Christmas menu

[ailbhe]

On the clear understanding that we will be eating the leftovers for weeks...

Starter: No idea. Neither Rob nor the children are that keen on melon, which was traditional in my family.

Main course: Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, roast carrots and parsnips, steamed carrots, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, two kinds of gravy, bread stuffing, bread sauce, apple sauce, cranberry sauce, mustard. No sausage stuffing, spiced beef, horseradish etc, we definitely don't have enough people.

Dessert: Trifle. For which we need to make and freeze the sponges soon. And buy the fruit and sherry. Also, some sort of snow-scene decorated cake, but not a fruit cake, because none of like like actual Christmas cake. Perhaps an iced bara brith? Mainly we'll be eating the trifle, anyway.

There is a shopping list a-growing. I need to decide where I'll buy the ham. And how big.

Comments

[ifimust.livejournal.com]

Christmas used to be a BIG DEAL for us as we had my family and David's - from Christmas eve to New years. :}

Starters we've had in the past (in case this helps!)... trays of cold cuts and crackers/brown bread; gravadlax (for the daughter in the family who loves, loves, loves it - I don't but I'm never sitting there for the starter); homemade potted shrimp (more trouble than they're worth but might be ok with better shrimp than I used to use); roulade of chicken and veg (looked lovely, adults loved it, kids said, "uggghhh, want turkey!")... And devilled eggs, cause I make the time to sit down and eat those!

This year, we're going with M&S duck rillet :)

[ailbhe]

It's just the four of us this year (yippee!). I might investigate devilled eggs, see if anyone will eat them. I think crackers and, er, actual food on top, might be too filling.

Both children like all sorts of Swedish fish things which I can't cope with and Rob will tolerate if necessary. Perhaps we should include some.

[ifimust.livejournal.com]

The devilled eggs aren't hot, for all the title says they should be. Forgive me if you already know how to make them! But generally - boil eggs till hard, shell, halve lengthwise, scoop out yolk, blend yoke with equal measures of American Mustard and mayo, add smaller but still equal portions of white vinegar and sugar. Mash till smooth, spoon or pipe back into shells. Dust with paprika if desired. Feed to people, mainly me :)

[ailbhe]

I have read the theory in Peg Bracken. But never done it.

[dorianegray.livejournal.com]

The traditional starter in my family is prawn cocktail, FWIW. (I don't like prawns, so I get the sauce with chopped tomato in it.)

[ailbhe]

I don't think any of us like prawns. My mum does but she won't be here. Actually, olives and tomatoes would probably work quite well. Must think.

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

Any time we've tried to have a starter with Christmas dinner it's just made us too full.

[ailbhe]

We've always had one.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

We never had one. Just a main course (roast lamb, roast potatoes and carrots, peas, gravy) and dessert (Christmas pudding and cream).

I don't think DH's family ever did, either -- we certainly don't these days if we have Christmas up there. The main course is different (barbecued lamb, kumara bacon salad, green salad, new potatoes) and so is dessert (pavlova, red berry salad, ice cream -- the ice cream is usually made by me).

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Historically my mum's Christmas lunches have happened around 3pm, so starters are a form of self-defence by that time.

[snorkel-maiden.livejournal.com]

My Mum usually does little crackers topped with cream cheese and either little pieces of pepper, or sardines, or sun-dried tomatoes, or ham / bacon etc; though I suppose you can't use cream cheese unless there's a goat / sheep version?

[mrs-redboots.livejournal.com]

We always have either smoked salmon or gravadlax on very thinly sliced wholemeal bread and butter, crusts cut off, served in the drawing-room along with champagne cocktails for the grownups and soft drinks for the younger element.

Also oddly traditional for us is broad beans from the freezer - no idea why!

And our family has always done what must have derived from the Provençal "13 desserts" tradition, although I don't know whether we ever knew that - I certainly didn't until I visited Provence in the new year - and had "dessert" after the pudding, which was things like almonds-and-raisins (usually cranberries and macadamias these days), dried figs, nuts, oranges, and various sweets, especially home-made chocolate truffles.

As we never actually have room for these at the main meal, they tend to be served on Boxing Day instead!

[1ngi.livejournal.com]

We have 'starter' for late brekka in the form of scrambled eggs topped with smoked salmon. Keeps us going until the dinner finally shows up. We are having a cockerel this year from the farm shop - which I've never done before and we have the in-laws coming so I shall prob deal with the cooking pressure by getting slightly soused.

[hilarityallen.livejournal.com]

Hey, at least you have an oven. We're probably going to have to postpone Gallery Christmas to January, as there is no oven workingness :(

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

My family's traditional Christmas starter is just orange and grapefruit, sliced as for fruit salad with all the peel and bits cut off, served in a bowl as it's quite juicy. I have no idea why this should be the case, as the concept of fruit as a starter has never really come up at any other meal, but it seems to work. The orange makes it sufficiently Christmassy, and the grapefruit makes it do the work of a starter by being tart and refreshing and appetite-inducing.

I have no idea what I'm cooking this year. My mum is doing the actual Christmas Day stuff (with as much delegation as we can persuade her to) but I'm cooking a few days later for people who won't have been there for Christmas and I'm not sure whether to do yet another big roast dinner with trimmings or do something smaller and simpler and hope that they'll all be fed up with big meals by then.

[ailbhe]

Gosh, that sounds very appealing!

[khrister.livejournal.com]

We'll be having a smörgåsbord as usual. Well, the christmas variant julbord, anyway.

There's an old tradition that you're supposed to get seven plates of food:

1. Plate one is inlagd sill (pickled herring) of all kinds, potatoes, bread and butter.
   
2. Plate two is fish other than sill. Salmon, smoked mackerel, shrimps, shellfish paté.
   
3. Plate three is coldcuts. Christmas ham, roast beef, head cheese, aspic, more paté. Eaten with potato sallad, beet sallad and similar things.
   
4. Plate four is warm things. Meatballs, sausages, ribs, Janssons frestelse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janssons_frestelse), brussel sprouts, omelettes, beans
   
5. Plate five is lutfisk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutefisk).
   
6. Plate six is christmas porridge with milk, golden syrup and cinnamon.
   
7. And finally, plate seven is a fruit salad with ris a la Malta (cold rice pudding mixed with cream and sugar) and/or ostkaka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostkaka) (cheesecake, but not at all like the american one).
   

Thankfully, we don't follow that tradition fully...

[ailbhe]

We might do something a little like that on Christmas Eve.

[ailbhe]

We have used your list to base our Christmas Eve menu on! thank you!

[khrister.livejournal.com]

Glad to be of help. :-)

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Including the lutfisk? ;)

[ailbhe]

Think more along the lines of the novelisation of the movie of the book "based on."

[beckyl.livejournal.com]

Not actually on topic, but vaguely cooking related. You were looking for the modern equivalent of an asbestos mat a little while ago - I noticed something that might fit the purpose in the new Lakeland that opened up behind John Lewis, where the Pier used to be. I've no idea if you're still looking for something like that, but I thought I'd let you know in case you were.

[ailbhe]

Thank you, I'll look next time I'm in there, it would still be really useful.

[ailbhe]

I found them! We had to rush away for child reasons but they have TWO kinds. Thanks!

[jexia]

I find this so fascinating. I can't imagine doing all that. For Christmas, we barbecue and have salads!

[ailbhe]

Yeah, but you also get daylight.

[clarahippy.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an amazing dinner! In my family we often had smoked salmon moose for starters. My OH's family do soup which is always delicious (I think it is usually made by my MIL).

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Christmas-dinner starters:
In my family-of-origin, when we were young there was a tray of pickles and olives and such on the table beforehand and we could help ourselves. But that was it.

In the family-of-choice I joined, there was a traditional stage of standing around with plates of cold shrimp on chopped lettuce and glasses of white wine, after which the main cook resumed making gravy and such.

When we resumed simpler smaller dinners after the breakup, none of us felt strongly about the shrimp appetizer tradition, so we haven't really had starters. But I can see that it might be helpful to have some mobile snack. Hmm.