Christmas Dinner? Help

[freecybermag]

OK so I have to make a Christmas Dinner for 10 people on Sunday and I have never done one before. What do you all have for Christmas Dinner?

My menu so far is:
Roast Potatoes
Turkey
Boiled Potatoes
Stuffing
Cabbage
Carrots
Yorkshire Puddings
Brussel Sprouts

Is that enough or should I make more and also can I do anything fancy with the veg like add bacon peices to the brussel sprouts etc.
Do you have starters or is the main meal enough?

'm starting to panic now :D

Chris

[Hayles]

Why not buy a copy of the Jamie Oliver christmas dinner cd? He goes through everything step by step - £3.99 in BHS!

If not, carry on panicking!!!

Rather you than me :lol:

[Jayne]

Cranberry sauce, xmas pud and brandy cream, mince pies, ham, Melon or homemade soup.

We cut Melon like boats and decorate with cherries or another easy one is, Melon balls soaked in port for starters.

Jayne :D

[freecybermag]

lol

Cheers Hayles but I live in Switzerland so can't get his CD :cry:

Unless I can get it off Limewire? mmmm Will get back to you on that one :D

Chris

[creospace]

i made it for 18 last year, no problem.

Tips

Par poil your spuds then shake them in teh pot for great fluffy crispy rost spuds. Make sure the oil is really hot before you put them in the pan.

Don't forget the pigs in blankets!

Gary

[Jayne]

Oh, forgot that Gary..we do little sausages rolled in bacon :D

Jayne

[freecybermag]

What the hell is Pigs in Blankets? :lol:

Is that a sausage in bacon strips.

I was going to make Dates in bacon strips as a starter instead :D

[creospace]

banana in bacon is amazing, thats one of my bar-b-que specialities.

This year I'm doing christams dinner in a log fired old fashioed stove, no running water. Now thats rustic!

I do like to cook.

Gary

[mumper]

You have everything you need there and as long as you cook enough you should be fine.

I've never heard of bacon in the sprouts but you could wrap some around cocktail sausages and bake them. Don't forget - bread sauce is good with turkey.

To get nice crispy roast potatoes, partly boil them first. When they are ready to go into the roasting dish, drain them off and put them back into the saucepan, put the lid on it and give it a good shake for 3 - 4 seconds. That will rough-up the outsides enough to turn crispy during cooking - a good sprinkle of salt before you roast them should be all you need.

Having starters may prove a bit too much. Have the main course and the pudding - you'll be fine - Good luck.

[creospace]

Thats 2 of us then who agree on the roast potatoes (read up)!

Gary :)

[freecybermag]

Cheers for that John and everyone else.

I am going to be totally Welsh here (Thick) but in Mince Pies am I right in understanding that the only thing in there is Mince meat and no fruit or sauce or anything else. I have been reading a few recipes from the internet and none mention anything else in the filling other than Mince Meat??

[SillyJokes]

I was going to make Dates in bacon strips as a starter instead

Don't forget to add a shake of chilli powder - gives them an incredible zing (gawd I sound like Jamie Oliver on a Sainsburies advert)

Parsnips, Bread Sauce, Cranberry, Brandy Butter, Brandy to go on pud - sixpence to put inside- alternative pud for those who don't like Xmas pud, leg of pork in case people are sick of turkey, two or three other vegetables, mince pies, chocolate mints, proper coffee, tea, cake. yorkshire pudding, mash.

oh and a vegetarian option for your teenage neice.

[Hayles]

Make sure you go for the Welsh minced meat, lean cut :wink:

[Ravenfire]

We have a gammon with ours as well and also sausagemeat!

[Jayne]

For the best roast potatoes, save the fat when you roast a beef joint and cook them in that..yummy, heard Goose fat is good too :D

Jayne

[MinuWeb]

I always do roast parsnips and cauliflower cheese with mine.

[Jayne]

They are marks favorites Tony, he's doing roasted parsnips in honey this Christmas and he eats cauliflower cheese on it own. He also likes sprouts..yuck!

Jayne

[creospace]

Oh by the way I got some sage!

[MinuWeb]

Oh by the way I got some sage!

Local or food parcel ?

I'm sure I got some in Stockmanns there last summer.......

[Jayne]

I'm so glad Gary, was it smuggled in :lol:

Jayne

[creospace]

nah smuggled in by a friend who was sympethetic, but i will be bringing a load back in februrary if i can't find any more till then.

Gary

[confused]

banana in bacon is amazing
That is the single most disgusting thing I have ever heard !
I once went for an Indian and decided I'd "experiment" I cant remember what it was called but it had bananas in, it was all I could do to keep it down lol.
Anyway the way things are at home right now I think I'll be having a kebab or something on my own !

[Jayne]

I've eaten cook banana skin on holiday, not nice.

Jayne :D

[bitsnstuff]

Bananas split down the middle, stuffed with chocolate adda splash of rum and wrap up the foil parcel. Stick in the ove/barbecue until soft and then add ice cream - yum yum.

Anyway, I digress!! We have everything you have mentioned, but start with a homemade tomatoe soup and croutons (you can make this the day before and keep in the fridge or now and freeze, then just defrost on the day). We also have three types of stuffing, rolls of bacon and little sausages, bread sauce and cranberry sauce, parnsips, swede and lashings of gravy. We don't have a traditional Christmas pud, but have a carrot pudding which is delicious and much lighter in taste - it is a recipe handed down the generations!

I would that if you are not sure how it is going to do, that you need to plan plan plan. I use my timer backwards with meals like this so it tells me when to put the next thing in the oven, rather than out, e.g. the meat takes 1hr, the potatoes take 45 mins, so put the timer on for 15mins when you put the meat in the oven, when it goes off, stick in the spuds, etc etc.

Hope it all goes well. Don't do what I do and get tiddled on the chefs large glass of wine, as it will all go horribly wrong! :lol:

Kate

[Ravenfire]

I love parnships and Christmas dinner is my favourite meal of the whole year, we normally have a starter of smoked salmon with cream cheese wrapped around some asparagus then sprinkled with black pepper and lemon juice followed by huge turkey dinner then christmas pud and a lot of cream!!!

Im getting hungry now. Hoping santa will bring me lots of pressies because Ive been a good girl this year ;)

[anajinn]

Don't serve cabbage AND Brussels sprouts! Why not serve swedes and Brussels sprouts? plus the carrots. What about sausages wrapped in bacon? What about chestnut stuffing? What about the Christmas crackers, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, apple sauce?

[Carl-CSNM]

Don't serve cabbage AND Brussels sprouts! Why not serve swedes and Brussels sprouts? plus the carrots. What about sausages wrapped in bacon? What about chestnut stuffing? What about the Christmas crackers, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, apple sauce?

What about looking at when this post was originally posted? :p

Strange first post!!

[Comspec]

Strange one this ??? :D

[iklemiracle]

A must (aside from most of my musts that have already been mentioned)

Red Cabbage, (cooked in the min amount of water - steamed if possible)

Mix with a generous helping of roasted caramelized onions, Lurpack butter, Plenty of black pepper then stir in some melted red current jelly......

To die for ! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[iklemiracle]

lol - oh yeah - bit late on the uptake there!:D

[Chris Kaday]

Also dates or apricots or prunes wrapped in bacon is great. Chestnuts with the sprouts are nice - just get a tin of them. Don't overook the cabbage eh

Chris Kaday

[anajinn]

What about gowing up? I can post anything I want as a first post. I didn't notice the date, but if it is not applicable then perhaps BUSINESS FORUMS should start removing old posts. Do you all have nothing better to do than criticise someone who was trying to help a member? Good God. Sorry I joined this site if that's what the calibre of members is like.

[anajinn]

What about looking at when this post was originally posted? :p

Strange first post!!

Nothing better to do, huh?

[Carl-CSNM]

Nothing better to do, huh?

:D It's just a very strange first post.

Merry Christmas!!

[anajinn]

lol - oh yeah - bit late on the uptake there!:D
My mistake. I thought this was an adult site.

[Chris Kaday]

I am confused - not for the first time though

Chris Kaday

[estwig]

What about gowing up? I can post anything I want as a first post. I didn't notice the date, but if it is not applicable then perhaps BUSINESS FORUMS should start removing old posts. Do you all have nothing better to do than criticise someone who was trying to help a member? Good God. Sorry I joined this site if that's what the calibre of members is like.

Calm down luv, it's only a post!!! <Said Michael Winner style>
:)

[anajinn]

Yes, it seems that some people don't have much of a life.

[SillyJokes]

I love it when old posts get dredged up, it confused the heck out of me.

Reminds me to make my Christmas pudding though.

[iklemiracle]

My mistake. I thought this was an adult site.

I was actually laughing at myself ..... tis a bit funny when these things happen....just goes to show that I must go out and buy a red cabbage immediately(ever since I wrote that Ive been craving it)

Ps Chill annajin.....Welcome to the UKBF:)