What are you cooking over the Christmas period?

[Startuplife]

I’ve got at least 3 dinners with friends and family to host outside of Christmas Day so looking for inspiration of Christmassy meals that don’t include turkey.
Bonus points for starter and dessert suggestions.

Sausage plait - great recipe, and very straightforward once I had Googled how to make pastry plait! Probably smoked salmon pate or something fishy for starter!
Venison sausage and chestnut casserole - this freezes really well, so I’ll make it a few weeks ahead. I won’t be making a starter with this.
Mushroom, chestnut and goat’s cheese filo pie (with spiced parsnip soup for starter)
Honey and mustard glazed gammon, creamed cabbage and some sort of potato dish!

Puddings:
Ferrero rocher cheesecake
Bailey’s tiramisu
Black Forest ice cream sundae

Thanks for the thread - just about to start planning my big food shop!

We are only hosting one small get together for 6 people in the run up. I am planning on doing a few dishes for people to help themselves, such as:

• Butternut squash, sage and ricotta wreath made with croissant pastry
• honey and mustard chipolatas
• winter salad
• hassleback roasted new potatoes
• garlic chicken skewers
• baked camembert with nice bread

Then a selection of picky festive sweet things for dessert like pannatone, mince pies, stolen etc Now need to think of a nice cocktail to make when they arrive...

Over actual Christmas:

Christmas eve - jerk rum ham roasted with pineapple slices, with salad, fried egg and chips

Christmas day - blueberry French toast for breakfast, roast turkey and trimmings, a yule log for dessert which is brownie instead of sponge and filled with salted caramel. Cheese board, pickles etc.

Boxing day - sausage roll wreath, party food

After - turkey curry

We have a traditional ham on Christmas Eve but then on Boxing Day my DH makes a gorgeous leftover ham Thai red curry - honestly, it’s my favourite meal of the year!

Inasec24 sounds delicious, can I come?

Lamb curry with sag aloo is on the list
I’ve also ordered this pie

A ham on Christmas eve.

Probably beef on Christmas day.
I'll buy a dessert. Prawn cocktail to start.

Leftovers on boxing day.

Not cooking, but, a meal out or takeaway on NYE, most likely an Indian.

We have Lancashire hot pot with pickled red cabbage on Christmas Eve. It goes in the oven before we go to Mass and it is perfect for when we get back. I can't believe that I'm admitting this but we have tinned fruit and condensed milk for pudding. Christmas Day is a turkey at my PIL's so I'll skip over that. On Boxing Day we start with either smoked salmon or cold lobster with home-baked granary bread; then a roast fore rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, Brussels sprouts and peas and carrots. We finish up with stollen and whipped cream.

Curry
Massive ham
Lasagne

24th - Scandi spread ( gravalax, prawns, black bread, Janssens Temptation)
25th - Indian Christmas dinner (from a blogger DS1 follows)
26th - cold cuts
Rest of holidays:
ham, tallegio and bread pudding
coronation turkey pie
turkey schwarma
fish soup
beef Wellington ( NYE)

Haha sure!

TBH- haven't even thought about this year as renovating- and may not even be in the house by then! Some previous things I'd done:

• prawn cocktail
• Beetroot gravalax
• Smoked salmon mouse terrine (made the day before) www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/individual-smoked-salmon-terrines-for-christmas/
• Soup
• 1/2 mini squash stuffed- kuri or acorn squash work well

• Rib of beef
• Tomahawk steaks between 2
• Duck
• Goose
• Leg of lamb

• Pavlova
• Next level fruit salad with some tropical fruit included
• Jelly/fruit ring (not the recipe I've used before, but to give you the idea) www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sangria-gelatin-ring/
• Home made plum pudding (boiled in a bag)

Sounds nice. Can I come? 😂

Lasagne
stew and dumplings or pie
whole salmon
chicken thigh curry
sausage and bean casserole
frankferter pasta
fish pie

home made sausage rolls
cheese straws
prawn cocktail on a lettuce boat
mini roasts with Camembert and cranberry,cream cheese and salmon
pea and mint crostini

lemon mirangue pie
eton mess
pavlova
ginger log
mince pies on tap
sticky toffee
treacle sponge

We have still not finalised what we are doing on Christmas Day. If we are not having dinner at home we will not have leftovers, so will end up cooking different things which are as yet undecided.

If there are left overs, there will be bubble and squeak and probably a jerk with pea rice which will cover 2 days.

There is likely to be gammon one day with cauli cheese, roasties and green beans. I will have a vegan alternative.

I will probably make a curry one day and a lasagne or some other pasta dish.

Perhaps a stew or casserole of some description especially if it is really cold/have some of the white stuff.

Mushroom and chestnut wellingtons.
Nut loaf with nuts and chestnuts.
Roasties.

We’re having fish on Christmas Eve. Turkey roast Christmas Day. For lunch on Boxing Day we’ll have Christmas ham sandwiches/rolls and salad, then in the afternoon DD and I are going to the panto and DP and DS are going to the football so we’ll probably have a McDonalds for tea.

I like to keep it simple between Christmas and New Year so things like fish and chips, sausages and chips, spaghetti bol, curry etc.

It’s DD’s birthday first week in Jan so we’ll combine NYD meal with her birthday and do another roast either beef or pork with Yorkshire puddings followed by woodland strudel and custard.

for entertaining;
French onion soup, tartiflette and lemon tart ( big on calories but yum!) maybe one for after a big walk!

Smoked salmon blinis, porchetta with dauphinoise, green beans and broccoli, and orange and cardamom cream

thai fish cakes, red Thai curry and chicken with chilli and basil with rice then mango and sticky rice

or
Baked Thai seabass ( a Jamie recipe) with a lightish starter and fruity dessert

No idea yet! We are being hosted from Christmas Eve to the 27th but are hosting for several days over New Year, so need a few ideas <watches thread>. Dh will probably do most of the cooking though, do he'll come up with something good.

Traditionally I make the main a stuffed nut roast. I made it on Christmas Eve and then DH does the spuds and veggies but it killed me every year. My arthritis plays up a lot and this year my hands are worse.
I used to be a good cook and baker. I think those days might be behind me and I’m only 41 but there are loads more ready made vegan mains now that are really nice so all is not lost.

We're vegetarian except DS

Lasagne , I make 2 and freeze one
Soup, recently got a soup maker and it is amazing with whatever veg is in the fridge . Also great with leftover frozen roasted or cooked potatoes as a thickener
Vegetarian chilli (made ahead) wth nachoes

Christmas Eve is Vegetable grills , triple cooked chips and dips . (Fish for DS)
Christmas Day he has chicken, we have Quorn roast and a nut roast with all the trimmings
Boxing Day is always homemade pizza , the dough gets mixed forst thing and slow rises through the day . I make a tomato/herb sauce

Puddins will be Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple Crumble
Christmas pudding on Christmas Day
Ice-cream

Fish pie, used to be a regular Christmas Eve dinner, meatball lasagne took over. Starters roast red pepper soup, garlic and chilli prawn literally fry off crushed garlic and a whole slit chilli after a minute or two add raw prawns fry for a couple of minutes until they're pink.