Christmas faff - dishes that take extra time
Discussion
I know some folks like the easy option, but for me Christmas meals need to be something that’s not ordinary, a bit of prep/thinking to make something you wouldn’t normally have when you’re all off work & have the time.
Anyone here got anything different they do for special occasions, side dishes etc?
I’m on the potatoes this year & thinking
Roast, boiled & dauphinois will be the way.
Pic’s Roast/hassle back & dauphinois like I’m going to try & go for.
Anyone here got anything different they do for special occasions, side dishes etc?
I’m on the potatoes this year & thinking
Roast, boiled & dauphinois will be the way.
Pic’s Roast/hassle back & dauphinois like I’m going to try & go for.
Edited by AndyAudi on Tuesday 21st November 10:11
RC1807 said:
Youngest is vegetarian.
The nut roast my wife prepares especially for her seems to take an age to prep!
Not relevant to OP, but to RC1807, my mum used to make Pissaladière for my sis when we were kids as an alternative, very different to pizza and seemed to go down well, may be worth a go? Does include fish though, so depends on her degree of vegetarianism.The nut roast my wife prepares especially for her seems to take an age to prep!
We always make a sweet and sour red cabbage with apples. Delish. Also a home made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. This year will be our first with a veggie in the family so I'm looking for a special nut roast recipe if anyone has one please? Otherwise I'll just stick dried cranberries and some chestnuts in the usual one.
My philosophy is almost the opposite of the OP and have pared back Christmas catering to a well executed traditional offering with minimal fussiness.
I've done the clever stuff over the years. Tunnel boned goose stuffed with wild rabbit. A multi bird (freezer raid) roast including turkey, pheasant, mallard, teal, partridge, woodcock and snipe. Ham on the side which has meant even more left over bird. I've done fancy starters but even soup as a starter takes you away from the kitchen at a critical time and is calorifically unnecessary.
I'm usually catering for a number of generations (four when my Gran was still alive) so my cheffy cleverness has been a case of pearls before swine in my household. Rels go nuts for pigs in blankets and stuffing balls so that's what they get now.
I stick to tradition - essentially a roast dinner with a few extra trimmings and larger quantities. No concessions to preferences - there's plenty of choice. Take what you want and leave what you don't (no vegetarians in our household)
I don't bother with starter, Prep as much veg and trimmings and get bird dressed night before. It's not that much more hassle than any other big roast.
I've done the clever stuff over the years. Tunnel boned goose stuffed with wild rabbit. A multi bird (freezer raid) roast including turkey, pheasant, mallard, teal, partridge, woodcock and snipe. Ham on the side which has meant even more left over bird. I've done fancy starters but even soup as a starter takes you away from the kitchen at a critical time and is calorifically unnecessary.
I'm usually catering for a number of generations (four when my Gran was still alive) so my cheffy cleverness has been a case of pearls before swine in my household. Rels go nuts for pigs in blankets and stuffing balls so that's what they get now.
I stick to tradition - essentially a roast dinner with a few extra trimmings and larger quantities. No concessions to preferences - there's plenty of choice. Take what you want and leave what you don't (no vegetarians in our household)
I don't bother with starter, Prep as much veg and trimmings and get bird dressed night before. It's not that much more hassle than any other big roast.
CivicDuties said:
We always make a sweet and sour red cabbage with apples. Delish. Also a home made cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. This year will be our first with a veggie in the family so I'm looking for a special nut roast recipe if anyone has one please? Otherwise I'll just stick dried cranberries and some chestnuts in the usual one.
If you do a nut roast with chestnuts it could double as stuffing for the bird. Or you could make a basic nut roast/stuffing recipe put half in a tin for your veggie and then add bacon or sausagemeat to the remainder for stuffing the bird.I would have thought vegan sausage would make a pretty decent 'mortar' for a nut roast.
oddman said:
My philosophy is almost the opposite of the OP and have pared back Christmas catering to a well executed traditional offering with minimal fussiness.
Same to be honest. Even when we did have around 14 of us each Christmas my mum was so bored of spending 5+ hours in the kitchen every year with people popping in and out to help with small bits and then all the cleaning and washing up that we probably did 12 years of going to the local pub. £70pp, 5 courses, wood fire, no prep, cooking, cleaning.
Now that we don't always have it with my brother/sister and their children etc. and I just do it at home for 2 of us I make it as easy as I can. About 90 mins and only 3 or 4 trips to the oven, nothing on the hob.
M&S bacon wrapped turkey crown, a small roast beef that basically take the same time. Frozen roast potatoes, cut up some carrots and parsnips drizzle with honey and they all go in together. Gravy and Yorkshires at the end as one of us plates up.
oddman said:
My philosophy is almost the opposite of the OP and have pared back Christmas catering to a well executed traditional offering with minimal fussiness.
I do get that “keep it simple” leads for an easier/less stressful time if one person’s responsible for the lot, but we always spread out the dishes.Potatoes isn’t a big task this year so I’m happy to spend a bit more time preparing them.
There would be a riot here if I tried to pare anything back! We do pretty much everything from scratch and, if I am honest, I enjoy it. My son in law has been inspired by our efforts and now cooks for us all on Boxing Day, which is a nice relaxing treat after the Christmas meal preparation and washing up. My personal favourite is the stuffing, in fact I will need to buy a small sage plant to use over the next week or so.
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