Christmas Dinners!

Last year since it was just me and DH (and I wasn't working) we didn't really do a big Christmas Meal. This year there will be four of us so I want to have a nice feast! I just can't decide on what the main course will be. Turkey, Ham, Prime Rib. I'm leaning towards the turkey. I just hope my oven will be able to handle it!

Also I need side dishes. I never used to worry so much about cooking back in the US because I knew what ever I made people would pretty much like it. I'll be the only American so I just want to make sure my friends will enjoy the meal as well. I have mentioned doing a green bean casserole, and some sort of sweet potatoes dish and I got some funny looks. I don't want to make them if I'll be the only one eating them! Plus I hate to waste food and there is only so many leftovers I can eat.   

I was just hoping to get some yummy ideas here! I've been watching Food Network like crazy so I'll post anything I find in the coming days too. 

Check out BBC Good Food, its a great place for recipes. We are veggie so I will spare you talk about my mushroom wellingtons but making all the sides like stuffing, roast veggies, mash and roast potatoes, CHEESE BOARD! (my favorite), loads of puff pastry starters, (quorn) sausages in a pastry blanket.


Desserts are apple and cranberry crumble, pumpkin pie and xmas pudding.

BBC food and some of the grocery stores have online recipes and are starting to put out some Christmas-y ones.  We usually have roasted chicken with sausage stuffing since Thanksgiving was only the month before, made from scratch potatoes au gratin, and usually a few veg.  But since it's just us, I make things my mom used to make like spritz cookies and a Texas sheet cake for desserts.  For Christmas Eve, sometimes if I can get a ham or even a gammon, I make that because my family used to eat that on Christmas Eve. 

I am so happy I am NOT cooking for Christmas as we are going to a friends house.  I am bringing sweet potato casserole with marshmallows as everyone liked them at thanksgiving so why not contribute! I am also going to make my double layer pumpkin pie again since I only get it 1 or 2X a year and I think its fun to watch the faces until they try it ;-)
I know we are having turkey as that seems to be the norm here (kinda what I consider Tday) but whatever you cook will be fab ;-)

I second a cheese plate - because I can eat cheese until the cows come home.

I totally think rushing around the kitchen when you want to be interacting with your guests is nooooo fun so I try to do what I can prior so I can enjoy it as well.  I would do roast veggies, roast potatoes and stuffing!

Let us know what your menu ends up being - I cant wait to have an English meal on a holiday because I am sure there is stuff I have never had like Christmas pudding?

I'm going to J's parents house and J's mum is a good cook and does the traditional turkey roast- then on Boxing Day she does another huge meal-usually a roast beast- she makes amazing yorkshire puddings!  That said, it may actually be J's Dad cooking this year- since his Mum fell and broke her arm a few weeks ago, and needed surgery and has pins holding it together and is in a sling.  I will need to find out what I can bring along and see how I can help with the cooking. 
 Not sure if we're going just on Christmas Day or both. I'm hoping to get an invite to a friends house for Boxing Day (as she's mentioned something before early in the year and I hope she remembers  )
 
But- I am planning on cooking a nice meal for J and I on Christmas Eve - Not sure what yet- nothing too crazy or ambitious - but something really nice - another one where we may actually use the table 

Oh we'll be at my in-laws' house & it follows much the same pleasurable pattern year-on-year...

Christmas Eve - Usually just a nice meal (often some kind of fish) with wine.

Christmas Day - Lotsa cocktails leading up to the big mid-afternoon meal, including Snowballs & whatever else my BIL mixes up!  Dinner is the usual:  turkey, stuffing, bacon-wrapped chipolatas, brussel sprouts & other veg, usually Yorkshire puddings, gravy, lots of wine.  Christmas pudding flambéed with lashings of brandy.  More drinks & then opening presents.  Followed by a cold spread of sandwiches (leftover turkey, gammon, pickles, etc) and cheeseboard later on in the evening.  More drinks & silly games (charades etc).

Boxing Day - Usually beef bourguignon, sometimes steaks in pepper sauce.

I think bacon wrapped chipolatas are the best food invention ever.  My hips will enjoy wearing my feasting of them!!

I will have to think of something.  We're going to my Mil's and hubby and I usually cook the main dish.  In previous years it's been a veggie (mushroom?) Wellington or a nut loaf.  I don't really like nut loaves as I'm not a huge nut fan (indigestion!).  So, yeah....gotta come up with something.

Can I just say that as you're hosting Christmas Dinner for what I guess are Brits (you say you are the only American and don't specify the nationality of the guests) you need to be sure that they aren't disappointed if they don't get 'Christmas Dinner'!  I have no problem with having something different some years but if you've been saving yourself for the traditional meal and then get served something different it could be rather disappointing!  Sorry - not trying to be negative or anything.  But I'd just mention in advance if it's not going to be the usual!

We'll be having whatever MIL cooks!!   

She has prawn cocktail and turkey...and some other stuff but can't remember what it was last year (or if it's the same every year).  I'm getting excited as I'm dieting pretty hard to try to knock off a couple extra pounds so I won't get angry when they come back on Christmas day!

We'll be doing a pretty normal christmas dinner

Pate or soup to start (unless I do a baked brie...)

Roast Beef, Yorkshire Puddings, Roast Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Potato Croquettes (maybe, maybe not), Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Brocolli, Gravy

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Sauce

Cheese

Pretty standard.  I'd just like to say that the sweet potato dish that my DH makes every year is just wrong!

  I have no problem with having something different some years but if you've been saving yourself for the traditional meal and then get served something different it could be rather disappointing!  Sorry - not trying to be negative or anything.  But I'd just mention in advance if it's not going to be the usual!

You're right, Marmalade. DH gets very very upset at the mere suggestion of an alternate menu. It's got to be turkey and all the trimmings -- even when we've had turkey at Thanksgiving. So would try to do the Thanksgiving meal with more American bias (corn bread, mashed potatoes, pies etc.) and do the Christmas "lunch" in the British way with Brussels (he doesn't even like them!) and roast potatoes, Christmas pudding and (yuk) trifle).

The same every year here!

Irish coffee and eggs benedict for breakfast.

Straight into the Buck's Fizz mid-morning while cooking.

Christmas dinner will be turkey, roast potatoes in goose fat, sausage and non-sausage stuffing, bread sauce, carrots, sprouts, green beans, cranberry sauce (with Grand Marnier), etc. Far too much food, really, but if you can't be a piggy on Christmas Day, when can you?!?

We don't really love Christmas pudding, but I have it my head to make some Christmas pudding ice cream for a change. We'll see how that works. I might give it a trial run this week.

well im having a ham, scallop potatoes candy sweet potatoes, green beans, stove top stuffing, strawberry/cranberry jello salad, then for desert i will have all different types of cookies, candy, stollen i love cooking and this is my favorite meal

We have the same every year:

Starter:
Prawn cocktail (no prawns for me though, as I don't eat seafood)

Main meal:
Roast chicken (no one really likes turkey that much in our family, so we always have chicken instead
Stuffing,
Roast potatoes,
Sausage meat with onion,
little sausages wrapped in bacon,
Sprouts/Peas/Baby Carrots/Sweetcorn/Broccoli
Bread Sauce
White Wine Gravy

Dessert (choice of):
Christmas Cake
Christmas Pudding
Chocolate Yule Log
Mince Pies

On Boxing Day, we have the same meal again (making it last over 2 days) and then my mum usually makes a risotto out of the leftover chicken, sausage and veg.