Christmas dinner and table 🎄

[ShutupLwren]

Anyone written a Christmas dinner menu yet?
If so how many are you catering for?

Also has anyone got any nice new table wear or cutlery? I love this side of Christmas!

Not quite sure where we’ll be for Christmas dinner yet, but almost certain we’ll have brunch at ours. I’ve already decided on smoked salmon potato rosti (ever since I made it for DH on his birthday earlier this year). Regardless of where we eat Christmas dinner, I reckon it will fall on me to provide one of the desserts, in which case I’ll do Black Forest tiramisu for the adults.

We’re hosting. There’ll only be 5 of us (4 adults, 1 child). No menu but I can already tell you DH will be cooking:
Turkey
Sausage-meat stuffing
Braised red cabbage
Sprouts
Roast potatoes
Sweet potato mash
Roasted and boiled carrots
Cauliflower cheese
Green beans
Gravy

We’ll buy in desserts. Most likely cheesecake with cream and some sort if jam or syrup sponge with custard.

In the evening it’ll just be me and DH and we’ll have a little cheeseboard type thing.

Tableware etc - we’ve got a candy cane stripe table runner to go on top of a cream tablecloth. I’ve got some childish Christmas placemats (they look like letters to Santa).
I have the Spode Christmas tree set of plates so will use those, along with the gravy boat.

None of it will be fancy but it’s what we have and know everyone will like. A

Four of us again, and same tableware as usual. I haven't bought the crackers yet, but we have some paper napkins somewhere so they'll do. We always have a random selection of candles so one of them will go on there too. I like doing the same each year. It is a nice tradition, and one less thing I have to think about!

Catering for 14. Yikes.
But have done more 1 year.

Had been thinking to get new cutlery, but because less numbers, am thinking what we have will be ok.

Will try and dig out pots and pans and tablewear early.
Dont want a last minute rush on that.

Presume things will be traditional.
Not looking forward to big bill for turkey.

Oooh lovely idea for a thread.

My thoughts are turning towards Christmas now. Since school returned I’ve been restocking the freezer with lovely autumnal soups and stews, pie fillings. I cook ahead and freeze a fair bit for Christmas so even though I’m not quite at that stage yet, it’s percolating in the back of my mind.

Our menu is very traditional:
Turkey with dh’s great grandmothers stuffing scandalously (like herself) cooked in the bird!
Slow baked ham basted in my grandmother’s amazing orange, ginger and molasses sauce studded with cloves (this is the quintessential taste of Christmas to me)
Roast potatoes
A mix of roasted root vegetables
Carmelised brussels Sprouts
The rest of the sides and sauces depend on which guests are coming.

We veer from tradition with a chocolate biscuit pudding in place of plum pudding unless Fil is attending in which case it’s back on the menu, but fried in butter until crispy.
And in a nod to our 1970s childhoods, an enormous sherry trifle.

Numbers are still uncertain - definitely 7 but could be up to 12.

We typically host 3 or 4 dinners but this year, someone else is hosting everything except Christmas Day. It’s going to be a very relaxing season but I am missing planning those menus.

Pil’s downsized to a much smaller home this year and I’ve inherited a LOT of tableware that I need to sort through.

We have Christmas lunch at my sister's house and it is always amazing. Christmas eve is our traditional family lunch at home with a mustard maple glazed ham, roast potatoes and veg.

I have Christmas linens which are on a silver and white theme that go on the table every year. For Christmas eve it gets changed out to black and gold complete with gold coloured cutlery so it feels completely different.

I feel it goes from a crisp wintry theme to a cosy, snuggle down ready for bed feeling. I love thinking about Christmas as I do the decor in stages so it feels like Christmas is creeping in rather than all at once.

I have a non Christmassey but very festive red/green paisley patterned table cloth and some dark green napkins .
Last year I bought a set of nice glasses -nobody drinks wine , DH has beer . DD might have Smirnoff Ice . DS and I have soft drinks .
We have oval white plates for every day and some white serving dishes . Then I add in my random Spode and Portmerrion plates and bowls.
Cutlery is the everyday stuff with loads of big spoons and metal tongs .

We have -
roast plain chicken for DS and The Cats
Quorn Roast for the rest of us
Roast Potatoes - loads of them
Roast Parsnips
Swede Puree
Carrots
Sprouts
Vegetable Gravy
Yorkshire Puddings- home made
Sage and Onion Stuffing ((Paxo)
Red Cabbage -bought

I'll do a Syrup Steamed Pudding and theres ice-cream . Nobody wants Christmas Pudding after the meal . I have a couple in the pantry but might eat them in mid December

It is DH,DS,DD and me . All adults .

We used to do Christmas Dinner after dark and before Dr Who when Dr Who was worth watching . Candles on the table floating ones in a big bowl .
.
I've got LED candles and a poncey candleabra ( because of The Cats )

Oh the food sounds wonderful! I also love Christmas decor. I’m excited to rewatch nigellas Christmas specials!

I’m doing a turkey and a porchetta this year, but will make a ham at some point also. I’m very interested in ham recipes.

@lightand many years ago now, maybe even 17 of them now! I worked with lots of other single mums in a nursing home. On Christmas Day lots of us had to go and work for half days, about 11 of us, (some just had no family to spend it with) I lived closest to the home so we decided to bring all the kids over to mine, I’d cook a dinner and those on early shift had childcare and those late had it without disrupting the kids. I wasn’t due in until the evening either so it made sense. I did a massive amount of food (all gluten free and loads of veggie dishes!) and the cooks from the kitchen heard what we were doing and made us some lovely cakes and mince pies for our little ones and the home manager sent the bus driver to my house with spare seats and dining tables and plates and cutlery, because we were close to doing a bring your own plate because I only had 4 plates and a small table. It was so lovely. And some of the older staff who had families of their own bought some tins of chocolate for our kids or boxes of crackers. It was such a good year. And because we timed it perfectly like a relay race at work, we all got to eat together. Some of us even clashed (quite badly) in work but seeing our kiddos settled and happy and not having to go from place to place Christmas Day or worrying about childcare was great, not a cross word was had. It’s like my own little war time story 😂 I went in to do my part of the evening shift and when I got home the girls had even done the dishes and tidied away the mess. The kids were all in sugar comas watching Wallace and gromit. It was honestly one of my favourite Christmas days!

Now I’m a proper adult and I have a proper family to feed I’ve been eyeing up the Spode Christmas plates. But I also quite fancy the Eleanor bowmer things but it’s all so expensive.

Have you ever defrosted Linda McCartney sausages and added them to your stuffing with some sautéed mushrooms and onion? Absolutely game changing!

I did similar a few years back with vegetarian sausage (IIRC it was a dry packet mix that I added water and oil to . From Holland &Barrett )
I made sausagemeat stuffing for family when we had DParents/Bro/SiL , got some from the local butcher , so similar recipe .

I will give this a try with Richmond vegetarian sausage , they're my No1 Sausage of Choice

Oo about the LM sausages !
We have a tartan dinner set we get out at Christmas mixed with a few plain plates. Those are few now so hoping Asda has the Robin set in this year .I make crafty place settings then no bloody arguing over who sits where...first time using our big table in the lounge for lunch so a bit excited!

I’ve done Xmas dinner for the whole family for 16 years. We moved house two years ago into a complete fixer upper and haven’t been able to host for the last two years due to crap kitchen situation. It’s now being done and an extension added and I’m beyond excited to be able to host again in my new kitchen/diner.
I’m watching for inspiration! I also have to cater for a vegan which was tricky at first as 18 years ago there wasn’t as much to choose from as there is now.

I’ve been chatting with a vegan friend of mine, she said Aldi and marks and Spencer have some great vegan options for things like pigs in blankets and stuffing. I often buy the Sainsbury’s vegan main, often a butternut squash and roasted veg pie for just a meal for dp and I, it’s quite cheap and tasty and fancy for a meal leading up to Christmas. I’ll cook it with some roasted cauli and broccoli with a few boiled potatoes.
I would make some dishes vegan so roasted carrot and parsnips in maple and mustard, mashed carrot, swede, sweet potato with olive oil and some garlic, the best roasties I’ve made are from a food blogger named Amy shepherd who uses half vegetable oil and half olive oil for her roasties. Come out so crunchy every time, my family prefers them to goose fat or duck fat roasties. I don’t like the vegan cheese sauces but for something different how about a mushroom and red wine gravy? It’s much more difficult to find tasty vegan dishes than it is vegetarian over Christmas I’ve found. It’s such an indulgent time, cheese, cream, animal fats, honey. But there are going to be some swaps you can make that will be tasty for everyone without adding too much pressure on yourself.

We’ve a pescatarian guest so I will try out the roasties in veg and olive oils next time we have them, it will be great to have just the one lot usually do separate ones.

Expect at least 9 this year.

To start
Prawn cocktail crisps plus a festive flavour.
Mini yorkies with a sliver of roast beef and horseradish.
Main
Roast turkey, pigs in blankets, sausage meat stuffing, sage and onion stuffing balls, sliced tempeh, roasted onions, roast potatoes, honey roast parsnips, boiled baby potatoes, chantenay carrots, well boiled sprouts, swede & carrot mash, homemade cranberry sauce. Gravy & veggie gravy.
Puddings
Homemade Christmas pudding, iced rum sauce, rum butter or Jelly & vanilla ice cream or a steamed sponge pudding flavour tbc or Pandoro with cream and a fruit compote either berries or cherries tbc.

Will use existing table things, I have a few options and use our everyday white plates and dishes. I would like some festive side plates, haven’t seen any I love that are not expensive yet.

I’ve never made a Christmas pudding but I imagine that it’s delicious! George at Asda sometimes has lovely Christmas crockery very reasonably priced!

I think we've got 10 this year. I don't do a menu because I always make the exact same thing.

Nigellas Christmas morning muffins for opening presents

Eggs Benedict/royale/Florentine for brunch

Christmas dinner is served by candlelight at about 4pm;
Roast turkey basted in sage butter
Maple and orange glazed ham
Rosemary roast potatoes
Honey roast carrots with thyme
Maple glazed parsnips
Carrot and swede mash
Cauliflower cheese
Braised red cabbage with cranberries, orange zest and port
Sprouts pan fried with chestnuts and pancetta
Pigs in blankets
Yorkshire puddings
Sausage meat stuffing
Apricot and chestnut stuffing
Veggie sausages for SIL (I tried doing her a nut roast one year but she's partial to a Linda McCartney sausage)
Turkey gravy made with port
Cranberry and orange sauce

Pudding is mixed fruit sherry trifle made to my Nana's recipe
Then I'll buy an Xmas pudding and whatever chocolate monstrosity m&s are offering this year.

The cheese and biscuits will be plentiful if anyone has the room!

Then I cook nothing and we eat leftovers for a week. I'm going to be roughly 37 weeks pregnant with baby 3 at Xmas this year so I've told my brother he needs to come over from the states in case I can't cook because he's the only person I know who would make every aspect of Christmas dinner in exactly the same way as me. 🤣

I love setting the Christmas table. I always have a colour theme, but my favourite is white, green and silver. I’ve had red and green, or mauve purple and gold in the past. I always have candles. We eat by candlelight at about 4.00pm when it’s just starting to get dark. A toast to absent family and friends and Christmas carols playing in the background. Just perfect.

You’ll be huge! Can you pre-make things for the freezer and just dole out instructions to heat?

One year I made Linda McCartney sausage stuffing, stuffed into a mushroom for a veggie friend, then fried some sage in brown butter to make the top look festive. Not this year you have enough to sort but if she’s not opposed to a mushroom it’s different. Your menu sounds lovely. They all do. Can’t beat a good Christmas roast!

We will have thirteen on the big day.
My menu never really changes.

Pate with toast and onion chutney
Thai crab cakes
Seafood cocktail
Baked Camembert
Melon for the fussy children

Turkey
Fillet of beef
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing
Roast potatoes
Mash
Asparagus wrapped in Parma ham
Cauliflower cheese
Carrots
Broccoli
leek with nutmeg and cream
Yorkies - yes I know, controversial
Gravy

Puddings I’m not 100% certain but probably
Sticky toffee pudding made by dh, because it really is amazing.
Pavlova with cherries
Christmas pudding
Choclate mousse
Lemon tart
Cheese board

I absolutely love hosting and cooking at Christmas.
We spread the meal out over several hours.

@Springbuck crikey, you’d have to eat that over several days let alone hours but it sounds delicious!

I know 🤦‍♀️

In both previous pregnancies I'd have been capable of doing it as I was pretty active right until the end, but you never know what's going to happen so I'm pretty much reliant on my brother showing up and doing most of it if I'm honest. Dh's family are of the "oh we don't need to go over the top" persuasion and I can confirm that it's Christmas and we absobloodylutely DO need to go over the top. So they can't be allowed in the kitchen.

We'll do some prep in advance but I do prefer it all made on the day, it'll be fine! I hope 🤞

We are down under and will have 6.

Glazed ham
Turkey roll
Tomato tart

Carrots on whipped feta
Herby potatoes
Lemony roasted courgette and capsicum
Broccolini

Not sure yet for dessert!