Christmas Food

Proper baking potatoes,  Nan? 

Christmas Day is just the 2 of us, so we just do what we want.
We're having prime rib,  glazed carrots, roast potatoes, and sprouts with chestnuts.  I've also ordered a bacon-wrapped monkfish tail,  but not sure if were having it as a starter, or just keeping it for Boxing Day.  Ice cream for pudding.

I'm the cook and the one who decides what we are eating and it changes every year.

This year, it's Spanish.

We are having bread with olives, manchego cheese, almonds, Serrano ham and membrillo (quince) from my cousin's fruit trees for starters.
Vegetarian paella, patatas bravas with romesco sauce,  garlic mushrooms, chorizo with red wine, spinach and garbanzo beans, gambas pil pil (shrimp).

I'll probably end up simply drinking the Tempranillo or the sangria. Who am I kidding? I'll be drinking sangria all day and singing to my favorite Miguel Bose songs at the top of my voice.

All these menus sound yummy. 

Bit early to tell you , but I'll be spending bank hols at the end of May in Wales I believe (going to the spice girls show in Cardiff on the Monday - KF is going to go as well hahaha). Perhaps we could meetup for a drink while I'm there!

Spice Girls, really?  <judging-not-judging>  But, yeah!  Oh... end of May is around anniversary/husband's birthday time.  I am not going to make any promises this far in advance.  It should be fine, as the actual days are the 4th and 9th of June, so usually, my husband takes the week(s) off that include those dates.  But if he can't get one or both of them off, he'll take something else close to that same time.  Still, should be fine.  I'll either get the car and come meet up, or I'll drag him along and make him come be sociable.

I'm nicking over to Waitrose in a bit and getting an oak smoked ham. Which we will have with baked potatoes and carrots-in-butter.
I do wish they had proper baking potatoes here, though. I miss 'em.

A proper big ass Maris Piper done In the oven is nothing to sneeze at. Super soft and buttery, Yum!

Nan, do you have any communal outdoor space? You could setup some grow bags and grow russetts. Or you could have a go inside under your grow lights, and I'd really be curious!
https://seeds.suttons.co.uk/gardening/Russet-Seed-Potatoes

I think you can occasionally find Albert Bartlett Russets. 

Proper baking potatoes,  Nan? 

Christmas Day is just the 2 of us, so we just do what we want.
We're having prime rib,  glazed carrots, roast potatoes, and sprouts with chestnuts.  I've also ordered a bacon-wrapped monkfish tail,  but not sure if were having it as a starter, or just keeping it for Boxing Day.  Ice cream for pudding.

Yeah, the big Idaho bakers that give you the lovely thick skin when you bake them in the oven....

Nan, do you have any communal outdoor space? You could setup some grow bags and grow russetts. Or you could have a go inside under your grow lights, and I'd really be curious!
https://seeds.suttons.co.uk/gardening/Russet-Seed-Potatoes

I think you can occasionally find Albert Bartlett Russets.

Hmm. Yeah, I've been looking for a proper Idaho Russet since we got here, and assume they are just not available. They are so nice when you scoop out the potato from the skins, mash it up with butter, garlic, cheese, whatever, and then stuff it back in the skins for serving. I really like nomming down on those crunchy, chewy potato skins, with butter and salt on em. 

Yeah, we do have some outside space, but so many neighbors. And they are going to be doing some serious construction on site soon - going to tear down some old garages behind our building and build townhouses in there. Tiny space, and it's going to take away our communal airing lines, so I'm not thrilled. I assume they'll start teardown and construction in the summer. Going to take a lot of our communal green space, too. So I'm not sure where I could grow them. Not enough room for them under the grow light - that space has been reserved for Berkeley Tie-Dyed tomatoes.

The best Christmas meal we ever had was last year! We got loads of frozen starters from M&S/Sainsbury's/Tesco/Waitrose (literally mixed and matched all the best stuff and filled our fridge/freezer with it for myself, my husband, and my SIL. She stayed at our house and we just sat in comfy clothes watching Big Fat Quiz and other Christmas stuff and drinking/playing games and when we were hungry, we'd just pick a country we had left and made the food from that area. We properly ate our way around the world. We hate the food for lunch and dinner, just slowly grazing when we felt like we wanted food. It was excellent but not your standard Christmas food.

I'm a bit of a grazer, (and not much of a cook) that sounds like the best idea ever! 

Just had Christmas lunch in the canteen. Stuffed and need a nap.  

My husband picked out what we're having for Christmas dinner this year. On Christmas day it will be a beef roast, gammon joint with honey glaze, and grilled chicken breasts. On the side will be Yorkshire puddings, leeks, carrots, peas, roasted potatoes in duck fat. For dessert, we're just doing homemade Christmas cookies and some pumpkin bread.

My MIL puts on a spread when we go to her house on Boxing Day. I look forward to that.

Just had Christmas lunch in the canteen. Stuffed and need a nap.  

Mmmm, tryptophan! 

Christmas Day is just us two. This will be our 16th Christmas together. This year's menu is sort of a mix and match (me US, him UK), small portions of each. Some years I go traditional some years not, like last year we had an aubergine lasagna, year before that, I made 3 curries and a biriyani! This year we just a wanted a taste of memories.

Quorn garlic and mushroom escalopes (we're vegetarian and whenever we have these we always end up commenting that it tastes like Christmas dinner, so...)
cornbread dressing (me)
sage and onion stuffing balls (him)
roast potatoes (him)
gravy
broccoli
carrots

And for pudding, we've got a mini Christmas cake to share, a mini Christmas pudding to share and mini mince pies, so a dab of all three on the plate. No sauce or anything. Coffee probably.

Plus a bottle of red for the afternoon.

We will no doubt eat this while watching our usual marathon of Christmas favourites -- Scrooge: The Musical, A Christmas Story, Elf and Krampus.

Had this on boxing day - chitlins pizza!

Had this on boxing day - chitlins pizza!

I'm horrified!

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk