Christmas Dinner

[fruitsalad]

I'm cooking for 7 which veg to you have with your xmas dinner, I dont want to overload the plates, but then again I want enough, also do you have yorkshire puds

[ethandron]

Trust me Ummmm, you’re better off with either of those alternatives. I paid a fortune for a goose a few years ago and it was a total waste of money..not much meat and what there was, was tough. And this was from our local award winning butcher, along with his instructions on how to cook it.

[shoota]

I'll give you a goose Ummmmmmm ;-)

[ethandron]

There’s no way you can go into the butchers and ask ‘can I have a goose please’ without grinning ;)

[ummmm]

Shoota :-)

Maybe a blessing in disguise then Eth. We have loads of food. Luckily Tesco delivered today otherwise we would have been having tuna steaks for xmas dinner.

I've never cooked a turkey before!!

[Rockrose]

I think it depends on how you cook your goose, my SIL goose is always amazing and succulent

[shoota]

One needs to enunciate carefully when asking for a duck also...

[retrocop]

Only ever have yorkies with Roast beef in our family.Never with Turkey.

[Rockrose]

Your missing out then retro Yorkshire pudding goes with all meat

[ethandron]

It’s just a big chicken really. I put softened butter under the skin (even though it’s a ready basted one), shove an apple, orange and lemon in the body cavity, and drape loads of streaky bacon over the breast so it doesn’t dry out. Never fails, not had a dry turkey ever.

[ummmm]

It might be just the two of us this year. The turkey feeds 8 to 10 people.

My son is still contemplating coming round but is worried his BF won't get his dads sense of humour.

[ummmm]

Eth - I did order lots of bacon.

[ethandron]

You’re probably right Rosie, they’re so expensive though I’m not prepared to take the chance again.
I love the way every family has its own traditions for food at Christmas. I miss my Aunty Arly’s piccalilli, she gave all the family a giant jar of it for Christmas.

[shoota]

Dad's senses of humour can be a bit of a mystery....
Ask my sons.

[choux]

You haven't said what meat you are cooking, fruitsalad, or is it a vegetarian dinner menu?

I guess I am a traditionalist/dinosaur but only serve yorkshire puds with beef. If cooking turkey or chicken it has to be lemon, parsley and thyme stuffing. Sage and onion stuffing is always served with pork.

Enjoy making my own stuffing mixtures and sauces - cranberry and orange for poultry, cumberland for gammon and a sour apple sauce for the pork. Never had any complaints and they do taste far better than packet or supermarket brands.

I would err on the side of generosity with the veg - nothing worse than having to eke out all the food between the last 2 plates! You can always keep back some of the veg in the warm oven for second helpings. Whatever you do have a lovely meal :)

[ducksie]

Just make sure there are plenty of roast spuds :) of all the veg ever cooked in our house, that was the one there were more arguments over not enough cooked, we'd all watch the other's plates to see if they were full and nab their spuds

[ummmm]

Shoota - he's really childish, fine if you know him, but we haven't met my sons partner yet. We should probably meet him when booze isn't being served :-)

[ummmm]

Ducksie...I think that's an Irish thing. I bought 3 bags of spuds :-)

[ethandron]

I always deliberately do far too much veg etc on Christmas Day so there’s plenty if anyone wants cold leftovers later in the evening. The rest gets put in my biggest pot along with cold gravy, cream and any other leftover sauces (not brandy sauce or custard obviously) and covered with the savoury crumble currently tucked up in the freezer, on Boxing Day.

[ducksie]

I think it is ummmm - with 12 kids at the table (my siblings and I) them parents - we needed a second oven for the turkey ;)

[Rockrose]

Got to be roasted boiled and mash spuds loads of veg so you can have bubble and squeak with bacon and eggs for Boxing Day brunch