The Christmas dinner gourmet thread.

I have recently read that a staggering 87% of Brits eat turkey at Christmas - with 67% of them being cooked by British women. Indeed, when I lived in England I only ever ate turkey at Christmas - but, truthfully, I have never eaten it since leaving. All my christmas's since have been German ones - which means a choice between wild boar, venison, duck, goose, or even carp. There are many other things cooked at Christmas - this year it's duck in orange sauce - cooked by me. I find the 'choice of what to eat' rather nice, because an element of fantasy is involved - yet did, initially, find it strange not to have Turkey on the table at Christmas. I also found it strange being in a country where the evening of the 24th is considered more important than the 25th. Turkeys have only really been 'mainstream' in Britain for about 60 years. In some Scandinavian countries they favour fish at Christmas. So, what is on the table this year - and who is cooking it ? Have the pro Europeans on here (Trots all of us !) remained true to the British (American!) turkey or are there any unpatriotic deviants. Recipes are welcome.

 

Aberdeen Angus for me with yorkshire puds, roast tatties and peas with thick gravy!

 

I am not fond of Turkey ( although I spent a month there in the late 80s )


For many years i was a vegetarian, our eldest daughter is still - and we make a mean cranberry nut roast with goats cheese...


On the other hand we will be at our son's and he is a 100% carnivore... so I hope we will have beef

 

Not sure that I appreciate being called a Trot or a deviant.

We will no doubt be having some lamb on Christmas Day as we are going to join with family. Lamb, despite being surrounded with sheep, is a bit of a special meal due to the cost. We have become over the past ten years very much used to the French type of dinner, with several small courses, and a mixture of flavours and textures. Choice of wine to go with fish, meat and dessert can really make it if you get it right. Whenever I go to the UK I find meals are far too large, and to just look at a plate over filled can put me off.

Some people here, not me, start their Christmas meal about 10.00 pm on the 24th and continue it until breakfast the next morning. The real feast for the French takes place on New Year's Eve, where there will be a 13 course meal, followed by dancing to a live band.

 

They have the same night vigil in Poland Frenchie, where they stay up all night - they have 12 courses there, one for each apostle.

 

Blinis with lumpfish cod's roe and sour cream; then rack of lamb, red wine reduction, roast parsnips, carrots and spuds on Christmas Day. Iberico ham followed by lobster bisque with prawns, squid, mussels on Boxing Day. I prefer gamier birds than turkey...partridge, pheasant, pigeon etc...so we might do that on New Year's Eve. Four successive lots of guests to feed...though two lots are being fed by the local pub!

 

i relent on turkey about once in 5 years for those who like it, but most of us don't and this year it will be duck in cranberry and port sauce and roast beef with yorkshires, a stack of veg, loads of roast potatoes, starter of some description, soup, and of course, pudding! For supper we will be having cheese and biscuits and i suspect that both meals will, as usual, merge into one!

The mere thought of it is making me feel stuffed! (unlike turkey!)

 

Trot Andy V Ent (to give me my full name ).

The boys will have a posh chicken and Mrs Andy and I will share a Quorn Roast - not as 'orrible as it sounds. And I've always done the Christmas Day cooking.

 

Sounds very good. Except the parsnips - food of the Devil.

 

Do you have a recipe for that, yorkshire? Nous somme veggies.

 

I will see if I can find it.....

 

I'll be cooking pork fillet stuffed with port soaked prunes, leek and sausagemeat. We will have new potatoes, broad beans from the garden and baby carrots to go with the meat. I normally do a trifle for pudding but my brother-in-law's wife has insisted that she makes the pudding this year as we are going to her house. I was trying to save her the bother as her mother died a couple of weeks ago but she wants to do something. We will not have a formal first course but have home made guacamole, hummus and salmon mousse with freshly baked bread rolls to fend off hunger pangs before lunch.

I enjoy cooking Christmas lunch for two reasons. My mother-in-law used to do it but I am a better cook than she is. The second is that she gets very stressed when cooking 'important' meals, and for more than four people. I can tell her to bugger-off out of the kitchen. I am the only person in the known universe who is allowed to do this!

 

I normally do the breakfast.......

smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, juice, toast, coffee, etc etc

I am best at that for large groups....

Then hand over to Mme for the lunch

 

The above sounds excellent. Sprigs of fresh coriander with the scrambled egg?

I am a very happy vegetarian now, but I miss two things from Christmas morning:

• Kippers
• Chef's perk of butter-fried onions and turkey liver

 

mmmmm................. will give it a go

 

With Dad on his veggie bake and boys on the chicken probably explains the prediction league scores.

 

Ooh, proper lovely. I love poached eggs on toast with sprigs of fresh coriander. There used to be smoked salmon on the toast, too.

 

Neither my wife nor I plan as far ahead as others it would seem - I'll be cooking whatever we can find at Tescos on Saturday that we know the kids will eat...

I do miss our Queensland Xmas dinners though - nothing to cook at all, just lots of salads, a leg of ham and buckets of prawns in ice, U6 to U8 black tiger or endeavour varieties washed down with ice-cold champers. To die for...

 

Breakfast is very often scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, but one year we decided to get out of the habit for once and choose a surprise for each other...not anything Christmassy but something we knew the other would not normally have for breakfast but was very fond of. Mrs H got some foul-smelling cheese (which she loves). I got a fat slice of chocolate cake!