Christmas 2025.

Morning Glory said:
Christmas dinner as planned for 4, plus 1 yr old grandson.
  • Roast turkey with truffle butter stuffed under the skin, black pudding and sausagemeat stuffing and a bergamot lime plus herbs in the cavity.
  • Sprouts, microwaved. No messing with them - nice and bright green with only a little 'bite'.
  • Carrots simmered. No messing with them either.
  • Parsnips, roasted.
  • Potatoes cooked in saffron infused water then roasted in olive oil.
  • Pigs in blankets (shop bought).
  • Bread sauce
  • Sage and onion stuffing (packet mix).
  • Cranberry sauce and redcurrant jelly
  • Turkey gravy
  • Bisto gravy
No dessert as there are usually chocolates in presents and nobody has much of a sweet tooth.
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Simple and old school, to be commended
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
Simple and old school, to be commended
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That's the idea. My only experiment is the bergamot lemon In the cavity of the turkey and I am pretty sure that will work.

And as for pigs in blankets, the shop bought are every bit as good as I could make. Its simply a little sausage wrapped in bacon, after all!

And frankly, I never want to see another recipe for charred, with chestnuts, with bacon etc. Brussels sprouts. Let them sing in all their green and simple glory! My only regret is that the delightful slightly bitter taste seems to have been bred out of them. And I don't mind at all if they are slightly overcooked. What I really hate is undercooked and crunchy.
 
Really wanted to share this: I have pictures.
Demolition going on outside our house. I made friends with the Gaffa, lovely guy with a Christmas tree farm in Yorkshire and mad about dogs. Anyway. He gave me a wreath! Handmade. It weighs about 6 stone, so Mr. OJ got technical.
We can’t decorate the house this year because of storing issues ( boxes! My sister and his aunt moving house) so I’m made up with this. Christmas dinner: Turkey crown and far too boiled veg (5p from Aldi. Farmers and me will hate it, but Mr. Man is happy). So yeah Dinner on laps, but loads of happy.😃

IMG_0543.jpeg
 
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Morning Glory said:
That's the idea. My only experiment is the bergamot lemon In the cavity of the turkey and I am pretty sure that will work.

And as for pigs in blankets, the shop bought are every bit as good as I could make. Its simply a little sausage wrapped in bacon, after all!

And frankly, I never want to see another recipe for charred, with chestnuts, with bacon etc. Brussels sprouts. Let them sing in all their green and simple glory! My only regret is that the delightful slightly bitter taste seems to have been bred out of them. And I don't mind at all if they are slightly overcooked. What I really hate is undercooked and crunchy.
Click to expand...
I can't be doing with the packet sage and onion stuffing, they don't seem as good as they did when I was a kid. It could be my memory romanticising things, or it could be reformulation to remove salt and more expensive ingredients, but the taste and texture don't seem the same.
 
oldjanie said:
Really wanted to share this: I have pictures.
Demolition going on outside our house. I made friends with the Gaffa, lovely guy with a Christmas tree farm in Yorkshire and mad about dogs. Anyway. He gave me a wreath! Handmade. It weighs about 6 stone, so Mr. OJ got technical.
We can’t decorate the house this year because of storing issues ( boxes! My sister and his aunt moving house) so I’m made up with this. Christmas dinner: Turkey crown and far too boiled veg (5p from Aldi. Farmers and me will hate it, but Mr. Man is happy). So yeah Dinner on laps, but loads of happy.😃

View attachment 138819
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Beautiful!
 
My menu is now changed after today shopping, no scallops on the menu. I almost didn’t find any rack of lamb for some reason until I got to the Persian supermarket, I hate going in this supermarket on Sunday, but I was desperate. My youngest kid likes lamb, she’s only coming home for this dish. Luckily, they have frozen rack of lams from New Zealand, but they are not frenched, so I bought 2 anyway. Phew!

This maybe the last time we go shopping before Christmas, I did miss heavy cream, a bit of rum for Pana Cotta, and some sort of pate for my husband.

I’m also thinking of making this dish, why because I bought a lot of nice mushrooms and I want my kids to eat them.
Creamy Stilton Mushrooms on Toast – Daily Teaspoon
Creamy Stilton Mushrooms on Toast

However, my daughter will pick up some of these when she goes for her daily walk.
 
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SoCalZone10 said:
My menu is now changed after today shopping, no scallops on the menu. I almost didn’t find any rack of lamb for some reason until I got to the Persian supermarket, I hate going in this supermarket on Sunday, but I was desperate. My youngest kid likes lamb, she’s only coming for this dish. Luckily, they have frozen rack of lams from New Zealand, but they are not frenched, so I bought 2 anyway. Phew!
This maybe the last time we go shopping before Christmas, I did miss heavy cream, a bit of rum for Pana Cotta, and some sort of pate for my husband.

I’m also thinking of making this dish, why because I bought a lot of nice mushrooms and I want my kids to eat them.
Creamy Stilton Mushrooms on Toast – Daily Teaspoon
Creamy Stilton Mushrooms on Toast

However, my daughter will pick up some of these when she goes for her daily walk.
Click to expand...
Mushrooms on tosst is a lunch we do a lot, but we finish it with cream and a teaspoon of Dijon Mustard. I will try it with Stitchleton when we get some in the new year, yum!.
 
The Velvet Curtain said:
I can't be doing with the packet sage and onion stuffing, they don't seem as good as they did when I was a kid. It could be my memory romanticising things, or it could be reformulation to remove salt and more expensive ingredients, but the taste and texture don't seem the same.
Click to expand...

Unsure. Maybe it is a bit different. Maybe I will add salt.
 
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