Be Excellent To Each Other

So, I have just had my whole world rocked in the food thread by the revelation that some people don't have soup on Christmas day. What madness is this!
In my house, we have a starter, soup, main and dessert. I usually make the starter and do something like king prawns with smoked salmon, or pate and oatcakes. Soup is always Lentil and Bacon so this year I am taking over soup responsibilities and proposing both Sweet Potato and Red Pepper as well as Wild Mushroom.
Dinner is turkey (my mum and dad cook it and spend about three days prior to Chirstmas watching the Jamie Oliver DVD over and over ) with garlic roast potatoes, some veg, stuffing, pigs in blankets and gravy. Then dessert which is usually a choice of a few like the traditional sherry trifle, something chocolatey and something meringuey (or is it a donut).

If people say interesting and tasty sounding things then I might try and steal them for my dinner, so go on, make me jealous!

You appear to have missed off Christmas pudding.

Also, I've found that cooking the turkey upside down help stop it drying out.

But soup? I don't know anyone that has soup.

No soup must be jokes, either that or this lot just pretend they eat loads. Poofs

Is it a Scottish thing, maybe?

We always have a Prawn Cocktail as a starter at Christmas.

Bucks Fizz for breakfast, then gravalax and a liver pate of some sort with brandy in it at about 10am. Then some more champagne. Then a few beers. Lunch begins with soup, followed by goose with vegetables and stuff like that. Have a mixture of wine/beer/champagne. For desert, a christmas pudding, some cake and a trifle. Coffee and then some more beer.

I think they cook it upside down. Turkey in my house used to be a bit rubbish until my mum bought this Jamie Oliver DVD and now it is a pretty good meal.


I don't like Christmas pudding and I'm actually not even sure if they get it in for Christmas. They probably do, but I just ignore it. Same as mice pies


Surely not?

We used to always have prawn cocktail until I took over the starter. I think one year I did scallops but decided having to cook anything during the meal was a pain so now I do something like Smoked salmon with King prawns and a prawn marie rose sauce. Better than the prawn cocktail my mum used to serve which was limp lettuce, big wedges of tomato and frozen tiny little prawns. Yuk.

Nope. Soup is a long running* tradition in our house.

* Two years... IN A ROW!

Oh aye, last year we had one of those bird in a bird in a bird in a bird things, was lovely & no that expensive. Possibly having goose this year

What kind though?


I have never tried goose.

WHAT


THE


FUCK?

Soup?!?!?? That's all kinds of wrong.

No, massive roast dinner with a tasty nut roast.
Roast spud, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, roast carrots, onion, parsnip, gravy, broad beans, maybe some peas, dash of worcester sauce.

You wouldn't have room for soup.

And then christmas pudding with burning brandy. Yum!


Actually it's St Andrews day soon isn't it, looking forward to a nice veggie haggis dinner.

We had a Salmon moose thing for a starter last year. I like them.

Also - you need loads of bread sauce for Christmas dinner. Loads.

How it's done properly:

Wake up and make bacon sandwiches with the bacon from the back of the turkey that's been cooking over night. Big cup of tea.

Open presents and break out a selection box. Another cup of tea.

Pub for a couple of pints/short.

Dinner: Prawn cocktail (seems to be tradition in both mine and the Mrs families to have this). Roast Turkey, Pigs in blankets, Roast potatoes, Potato croquets*, Carrots, Turnip/Suede, Cranberry Sauce. LOTS OF GRAVY.
Christmas pud.

Now it's a free for all between Port / Ale / Brandy / Bourbon.

Christmas tea: Slice the ham joint up that you cooked covered in honey and cloves.

Lay your Christmas shit, usually the biggest of the year. Sing a carol as you flush.

Supper is cheese and Port.

Looking forward to it all now.


*Mrs Z thinks my family are freaks by always having these with Christmas dinner. you may do too, but they're great.

We don't have soup but we do have a prawn cocktail.. I normally go to my mom and dads for Christmas dinner/

We have a proper traditional turkey dinner with pigs in blankets and all that.. then, Christmas pudding. I don't particularly like Christmas pudding but I always have some as a "thumbs up" to my Grandad who always loved his puddings.

Tacon, we call it.

I don't think I've ever had bread sauce either. I like smoked salmon wrapped round cream cheese as well, tried that before. Might do that again this year (is cream chess one of the things pregnant women shouldn't eat? if so, I'll only do that if my sister has popped by then and I'm sure she'd be very grateful for that.)


Tuesday or something eh? I haven't tried veggie haggis, love normal haggis too much. Tempted to buy extra and do it with fillet steak one night

Also: HOW FUCKING HUNGRY AM I NOW?

Can we do Christmas names yet?
I can't wait for Christmas now!

Yes, tuesday. *makes note to get some proper whiskey before then*

I usually do a cured salmon concoction that involves smothering a couple of salmon fillets in salt, sugar, and dill for 48 hours, then cubing it into the bottom of a set of ramekins. Top with cream cheese that's been whisked with a little cream to loosen it and a good dose of cayenne pepper.

Usually something root vegetabley. Nice and thick, but a small portion.

Sweet potato with a dash of curry perhaps.

This is probably the cutest thing I have ever read and I now want to be adopted by them. please make it so.

Ditto.

I have a crappy fucking Tesco meal sat next to me on the desk. It's 11am.

Oh, wait. Sausage roll in my bag.

OMNOMNOM

Ooh that sounds nice. I might try something differnt this year. Jen is nightshift so won't be getting up 'til lunchtime so I've got plenty of time for cooking on Christmas morning.

Are you becoming more Scottish, Wullie?

Hah, you can come for dinner if you want but they are only cool in very small doses.

It could be in that as a kid we would always have home made soup - although that may simply have been that its cheaper to get people full up with soup than with turkey.



Next Tuesday

The only acceptable thing to eat before and after your Christmas Lunch for that day is chocolate. Anyone eating proper food is doing Christmas wrong.

I don't eat a lot of chocolate but Christmas tree/advent calendar chocolate is brilliant.

Any excuse for a drink.

Sounds nice, you posh twat.

No room for soup!?! If you can fit half a bird, half a roast ham plus assorted veg down your throat, you can surely fit a plate or two of soup down first. How wee are your bellies?

I'd have soup, but it's just never made for Christmas dinner.

Mibbies aye, mibbies naw* Aye, I think there's a bit of that and also soup's warming which is what you're after when you're traipsing off to someone else's house in the middle of bloody winter
*Is there an English version of "Only an Excuse"?

Booze. More booze. Chocolate. Probably large garlic mushrooms for a starter. Parents will have fish (veggies of sorts) and me and my bro would have chicken. Followed by more chocolate and a vienetta or something. Booze.
As I'm in Sweden this year I have no idea what they have. All I know it is celebrated a day before English folks do here.

Fish.

The only time I've ever had soup at Xmas Dinner was when we had a chicken consomme at a restaurant one year.

What kind of freak fills themselves up with soup when there's an enormous roast dinner to be had?

You don't fill yourself up on soup, you have your starter and soup then a wee rest while the main course is finished off and you can relax and drink wine and chat, then you get the main. You don't have dessert 'til a couple of hours after finishing dinner.

We have ours straight after, so they can clear up and get off home to their families sooner.

It's not at my house so I don't mind having a rest and we always play board games anyway so after the meal we have coffee and after eights, then start playing board games, then once we're all a bit drunk we bring desserts through

No , and they really dont understand the humor in it (i was told the last time i watched it that its not funny and it doesnt make any sense)

Soon my friend soon. And ice fishing soon too!

Who the fuck wants to eat ice fish?

You know what is good for Christmas Dinner...

Eek!

Er - you're splitting this, right K?