What are you having for Christmas dinner?

Yes, I call it Christmas dinner because it is the main meal of the day on Christmas Day, and usually eaten about 2 - 3 in the afternoon in our family. The children will be offered food throughout the day because it’s too long for them to wait, although they’ll all eat well at the main meal (not the pudding though, although they love to see it doused with brandy and lit.)

Anyway DH came up with another little gem this evening. He apparently also heard that only 15% of people who actually have mince pies at Christmas, make them themselves. He may well have been feeling quite chuffed when he heard that, because he makes all our mince pies. He’s already made several batches this year, including a batch I took to an ex colleagues lunch last week. When the family arrive at the weekend, from about mid November onwards, they always want to know if dad has made mince pies, and great disappointment follows if he has not.

So, are you in the 15% of people who make their own mince pies? Or even their own chocolate log? One of my sons makes his (we’ll get a bit on Christmas Eve) but I take the lazy route and buy one from M+S. How about you?

Same for me.
A hot meal with gravy and veg is a dinner.

Well Witzend I am an old fashioned old gal. It was always Christmas dinner growing up and school dinners not Christmas lunch and school lunches. Lunch to me is a sandwich or something.

I'm sorry Marydoll but I'm arresting you for the offence of serving mashed and roasted potatoes, on the same plate, on the date of 25th December, therfore commiting an act or a I've.y planning to commit, an act of public outrage.

Evening all, by the way. 👨‍✈️

I'm going to my son's and they're vegetarian so it will be a veggie roast and all the usual trimmings.
The veggie/soya roast is very nice. We had it last year.
I'll have a chicken at home on Boxing day.

Kate1949

My sister cooks ours. Turkey, beef, mash, roasties, roast parsnips, carrots, sprouts, pigs in blankets, stuffing, gravy. Yorkshire puds in a dish for those who want them. We take puddings. Thanks for saying Christmas dinner petal. 'Christmas lunch' drives me up the wall.

Must confess to having a bit of a ‘thing’ about ‘Christmas lunch’.
‘ Dinner’ is strictly speaking supposed to mean the main meal of the day, no matter when you have it, and if the usual Christmas Day roast isn’t a main meal, I don’t know what is!

Why on earth would anybody ever eat mashed potatoes and roast potatoes.

I dislike roast potatoes, but love mash with the turkey gravy, therefore everyone is happy.

Does it really matter?

Very traditional, turkey, roast potatoes and parsnips, sprouts and carrots, sage, onion and sausagemeat stuffing (I’ll be making that tomorrow), pigs in blankets (made already), cranberry sauce (still need to buy cranberries), loads of proper gravy made in the roasting tin with giblet stock, simmered on 🎄Eve.
To me the smell of the turkey cooking is an essential part of Christmas Day. I do love roast beef, but not on 🎄Day.

lindiann

A frozen, uncooked turkey crown, suggests on the packaging - 'do not reheat'. I can't eat a whole joint and was hoping after cooking to slice/cube the rest freeze and use again later (after defrosting) in casseroles another dinner sandwichs etc is this not possible?

They always say "do not reheat'. Your grandmother didn't have that instruction on her fresh turkey, so would have merrily done what you suggest, except she didn't even have the luxury of a freezer. If you decide to throw caution to the wind, which I do all the time, just make sure if you reheat, you bring it to a very hot temperature (boiling for preference) or eat it cold, just defrosted. Oh and just defrost and reheat as much as is needed for one meal, reheating for a second time is a bit riskier. If you parcel it up in portion sizes you'll be set. Not teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but do portion and freeze what won't be used within a few days as soon as the meat is cold.

Grandmabatty

I'm going to my daughter's. We will have a choice of starter, then turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, Brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips, peas, chipolatas, stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, gravy, Yorkshire puddings and then a choice of desserts. No chips!

Exactly this for us, plus the pigs in blankets you added later , and we’re at our daughter’s too this year. I’m making the bread sauce, cranberry sauce, the Christmas cake for tea time and two puddings (I’m not sure what yet, but only two of the twelve of us like the traditional Christmas pud, so one may be Delia’s very light puddings, the other perhaps some form of yule log). We’ll have three veggies at the table - one of them is bringing a suitable main, and veggie sides where needed.

Definitely no chips!

My sister cooks ours. Turkey, beef, mash, roasties, roast parsnips, carrots, sprouts, pigs in blankets, stuffing, gravy. Yorkshire puds in a dish for those who want them. We take puddings. Thanks for saying Christmas dinner petal. 'Christmas lunch' drives me up the wall.

As usual, I will be on my own. I will be eating a duck leg, dauphinoise potatoes, and a selection of vegetables. I am not a fan of desserts, so nothing but biscuits and cheese will probably be around if that takes my fancy. I will open a bottle of wine.

Definitely no chips.

Definitely no Chips here. There will be six of us and traditional turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, stuffing , parsnips, carrots, peas, sprouts and cauliflowers cheese. No mash!!! Cheesecake or trifle to follow.

For starters a nice prawn cocktail with avocado and little gem lettuce. Then roast free range turkey, sage & onion stuffing, sprouts, curly kale, leeks, mashed swede with lots of butter & pepper, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, homemade cranberry and bread sauce and gravy made with meat juices and vegetable water. For pudding, homemade Christmas pud (flamed in brandy) and served with brandy sauce. If anyone's still hungry there will be a nice runny brie, Shropshire Blue and Cornish Quartz cheeses with plum chutney, grapes, French butter and crackers. This will all be washed down with Nyetimber English sparkling wine, which in my opinion rivals champagne. After dinner liqueurs will also be on offer.

For Christmas day, I have no idea. We are going to friends for the day, so what we have to eat will be a surprise. Our friends are quite traditional so I'm expecting turkey with all the trimmings, but you never know!
Boxing day we will be entertaining our daughter, son in law and grandchildren. Finger food and crisps and tray bakes. It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without one of my famous pavlova.

Bridie22

Babs03, another northerner here, there would be trouble if the yorkshire puddings were missing.🤣

Mutiny at the dining room table for sure 😂

watermeadow

Why on earth would anybody ever eat mashed potatoes and roast potatoes at the same meal? That’s like having fried eggs and scrambled eggs together, or apple crumble and rice pudding, or a cup of tea and a cup of coffee.
I only get roast potatoes on Christmas Day so they are a treat.

Some like one, some like the other - I cook to please doing both.

Choices.

lindiann

A frozen, uncooked turkey crown, suggests on the packaging - 'do not reheat'. I can't eat a whole joint and was hoping after cooking to slice/cube the rest freeze and use again later (after defrosting) in casseroles another dinner sandwichs etc is this not possible?

Of course cooking and then freezing leftovers is possible.

I assume many people freeze turkey, somehow use as leftovers. We send meats, left from Christmas meals home with our Daughters as we're vegan.

No mashed potatoes or Yorkshire puds, but everything else will be traditional. Some of it is already made and in the freezer.

My sister has probably already put her sprouts on - she likes her veg 'well done' .

I only get roast potatoes on Christmas Day so they are a treat

Aargh!
Life’s too short for such nonsense.

watermeadow

Why on earth would anybody ever eat mashed potatoes and roast potatoes at the same meal? That’s like having fried eggs and scrambled eggs together, or apple crumble and rice pudding, or a cup of tea and a cup of coffee.
I only get roast potatoes on Christmas Day so they are a treat.

I have family members who do not like roast potatoes so I make mashed potatoes as well.

Christmas Day at mine this year.
Little bit of French and a little bit of English.
A little bit of everything or you will not get to the end.

French apéro with bits and dips.
At the table, starters smoked salmon and toast, followed by a neutered bird, my stuffing, Brussels sprouts (well one each as a nod to the English cook) mushrooms, broccoli, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes and homemade bread sauce.
Cheese board accompanied with lamb’s lettuce (French always have cheese before dessert).
Dessert …. depends if my daughter was able to buy and get through customs (Brexit) an English Christmas pudding with home made brandy butter and one mince pie or I will make a log 😮
All washed down with different French wines.

No Boxing Day here or Bank Holiday the following day.

lindiann

A frozen, uncooked turkey crown, suggests on the packaging - 'do not reheat'. I can't eat a whole joint and was hoping after cooking to slice/cube the rest freeze and use again later (after defrosting) in casseroles another dinner sandwichs etc is this not possible?

Don’t re freeze it or re heat it.Use it cold sliced with baked spuds and chutneys and in sarnies.If you wrap in foil in the fridge should be fine for three days

MissAdventure

I fancy a pie of some sort, with mash, and nice veg.

Turkey and cranberry pie, maybe.

Pie and mash! You’re my kinda gal.😁

Roast potatoes all the way