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The past couple of years it's been pork. Only a couple of us so a turkey is definitely out of the question. This year I think it will be a big chicken to allow plenty of over consumption. Last year I made a nice stuffing of pork sausage meat, onion, breadcrumbs, herbs and a bit of black pudding which I think I shall repeat. Roast potatoes obvs, and I think maybe chuck in a roaster while the bird is cooking. Sprouts with maybe pancetta.
What else should there be?
Roast chicken/pork with gravy
sprouts (can do Pak Choi but it's Xmas)
chips - cooked in full fat 🙂
carrots
After that cheese, mince pie for desert etc
Wine/Port
Beer
coffee
Smoke cigarette
Watch TV
Listen to German heavy techno minimal bass stuff (using ear buds)
That's my Xmas. Never cook anything too complicated.
We’re having tapas
And lots and lots of beer, then lots and lots of wine to accompany eating my own body weight in cheese 😃
Ah yes, eating ones own body weight in whatever is definitely the thing to do. I quite like chewkw's minimalist approach, well apart from the fags and techno. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
Always plan a big themed meal each year - it's my one chance to show off a bit and pretend I'm in the profession I wanted to follow if I hadn't been a teacher (also gives me the excuse to be an antisocial bugger and lock myself in the kitchen for hours!).
In a nod to my family heritage, this year's is a Scots theme...
Arbroath Smokie 'rillettes'. Oatcakes. Pickled neeps.
Highland Cattle Tartare. Confit hen's egg.
Wild Venison Wellington. Venison Haggis. Venison 'pigs' in blankets. Sprout and Neep Rumbledethump Roasties. Pickled Red Cabbage. Venison gravy.
Cranachan (ish). Honey and whisky ice cream. Raspberry sorbet. Toasted oats. Raspberry sauce. Whisky jelly. Freeze dried raspberry.
In answer to the OP. Got to get some roast parsnips in there somewhere too? And deffo some proper chicken gravy (roast the bird on a vegetable 'trivet' and use those and the juices to make the gravy while the bird is resting).
as it is a once a year thing, i love the good old fashioned xmas dinner.
turkey and stuffing and all the trimmings.
smoked salmon/prawn starter. xmas pudding with vanilla ice cream desert.
love it.
Everything above sounds bloody gorgeous 😍
We're going for a mushroom Wellington, or two plus slow roast lamb. All the standard trimmings obviously and sprouts are a must.
Mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and chocolate log for pudding.
Can't be bothered with starters, we're not that s****y.
Venison, I love venison. LOL!
Smoke salmon/trout too.
Turkey Madras curry with Brussel sprout bhajis
My favourites are saddle of venison, beef rib, or goose. As usual, I've been overruled and am cooking turkey. I'll brine it along with some aromatics to try and inject some flavour.
Anyway, the beer is brewed and tomorrow I'll be hot smoking the salmon. I'll cook the ham mid week.
Stuffed turkey thighs, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots, broccoli and sprouts with pancetta
Pudding is home made stollen
I cooked a Tandoori turkey crown last night for the first time. Definitely will be doing it again.
Removed all of the skin, sliced the bird all over and then added the marinade. Wrapped in film and left in the fridge for 48 hours. Fired up the Kamado nice and hot and it was cooked in about an hour.
I’ve got fore rib of beef for Christmas Day which will also be cooked outside.
Cooking for friends and family is my favourite thing about Christmas!
I'll be subjected to whatever the Chief Cook on the ship creates.
If you're happy to eat a monstrous amount of Meat, perhaps salmon if we're lucky, or something poorly offered Vegetarian option, then you're fine. (Nice vegetable? eh? what's the point in vegetables?)
I'll take solace in the fact that I'm not cooking it or washing up.
TBH, it's not a bad spread, just never the kind of stuff I like to eat. Put that with the fact that as I'm a watchkeeper on the ship, I get little more than 20 mins to sit down and eat my meal that comes in the middle of my watch, which Xmas lunch/dinner will be.
Mushroom wellington as well (it’s being made by some company who deliver, so not much cooking!) Lots of roast veg, bread sauce and some turkey for the carnivore in laws.
No idea about desert probably Christmas pudding.
Montrachet, champagne and bottles of Tribute are likely to be the accompanying drinks
We've had venison for the last few years but we're at my sister's this year with a few other relatives so she's doing a big joint of roast beef.
Colournoise that sounds amazing. I'm a bit of a foodie but have found I when I go all out for Christmas when it comes to sitting down to eat it all I've lost my appetite through being too hot and bothered so have decided to pair things down slightly and also do more in advance so it can be more chilled on the day.
So I've done Jamie Oliver's get ahead gravy and have also made sage, onion, apricot and hazelnut stuffing balls those are in the freezer already. Then picked a joint that will be quick and easy as we only have one oven so instead of the custom rib of beef we're trying out a rolled rump of dry-aged grass-fed beef. Will have the usual potatoes, sprouts with chestnuts, red cabbage. Oh and yorkies. Christmas eve I'm cooking a cider, honey & juniper cured gammon so no need to cook anything on boxing day. Hmm... doesn't sound that paired down now I've written it all down but the simple joint as apposed to a turkey or goose, like I've attempted in the past, should help a lot.
Slow roast pork shoulder.
MrsMC found a joint of beef half price last week, so it's in the freezer ready.
Usual trimmings.
Tiramisu for dessert for the weirdos who don't like Christmas pudding
For the 3rd year running I'm cooking for us and the Mil - not a well lady .
She insisted we have a turkey crown that will be accompanied by over cooked veg - too her liking but no sprouts.
M&S Christmas pudding for afters.
I'll stay as short a time as possible and use our dogs as an excuse to leave.
I'm not a Christmas person.
Mushroom & chestnut wellington and a salmon en-croute. Roast spuds and as many types of veg as will fit in the oven/air fryer/microwave.
Starter - Goats cheese and walnut tortellini
Main - Sous vide pheasant breasts and confit pheasant legs with pheasant jus, roast pots, bread sauce, sprouts with miso butter and honey glaze, peas with tarragon...
Xmas pud
Cheese
Not cooking Christmas or BD
But I've made a Christmas cake, will be making mince pies and sausage rolls, and will be visiting the cheesemonger and the whisky shop.
Homemade pizza and garlic bread as usual with a lovely bottle of red. It is a day for relaxing so we make it easy.
Traditional turkey crown roast at my house. As its Xmas I do put a little extra effort in relative to a standard roast, proper gravy, sausage meat stuffing, pigs in blankets, goose fat for the potatoes, sprouts.
I grabbed a half price beef joint as above as well and depending on how many people decide they are coming I may cook that too.
Puddings, I've cheated and just ordered a load of ready done pudding / cake / mince pies.
Will be living off left over sliced beef sandwiches, turkey curry or risotto for days
Roast chicken, but smothered in a curry spice blend over night.
The sauce from the juices is to die for.
Served with curried roasties. If you thought the sauce was to die for, you need to taste curried roasties.
Mustard coated lamb for Christmas Eve, rib of beef for Christmas Day.
The Ulster-woman will ensure that the spuds are en-point, probably honey-fan for the lamb, straight roast for beef.
The Vegan will have his own cooked meal and we'll all be partaking of the ultimate vegan gravy.
Veg will be green and crisp plus parmesan parsnips (another Delia find).
For the first year I haven't made a Christmas pudding but we do have Cake (the Delia recipe), marzipan is homemade too. The ice cream to accompany the pud was made with the yolks from the royal icing on the cake. (Vanilla, mascarpone ice cream).
There will be an interlude for a fat and protein induced coma! Then cheese, chutneys and vintage port.
Chocolate pots (like a fondant with dulce de leche) and cantucci, vanilla kipferl and other home made biscuits will also be available
Small Aldi chicken, Aldi sprouts, Smash, Aldi frozen peas, roasties & parsnips, Aldi frozen Yorkshire puds, Bisto gravy granules.
Which is more than some folk will get I suppose.
Smoked salmon blinis to start then turkey dinner with braised red cabbage, Yorkshires’ roasties, sprouts and some veggies. Dessert is cheese and wine and some more wine then some gin.
Not decided if we'll do a takeaway again (a bit tricky with a fussy 4yo) or just do the easiest roast possible. The aim is to maximise fun family time rather than have one of us locked in the kitchen, so something like esselgruntfuttock's meal sounds great to me. Pretty sure I saw my wife wrapping a jar of gravy granules for said 4yo so the most important part of the meal is sorted.
Potted shrimp and prawn cocktail starters. Toad in the hole with proper sausages wrapped in bacon. Gravy. Roast rainbow carrots and potatoes. Ice cream sundaes and cheese for pudding.
Some type of sandwich, packet of crisps and maybe yoghurt.