Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Not having turkey for Christmas dinner

124 replies

MamaFi · 17/12/2009 13:05

and if you're not what are you having?

We're having home-made parsnip soup then big prawns and smoked salmon then 10oz fillet steaks / potato dauphinoise / veg finished off with a massive belgian chocolate yule log and posh ice cream.

Are we bonkers... are we the only ones in the world not having turkey? Turkey meat/cranberry sauce/stuffing etc isn't my idea of a treat... I'm guessing I'm in the minority.??!!

OP posts:
christiana · 19/12/2009 09:31

Message withdrawn

MamaFi · 19/12/2009 10:12

Wow, I think you've answered my question! I'm not in the minority! Some lovely ideas as well... you all sound like amazing cooks/foodies!

OP posts:
annatw9 · 19/12/2009 12:03

i am putting together a vegetarian meal for 7 adults, 1 child (one of us is vegan, 2 are veggie). we are having home made tomato and basil soup, followed by roast main - roast carrots and parsnips., yorkshire pud, roast potatoes a al delia, and linda mccartney veggie turkey with stuffing in the middle. its actually quite tasty and somehow lets off some juices of its own from somewhere! i have just returned to vegetarianism after 10 years eating meat, very excited! dessert- home made individual apple pies with cream (all vegan friendly), and individual chocolate mousses. yum yum!

HerbalHolly · 19/12/2009 12:27

Christmas eve at my house we're having roast beef with a range of buffet stuff - salmon mousse, potato salad, walnut bread, spicy red cabbage, cheeses and apples and some sort of thick soup - many people and not enough chairs. Christmas day at parents' house one of their chickens (he'd been a naughty boy and was dispatched for being too noisy)and duck with all the usual xmassy trimmings. Can't wait. Yum Yum.

HerbalHolly · 19/12/2009 12:28

Swedish feast sounds lush!!!

christiana · 19/12/2009 16:21

Message withdrawn

AliGrylls · 19/12/2009 18:41

People who say turkey is tasteless and dry either have no idea how to buy it or how to cook it. Admittedly, a good (free range) turkey is expensive, but it is Christmas day and certainly cheaper than quality beef for beef wellington.

And, as for those who say it is boring, you have probably had less days eating turkey in your life than any other meat!

christiana · 19/12/2009 19:01

Message withdrawn

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 19/12/2009 21:31

just about everything about traditional xmas dinner makes my stomach turn! But then again its not traditional for me as I'm not english. But, woe is me, DH's family have the most boringly conventional palates ever to be found on earth. So no escape from the turkey I'm afraid

I've volunteered to do the veggies this year. At least this way I can save myself from their bland watery no hint of spice concoctions at least I can use normal potatoes instead of nothing-but-starch Irish potatoes. Can even sneak in some bay leaves and pepper!

Where i come from xmas is no big deal but the new year menu is a 3-course buffet meal so big you could spend the rest of january trying to sqeeze into your pre-festive jeans again! It's believed that the fuller the new year's table the more prosperous the year ahead.

My personal favourites:
caviar, caviar, caviar
porcini mushroom paste on crusty white bread
prunes/apricots stuffed with almonds/walnuts under whipped cream
spicy prawns
desserts desserts I've so many favourites I don't know where to start.. how about Napoleon cake? Puff pastry layered with thick custardy sauce and dusted with grated walnuts. Yummmmmmmmmm

Please get bigger little man so we can all go and visit my family!

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 19/12/2009 21:36

(bit of DS's menu -
starter: boobie
main: booby
dessert: booby
on tap!)

christiana · 19/12/2009 21:59

Message withdrawn

wollysocks · 19/12/2009 23:22

went shopping today and ended up with no meat! just read ideas and like the idea of beef wellington, can I get this from M & S?

we were going to go for duck but none in sainsbury's...was going to a butcher up the road.

DP just said "but you don't like beef" so I said "well i could try a bit and fill up with veg" but i don't consider myself vegetarian as I love chicken and duck, how mad is that, or me?

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 20/12/2009 00:14

christiana - erm yeah, but it's not the easiest/quickest recipe I'm afraid.. tho if you use ready-made puff pastry (either baked or chilled for you to bake) you might get away with under 30 min cooking that's not including resting time tho

if you can face the hassle of making puff pastry from scratch you can use pretty much any online recipe - look for videos or step-by-step photos tho as the rolling bit is tricky. (The only time I tried I did it over 2 days! - when I used to live with my parents I'd usually leave it up to my mum to make the pastry, I'd just do the sauce )

The sauce recipe is as follows:

Ingredients
600 ml double cream OR 400 ml milk + 100 g unsalted butter (I prefer cream)
2 eggs
100 ml (half cup) sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour/potato flour
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 to 1/2 vanilla pod (depends how you like it) OR vanilla essence to taste
optional but highly recommended 1-4 tablespoons of baileys, brandy or whiskey (adjust quantities depending on how naughty you feel )

Method
beat the eggs (I recommend a blender - takes ages with a hand-held whisk!), slowly pouring in sugar as you go. Keep beating until you have a thick whitish paste. Fold in cornflour and flour and whisk again (I add by increments-whisk-add more-whisk but that's not essential)

Heat the cream/milk+butter and vanilla in a non-stick pan, stirring gently until simmering. (Use a 20cm pan or larger as your sauce will rise quite a bit when you add the egg mixture.)

When the cream/milk starts simmering turn the hob right down (to 1 if electric or just about burning if gas). Pour egg mixture in slowly, stiring vigorously all the time. Initially your sauce will rise, possibly as much as twofold, then reduce. Do continue to stir until you see it reduce and turn butter-yellowish. Take off the heat, whisk quickly once more and let cool, then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (or freezer for half an hour if you're in a rush, but make sure it doesn't freeze!). Remove the vanilla pod. Add the alcohol and whisk.

Make the cake
Cut your pastry into 4-6 sheets. Layer the sheets with sauce (put some sauce on the top sheet as well), dust with some grated walnuts or almonds (walnuts work better IMHO). Decorate with some berries if you like (raspberries or blueberries work best). Leave to rest in the fridge overnight or for 24 hrs.

ENJOY!

PS the sauce is my personal favourite - I put it in choux buns and eclairs as well

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 20/12/2009 00:16

wollysocks not mad at all, I can't stomach red meat, don't mind lean poultry (but not turkey! - too greasy) and love fish and seafood. My staple diet is veggies tho.

ClaudiaSchiffer · 20/12/2009 04:28

We are having, lobster, prawns, oysters (ugh), greek salad, some other fancy salad, hot rolls, turkey breast stuffed and cooked on the Weber, ham, crisps, dips, chocs, pavlova and cherries.

All in 30 degree heat.

Yayyyyyy

christiana · 20/12/2009 08:12

Message withdrawn

PincoPallino · 20/12/2009 11:29

WhoSlept... that sounds so so yummi. Might try myself.
Idiot question. Do you layer it in a dish like lasagna?

winnybella · 20/12/2009 11:43

We're having foie gras, goose, roasted potatoes in goose fat, veggies, mince pies.

I'm doing Polish Christmas Eve dinner which includes such delicacies as marinated herring, wild mushroom and sauerkraut dumplings, wild mushroom soup and carp in jelly. DP is terrified of herring and says you don't eat carp in the UK, you just don't .

mafi · 20/12/2009 17:42

we are veggies, so it will probably be parsnip soup and butternut squashed stuffed with walnuts, rice and feta cheese. And plenty of Christmas pudding for the ones who like it.

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 20/12/2009 22:03

Pinco never thought of using a lasagne dish but why not, good idea actually I just do it on a plate and say a little 'please don't topple' prayer! I think my mum chucks it all on a small pastry board. At the end of the day it's not the presentation that matters but the taste, right?

As for where i come from.. short of being too precise, lets just say eastern europe. NOT in the EU

WhoSleptInMyPorridgeAndBrokeIt · 20/12/2009 22:16

marinated herring.. your hubby might be right there, winnybella, that's a rather strange delicacy. Not sure how the Poles do it but in my home country it's served cold under a bed of cooked beetroot and a layer of mayonnaise. The resulting concoction is called 'herring in a fur coat'. I hate it, just hate it. Yuk!

BTW all ye veggies, if you're up for trying some eastern european, go for veg dumplings, stuffed pancakes (blinis) and soups. E eur soups are very rich and yummy! They don't go as a starter, rather a subsrantial dish in their own right. Mushroom soup, ummmmm, I could sell my own mother for good mushroom soup!

eidsvold · 20/12/2009 22:22

No turkey here in Aus - seafood and ham

PincoPallino · 21/12/2009 11:26

WhoSlept I was only asking because I could imagine me doing it and all that cream coming out from the sides.... I really want to try it...hmmm yummieeeee.

GinGirl · 21/12/2009 12:48

We're going veggie here too.

Starter: None, will have had porridge for breakfast
Main: Roast butternut squash, mushroom and spinach lasagne. With roast potatoes, carrots, parsnips and red cabbage.
Pudding: home made raspberry and limoncello trife

Tea: Crumpets and white chocolate and cranberry flapjack

Mostly prepared on Christmas Eve so that I have as much time as possible to spend with DH and the girls.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page