Christmas dinner

No warm-ups here too now. The plan changed a bit from my original idea. Stuff that takes hours (ie the meat) will be prepared here, but the rest will be cooked on-site

 

Depressingly long list of Absent Friends this year. More than I can ever remember ... a sign of getting older I suppose :(

 

Oh dear! That's a lot more than my list, how sad :(

 

Christmas dinner will be round at the in laws as usual this year.
A noticeable absence will be the missus's aunt who sadly passed away earlier in the year.
It's a small family gathering, there will be 10 of us altogether.
My side of the family all live in Canada so it a FaceTime call around 4-5pm to them.
It's not the same but the kids love it and compare each other's toys and that.
I did offer this year for me to do the Christmas dinner this year (aspiring wanna be chef )
But the offer was turned down

 

Im doing on Christmas day Turkey with 2 stuffings, chestnut & sage and apricot & almond stuffing, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts and pancetta, roast parsnips and glazed carrots and home made gravy and pudding Christmas panna cotta
Boxing day I'm doing it all over again but with Goose with ginger and orange stuffing, pudding is cranberry, date & macadamia pudding with butterscotch sauce, family comes round then.
2 days of cooking thinking im Gordon Ramsey

 

Dinner round at the BF's, usual menu, I'm doing a smoked salmon starter with several small salads, might shoe horn in some chestnut stuffing as well as the thyme and lemon. We are having a turkey crown, I would have much preferred a proper whole turkey, 'cos I love he leftovers, but heyho, wasn't me paying for it.

In the evening, back to my house for an evening's telly whilst stuffing my self with cheese, biscuits and pickled onions. It's traditional, innit? Bet Mary and Joseph tucked into nice ripe brie and a bit of taleggio in the stable that night.

God knows, they'd have needed it after the day they'd had.

 

How lovely and kind your plan sounds clueless! mums cooking for four 1/2 this year. I usually do it but I can't this year. Hope you have a wonderful time. Can I suggest a slow cooker?

 

We are going for our Chinese as we have for the past five years (after I stopped cooking duck myself). We love crispy duck pancakes together with t'other's half fried egg rice and myself chop suey vegetables.

 

Typical hard done by crabfat
I will send you my TOT (if we still had it)

Jack McH

 

I've given up trying to make the quote button work properly!

Armandii.......'Gruel and some dry hard tack for me'.

I think I'd give the gruel a miss Armandii!

 

I gave up Christmas eight years ago but still spend time with my daughter and family by demand. I don't like cooking either but will contribute a giant apple crumble, also by demand, we don't like Christmas pudding. 8lbs of cooking apples currently waiting to be prepared and a three inch deep crumble to go on top!