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Festive Food Plans

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Festive Food Plans

Postby Suffs » Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:29 am

I thought it might be a good time to start a thread for for festive food .... whether we celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day and the surrounding festivities or prefer Yuletide or other celebrations .... Hanukkah starts 28/11 this year, and there's St Andrew's Day on 30/11 (which is also celebrated in Romania) ... and then Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day there's New Year and Twelfth Night, and then of course Burns' Night ... there's probably some I've missed. Perhaps Uschi can tell us about special foodie festivities for St Nicholas' Day on 6th December?

It would be lovely to share well known festive food traditions, and perhaps some that are more personal family ones.

We are likely to just be three folk sitting down for our big Christmas meal ... and it won't be the traditional fowl and plum pudding, but it'll be very special ... so here's a thread to chat about our plans and ideas ...

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Suffs » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:10 pm

DS is going to be working or on call all through Christmas ... and that will include his birthday on the 22/12 ... but he hopes to be able to be with us for a Christmas Day meal at around 5pm ... we've decided on roast rib of beef (our local farm butcher has home reared aged Red Poll beef - my Pa kept Red Polls when I was a child) so we'll have that (nice and rare) with all the trimmings ... Yorkshire puds, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, Brussels sprouts, peas, gravy and horseradish sauce. I may do a choice of puds ... I was thinking perhaps a Pavlova and a rich chocolate mousse ... both will travel ok if DS wants to take some home with him. I thought that I'd make a really good Prawn Cocktail-type salad for lunch for OH and myself rather than have it as a starter for the main meal.

I'm trying to think of some thing I can send home with DS that he can have for his Boxing Day supper .... perhaps a pasty with a festive filling ... any suggestions ... ? He's not a great one for green leafy veg ... he says it triggers his IBS. I'll be making sausage rolls and mince pies so he can take some of those home as well ... but again he says too much pastry can cause a problem with his innards so maybe not a pasty then Hmmm ...
,
We like to have a gammon over the Christmas period we'll have that roasted on Christmas Eve and cold with salad on Boxing Day and then in various forms until there's nothing left but the stock it was cooked in ... that'll be used to :shock: make soup.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Sloe-Gin » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:21 pm

Goose is our preferred Christmas dinner - usually just the two of us. We used to be invited to the 'outlaws' but as the family has grown (both in number and age!) it's become a logistical nightmare to seat everyone (and cook for 18+), so we have bowed out. And, to be honest, once all the kids get together, it gets pretty noisy. And we know we're not going to separate DiL from her family that day.
Plus, there are things that 'make' the meal for me; proper bread sauce, home made stuffings, goose fat roasties and Christmas pud with rum sauce, followed by a good snooze!!
We have 'our lot' on Boxing day.
However, we cannot really plan this year, because if they do decide on surgery for hub, he's been told it will be before Christmas.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Suelle » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:36 pm

I'm refusing to panic about, or plan, the Christmas Day meal. I will make do with what's available at the time.

I've always got the makings of a meal in the freezer - the most I will do is buy a few more luxurious meat items, if I see anything on offer between now and the festive season.
Traditional home baking, and more:
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby RockyBVI » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:47 pm

Great idea for a thread.

This year is quite exciting as it has been many, many years since we have been near enough to spend time with family.

We may have gone too far though - we are invited some of my family and OH's to join us in Slovenia. It will be interesting managing the traditions of each side - OH and I might have to invent some (our traditions have involved beaches etc!). There will be 14 of us - and happily only three days of everyone being there.

In terms of food, I am not sure what will be available that would be considered at Christmas so it will be wait and see.. OH is driving so he will be loaded up with things like crackers. Pre-Brexit, he would probably have been more laden down with food :(

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby slimpersoninside » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:48 pm

We have bought and frozen our Christmas day dinner, rib of beef and a chicken. We usually have a Christmas pud but they are 'out of stock' (who'd have thought it! :lol: :lol: ), so dessert is yet to be confirmed. Veg and trimmings will be purchased as and when - anything we can't get we will do without.

We don't have hard and fast rules and traditions regarding Christmas food so will go with the flow.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby liketocook » Mon Oct 18, 2021 12:56 pm

Thanks for this suffs,
Would DS be better with some cold leftovers that he can use as he pleases for Boxing Day?
I'm unsure yet if we will be four or six for Christmas but it will be turkey and the usual trimmings. I hope to get them from the butcher's in the next couple of weeks. We usually have canapes while opening pressies so don't bother with a starter and for the past couple of years pud has been a mini magnum later in the evening!
Ditto for New Year's day re numbers but I'll probably cook beef or lamb. Steak pie is traditional up here but neither DS2 or I are that keen, I'll make one if there will six of us but won't if just the four. My nephew works in a hotel, it's closed on Christmas Day but open on the 1st. If he's working and DS1 & DIL-to-be are in Greece I might make a beef wellington for DS2. my sis and myself. I cooked this last year when there was just the two of us and really enjoyed it.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:14 pm

Suelle wrote:I'm refusing to panic about, or plan, the Christmas Day meal. I will make do with what's available at the time.

I've always got the makings of a meal in the freezer - the most I will do is buy a few more luxurious meat items, if I see anything on offer between now and the festive season.

Me too
I will buy nice things if I see them

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Suffs » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:16 pm

liketocook wrote:Thanks for this suffs,
Would DS be better with some cold leftovers that he can use as he pleases for Boxing Day? ....


Hmmm, that's a good idea LTC ... he's not a fan of cold roast beef, but if I sent him home with some slices of the gammon and some nice eggs he could turn that into a version of ham, egg & chips couldn't he? .... or if he preferred he could just make a sandwich or have it with a baked potato :thumbsup and cooked gammon would last a few days in case his sister invites him to eat with them on Boxing Day.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby liketocook » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:20 pm

Suffs wrote:
liketocook wrote:Thanks for this suffs,
Would DS be better with some cold leftovers that he can use as he pleases for Boxing Day? ....


Hmmm, that's a good idea LTC ... he's not a fan of cold roast beef, but if I sent him home with some slices of the gammon and some nice eggs he could turn that into a version of ham, egg & chips couldn't he? .... or if he preferred he could just make a sandwich or have it with a baked potato :thumbsup and cooked gammon would last a few days in case his sister invites him to eat with them on Boxing Day.

Sounds like a plan :thumbsup

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby RockyBVI » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:21 pm

Suffs - we have made this a few times. We really like it

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pie

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Pepper Pig » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:24 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:
Me too
I will buy nice things if I see them


I’ve already demolished a pack of Lidl miniature stollen. :oops: :oops:

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Uschi » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:41 pm

Lovely thread.

We don't know yet what we will be having exactly. I love game for Christmas, but a duck breast or similar will do just as well.
In any case I will make it with lashings of home-made boozy gravy and potato dumplings (or baked potato croquettes) a baked marzipan-stuffed apple, a poached red wine pear and red cabbage, which is all very Christmassy.

For dessert ... I love Dr Oetker's red wine mousse, but maybe I will make a "cheat's chocolate mousse" by making a chocolate pudding (blanc mange-style) from a packet, adding dark chocolate to it while still hot, allowing it to cool down and then folding in whipped cream and some booze and maybe tinned fruit like cherries.

I have no idea what the family plan, that usually trumps our own plans.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:42 pm

Pepper Pig wrote:I’ve already demolished a pack of Lidl miniature stollen. :oops: :oops:


I am resisting a trip to Lidl, but they have opened a new Aldi within walking distance, so I need to reconnoitre ;) and a German acquaintance says their stollen bites are also very good

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:47 pm

RockyBVI wrote:Suffs - we have made this a few times. We really like it

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pie


Probably not suitable for Suff's DS but I often make a 'Christmas Pie' with (purposely planned) leftovers. Everything goes in - bird, chopped sausages, sprouts, cranberry sauce, stuffing etc. in dollops or bite sized pieces plus gravy. I do a thick, buttery shortcrust. Often I freeze it because round about February it seems even more delicious hot or cold!

I rarely 'do' Christmas Day now but usually do a Boxing Day buffet. The family demands cold turkey and ham, salads and easy things like crisps, cheese, nice bread and 'bits'. Dead easy and we don't tire of it. There's usually something like trifle too. I find I entertain more in the days following Christmas - buffets, the 'leftovers' pie and soup tend to feature. We've never done special breakfast or anything but I do prefer Christmas lunch to Dinner. I love the bustle of cooking on Christmas morning then having the rest of the day for games, snoozing, TV or whatever afterwards. I miss Christmas tea and supper but people eat more at the main meal these days and only want to a snack later - and I'm the only one who likes proper Christmas cake :( .

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Sloe-Gin » Mon Oct 18, 2021 3:27 pm

Interesting choice of Christmas destination, Rocky. Do you have connections to the country?

My hub dreams of having Christmas dinner at the caravan in the snow in the Welsh hills (we did, one year when the 'kids' went round the world and we towed the van to Poole!).
I am not quite so keen! But we have all the cooking stuff to make sure it was a success, from the halogen oven, to a small ceramic hob, slow cooker, microwave....plus the gas hob/oven.
Last year, we were supposed to go to neighbours, but we were in lockdown, so our dinner was delivered by said neighbour, wearing a turkey outfit...must find the photo.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby KeenCook2 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 3:47 pm

RockyBVI wrote:Great idea for a thread.

This year is quite exciting as it has been many, many years since we have been near enough to spend time with family.

We may have gone too far though - we are invited some of my family and OH's to join us in Slovenia. It will be interesting managing the traditions of each side - OH and I might have to invent some (our traditions have involved beaches etc!). There will be 14 of us - and happily only three days of everyone being there.

In terms of food, I am not sure what will be available that would be considered at Christmas so it will be wait and see.. OH is driving so he will be loaded up with things like crackers. Pre-Brexit, he would probably have been more laden down with food :(


Goodness, that's "different"!! Have you booked a large house, in a city or the countryside?

I ordered this a few weeks ago: https://christmasfood.marksandspencer.c ... evPage=srp

I'm planning to get in a COOK dessert, I think, that I can put in the freezer and forget about until the day. Haven't decided what yet.

We are supposed to be 7, of whom one is a veggie, but D-i-L has just had her flight here on Christmas Day cancelled and there isn't a train to get her to Madrid airport for the early one they've put her on instead, so she may not get here until Boxing Day as it's her mother's birthday on Christmas Eve.

We've booked at the local Brasserie Blanc, at Fulham Reach, on the river, for 7 pm on Boxing Day and then we'll have left-overs on the 27th. DS2 will fly back to LA on 28th.

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby mistakened » Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:19 pm

I can recommend the Christmas Pie mentioned above.

Will people please stop recommending Food Porn such as the M&S Christmas collection, some of us cannot get any of it and will have to make do with Lidl's meagre Christmas offerings, we do not get their entire selection.

Interesting the M&S items that already sold out in mid October

Moira

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby KeenCook2 » Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:33 pm

mistakened wrote:I can recommend the Christmas Pie mentioned above.

Will people please stop recommending Food Porn such as the M&S Christmas collection, some of us cannot get any of it and will have to make do with Lidl's meagre Christmas offerings, we do not get their entire selection.

Interesting the M&S items that already sold out in mid October

Moira



:oops: :oops: :lol: :lol:

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Re: Festive Food Plans

Postby Sloe-Gin » Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:35 pm

turkey 20.jpg
turkey 20.jpg (171.58 KiB) Viewed 3893 times


Our lovely neighbour's Christmas turkey trot

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