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.....

it's sausages wrapped in bacon and baked in the over..... I can't get proper sausages over here you know, or decent bacon It's gutting

We're having Xmas at MIL's and she has already told us what we're having:
Xmas lunch with all the trimmings followed by Xmas pud and/or trifle (dh hats Xmas pud)
Xmas evening - cold meat etc
Boxing Day Brunch- fry up (yuk - already know i'll be feeling far too full and uncomfortable from Xmas Day!!)
Boxing Day tea - prawns, pork pies, cold meat etc etc
Am planning on getting very very drunk to survive it all

Hey suze,what do your dh's family do????

Umm.. good question. They usually save the big trough for Chinese New Year. Then it's prok pork pork and some more pork.

just had some friends round for dinner and he bought me 4 partridges so I may be making a game pie now for 27th.

Enid Ithink the muffins are just for me TBH I love the smell, but thinking about it I am the only one who actually eats them I know they would ALL eat pancakes, as this is their fave, perhaps after 3 years of muffins which only I eat I should stop trying to FORCE this tradition on them It is just that Pancakes and syrup are so heavy hmmm

What about New years, shall I go pork as a main course after the anti pasti and pasta courses, or fish? Pork would be easier to cook I think, roasted with mini roast pots, but fish would be lighter. Any suggestions??

Fish crunchie.
Everyone will be bloated by this stage andenjoy something light.

Yeah but fish needs more 'work'. Also thepasta is v light, just 3 slices with a drizzle of oliveoil. I want something that I can put in the oven, leave and then serve. The antipasti is simple and preprepared, the pasta is pre-prepared, but needs cooking and serving which will take a bi of time. Dessert needs to be pre-done, no idea what

What fish can be baked without checking for at least 1/2 hr (and what to serve alongside?)

I bake while fish with lemons,cherry tomatoes,olives,lemons and thyme. Might not be special enough for New Year though???
How about bakes sardines??? Dead easy. Ditto posh factor though.

What about a cold seafood spread-oysters,smokes salmo,parawns (with great home made mayonnaise??)

Cold seafood is too like the anti-pasti starter and I want 'Italian' to match the rest I think. Sardines are foul and I also need something that I can do a veggie option for me to go with it (forgot to mention that addition!!)

Fabulous fish pie??

All bits pre prepared and then assembled and slid into the oven.Nigel Slater has a nice one.

Moondog - here is HF-W's bird in a bird in a bird. Fancy giving it a go next year?

Fish Pie not 'dinner party' enough and not italian Lovely Idea though. I might try a roasted fish dish, like you suggested with tomoatos and olives hmm. Any other suggestions please

Fantastic yoyo!
I haven't read my Observer yet-was planning on checking it out tonight.
I have already ordered my goose for this year but I think I will seriously think about that next year.

Crunchie,I'd go with the pork on second thoughts. You can do fish anytime,but something porky and very special would be appropriately festive.

As mentioned at start of thread,I'll be doing pork for NYE too.

I'm thinking Jamies Porchetta (or whatever he calls it!) Basically pork loin rolled around loads of herbs and fennel seeds, then roasted. I can do some garlic roast potatoes and roast veg (for me) with this, and a big bowl of broccoli or some sort of greens. Sorted.

I think a honey semi-freddo for pudding, with fresh figs - does that pass your strict guidelines

Now to see if anyone has allergies

Fresh figs...heaven.

You should see (and taste) the delicious Iranian dates I have brought back from Turkey.
500g for about 20p.
I think you are noble cooking meat even if you don't eat it.I wouldn't expect a vegetarian to do so.

Christmas Day: me, DH and 2 small DCs. A free range chicken from "Ginger Pig", roast potatoes, roast parsnips, sprouts, pigs in blankets, bread sauce. Followed by home made Christmas pudding and home made brandy butter. A lot of this can be prepared in advance, so not much more work than a normal Sunday supper for us. DS (4) has been told that he can have just one sip of champagne on Christmas Day and he is already very excited about it - has, I believe told his teacher about this (so it may be only DH and I if social services have come and taken the children away before then).

Boxing Day: My extended family visiting plus added attraction of my sister's new boyfriend making first ever appearance - 10 adults and 3 small children. 3 different types of bruschetta to snack on or stave off hunger pangs while cooks are fretting (haven't decided on toppings, but there was a good article in the Observer or Guardian a week or so ago), accompanied by champagne, pomegranate juice or champagne and pomegranate juice; big plate of parma ham and melon; rolled shoulder of pork with lots of crackling accompanied by cannellini beans with chard and garlic (and possibly some salsa verde). Followed by affrogato - vanilla ice cream with hot strong coffee or a polenta torte with vin santo ice cream.

The Kitchen God will cook most of this. I will give directions in a convincing manner. The rest of my family will be interrogating my sister's new boyfriend and are unlikely to appreciate the cooking while there is such a fantastic diversion available.

Sounds great anchovy.
Big question is........

do you make your own pomegranate juice???

Hey now if I can't get peach juice for Bellinis, pomegranite juice could be just right

And chard, that's what I need to do with the pork, how do you (or Kitchen God) cook this ?

Issymum - please don't feel bad, I have nothing better to do at work than to puton my 'ceative' head and work out a fab menu Christmas day I am doing b**ger all (at MIL) expect breakfast, and how hard is it to open a bottle of champagne

By New Years eve I will have had over a week off to play and shop and get ready, I might even tidy the house I so rarely get a chance to cook dinner party type stuff that I enjoy it

issymum - WHERE ARE THE JAMS AND CHUTNEYS

I have pregnancy nausea - I knew I shouldn't look at this thread. UGH!

I made the pud a few weeks ago and have ordered a goose, but I think I'll just leave it all to DH, who is an excellent cook.