buche from Sainsburys. I’m tee total and DH isn’t a big drinker so he’ll be taste testing the best non alcoholic drinks.

Starter: definitely prawn cocktail (melon for the kids)
Main: turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, roast parsnip, carrots, sprouts, gravy, cranberry sauce
Dessert: Christmas pudding, custard and cream or something a bit lighter like trifle or pavlova.

Turkey sandwiches, cheese and grapes, after eight mints for later on x