Cooking for the Holidays

I think the Sourdough bread they have at tesco would go nicely too. Or some toasted Baguette slices.

Found Chary's spinach and artichoke dip recipe!  I love dip.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=49321.msg699268#msg699268

It's from this party food thread from last year which had some good ideas!

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=49321.0;all

I have a recipe similar to that (a friend made it for my bachelorette party) - but instead of spinach it's roasted red peppers. It is to die for.

Okay, this is what I am thinking so far:

Appetizers:
Dips (including a spinach type one), cheese, store bought pickles, savoury biscuits (including some gluten free ones if I can find them).  If I can find a good dark bread, I will do the spinach dip in that
Possibly prawns
----
Main course:
beef roast (if I can find one that's not too lean) or pork loin or stuffed steaks or small game birds.  Something that wouldn't dominate the oven.   Right now I am leaning towards stuffed steaks so I can do them on the stove top.  Plus people love them usually.

Quiche or some sort of meatless entrée for my BiL and me

Roasted parsnips, carrots, and potatoes (one pan--I found a recipe a few weeks ago which seemed the most sensible way of doing them together.  Usually I do the potatoes separately)

Scalloped corn

Brussels

Good bread/fresh rolls

I'd like to have some sort of cranberry thing even though there's no poultry being served

Gluten free gravy

----
Dessert and nibbles (some I would put out with the appetizers)-
Rum balls (if I make them), tinned biscuits (not fussed), possibly the fruit cake/quick bread hybrid my friend came up with that actually is awesome, I still need to figure out what pie/cake/whatever I am making for dessert

I might actually change my mind back to lasagne and say "screw 'em".  Lasagne is what our family in the States has for Christmas.  We used to do more "traditional" foods (we're not Italian, so lasagne isn't really traditional for us), but about 15 years ago, we started the lasagne thing, and it stuck.  It's a lot easier once it's together, plus it's not all that hard to do separate pans for separate tastes/dietary restrictions.  I just think there would be great grumbling if it were not traditional, but there might just be great grumbling anyway.

I think the Sourdough bread they have at tesco would go nicely too. Or some toasted Baguette slices.

I have a recipe similar to that (a friend made it for my bachelorette party) - but instead of spinach it's roasted red peppers. It is to die for.

Oh yum!

I might actually change my mind back to lasagne and say "screw 'em".  Lasagne is what our family in the States has for Christmas.  We used to do more "traditional" foods (we're not Italian, so lasagne isn't really traditional for us), but about 15 years ago, we started the lasagne thing, and it stuck.  It's a lot easier once it's together, plus it's not all that hard to do separate pans for separate tastes/dietary restrictions.  I just think there would be great grumbling if it were not traditional, but there might just be great grumbling anyway.

My family used to do enchiladas, with chips and dips, etc. for Christmas every year. DH would just DIE if I did that to him. 

It's not my husband who would care.  He loves lasagne, and isn't all that bothered if I serve it for the holiday dinner.  He's not all that fixated on traditions, and this is our first year we're having Christmas together in our own flat, so it's a good time to start new traditions.  I think my father-in-law *would* be bothered, and it would be the subject of gossip by my mother-in-law for a while.  Breaking it to them that they are having lasagne would probably be the worst because they have never had lasagne except for what is sold in the freezer case here.  And every time I had it with my inlaws, my MiL always served potatoes with it (she does this with spag bol or any other kind of pasta as well).

Oh yum!

Here's that recipe if you're interested:

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayonaise
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 garlic clove minced
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped finely
1/3 cup finely chopped roasted red bell pepper (from 7 1/4 oz jar)
crackers, cut-up fresh vegetables, or snack bread slices ( i use a bread bowel and crackers)

1. Combine Parmesan cheese, mayonaise, cream cheese, and garlic in food processor (i just use a hand mixer). Process until smooth. place mixture in slow cooker.

2. Add artichokes hearts and red bell peppers. Stirl well.

3. Cover, cook on Low 1 hour. Stir again

4. Use as spread for crackers, cut-up fresh vegetables, or snack break slices



It's very good in the slow cooker, but it comes out nicely on the stove too.

Okay, this is what I am thinking so far:

Appetizers:
Dips (including a spinach type one), cheese, store bought pickles, savoury biscuits (including some gluten free ones if I can find them).  If I can find a good dark bread, I will do the spinach dip in that
Possibly prawns
----
Main course:
beef roast (if I can find one that's not too lean) or pork loin or stuffed steaks or small game birds.  Something that wouldn't dominate the oven.   Right now I am leaning towards stuffed steaks so I can do them on the stove top.  Plus people love them usually.

Quiche or some sort of meatless entrée for my BiL and me

Roasted parsnips, carrots, and potatoes (one pan--I found a recipe a few weeks ago which seemed the most sensible way of doing them together.  Usually I do the potatoes separately)

Scalloped corn

Brussels

Good bread/fresh rolls

I'd like to have some sort of cranberry thing even though there's no poultry being served

Gluten free gravy

----
Dessert and nibbles (some I would put out with the appetizers)-
Rum balls (if I make them), tinned biscuits (not fussed), possibly the fruit cake/quick bread hybrid my friend came up with that actually is awesome, I still need to figure out what pie/cake/whatever I am making for dessert

I might actually change my mind back to lasagne and say "screw 'em".  Lasagne is what our family in the States has for Christmas.  We used to do more "traditional" foods (we're not Italian, so lasagne isn't really traditional for us), but about 15 years ago, we started the lasagne thing, and it stuck.  It's a lot easier once it's together, plus it's not all that hard to do separate pans for separate tastes/dietary restrictions.  I just think there would be great grumbling if it were not traditional, but there might just be great grumbling anyway.

That sounds a really nice menu
If you want to do something cranberry based you could do a cranberry glaze maybe?
Or if you were doing the pork loin, you could do stuffing packed around the outside with sage/cranberry/apples in it.

Here's what I do with Pork loin (this is my illfated blog which lasted about 2 entries! I'm going to start again, I swear )

I season it, seal it in a pan, pack with stuffing, wrap in bacon then roast on top of herbs and apple halves. The apple halves then mash into apple sauce when the roast is done.

http://fantastical-corner.blogspot.com/2008/09/4th-september.html

Here's what I do with Pork loin (this is my illfated blog which lasted about 2 entries! I'm going to start again, I swear )


http://fantastical-corner.blogspot.com/2008/09/4th-september.html

You should definitely start up your blog again! You always have great ideas, and I would love to see some of your Indonesian specialities. 

You should definitely start up your blog again! You always have great ideas, and I would love to see some of your Indonesian specialities. 

I'm going to! I ended up needing a new job and moving to London right after that last entry, then things were too crazy for ages, I will do it again this year I think, the boy and I have some cool stuff set for TX so I'll try and throw some pics/entries up

That sounds a really nice menu
If you want to do something cranberry based you could do a cranberry glaze maybe?
Or if you were doing the pork loin, you could do stuffing packed around the outside with sage/cranberry/apples in it.

Here's what I do with Pork loin (this is my illfated blog which lasted about 2 entries! I'm going to start again, I swear )

I season it, seal it in a pan, pack with stuffing, wrap in bacon then roast on top of herbs and apple halves. The apple halves then mash into apple sauce when the roast is done.

http://fantastical-corner.blogspot.com/2008/09/4th-september.html

Thanks.

I am probably not going to do the lasagne.  It's not worth opening myself up for criticism.  Plus, as minor as it sounds, I don't want to serve potatoes with pasta, and I know that people will ask where the potatoes are.  I guess that would have been a problem if we were doing what we originally planned and have them here sometime over the holidays me serving lasagne, but not as the main holiday meal.  I guess I didn't really think it through very well.

Just to chime in, I know in the US that Thanksgiving is the holiday with the strongest food traditions but in the UK Christmas is the food holiday.  Messing with the Xmas menu here is like messing with the Thanksgiving menu in the US.

geeez can I just hire you ladies out.... I was going to make a M&S run for nibbled cause I can't cook to save my life

Just to chime in, I know in the US that Thanksgiving is the holiday with the strongest food traditions but in the UK Christmas is the food holiday.  Messing with the Xmas menu here is like messing with the Thanksgiving menu in the US.

We all have our own food traditions for Christmas though! It's nice to combine them. I know my in-laws sure don't mind. We just end up with a bit more on the table.

We all have our own food traditions for Christmas though! It's nice to combine them. I know my in-laws sure don't mind. We just end up with a bit more on the table.

Oh definitely! Xmas is very much a "more the merrier" holiday, that's what we do at my house - traditional roast with some American additions.  Interestingly, on the pasta-and-potatoes front, one of the dishes my wife likes from the US is chicken noodle topped mashed potatoes - apparently they're an Indiana thing.

I was just trying to give an insight into just how traditional Xmas lunch is here and I thought back to the T-giving menu threads.  Adding UK things to the menu is fine but throwing out the turkey and green bean casserole and replacing them with something else entirely would not go down quite as well.

Adding UK things to the menu is fine but throwing out the turkey and green bean casserole and replacing them with something else entirely would not go down quite as well.

I do think that sort of depends. DH doesn't really like turkey all that much and so he's always up for mixing it up - beef, duck, whatever. And my colleagues came up with the idea of having pizzas at our Christmas do because none of them fancied the traditional Christmas lunch that restaurants all offer this time of year. Maybe how attached you are to a roast dinner is generational?