Oi Foodies, over here! If we can all make time for something we enjoy, suggest me a menu!

[Nightynight]

I have worked every single day in December, including weekends, in the office. I am hoping to fly back to UK on 23 December, to our former marital home, my children and, dx.
The house will be dirty and messy, I confidently predict, and will require my immediate attention. There will be one shopping day before Christmas.

Dx hates all festivals, and will go bananas if he suspects a festive meal on the 25th, therefore said meal must be cooked entirely from normal, everyday ingredients.

It must also not require a recipe book (ie either stuff I know, or can easily memorise), as dx doesn't like recipe books and will get angry if he sees me using one.

We are not expecting any guests

What menus can you suggest for me for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day???
(poison for dx has already been ruled out)

.

Wow, angry if you use a recipe book! Isn't that a bit OTT??? I's tell him to eat the bloody book!

nighty night your dx soundsa royal PITA...
will have a think...
what about roast parnsip soup
what do you like??

Tell him to b*gger off and cook what you like. He is your ex for a reason. Is he always this controlling and why does he think he can impose these conditions on you when you are not a couple anymore?

so if i understand you, you want a nice meal(s) but nothing so fancy so as to make your x suspect you are celebrating?

i agree with yeahbut, but assume for whatever reason you don't feel you have a choice this year and must put up with it. i see a ny resolution here

i'm not a foodie but will give it some thought and get back to you.

ok, iirc, i think your dh doesn't eat pork? however, i might have completely misremembered that so will offer two versions.

Christmas Eve - don't worry about it, just treat as an ordinary day, i think in your situation you need to keep things as simple as possible.

Christmas Day:
Breakfast - scrambled eggs, bacon and grilled tomato with warm ciabatta or scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and warm ciabatta.

Lunch - it's a Sunday so a roast would be traditional w/o necessarily being festive.

• roast chicken (cut up lemon in the body) brushed with a little melted butter, sprinkle with thyme and season (x2)
• gravy
• bread sauce (or buy it - i think in your situation there is no need to be precious about cooking everything from scratch)
• roast potatoes
• swede+carrot+parnip boiled with a bayleaf, then mashed with cream/milk and butter with a little nutmeg
• broccoli
• crispy bacon is also traditional with roast chicken, but you can obviously leave it out if necessary.
• pudding - tarte au citron, ice cream, fruit

Supper:

• smoked salmon with soda bread
• selection of cheeses
• apples
• grapes
• a mince pie or two if you can get these in.

Boxing day:
Breakfast - french toast with maple syrup and strawberries/raspberries

Lunch - grilled lamb steaks or sausages with mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage (this can also be bought if necessary). pudding crumble (apple or plum) and creme fraiche.

Supper:
Cold roast chicken (you did an extra one yesterday) and salads. Ice cream for pudding with some good quality chocolates.

Not very foodie but hth.

sorry he's not a dh he's x.

thank you bk!
these suggestions have started me thinking. Roast chicken is probably the way to go, we usually used to have one at the weekend anyway. lol dx is not Muslim, he eats everything

harp - have you got a recipe for the parsnip soup? I tried making it once, but it was too sweet.

re the NY resolution - I shall have my ear bent the entire week about how keen he is to sell the house so that we can split!

my pleasure

why did i think he was muslim? no idea. oh well - all the more bacon and sausages for the family at christmas then!

i do think roast chicken is your festive meal trojan horse, as it were

oi foodies! why have none of you come up with any suggestions within nn's constraints?

nn, i originally thought of gammon/cold ham joint for your family for boxing day with salads instead of cold chicken. i think i was misled by the mistaken notion that x was a muslim from suggesting it - so here it is.

good luck with your christmas "feast"

cos you have done it brilliantly bk!

or a duck? really easy (just roast like a chicken) and serve with mash and red cabbage. yum.

nice bowl of pasta for christmas eve

or a shoulder of lamb roasted on top of a bed of sliced potatoes - cheap, easy and delicious, serve with redcurrant sauce and green beans

God,it all sounds too weird (and rushed) for words nighty.....
Even a mad foodie like me would admit defeat and just pick up some nice buffet style stuff from a good shop.

(Shouldn't he be doing the bloody cooking,assuming he has been in the house all the time??)

yes agree with moondog

it all sounds depressing

buy everything from m and s, serve your dx a bloody frozen pizza on xmas day and just grit your teeth and get through it

thank you all!

duck would be gorgeous, but dh would smell a (roasted) rat....

chicken and ham I think then!
Ill tell him its to celebrate me being there so that he doesnt have to cook for a change

this is fun, I havent planned a menu more than a day in advance for years!

beetroot - yes, he is definitely an ex! And next year my house will be saturated with Christmas.

ah bless nightynight

hope I am still around to help you with your plans next year (who am i kidding of course i will

Nightynight, I think bossykate has given some fab suggestions - will probably nick some myself!

Don't know your story (and certainly don't undertand ) but wishing you all the best. I'm sure will cope and roll on next Christmas

how did it go, nightynight?