A Foodie's Christmas Dinner

[PeaMcLean]

Any suggestions?

In order to avoid familial stress it has to be turkey.

What can I do to make it all more interesting?

Get one of those obscenely expensive ones with countless other birds stuffed inside, from Waitrose, if they still do them.

If the family is insisting on turkey, presumably they are also expecting it to come with all the usual/conventional bits and pieces though?

LOL at the ones with birds stuffed inside - do I look like Hugh Fearnly Whatsit???

I'm insisting on turkey cos I know how tensions can rise over the most ridiculous things on Christmas Day and I'm not prepared to try serving up something too controversial, like goose.

However, I think we'll get away with some interesting bits and pieces to go with it - just want some inspiration for nicer trimmings than boiled carrots.

NB it's not me who's the foody, it's DH wanting something more interesting. He's thinking of doing a starter of scallops on black pudding and pea puree.

My brother could be in meltdown by 5pm

Why not start with all the veg that would be 'expected' and do something different with them?

For example, do the carrots, but buy baby ones or slice old carrots thinly, lengthways. In the water that you boil them in, add some butter, a touch of brown sugar and the juice of an orange. Don't use too much water - the aim is that the liquid reduces to a syrupy glaze by the time the carrots are cooked.

Hasselback (sp?) potatoes. Cut each potato into half or quarters, depending how huge they are. You want to end up with a piece about the size of half a tennis ball. Put each potato cut side/flat side down, then slice thinly towards the base of the potato without actually cutting it all the way through. Spoon melted butter with garlic over the top of each potato and roast.

Brussel sprouts with chestnuts.

Savoy cabbage with lardons.

Parsnips with parmesan (a Delia recipe in her Christmas book - a good source of ideas)

etc, etc

Is this the kind of thing you were thinking of?

Oh God - I tried doing the foody thing one Christmas and my SIL/DB were hugely unimpressed. Faces looked like they were chewing a wasp!

How 'bout this then?

Steamed baby sprouts (7 minutes only) with whole chestnuts (out a tin and heated up a bit) and bacon lardons fried in olive oil. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the whole thing.

• Home made cranberry, port and orange zest sauce. Just cook them all up with sugar and a bit of orange juice to taste.

• Dried apricot, sage, flaked almond and sausagemeat stuffing balls. Random amounts of the stated ingredients whizzed through a blender with salt and pepper to taste.

Carrot batons.

Petits pois with fresh mint.

• Roasted squash, red onion, cherry tomatoes and swede with olive oil and lemon thyme.

• = can be made the day before.

We're having no turkeys here thank you! Why would I choose to celebrate with a foodstuff I wouldn't dream of eating the rest of the year?

We're also doing the M&S thing for the day, and reserving our (my!) energies for a family meal a week later. The menus will be:

Chrsitmas DAy

Duck rillete with home amde granary bread
Salmon encroute, seasonal veg, roast potatoes
Mango and passion fruit dessert
Home amde cranberry and mince pies with coffee

Boxing Day

M&S game platter with home made pickles
salads

Meal with parents:

Smoked salmon
Toast leg of lamb with rosemary and redcurrant
Sticky toffee pudding

Sweet potato roasted with honey and garlic.
Green beans tossed in truffle oil.

We eat christmas pudding at other time of the year - easter and bank holidays, as we like Usually have roast lamb for dinner on christmas day but this year may have goose if we can get a good one.

Bubbaluv, what great suggestions! I am going to do these!

I always make cranberry and kumquat sauce with port which jazzes up everything.

Oooh some lovely ideas here. Sweet potato with garlic and honey is making me salivate just thinking about it. What do you do? Drizzle with honey then roast with garlic???

Peachy, I think my DH would agree with you, we don't eat turkey normally so why bother on Christmas day. But our families would be making faces like BIWI's rellies below and my brother is liable to fly off the handle on Christmas day anyway (he has "issues") so I'm not going to add to the pressure by serving something else.

Carmenere, got the recipe for that sauce? Do you do turkey or soemthing else?

Don't do the pea and scallop starter. Too heavy. Has to be blini and smoked slamon and fizz.

Yes, blinis are a better idea. I'm not a fan of starters on Christmas day anyway, too formal. DH likes blinis with smoked salmon so I might try and push him down the canapes route. Or some kind of little crostini perhaps.

I'm doing a new jazzy christmas pud this year, with dried strawberries and all sorts of other fancy stuff rather than raisins (recp in October Good Housekeeping)

I am very excited about a new drink I have read about, the sloegasm. Sloe gin and fizz. I am saving myself for it on christmas day. I suspect after having a few of those I won't notice if the sprouts are tossed in madeira wine and chestnuts or johnsons cammomile baby shampoo.

That sounds bllody great that drink.

Oh god do I have to start reading Good Housekeeping? Maybe I do

doesn't it moondog! As I say I am saving myself for it, and will be using my mothers home made sloe gin.

Pea, GH is (imho) good for food. This month's edition has big section on christmas day food, with new exciting twists on traditional favorites.
[GH lover]

I do the most delicious turkey (even if i do say so myself!)

If you whip up some butter with sage and lemon zest and smother it under the skin on the brests, cover the turkey with thin panchetta or bacon but try to get thin rashers. Stuff bird with a lemon cut in half an onion cut in half and a big bunch of sage/thyme.

Baste reguarly.

Slubber.

A great Sloe Gin drink/cocktail is this

Get a jug fill with a Litre of Lemonade and ice, then add 25oml Sloe Gin and loads of Lime and Lemon slices give it a good mix and drink it's soooooo nice!

thanks Charlee, have copied and pasted to my 'drinks to try quite soon' folder.

I have had that sloe gin drink, it is FAB, I didn't know the name though, I shall look forward to offering mil a sloegasm though