OK serious foodies alert!!!!!! Run us through what you're planning for your Christmas and new year celebrations!

[moondog]

No talk of Paxo or Bisto puhleeeeeeeze!!!!!!

How about the booze issue????

I think Christmas Eve will be a seafood feast as usual (crabs from the lleyn peninsula are the best in the world!)
Lashings of Miuscadet to accompany and perhaps tropica lfruit afterwards.

Christmas Day.......goose and stuffed apples with spiced red cabbage,brussel sprouts,root vegetable mash (turnip,parsnip and carrots with cream and nutmeg) and roast potatoes. Good Burgundy avec
Smoked salmon and caviar blinis to start with vats of Champagne.
Christmas pudding,Stilton and oatcakes with a Sauternes.

New Years Eve....rolled pork belly and quince compote followed by a pavlova. Not sure of the accompaniments or the wine at present.

Over to you lot.....

ha - enid you havent met dx. With whom I will be spending the (non) festive season [sulk]

Christmas Eve - Lambrini and smart price mince pies to accompany last minute gift wrapping

Christmas day - Breakfast will consist of making sure the children don't eat too much chocolate by eating most of it ourselves.

Christmas lunch - the usual turkey with paxo! followed by shop bought trifle, finest lambruso bianco and maybe some more chocolate.

Christmas night party - a selection of the highest quality £1.99 wines and fine buffet of pre-packed frozen canapes rounded of with tongue in cheek.

god that sounds horrible

Enid, hope you noted the final course on tongue in cheek!

oops, was meant to read 'final course of tongue in cheek' !

Ha ha,very good Cathy! As I began to read,was muttering
'You have no place here...begone prole!!!!!' until I saw the light.

I came over all queer for a second.........

Can't go wrong with salmon for starters...or how about crabs or boiled shell on prawns with a home made mayonnaise?

For the carrots,I would cut into batons,boil/steam for a very short time (if at all) then saute in butter/oil and garlic and thyme,finishing off with a good squeeze of lemon.

beety - I'll tell you what I did last year - if you tell me what you did (also stuck for starter).

slice french stick very thin, drizzle with olive oil, tiny bit of parmesan - cook in oven til golden (you can do this day before); on the day put 2 pieces on each plate with salad of crumbled blue cheese rocket, cucumber and bit of red onion. peel and slice pears, fry in butter and put on top. totally gorgeous.

is it just me or does a blue cheese rocket sound like something out of Wallace and Grommit?

It is gorgeous - favourite of mine from my Donna Hay book - she does lots of warm salady things where you don;t need to worry about quantities and where you can miss something out if you haven't got it. she's ace. But can't find anything to inspire me this year.

Ah yes, Issymum - I think what you are proposing is a variant on the the classic "I would of course have an interesting life/make more home made things/play more interesting and varied games with the children/attend some questionable social events if only I didn't have to work so hard" excuse. That is one of my all time favourites: in reality I think I'm a bit of a "lie on the sofa" type and its only work that stops me making a career out of it .

Christmas Eve- Lunch - Homemade sweetpotato and carrot soup with homemade bread
Supper- Rosemary Chicken and polenta with green salad

Christmas Day - Lunch - Roast beef/Yorkshire pudding/roasted parsnips/potatoes and veg
Christmas pudding/Yule Log

Supper- Buffet for IL's, various canapes/cheeseboard/cold meats/salads etc
Homemade mince pies

Boxing Day - SIL's for Indian Banquet

Must add am not a serious foodie, but do love cooking and most of all eating and at least this year don't have to worry about my waistline.
Will be strange to not down champagne with my Panettone at breakfast or have smoked salmon but hey ho!

Beetroot,how about a sorbet or a granita...even a fruit salad (loved my grandmother's grapefruit and orange which we invariably had all through the 70s)?
Pomegranate would be a nice (and rather trendy addition). I am hooked on pomegranate molasses from Turkey-dh has a supplier in his office. God,it is good.

Arguably,one needs less not more.I am definitely aiming for the quality not quantity this Christmas (must be getting old...)

Have just bought some local smoked salmon from the travelling fish man who comes here once a week.God it is good.

Anchovy and Issymum, I am using Busyness and Bereavement as ahem a similar excuse. Am contemplating sending DP to Jakarta (long story) to bale out Family Emergency as another escape mechanism but even I realise that may be a little extreme.

Er, I will not be imbibing the delicious red wine, champagne, sake and vodka martinis etc etc I have ready and waiting in the cupboard because my soddin tooth and more soddin antibiotics.

bah humbug

I dare not post on a foodie thread with beetroot - I served her and her dh the MOST disgusting fish ever; had been too busy gossiping and did not ask the fishy person to clean the fish. I cooked it with the gunky bits it. as in puke, not jealous. Absolutely one of the most revolting platefuls I have ever seen - and I produced it

But we are having:

French Christmas eve:

Oysters and little sausages with Graves
Second starter (to be decided)
Roast Goose with mash stuffing (à la enid, I think)with Pouilly- Fuissé
Cheese with a Bordeaux
Buche made by dh with Champagne
Chocolates

All before midnight mass and presents

Then Christmas day

English:

Foie Gras (I cheat, it is not English but I love it) with sauternes
Kids will make/decide second starter
Marinated Venison with roast potatoes and carrots and other veg as found at market tomorrow with hefty Bordeaux Grand cru (hic!)
Cheese with more of same wine
Christmas Pudding with champagne
chocs

New Years Eve is either in Paris with inlaws (they cook; we eat and make admiring noises, but will be more oysters, foie gras, snails and prob fishy main) or here in which case am doing Langouste (currently looking at me each time I open freezer).

Am eating nothing but salad for a week in January.

ohhhh so jealous of all you foodies. My DH and DS2 are very plain eaters (massive understatement!)so any of your wonderful ideas are out of the question in my house.

My lovely bronze turkey arrived today from Goodman's so I can finally post on this thread without hanging my head . We are having it with cranberries/red cabbage, roasted parsnips, roast potatoes and root veg mash. Xmas pud afterwards. Don't yet know what wine (am bfeeding and co-sleeping with 5-month-old so alcohol is sadly still not really happening for me).

Will have smoked salmon on Xmas eve, and possibly tortierres (Quebecois dish) after midnight Mass.