Is there such a thing as an easy christmas dinner ??

[colette]

We are about to ask MIL and family to xmas at ours for the fist time. Last year was not much fun, they spent even more time than usual in the kitchen refusing offers of help whilst dd wondered why we had rushed her away from all her new pressies to sit waiting , and why we couldn't open any presents. Meanwhile ds was getting cabin fever and eyeing up all the chocs on the tree/ ornaments that looked interesting to play with/ bird cage to shake/ hostess trolley to check out the wheels on... aaaaghhh . Mil does the full turkey with all the trimmings quite formally and looks exhausted by the evening.In fact fell asleep last year.
So what should I cook ? (I don't even like turkey anyway)that I can pretty much prepare the day before. Any other tips for spending time with the family and breaking with tradition would be gratefully received

Carameli where do I get Joubere gravy? Thanks for the tips

Waitrose and Sainsburys stock the Joubere ranges Colette.
They do gravy (beef and chicken) stocks, bread sauce which is excellent, almost worth having turkey for, and a nice fresh cranberry and port sauce.

Thanks marina

I think I'll cheat and go to M&S as well, sounds good. We're having lamb this year, what kind of thing to you serve with lamb and what kind of gravy.

Nigella's recipe for Butterflied leg of lamb (from How to Eat) is excellent. The diced roast potatoes she suggests are v. good too. The whole arrangment takes just over an hour to cook, preparation can be done the night before.

I do the traditional turkey dinner but the easy version
Ready basted Crown roast (M&S and Iceland)
Fresh ready prepared veg like sprouts,( I stir fry the sprouts with fried bacon.
Selection pack including sausgaes in bacon and stuffing balls.
The key words are ready prepared.

Don't go trying new recipes on the day, if you must at least do a trial run.

turkey slices from tesco - why cook a big bird? all that defrosting crap and cooking for 17 hours and is it cooked is it not - and having to buy it 3 weeks before becuase tesco always run out then it takes up 2 shelves in your freezer and you cant freeze anything else.

make yourself happy this xmas. its really not about matching plates and napkins and carving a big bird.

lifes too short for all that shit - why worry over these things.

Agree with CD - it doesn't need to be such a big deal. The timing is the key and doing as much preparation in advance so your day isn't all tied up. It doesn't need to be very fancy to taste good.

If you don't want to do turkey how about a ham. You can boil or pressure cook it , then finish in the oven. If anyone prefers turkey just buy a boneless prepared joint and roast it alongside.

Thats why i like the crown roast, you take it out the night before and then stick it in the oven in its dish.

I avoid anything that starts with 6.00am- preheat oven.

Great advice - but yesterday bil phoned up to say mil is a bit upset that we don't want to go there and that they (mil) went to her parents for "as long as they were able to xmas" aaagggh.
She had not even told dh she did not want to come , was checking bil would come to theirs.
Ffs ..
Anyway dh is fine and has a better attitude to it than me and is looking forward to our 1st real xmas. Last year mil was out in the lane that they live in filming neighbours arriving dressed up as santa whilst we waited for about an hour inside!! dd kept saying when are we going to open the presents??
To make myself feel better I asked dd what she would like to do at Xmas and she said "what we usually do" I am determined to make it the best xmas the children have ever had, so all your tips (non expensive) are welcome. We have always gone to mil and she is a control freak.

I am going to cook a simple dinner just for us thanks again for the tips.

That was meant to be "for as long as they were able to do xmas"

Take your dh's lead when it comes to dealing with MIL's- I have a particularly bad example of a MIL (ie This Morning wanted to feature her as worst MIl in the world!!!! If only I had the guts....), I always doubt my own judgement and would ahte to come between her and Dh (why bother she does that herself) so I just follow him. That assumes a supportive Dh of course, and not a toadying mummys boy.

To me, the ultimate Christmas is the one laid on by my Dad (he takes over from Mum at Christmas), and you know what? no starters, no table dressings, no napkins unless pound land had a special, no bottles of advocaat just in case and no cocktails night before- night before is pub as a family and takeaway, Christmas Day is a huge meal but no silly frills- packet bread sauce and stuffing, bisto gravy. Drinks are bought (generously!) accorsing to what will actually be drunk, they phone to ask beforehand. A few times I have done the full gourmet works here and it never matched up, coz atmosphere and relaxation is all. I wouldn't do turkey slices myself as they can be a bit synthetic in texture, but a crown roast, ham or lamb is superb! Dad often does venison as an altenative to turkey. Shove on a few store bought accompaniments (red currant jellies, apple sauce etc) and you're on a winner. I DO try to buy the stuff I can't be arsed to make for special meals at M&S, that's just personal though. I hear Waitrose is good, not one for about 200 miles though!!! LOL.

Boxing Day I MAY be cooking for mad MIL, as she is a confectioner / chef by trade it's stressful, so this year it's just salmon, new pots, beans and maybe a hollandaise. Ready made fresh hollandaise. Simple, no stress.

Thanks ppp, you are very good cooking for mil boxing day . Yes we will have a non stuffy delicious relaxed meal. It usually takes hours to clear up at mil. Dh very rarely lets mil get under his skin , he ignores bad behaviour !

Your dad sounds great

Tis the season of goodwill and she has had it hard too... not least the fact that after cooking for her, will be visiting FIL and his new fiancee who got together last Christmas whilst she thought all was rosy.

Dad is great. Wasn't always, is now, love him to bits for how he changed his life . And for christmas, of course!

Well enjoy it ppp. Life is never simple is it. Off to dishes whilst ds is asleep.

Not sure if this is easier, but I felt so much better about Christmas dinner when someone reminded me that it realy only is sunday lunch with a bigger bird!