Last year I went all out and made everthing all swanky a la Nigella, Jamie etc - the sprouts were done with marsala, chestnuts and pancetta, bought goose fat for the roasties, braised red cabbage with apples, spices etc, parsnips with maple syrup and rosemary.
I was bloody knackered!! And the stress of buying all the ingredients like star anise, marsala (which is still in the cupboard, minus the 2 tablespoons I needed for the sprouts) And I spent the whole of Xmas dinner pathetically asking 'what do you think of the sprouts etc' and whilst everyone was 'hmm, yes, lovely', no one actually went WOW, I love these sprouts.
So, this year I'm thinking of going back to plainer stuff. I have my parents, 2 brothers, and PIL, for dinner, along with the 5 of us - so it's stressful enough without faffing over the food. So, this year I'm going back to basics -
Stuffing - which will be made with breadcrumbs, sausage meat, onion, and fresh parsley - and most definitely NOT Nigella's gingerbread stuffing....still lol at PIL's faces when confronted with dark brown, salty, spicy, yet citrusy stodge as stuffing
Roasties - no almost passing out in Tescos on 23rd Dec this year because the goose fat's all sold out, and spending an afternoon I had planned to spend with DD making gingerbread and cookies, running round every supermarket in town til I found some. Oh no, this year my spuds will be roasted in Trex, which makes them crispier than goose fat anyway, and costs a hell of a lot less.
Oh, and mashed potatoes. Didn't do any last year because I though we had so much stuff, no-one would miss them. Oh, yes they did!
Roasted parnips, just plain with maybe some garlic.
Sprouts, just tossed in butter
Bread Sauce (an old Delia recipe where you stud an onion with cloves, boil it up, and then keep in the fridge over night, and just warm it up and add the bread)
Cranberry Sauce (will buy ready made in a tub, last years fresh cranberrys had about 2lbs of sugar in, and still tasted like lemons)
Gravy - again, I'm going to buy a tub of fresh gravy, and will add some of the juices from the bird. Will NOT try to make stock from the turkey giblets, it was stinking.
For pud my mums making a pavlova, and I'll make a trifle with jelly...last year did a fresh raspberry one, with madiera cake, posh rasp jam, freshly made custard, fresh rasps, and the disappointment on my brother's faces that there was no jelly in the trifle ...they're grown men by the way!