Christmas Eve meal suggestions please

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

We've got 8 people for Christmas. They all arrive between 21st and 23rd Dec. I've got food sorted for the 23rd (lasagne) but am struggling for ideas for Christmas Eve.

My Mum won't eat anything spicy, which rules out curry. One person doesn't eat nuts (not allergic, just doesn't like them). I'm doing salmon on the 22nd for 6 of us so don't want to repeat that although am happy to do a different fish.

I was wondering about doing a buffet style meal but that is lot of work unless I buy it all which will be too expensive.

I was wondering about jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings but is that too boring for Christmas Eve? One of the guests will be my 20 year old niece who I haven't seen for 5 years so I want to make it special.

Any ideas?

Totally would work and if you wanted to add a little colour you could always add frozen peas and/or baked/grilled tomatoes.

I recently bought a M&S Trifle Caked Alaska Frozen 720g, and it was bloody delicious. Can also recommend their Creamy Coconut ice cream Bars.

My go to on Christmas eve if I have people coming. Ham in coke, prep ahead, cauliflower cheese, prep ahead, roast potatoes, prep ahead and usually make delias Cumberland sauce ahead too. Pop everything in oven and serve, maybe have some peas/ green beans for colour

Mushroom Wellington

Risotto of some kind with nice bread and salad

A 'picky' table of things like cheese, olives, crackers, figs, warm festive salad, breads, hummus etc.

Cinnamon is a spice. As it nutmeg, and turmeric, and cardamom and cumin. It doesn't automatically mean hot, you know. The heat is in cayenne pepper, in chilli, in ginger and garlic, to a lesser extent.

Otherwise mince pies and Christmas cake, and ginger biscuits would be inedible to those who don't like the heat of curry or chilli.

As a pp said, there's a big difference between "spicy" and "spiced". I guess the distinction is too subtle for some people.

It's my 81 year old Mum who can't do anything hot/spicy. She can do non hot spices like pilau or biryani if they don't have chillies in them.

That sounds yummy.

I want to know what French dips are as well!

I'd love that but buying a Chinese takeaway for 8 is sadly beyond my budget given that I'm buying and cooking for Christmas day as well.

Pie fish with broccoli is my suggestion.

I’d be making life very easy for myself and ordering in a Chinese takeaway for everyone! No prep or mess cooking, plates in the dishwasher - done. Or pizza. Well, anything takeaway!

Fish pie as a few people have suggested, or some sort of beef casserole - I cook casserole beef in a bottle of red wine with shallots and lardons in the slow cooker. Serve with mash, or rice/pasta. If there are vegetarians (I'm one) I also do a veggie chilli (very mild)

Soup, cheese, lovely breads and a nice pud

As you have planned salmon already I would go light and mederteranian (considering the gluttony of the next few days.

Warm pitta bread, hummous, babaganoush, pate, salami, cheese, feta salad, boiled eggs, stuffed vine leaves, Balsamic dressing etc etc

Hot fruit based pudding, peach tart tatin, crumble, strudel or just fruit sorbets. A pallet cleanser before the big day.

Just go out for a pub dinner

There's 8 of us. I can't afford to pay £300+ for a meal on Christmas Eve.

We normally have gammon with new potatoes and parsley sauce plus some green veg. It works well.

Or you could glaze a Christmas gammon and use it to make a fancier version of ham, egg and chips.

How about oven baked prawn and pea risotto?

Pears in red wine is a nice light pudding

I'm undecided at the moment, but it's likely going to be either:

(a) Chinese takeaway type dinner - but not a takeaway - so veg stir fry noodles, asian style chicken wings (possibly korean BBQ) and store bought snacky things like prawn toasts, mini spring rolls, some tempura prawns, or

(b) jacket potato bar with (tinned) beef chilli, maybe some chickpea curry, beans, grated cheese, various salady veg plus a green salad on the side.

Both these are spicy, but you could do non-spicy options. We actually went and got a Chinese takeaway last year, but that is a bit of an odyssey and expensive. Closest one is a 20 minute drive, plus need to park, and dh/BIL disappeared off to source it and went to the pub while waiting and it just took forever, plus we still ended up paying for the bloody thing! The whole point of suggesting a takeaway was to get someone else to offer to pay, since we were paying for all of Christmas and a week's worth of food and drinks and snacks and chocolates for dh's family who rock up every year to be fed and watered. But alas, we ended up paying for the takeaway too. 😡So this year, making it for cheap at home.

For about 10 years when it was just my mum and I for Christmas (single parent and only child), we'd go out for Chinese on Christmas, so I do like a Christmas Chinese. 😊

I've never heard of pears in red wine hut that sounds amazing! Do you have a recipe?

We always have soup, baguettes, cheese board and sometimes sausage rolls too. Easy to make and quite light considering the rich meal the next day.

We have Xmas dinner of my countries way on Xmas eve but for nine guests we are serving beef casserole one evening. The other night we have Chinese. Mil doesn't like spicy food so I make sweet sour chicken, which doesn't have chilli, and also chilli beef dish. Those are accompanied by shop bought spring rolls and dumplings. We also have egg fried rice and noodles.

I can't lay my hands on the recipe I made, but was something like this. Very easy (and I don't even like red wine, but do like this)
https://www.recipesmadeeasy.co.uk/pears-poached-in-red-wine/

Most of these suggestions are just ordinary everyday meals.
Boring and predictable.
For Christmas Eve surely you want something a bit special or interesting, yet easy.
I'd probably do a cold luxury buffet with something hot like a big dauphinois potatoes. And lots of home made meringues with bowls of creams (M and S have champagne, baileys, strawberry etc) and some berries. If you can be bothered you could make a home made ice cream too. People can make their own desserts then.

Fish Pie is a shout but I have taken to make Christmas Eve a little easier, homemade sausage rolls (they are really easy if you buy the ready rolled puff pastry), cheese board, chutneys, cooked ham and this year i have ordered serrano home on the bone which can be sliced as required...chocolate log and christmas cake for afters

serrano ham not home

One thing that is a winner is a whole camembert in the oven for 15 mins so it is gooey and bread stick for dipping! Winner in my house and not expensive