Could you please help me with a traditional chritmas dinner??? What do I cook???

Question

I am doing christmas dinner for the first time this year and I have been asked for traditional food, I don't know what a traditional dinner with all of the trimmings is, please help.

I want to sat thank you all for your ideas and answers, they are all wonderful I have some great ideas to work with so I thank you very much.x

Answer 1

Turkey
parsnips (roasted)
Potatoes (roasted)
Sprouts
Carrots
Sausages wrapped in bacon
Cranberry sauce.

Chrismas pud
Brandy sauce

Oh yeah... don't forget the cake!

Answer 2

The traditional Chistmas dinner is a really heave meal, but if you must, you could start with a consommé (clear beef soup with or without the addition of sherry or port). Use stock cubes or buy consommé at the supermarket.

Stuff the turkey with sage and onion stuffing, which you can buy - just follow the instructions on the packet. I make a chestnut stuffing: frozen chestnuts, the liver from the turkey (if you buy a frozen turkey this may not be included - substitute with chicken liver) sausage meat and either suet or butter, mix together in your food processor.
Trimmings: small sausages (cipolata are about the right size) and bread sauce (boil milk with a whole peeled onion stuck with cloves and then add torn-up white bread, season to taste)
Cranberry or apple sauce. Gravy made from some of the fat from the turkey, stock from the vegetables and cornflour.
Vegetables: Roast potatoes (par-boil, then once the turkey is cooked take it out and let it rest, bung up the oven temperature and roast the potatoes in the remaining pan juices.
Sprouts, really quite nice if you only cook them for 10 minutes, (remember to cut the stem with a cross) You could substitute broccoli.
Carrots, for colour, cut them in thin sticks to speed up cooking time.

Dessert time: Too late to make your own Christmas pudding. Buy one. Steam for about 1 1/2 hours, depending on size, or if you're runnung out of place on your cooker you can blast it in the microwave for about 15 minutes (see instructions on the package)
Serve this with a sweet white sauce flavoured with brandy or dark rum, or brandy/rum butter (softened butter pounded together with brandy or rum)
Flame the pudding with brandy/rum when you bring it to the table (warm the alcohol first so that it light)

If anyone's still hungry try a port Stilton with apple slices - choose a hard apple like Granny Smith and sprinkle lightly with lemon juice to stop the slices browning.

Answer 3

In England it is Stuffed Roast Turkey, Brussels sprouts, Carrots, roast potatoes, bacon rolls, chipolata sausages, bread sauce, Gravy and Cranberry sauce. Followed by Christmas pudding with Brandy sauce. Mince pies after, just in case you are not full enough!! Loads of wine and brandy. The best thing is to buy a Christmas recipe book or there are enough magazines and papers that will give you the recipes for a complete Christmas, you are just a bit early yet, wait until November and you will get loads.

Answer 4

That is difficult to answer as it depends on where you are from. But I will give you my families traditional Christmas Dinner but we are Creole so..

Roast Chicken
Ham
Seafood Gumbo with rice
Green Beans
Sweet Potatoes
CornBread
Green Salad
Collard Greens
Mashed Potatoes
Lemon Meringue Pie
Chocolate Cake
Wine
Coffee

I think the normal traditional maybe roast chicken or turkey with stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravey. Some people also do a beef roast.

Why not make your own tradition?

Answer 5

I'm going to nilechnyl's house for Christmas dinner!! wanta come?
Seriously, I have turkey and cornbread dressing, cream potatoes, candied yams, carrot, apple & raisin salad, homemade yeast rolls, cranberry sauce and sweet potato pie
One year I had roast beef with cream potatoes, no dressing.
Another year I had Cornish Hens with cornbread dressing.
The meat may varey from year to year, but the vegetables stay the same. Just think back to a Christmas dinner that you remember enjoying and plan your menu from there. You're going to do just fine!

Answer 6

Well, first you get a proper turkey, not a frozen bernie mathews jobby. Defrost slow, over ten hours. Take the jiblets out of its backside, usually now, in out civilised society ina convienient plastic bag. This is to be put in a pan for the gravey/stock later. Get up at six in the morning put the turkey splashed with butter and salt, (to crisp the skin) in the oven on reasonabley low, after you have heated it to 200 turn it down. go back to bed. If you are on the ball, you will have put all the veg in containers with slight water, the night before, as you cannot be bothered the actual Xmas day. Get up. have as much to drink as possible. Cook the Sprouts, chestnuts, peas, carrots, cauliflour, parsnips, all in the bloody micorwave it is 2006 for goodnes sake. But. Put the parsnips in the roasting tin around the turkey, and the potatoes, to brown, Mix Cornflour, and a couple of Oxos, and the juice from the jiblets (discard these things), and transfer the juices into the dish the turkey was cooked in. Wrap the Turkey in foil, first putting a fork into it to make sure the juices run CLEAR, or you will die. The fowl has to have clear juice or it is under cooked. Then, have another drink. Put veg in bowls, on keep warm in micro. Half hour later. put Turkey on table, all veg in nice little separate bowles. have another drink. Carve. legs first, white meat, breast (best) second, then people can help themselves to peas, parsnips, cauli, sprouts, green beans whaterver, and, some cranberry sauce (out of a jar from the supermarket, but put in a nice little dishy), and hey presto, you have forgotton to do the gravey, never mind, the plates are warm the house is warm everyone is warm as they all are half pissed. So. seven minuties later, you stirr all the turky juice, vegie juice oxo, and cornflour in a big turkey basting dish, and pour into a nice little (warm) jug. always keep the oven on low, for keeping plates warm etd. Then, have another drink, go to bed. and forget it all ti Jan first.

Answer 7

Goose is the old traditional xmas dinner, i have it every year, with creamed parsnips stuffed apples, sliced potatoes roasted with onions and many other vegetables

Answer 8

A traditional christmas dinner to me is in the english style. Roast beef or pork, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables such as carrots and onions, green peas and plenty of brown gravy. For dessert Christmas pudding with silver sixpences inside, covered in brandy and lit as you bring it to the table and served with brandy butter and custard. Christmas cake with hard white icing. Christmas crackers to pull and silly hats.
Thats my mothers christmas dinner.
Now in Australia we often go to the beach and the dinner is a cold one. Cold roast chicken and a leg of ham. Plenty of prawns (shrimp), coleslaw and potato salad and dessert is icecream.

Answer 9

it can be either turkey or goose to be super traditional but i think you could always do a roast beef with boiled irish potatoes. but what your family might be thinking of is prettymuch athanks giving dinner. but it will have differen't desserts. the thing i might say is what did you always have for thanksgiving. that is where to start and ask your mom ar a person you are close to what they have ever made for christmas dinner and make whatever sounds the beswt to you

Answer 10

At our house we have roast turkey, pork, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, sprouts, carrot, swede, leek, mushroom, stuffing made with sage & onion mixed with pork sausagemeat, brocolli, cauliflower, yorkshire puddings, chipolata sausages wrapped in bacon & lashings of gravy. Followed by either christmas pud & custard, hot chocolate fudge cake with ice cream & cheese & crackers.

Followed by a weeks fasting to get over above meal.

Answer 11

My mom always duplicated Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas dinner. Since I've had my own family, I always fix Chicken & Sausage Gumbo and Fried Shrimp Po-Boys. It's fun to start your own tradition!