UKC

When do you have Christmas Dinner and what do you have?

I'm a big fan of having Christmas Dinner later in the day, it makes things much more relaxed and enjoyable as far as I'm concerned. Normally that would around 5:30 in the evening, this year it was gone 7 as my step-daughter was working, serving other people their Christmas Dinners.

I have cooked Christmas Dinner, pretty much all of my adult life and have probably become set in my ways about what I include and don't include. One or two traditional things I'm not a fan of (bread sauce, anything mashed) and a few others things just seem a bit weird.

We generally don't have a starter. Usually turkey and ham, lots of pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, roast chantenay carrots, brussel sprouts cooked with pancetta and chestnuts, stuffing, turkey gravy and cranberry sauce.

Desert is usually delayed a little, usually a cheese board, with the option of a mince pie or two as well. This year my step-daughter made a chocolate cake, so we had that and will enjoy the cheese over the next few days.

I chose an Italian Pinot Noir and some Cremant de Bourgogne to go with it.

What am I doing right or wrong in your opinion?

Chose to stay on shift for an extra hour and a quarter and therefore missed my Christmas dinner. It tasted just as good warmed up in the microwave and even tastier for having done the right thing! The highlight was the caramelised parsnips. Yours sounds epic

We had mushroom Wellington cooked by my excellent son. Possibly his best yet, it was heaven. Ate at 7, after a relaxed afternoon with a bit of a walk, and The Muppets Christmas Carol. Lovely day.

Didn't eat until nearly 8pm this year, on account of having been skiing all day, which I highly recommend. The local resort at Ax-les-thermes was the quietest I've ever seen it, and the weather was lovely!

As for food, I'm not a stickler for tradition, nor a creature of habit particularly, but it wouldn't feel like Christmas dinner without a good variety of roast veg. The food court meal we had one Christmas while transiting at Dubai airport really didn't make the grade!

Typically we just have quick snack food on Christmas day and often boxing day too. This year a pal of mine sent us a large fire pit so I bbq'd some steak.

Due to my work my life is pretty full on all the time so Christmas day and boxing day are 2 days we try to just chill out, go for a walk with the pups and watch Christmas movies.

We both find it far more enjoyable than preparing, eating and clearing up for a big feast. 

Varies - but usually around an hour later than planned

Top marks for preparing your dinner outdoors!! The wind was baltic yesterday - I can picture you out there incinerating slabs of steak on your pit with frost in your beard like something out of the Revenant 👍

Can believe the ski resort was quiet, several years I skied at Ascou on the 25th & there were more staff than visitors even though the whole resort was open with good snow. Very tiring as no time spent resting/queing.

As for a Christmas meal, we had our main meal on the evening of the 24th (usual for France) and as there were only two of us we had "Cuisses de pintade (guineafowl)" roasted together with a lot of roasted veg (potatoes, parsnips, peppers, neeps, garlic) followed by a "bûche de Noël" (a creamy cake looking a big like a log) from the local pâtisserie washed down with some Champagne. Christmas day main meal with in the evening after a days skiing & was mostly leftovers from the day before.

We always go out for a big walk with the dogs and have a lunch picnic on Xmas day. This year we walked from the Snake to Derwent, then crossed back again over to the Kinder Side

Dinner when we got home was a vegan mushroom lasagne, and finally got around to watching the Brilliant new Dune movie. Pressie unwrapping in the evening in front of the fire.

We had smoked salmon with dill, lemon and oatcakes for starter.  Narrowly avoided the addition of the top of my finger as I hadn’t realised Mr S had sharpened the knives on Xmas Eve and I damn near removed it whilst slicing the lemons.

Main course was turkey, oatmeal stuffing, sausage meat, roast tatties, parsnips, sprouts, carrots, sweet corn and gravy.  This was had at 4pm following present opening and a walk to the nearby loch (bonny, sunny day but the wind almost cut us in two).

Later on we had home-made sherry trifle and even later still, a cheese board.

Today we had bubble and squeak made with all the leftover veggies with a poached egg on the top for lunch and Im about to make a turkey and stuffing pie for dinner

It’s each to their own really isn’t it, so you’re doing nothing wrong just being different and doing what suits you?

Ive had 18 years of a forced gathering, where I had to walk to someone’s house at 1800 then help make the dinner, which often went cold whilst people fecked about and with substandard cooking of the carrots/sprouts by others helping. 
Enduring sitting where I was told, with a plate I had been forced to paint earlier in the year, whilst people ate with their mouths open, talking, and getting their oral detritus on my tea. 
Then planned games at set times by a host who grew ever more controlling.

My favourite child was the one that wanted to go early so I could walk home, often in the cold and rain,through deserted streets.

Then a good friend arrived. COVID 19, you are the feckin star of Bethlehem to me

No more of this late Xmas dinner shite.

The last two years have been fabulous.

Food prepped Xmas Eve. Lentil loaves, turkey, stuffing, raised game pie.

Up at 0900. 2 hours of presents and chilling with my family then cooked a good dinner.

Daughter took two dinners to elderly parents then we had ours. Veg included steamed sprouts, carrots, broccoli for a dissenter of sprouts and carrots, roast tatties and parsnips in rosemary and home made onion sauce and gravy. Amazing. No alcohol for me.

1530 took dog up Moel Famau which was atmospheric and refreshing. Called in to see the wife’s elderly relatives then back.

Fire lit. Cold buffet for tea and a few pints and a whisky.

Bed at 2300 then up for a shift at 0700.

A magic two days really, hope yours was too.