Dinner planning?

[ODFOx]

I like to get started early as since COVID the older generation have decided they want to continue their' we traditions' and have me deliver a Christmas dinner for them to do minimal preparation and eat at home.

So I'm 'cooking' for three households on Christmas Day nowadays but there are fewer of us at home.

I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!

We'll be having turkey and ham, roast and mashed potatoes, sprouts, red cabbage, American green bean casserole, 3 stuffings, devils on horseback, pigs in blankets, gravy, port and cranberry sauce, bread sauce.
House 2 (an elderly couple) will have a selection of the accompaniments with a turkey breast joint or a duck.
House 3 (an elderly relative hosting a few female friends: we call them the ladies who lunch) will have salmon en croute, pommes dauphinois, the green bean casserole, sprouts. I'll probably send pigs in blankets too as it is Christmas!

We won't have a starter, but House 2 will have classic prawn cocktail or pate and toast. House 3 have chosen watercress and spinach soup.

We'll have Christmas pudding, mince pies and cheese over the course of the evening
House 2 are having mini ice cream bombes with a Christmas pudding ice cream in the middle.
House 2 have asked for double pudding: Christmas pud and something chocolatey.

We always used to have 20 or more for Christmas Day and although it's a bit manic in the morning now, driving about and dropping things and providing detailed instructions, it's actually lovely to be at home and knowing we don't need to go anywhere or drop anyone off by late morning!

So, how many and what are you planning? Crackers or party hats etc etc? This is the first week I've started to think about it and it's brightening my mood!

Good grief OP!

You cater for 20 at home and deliver two different full dinners elsewhere?

I would collapse!

Not any more! The meals I deliver used to be people who came to us. Less than 10
Of us this year!
But what are you doing? I'm always looking for ideas and I love hearing everyone's plans!

Bloody hell. I'm exhausted just reading that! Are you not shattered after? Sounds lovely though and very nice of you to look after others too . I have nothing to offer you as we have a very simple ordinary roast dinner. I've not heard of devils on horseback so off to look that up.

Christmas Eve: Rib of beef, Yorkshires, roasties, green beans, parsnips, tenderstem, horseradish, gravy,
Trifle
Cheese and port.

Christmas lunch;
Smoked salmon (cured and hot roast) , salad, brown bread, meringue Christmas tree with cream and berries.

Early eve canapés and champagne. Tiny Quiches of stilton, spring onion and walnut.

Dinner: Turkey, mash, red cabbage, cranberry sauce, sausage meat, some fruity nutty stuffing, bread sauce, chipolatas, streaky bscon rolled up, gravy, petit pois, julienne carrots. All home made.
Christmas pud (home made) with brandy sauce. Pudding wine.

Mints and chocs.

You’re amazing. I have made extra and dropped off Christmas dinner to relatives but juggling three separate menus qualifies you for sainthood.

I do a trio of starters

mini prawn cocktail in large shot glasses
brie and cranberry filo crackers
garlic dough baubles

The Main is
Turkey and Ham (and some sort of veggie - nut roast etc)
Roast potatoes,
Roast carrots
Roast parsnips
Sprouts
Red vabbage
cauliflower cheese
brocolli
mashed swede
bread sauce
cranberry sauce
yorkshires
pigs in blankets (and halloumi in aubergine for veggie DD)
gravy

puddings are a selection

xmas pud
chocolate orange cheesecake
trifle
cheese and crackers
and some sort of ice cream xmas bombe

@SuperCamp is that meringue Christmas tree like a shaped pavlova? Sounds delicious!

Just - why???? At the very least, I'd be cooking everyone the same dinner (allergies etc apart). I really, really hope you actually enjoy cooking the dinners (and perhaps give them instead of a gift?) rather than doing it out of some sense of obligation.

Anyway. I would only ever do one meat on Xmas Day. Probably back to turkey this year, but have also done ham, or slow cooked pork. Actually, the pork was very good! Then there are pretty strict rules for the rest: roast potatoes NOT mashed and roast parsnips, creamy carrot puree, sprouts with chestnuts, red cabbage, pigs in blankets, a veggie friendly stuffing which passes as a main dish for them. Oh and peas for small children, though they shouldn't really be there. Gravy obviously (or cumberland sauce with ham). Cranberry with turkey or ham. Apple with pork. Canapes to start. Xmas pud. I'd rather just stick with Xmas pud but some kids and married in elements don't like it so someone brings an alternative too. Xmas tea is just cheese, mince pies etc.

That sounds intense!

I'm doing smoked salmon and chicken liver pates with a selection of bread/melba toast etc as a starter. But to be served on platters more casually rather than at the table as I can't seat people while I'm finishing off the main course so "starter" needs to be more fluid.

Will also have some bigs in blankets and crumbed prawns from the oven floating around for the kids who mostly don't like pates.

Rib of beef
Yorkshire puddings
Glazed carrots
Cauliflower Cheese
creamed spinach or "fancy" peas (Jamie Oliver style)
Roast potatoes

Dessert is still tbd because some of the guests are bringing that.

Then mince pies, chocolate truffles with tea and coffee. I MIGHT make a proper christmas cake this year - haven't done one in a few years.

@SuperCamp tell me more about these tiny quiches. How tiny is tiny.

In the past I have made little quiches in a cupcake tin (not muffin size, smaller than that) but I also have a tin to make tiny tartlet cases.

@mast0650
Yes I do like it and the menus are designed so that they get a nice dinner with minimal
input from them: house 2 are very elderly so they get 'tray 1 goes in at x time, tray 2 at y time etc. all they have to do is take it all out at once and slice the meat. (Cold starter and pud).
House 3 is a little further away and a single Aunt who has never had much time for cooking so she has components that can go into the oven individually and still be special enough for her friends. It's
Just less faff for her than the components of a roast and there are too many of them for the 'trays in' method that I use for the other two.
I used to host them all here which was harder as the two groups have little in common and didn't want to mix particularly, and no taxis run here on the day we we couldn't have a drink until we'd run everyone home. Now a get a cocktail while I make the home gravy!!

Place marking as I don’t know yet if it be just DH and me, or DDs home from Uni.

Yes yes! Stilton and walnut mini quiche recipe please!

Not so many of us now but we have nibbles at lunch, then rib of beef, roast potatoes, parsnips, Brussels with chestnuts, gingerbread stuffing, pork stuffing, yorkshires, honey carrots, red cabbage and peas. Loads of gravy, cranberry sauce and horseradish.
we then have cheese and biscuits, figs, dates and chocolates later on. Homemade chutney and sloe gin to finish.
I will have cooked a ham on Christmas Eve to have cold with the beef on Boxing Day.

I'm thinking at the moment, for Christmas lunch:
Roast turkey (and roast chicken for the kids), pigs in blankets (made with full size chipolatas, smoked steaky bacon and sage), roast potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, honey roasted parsnips and carrots, Brussels sprouts sauted with lardons and leeks, sage and onion stuffing, steamed green beans and then peas and Yorkshire puddings for everyone except me.

Dessert is usually shop bought, will browse nearer the time and we don't have a starter.

Evening - cheese, Salami, cold cuts (we have ham on Xmas eve), chocolate, crisps.

On boxing day I make a sausage roll wreath.

Good grief OP!

That's what I was thinking too. I did do Christmas dinner for two households one year, totalling about 12 people in all, and I thought that was bad enough.

Place marking too

I am definitely looking for ideas!

On pigs in blankets: I see I'm not the only one to use whole chipolatas!
One slice of streaky bacon stretched covers one sausage: much less faff that half rashers that you have to hold with a cocktail stock!

Although one thing we often do if it is just us is spread the christmas day meal waaaaayyyy out. DH has a very small appetite and one of mine has sensory issues around food and can't eat much in one go. So i often do the 'starter' at lunchtime, the 'main' at dinner time and then the pudding for breakfast on Boxing day.

A usual menu would be;

S - bread, butter, smoked salmon and caviar with quails eggs / baked camembert and cranberry

M- roast goose / roast chicken with potatos, bread sauce, gravy, peas, and honey sesame carrots

P- Christmas pudding ice cream which is just vanilla ice cream mixed with cut up pieces of stoillen cake, cranberries, nuts, dried apricots, some rum and chocolate chips.

Recipes for red cabbage please. Mine is slow cooked with butter, apple, cinnamon and apple cider vinegar to maintain the colour.
Sometimes it is slightly too vinegary: so I'm looking for recommended recipes please.