All the trimmings

From my point of view, we sometimes have a simple roast, with roasties and a couple of veggies.

If the GC /AC are here then all the trimmings come into play, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets (GC favourites in their words to good for just one day a year 🤣) bread sauce, veggies cooked different ways etc.

I can remember by great Granny’s using all the trimmings to describe a full roast dinner, perhaps it’s a Southern thing 🤣

According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, trimmings means ‘adornments, accessories’ which makes sense. The usage goes back to the 17th century.
Sago, what are game chips please?

Grandmarderby10 In 1983 I was a new wife and mum with a small budget!
A roast then was one of the best value meals I could cook.
Roast on Sunday, left overs on as least Monday and lots of little pots of food in the freezer for our little girl.
I had Delias complete cookery course as a wedding gift and it became my bible.
She taught me so much, what in 1983 felt like a day of a job to prepare soon became easy and second nature.
I will be forever grateful for her common sense approach to cookery.

I didn’t have a mother who enjoyed feeding us, everything was poorly cooked and served with a big dollop of resentment.
So I entered my marriage with very little idea of how to cater for a family.

We are now in a much better place financially but the frugality from our early years of marriage has stayed with us, nothing is ever wasted our 3 AC are the same and somehow the rich gravy, crispy roasties and Yorkies touching the top of the oven all seem to just happen with minimal stress and effort.
.

I agree, Kitty. I dislike the expression even used of Christmas dinner. Think it meaningless, and pointless.

Perhaps in days of yore, the meat took centre stage and everything else was placed around it aka trimming it? I don't know and am merely guessing.

My dad used to talk about an elderly neighbour who visited his home most afternoons for a cup of tea and a chat with his Mother. It would get to a certain time and the visitor would stand and say that she had to leave to make her husband’s dinner. When asked what she was making, her reply was always, ‘meat and that’.
To this day I don’t think they ever found out what ‘and that’ was.

I suppose the "trimmings" may have come from the very rich gravy made from the beef trimmings and wine?

Could it have included, say, sausages made from said trimmings?

But like others I think of the faffy things - not just the basics - it's the extras such as horseradish sauce, apple sauce, mint sauce, maybe several versions of potatoes...
Not the vegetables in general though.

I don’t know the answer to that kitty
Is it only in recent times?
I don’t think we did in “the olden days”

Stop giving me ideas kittylester 🤣

But, when did they become 'trimmings'? Until recently we had what Ann is talking about as a matter of course without calling it trimmings.

I ca not shake an image of roast beef edged in swans down or frills.

I was just going to write the same annsixty. However these days Yorkshire pudding seems to be served with everything.

I call them “the usual suspects” rather than trimmings which
bring to mind Christmas dinners.

Trimmings to me are Yorkshire puddings and horseradish sauce for those who like it with beef.
Sausage meat stuffing and apple sauce with pork.
Onion sauce/ mintsauce or jelly with lamb .
Sage and onion stuffing, bread sauce and cranberry sauce with chicken.
Everything else is standard and goes with all meat.

I’m with Sago you’d have the veg anyway.

Well I think the roasting meat bit is quite simple but getting roast potatoes right and “none plastic” gravy made , not boiling vegetables to death ….and last but not least Yorkshire Puddings that look like the photo in the recipe book..is something of an art.
It certainly can be exhausting, messy, and stressful
( personally I eat Yorkshires in any stage of cookedness 👩‍🍳

To me, those are similar to potatoes,veg and gravy - part and parcel of whichever roast is being served!

Potatoes, veg and gravy are not trimmings to me.
Trimmings are more, bread sauce, pigs in blankets, stuffing, game chips, Yorkshire puddings etc.