What about the OTHER meals?

I used to get a bit worried by planning different meals, but not now, our meal on Christmas Day is for between five and ten people,it varies from year to year, and is always roast turkey and all the trimmings etc.We are usually invited out on Ch Eve, and Boxing Day is cold cuts.The day after is always salmon ( takes away the worries when you know what it will be and is easy to cook.)??

I like fish pie on Christmas Eve and after all the rich Christmas fare long for something like bacon and eggs. Also I make a largish chicken liver pate which helps out with lunches.

D stands for dear the second letter is for husband daughter or whatever so DGC would be dear grand children. SiL is a tricky one and can be either sister in law or son in law there is a thread with all abbreviations on

I'm assuming your new, so welcome jane

I need a letter legend - who are these people, eg DH, DD, DiL, etc etc!

Ooh I like the idea of starting ham, cake etc on Christmas eve, simple I know but it had never occurred to me to eat any of it before the big day. Love cold leftovers on boxing day

I feel vaguely sick reading about all this food..... I'm planning on cooking as little as possible other than one meal a day - salmon en croute Christmas Eve, five bird roast and a veggie something for Christmas Day and cold meats, jacket spuds and salads Boxing Day.
Breakfasts, suppers and incidentals will be DIY.

As for today? Like Pittcity it's bangers and mash!

Christmas Eve we have Macaroni Cheese (family tradition) for tea for lunch as we are in & out we just grab whatever or hot sausage rolls!!!
We have soup made up from the leftover turkey for other days...theres a good one called Perky Turkey Soup online & I've just seen a recipe for Vegetable scones using the leftover veg

No Sunday Roast here today . We have are having sausage and mash!

We get swept up with family meals - out of our hands- on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, but really enjoy preparing our Ch Day meal together. After seeing the family etc in the morning, we 'escape' and play lots of 60s music and dance around the kitchen, well I dance.[Could be a combination of bucks fizz and sherry.] But we love using up the left overs. DH is always concerned that we never have enough bread sauce left over. [I've used Delia's recipe since she brought out her Christmas cookbook,also the cranberry sauce, totally yum.] A gammon is cooked sometime on Boxing day, mainly to be used up in our favourite turkey and ham pie the next day. Must admit I also buy unusual cheeses/salamis/pates over Christmas which have been bought, in case people drop in, but which I know we will enjoy in the days between Christmas and New Year.

Over the Christmas period I cook one meal a day and just have plenty of salads, bread, cheese for people to choose to eat what they want when they want for the other meals.

For Christmas Eve I have bought two steak pies from the farm shop. On Boxing day we usually have something other than turkey. This year a minced pork and pastry roll, also from the farm shop, ready sliced, just needing baking.

Thereafter we eat leftovers. As a family we really enjoy these; turkey soup, Christmas pie (all the leftovers from Christmas lunch; turkey, ham, sausage meat, stuffing, sprouts etc) a gammon pasta dish, turkey fricassee and finally a turkey biryani. Turkey and gammon also get eaten cold with salads and in sandwiches. nothing is wasted in this household.

Greyduster, you did make me laugh.
Last week when in a M & S I had to ask DH if he'd like to go for a half hour walk !! Which he did, no doubt he could tell I'd had enough of his Victor Meldrew persona.

Anya

Bit of a 'dust up' eh?

Well, order has now been restored at Maison Duster, having convinced Mr D that there will be plenty to eat, that it will all be lovely, and that I will staple his hands to the bathroom door if he interferes again in the purchasing of seasonal comestibles! He is reduced to the role of third spear carrier on the left!

Sounds good nanna

We used to all come to our house Christmas Eve and it was party food all the way but now my DDs have their own traditions Sosa this year it will just be me and himself we'll have a picnic with things like French bread, cheese, pickles and a drink or three.

Christmas Day at mine will be turkey and all the trimmings and a selection of puds.

Boxing Day breakfast is a handover - with one lot leaving and the next arriving so there will be croissants and bacon sndwiches .

Boxing Day lunch is cold meat and mash, with veggies and home made pickles.

Tea is leftovers, cake etc.

Then it's a massive family day at ours on the 28th , chilli, fajitas, salad, pitta, wraps and everyone brings a pud !!

It's once a year , I love it and feeding them all brings me huge pleasure.

If you like parsnips you'll love this. I love any soup.

No thank you, I'm a bit unadventurous in my tastes...

Do you want the recipe?

Pear and parsnip soup....?

Tuesday cooking for mum and sister- pear and parsnip soup plaice stuffed with smoked salmon with leek sauce and raspberry panna cotta
Christmas Eve DH voted for steak and chips etc.
Christmas Day - out
Boxing day - chicken and mushroom gf lasagne, gammon with salads then trifle. Shall make lasagne next week and freeze.

It is only two days and even if people are dragging it out planning on a week of festivities the b****y shops will be open [ tchgrin]

Having just read your post anya, i must agree and one if the biggest culprits of going overboardness is DH. The amount of food he wants to buy - and wants me to cook!- is getting out of hand and i had a complete meltdown this afternoon and stormed out of a supermarket in a towering rage telling him if he wants to do Christmas, he can do it without me! Good luck with that, matey! I'm sure it will all smooth over eventually, but at the moment i don't even want to speak to him. For God's sake! It's only two bl***y days!

I agree that the eating is overdone - no one eats much these days - but for peace of mind, I have a detailed plan of every meal from now till New Year's Eve, even if it does include bangers and mash or chicken pie, coleslaw made with left-over cabbage and other things we would normally eat. The plan is rarely kept to, but the ingredients are there and can be used for alternative ideas as I fancy.

Also I'm never sure how many of us will be here for each meal, so we need to be flexible.

Shops are shut here in Germany at 4 pm on the 24th till they open again on the 28th this year, so planning and stocking up is essential. And a freezer!

I shall be doing venison steaks for Christmas lunch, maybe a chicken for one of the later days, but leftovers of meat will not be involved.

To counteract the meat-heavy meals on the big days, I have things like "vegetable lasagne" and "veggie curry" on the menu, for which I can use up any left-over vegetables, and if none are left over, I can improvise with frozen chopped spinach or similar from the freezer.

I have a washing basket filled with veggies out in the garage. No sprouts, (I'm the only one that eats them), but carrots, onions, potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. That should cover most eventualities.

Exactly Anya