Options
Christmas dinner - do you prefer yours or your parents? Why?
![[Deleted User]](https://wf.vanillicon.com/v2/f45c267131499bbed8922bfbe72f5fb2.svg)
[Deleted User]
Posts: 1,398 Forum Member
✭✭✭
Just thought it would be interesting to start a thread comparing the cooking skills of your parents with your own cooking skills, in particular, Christmas dinner.
This year, I'm cooking Christmas dinner (again) for the family.
My Christmas Dinner
On the menu will be butter and nutmeg roasted turkey, crispy roasted duck, chicken and bacon roullades, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes with garlic, honeyed parsnips, steamed sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, steamed brocolli with anchovies and garlic, steamed carrots with orange and parsley, butternut squash, mashed peppered swede, homemade sauces including cranberry sauce, red wine gravy, bread sauce, cherry and port, orange and honey and flavoured butters for the veg and of course some homemade stuffing.
On the side of this, I will have to make some seperate veg for my dad who likes his veg boiled in salted water for half an hour with no seasoning.
In years past, my parent's Christmas dinner has typically been:
Roast turkey (with the giblets removed if they remember to do that), boiled potatoes, roast potatoes (made by deep frying some boiled potatoes), mashed potatoes (yep, 3 different potatoes), boiled cabbage, boiled cauliflower and boiled peas. Served with a Bisto gravy.
Anyone else care to compare their Christmas dinner with their parents? Am I the only one who would prefer to do the cooking on Christmas day? LOL
This year, I'm cooking Christmas dinner (again) for the family.
My Christmas Dinner
On the menu will be butter and nutmeg roasted turkey, crispy roasted duck, chicken and bacon roullades, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes with garlic, honeyed parsnips, steamed sprouts with bacon and chestnuts, steamed brocolli with anchovies and garlic, steamed carrots with orange and parsley, butternut squash, mashed peppered swede, homemade sauces including cranberry sauce, red wine gravy, bread sauce, cherry and port, orange and honey and flavoured butters for the veg and of course some homemade stuffing.
On the side of this, I will have to make some seperate veg for my dad who likes his veg boiled in salted water for half an hour with no seasoning.
In years past, my parent's Christmas dinner has typically been:
Roast turkey (with the giblets removed if they remember to do that), boiled potatoes, roast potatoes (made by deep frying some boiled potatoes), mashed potatoes (yep, 3 different potatoes), boiled cabbage, boiled cauliflower and boiled peas. Served with a Bisto gravy.
Anyone else care to compare their Christmas dinner with their parents? Am I the only one who would prefer to do the cooking on Christmas day? LOL
0
Comments
wow you go all out don't you!:p what a lot of work but im sure it will be delicious and hope you enjoy it:D
However it's impossible to make a fair comparison; our parents [i dont know how old yours are, my dear mum is now 78, my dad would have been 80 this year] are from a different generation, they didnt have the range of foods available when they were growing up and their tastes will reflect that
we are confronted with a dizzying range of cooking ingredients, recipes and styles..I'm sure they find your tastes just as mystifying as you find theirs!!:p. As long as everyone's happy and enjoying themselves, that's hopefully the main thing:)
You're so right. My dad boils his mince (for an hour), whereas I fry it. I only found this out recently. He was rather intrigued and mysified when I showed him how easy it is to simply place the mince in a pan and fry it off for a few minutes. We didn't get as far as seasoning or making any sauces as that would have blown his mind.
My mum and dad are only in their late 50's and I'm in my 30's. It's amazing how cooking has changed so much in just 20 years.
I liked your point about everyone being happy and enjoying themselves though...I think that's why I'd rather cook at ours and have everyone around. My brother's wife is Korean, my OH is Italian, and along with my fussy dad, the Christmas spread needs to have a bit of something for everyone. LOL
dare i ask about christmas pudding? do you still find yourself munching on a sixpence?:p
im about ten years older than you but yes i do agree that generation gap cookery has its moments!:p
my mum will frequently boil her veg for an hour, whereas i steam mine, although if its steamed till its soft she will eat it:)
she's a darned good cook though and beats me hands down at baking etc:D she made some almond tarts yesterday which were absolutely gorgeous and you couldnt buy better
her prawn cocktail is legendary and i'm looking forward to that tonight!:D
how many people have you got to cook for?
LOL @ steamed veg. My dad complained when I asked him to try some of my steamed veg because...LOL..."it tastes of vegetables"
Baking seems to be a lost art nowadays...not many people will stand around baking a cake or tarts. I wonder if it's more to do with the waistline obsession?
Oh, as for the Christmas pudding...it's one of those things that takes quite a while to cook yet not many people have room left to eat it. Add to that, I have a dog who guests insist on calling to the table to feed ("Oh...look how well trained your dog is. He doesn't come anywhere near the food or the table. Doggy...come here and have a piece of turkey as a reward" :rolleyes:
Just the 6 of us (plus 1 dog and a cat). LOL.
I'm looking forward to reading more replies too!
Are you cooking this year, or is your mum feeding you tonight and on Christmas day too?
We do even less for our christmas dinner and have been known to have egg on toast just because we fancied it.
Unfortunately i was a little dissapointed with my mum's dinner last year ... but i didnt say anything of course as she went through a lot of work to do it. But she prepares everything way in advance, and then warms the veggies up.
Unfortunately this made the mashed potatoe very very dry. The veggies were all plainly boiled too, which i though were a shame. And the parnips were soggy and plain too.
But she EXCELS on the Christmas pudding. I have yet to find anyone who makes a pudding as fantastically brilliant as my mum. I always leave plenty of room so i can have seconds
my mum wouldnt trust me near the christmas dinner nor would i trust myself... i'm too forgetful, i may even burn the turkey...:eek::p
she's a great cook, and at 78 very experienced, i wouldn't dream of usurping her in the kitchen...i bow to her expertise there:D
i do the washing up though:p
there's just us and our dog, a very spoilt shih tzu....
we're having turkey crown, boneless pork leg, stuffing, roasties, brussels, stuffing, bread sauce, and i will probably do some extra steamed veg on the side
chocolate cake for afters:D
Christmas Eve: Sausage rolls, mince pies, yule log, fish supper (smoked salmon, prawns, toast, pate).
Christmas Day: If no fish supper on CEve, then smoked salmon, prawns as starter, then roast turkey with pork sausagemeat (onions, bacon, mushroom, etc) stuffing, gammon/boiled bacon, roast beef, roast pork, devils on horseback (sometimes in mini yorkshire puds), garlic mushrooms, brussel sprouts, carrots and onions in white sauce, peas, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, home-made cranberry, horseradish, apple sauces and gravy, flaming (normally several tables spoons of brandy) Christmas pudding and cream/brandy butter/ice cream, coffee and mints...................then maybe roast turkey/pork/beef/gammon sandwiches and pickles in the eve and Christmas cake (nicely matured for a month or so) or trifle.
Boxing Day... repeat of above
Day after boxing day.....cold meats, pickles and chips!
New Year......diets! lol!
Oh, I don't need to say that Christmas fayre is better at my parents' though I do make some pretty decent sausage rolls!
sounds fab! i feel full already!!:rolleyes::p
Oh my God, this is me and my parents!