Any ideas on what to serve to the family for dinner on Boxing day- NOT Turkey!?

Question

I have to organise a dinner party on boxing day for 16 people. What Can I serve them?
There are adults and kids- Help

Answer 1

Well if it's a sit down dinner party how about some kind of pasta/pizza italian theme?

I'm thinking of the fact that you say there are also kids. Most kids love pasta or pizza, and if you did this by say offering a Lasagne dish with say a vegetarian cheese based plainish pasta (appeal to the kids too?) as well as pizza with garlic bread, and say baked potatoes & salads, I'm sure that will go down well with everyone.
We did this one night for a murder mystery party and it was really great fun.

Theres always a buffet (check out Sainsburys platters- great value for money and it means no work for you whatsoever!)
www.sainsburys.co.uk

I'd also do a chocolate fountain- All you need is the fountain- Tescos had one last time I was in there for £14.99. Wash some stawberries, chop up some banana into slices and open a packet of marshmallows.. .. don't forget the skewers and watch as everyone has a ball- and it's delicious as long as you use good quality chocolate.
I did mine last month for my daughters birthday dinner and everyone loved it- Highly reccomended and very easy to do as an alternative to dessert.

Whatever you do, have a lovely Christmas- It doesn't have to be all work and no play if you have a little imagination- Enjoy!

Answer 2

I have gone to Asda where they have a huge selection of buffet food - 4 boxes for a fiver. These range from vol au vents/mini pizzas/and cheese bites for the children to indian/fishy things/thai -

each box have usually 9 or 12 pieces so you can get a good selection without it costing the earth.

They also do bite-size desserts for the same price, the cheesecakes and meringues are particularly yummy.

This type of buffet has proved popular in my house as there is no turkey/pork in sight and as all the things are more or less bite size even the smallest appetite isn't over-faced

Although I go to Asda because it's my local supermarket I understand Tesco also do a similar range

Answer 3

How about smoke ham?
a) fore-end of a pig's hind leg of about 6 kg
b) marinate it with sea salt and pepper (depending on your own taste) for 24 hours
c) construct a smoke cabin like a Red Indian tent with alluminium foil and steel rod at your back yard that is large and strong enough to hang the marinated meat in the middle
c) prepare a fire, using pine as fuel, right under the meat
d) place fresh sugar cane and fresh pineapple (in slivers) into the fire
e) maintain the temperature of the fire for 5 hours or so by checking it every 30 minutes until the meat is ready. Refuel when necessary

Try it . It is tasty. You may serve together with BIN 28 from Australia (red wine). For the kids, fruit juice would be great.

If you like chicken (not turkey), you may try this:
a) four to five whole chickens
b) stuff them with spring onion, garlic and ginger and seal up the cavity
c) marinate them with sea salt for four hours
d) DO NOT peel off the skin
e) wrap them one by one with baking paper (make sure they are completely wrapped up)
f)light a fire at the back yard INSIDE an igloo shape dome (of mud).
g) burn the dome until it is red hot
h) remove the fire and put the wrapped chicken inside
i) deconstruct the dome so that all the red hot mud collapses onto the chicken
j) pat the heap with a spade
k) insert a straw in the middle
l) about three hours, the straw would bend and the chicken would be ready
HONESTLY, I have not baked so many chickens at one time. Hence, time required might be longer.

Answer 4

Try lasagna -- it takes basically as long to make it for 16 people as it does for 6, and I'm sure all your guests will be happy to have a break from the turkey. Plus, kids and adults alike love it, especially if you serve with garlic bread.

Enjoy, and good luck!

Answer 5

salmon is nice do not tart it up too much just do a nice plain poached salmon and a selection of cold cuts salads in other words a buffet that is what most folk do on boxing day goodness sake give the cook of the house a day off was the dinner on christmass day not good enough for you give the cook a rest as a buffet can be made the day before and yes the family can get it out of the fridge and put it on to the dining table or is that to much work for them poor darlings fancy having to work on boxing day diddums boo hoo i feel like crying for you so do not let the cook of the house get stressed out cut some slack so a buffet it is then please do not get stressed out let others in your household help you merry christmass

Answer 6

Make Over 200 Juicy, Mouth-Watering Paleo Recipes You've NEVER Seen or Tasted Before?

Answer 7

You know, after all the big Christmas dinners, I really like the two ideas of buffet and cold cuts. I would do a buffet style sandwich and salad bar. Just let everyone fix their own sandwiches and with various salads (maybe with a soup thrown in).

You can put out ham, roast beef, pastrami, salami even some cold turkey slices for those of us who can eat it every day for a week! Sour dough rolls, rye bead etc, just a buffet style sandwich bar........

(gee, I'm hungry already.......)

Answer 8

You said dinner party, so I assume that means you need a main course, and not just finger foods.....
I wouldn't go with just one type of food like Italian, Mexican, etc. cuz different people like different things.
You'll need to serve an assortment of different foods.
You can't hardly go wrong with BBQ food complete with the side dishes.
OR, ask everyone to bring something..do a potluck.

Answer 9

Don't know where you live but if it was Australia you couldn't go past a B.B.Q. Something for everybody!Not much use if you are in the northern hemisphere I'm afraid.
You could try some Indian curries and some stews or casseroles. Happy Christmas.

Answer 10

my family always get fed up with roast dinners over christmas so on boxing day we have salad with mash or new potatoes with a selection of cold meat and boiled gammon.....sounds a bit crap but if you think of everything that can go with it then there is a huge variety for the adults and children too.