Tempt me with your Christmas Eve grown-up food, please!

[WahWahWahs]

We are going to stay with PiLs this Christmas and I would like to take some pressure off MiL and do food for everyone on Christmas eve. We are out for lunch with other family during the day, so will have had a big pub lunch.

The children are all young enough to be in bed early, so what would you do for 6 adults in the evening to kick start festivities? DSiL is veggie, so that is a consideration.

Party food buffet? A pot of something? I am doing a big cheese board for Christmas Day: would it be overkill to have one on Christmas Eve, too?

I am envisaging opening the champagne and lighting the fire with all the jobs done. What would you fancy to eat at that stage?

Baked Camembert with garlic and rosemary. A nice fresh tiger loaf for dipping, picky bits like pickles, other cheeses, crackers, chutneys. Put some deli meats out. Anchovies if your a fish person like me. Tapas bits!

I love nibbles 🤤🤤🤤🤤

Don’t forget capers!

Stuffed peppers and sundried tomatoes for the veggies. Raw cauliflower, carrot sticks and celery with hummus

A nice boozy stretchy-cheesy fondue!

Raw cauliflower

Cheese fondue with an assortment of various things to dip: cherry tomatoes, grapes, apple slices, nice breads, Parma ham, salami, cauliflower, potato wedges etc... with glasses of port.
Or baked Brie with a cranberry and pecan crumble.

@ricekrispie22 you sound like someone I want to have a dinner party with

@sittingonacornflake raw cauliflower is so so so much nicer than steamed/cooked!

@SexlessBoulderBelly I'm sceptical. It just doesn't sound it!

Our favourite is a seafood (fruits de Mer) platter, with mayonnaise, fresh lemon, black pepper.

Lemon sorbet with a shot of vodka afterwards to refresh the digestion.

Not heavy but delicious. Bliss.

Thanks all! Some gorgeous ideas

Fondue, good sourdough bread plus olives, meats, artichokes, roasted tomatoes etc ... all can be bought if you don't fancy cooking. For fondue I use I block emmental, I block gruyere, 1 glass white wine, corn flour and one crushed garlic clove for 4 people - I've heard people add liqueur too but I don't bother, double the quantities. It's retro but fun

Too much cheese after a big pub lunch could be the road to ruin before bedtime. I'd do a couple of antipasti platters - cold meats, caper berries, anchovies, anchovies, mozzarella, sunblush tomatoes etc with ciabatta and breadsticks and a big green salad. Not so hefty on the digestion.

These all sound lovely, but for ease, I'd do lentil soup and hot gammon rolls, make sure the soup is veggie and add a couple of cheeses and a big salad for Dsil.

This! www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/seafood-recipes/bloody-mary-seafood-platter/

It’s gorgeous, grown up, and the sauce can be prepped ahead so all that need to be done on the night is a quick bit of assembly. (I don’t bother with the avocado- am too lazy!)

Best of all, it goes really well with champagne!

We always cook the ham on Christmas Eve, so the grown ups have freshly baked sliced ham, macaroni cheese and lovely leafy salad. Have as much or as little as you like, and the macaroni cheese works well as leftovers over the next days if it doesn't all get eaten. Macaroni cheese is a meal itself so should be fine without the ham for the veggie!!

We are planning a spread of smoked fish and a deli selection of Spanish hams. Probably add a salad and some more deli bits. Plenty of wine.