Christmas dinner menu

[Ea134]

We are hosting Christmas for the first time in our new house; we are very excited! I want to make it super special but just want to get some inspiration.

christmas starters? None of us are huge prawn cocktail fans except my mum 😂

any amazing recipes you’ve tried and tested? We’ll be doing the gammon and everything else except the turkey.

any special “extras” that have gone down well?
it’s our chance to create some new traditions so I’m very open minded.

thank you 🎄🎄

I did goats cheese and caramelised red onion tarts one year for starters which people enjoyed.

I find offering two starter options a winner as you can guarantee someone will expect traditional prawn cocktail and then a wildcard option?

We always have Yorkshire pudding with our roast dinner, but apparently it's a controversial subject !

Bear in mind I'm in Australia so it's a hot Christmas...

Start with drinks and nibbles in the garden.

Then lots of seafood, cold chicken and nice salads.

Dessert is generally a huge homemade pav laden with strawberries (sometimes with passionfruit as well).

I have also made ice-cream Christmas pudding but not using crumbled pudding. This is easy and you can use up whatever dried fruit you have (and prefer). Take a quantity of dried fruit and soak it in brandy overnight (or other spirit, or fruit juice for teetotalers). Next day drain the fruit well. Line a pudding mould, or similar shaped bowl with cling wrap and set aside. Then take a tub of decent vanilla ice cream, tip into a mixing bowl and allow it to soften slightly. Mix through a tablespoon (give or take) of cream to loosen the mixture and then stir through the drained fruit until well combined. Put the mix into the lined mould. Place a piece of baking parchment cut to size on top of the mix, tap and press down gently to remove any air bubbles then cling wrap over the lot. Put in the freezer. Can be made in advance (up to a couple of days, any longer and it tends to get frosted) and only needs to be unmoulded (and de-clingfilmed) onto a nice plate just before serving. It goes well with Nigella's butterscotch sauce www.nigella.com/recipes/members/donniwonnis-butterscotch-sauce

As a variation you can use grated chocolate instead of the fruit. The butterscotch sauce is divine with this too and it's an incredibly easy, very impressive dessert. Add a few fresh berries or other suitable fruit on the side and it's even more flash.

Some lovely ideas on here

We have smoked salmon, a good one with asparagus and a salmon mouse thing from m and s

In fact after the Xmas production I always love that first sip of alcohol, when starting the smoked salmon

Starter www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/serrano-wrapped-pear-goats-cheese

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/hasselback-parsnips-with-orange-maple-syrup

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/get-ahead-gravy/

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/brilliant-brussels/

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/pigs-in-blankets/

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-potatoes although I always cook longer

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/meat-stuffing/

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/black-forest-trifle/amp

We tend to spread the dinner out throughout the day.

So we start at 12 with oysters and champagne, then at 2pm we have the main course - my first time cooking Christmas dinner this year so sticking to turkey.

Then at about 5pm we have dessert, jelly and ice cream for my dad, something warm for my mum, and something chocolate for my sister - all bought (except the jelly) as I can't do desserts.

8pm - cheeseboard, my favourite part of the meal. I'm trying to decide what cheeses to get, I'm at about 12 so far so will narrow it down (and keep the rest for me to eat on Boxing Day!)

Sprouts are disliked by some. A fantastic way to cook them and to make them taste a lot better, and different, and lovely, and gooey is:
. set oven at 180C with fan, which it usually is for meat anyway so they go in for the last twenty minutes, probably after you take the meat out to let it rest.
. wash them
. cut each in half downwards
. place all the half sprouts on baking paper on a baking tray, round side down. The paper makes it easy to clean up.
. pour a glug of maple syrup (or honey if you prefer) over them and also a glug of olive oil
. put in oven for 10 minutes then shuffle them around - you can carefully turn them each one over if you are pernickety (I'm not, I shuffle!)
. roast for another 10 minutes then they are done
. scrape any sticky gunk you see over any of them (I confess I usually eat it at once off the spoon).
. Keep them warm or serve at once.

They taste really good this way.

Not to everyone's taste but we often do jerusalem artichoke soup with cream and chives. Some people hate the flavour and some find it gives them terrible wind but most of our family love it.

Or parma ham with fresh melon or figs and very fine slices of toasted sourdough.

Or smoked salmon with lemon wedges.

Nothing too bulky.

Start a journal! I started mine in 2008 when I hosted my first Christmas.

No starter, we have smoked salmon on small bread squares and big juicy prawns and dip.

I cook the turkey using Delia's method - sit turkey on trivet of veg with splash of white wine and stock cube, butter, streaky bacon on top and cavity stuffed with orange & lemons and fresh herbs, then completely wrap in foil so bird steams, then remove for last 3/4 hour to brown.

Sprouts with crispy bacon lardons - delish.

I think it’s got to be a salad for a starter anything else is too filling, we usually have feta, watermelon and mint salad, really quick and easy, very refreshing and can be made in advance. The main just need to be a roast, personally I’d just buy a really nice dessert, I couldn’t be bothered messing with pastry when there are such nice ones available to buy.

We cook sausage rolls, all day and leave on the side on the counter and everyone can eat them hot as nibbles during the morning. We buy frozen ones 50 from Tesco for about £2.