Everything You Need to Know About Christmas Dinner

How to...Turkey   

How to...Best Ever Roasties

Sprouts, Carrots & Parsnips 

Amazing Rice Stuffing

How to...Gravy  includes vegetarian, Jaimie's classic and with red wine  

How to...Make-Your-Own Cranberry Sauce: for sophisticates or kids kids'

Don't Fancy Turkey This Year? incl: poultry, beef, pork, fish, vegetarian/vegan

 

TURKEY FREE CHRISTMAS DINNERS 

    (Please check against current prices)

Vegetarian Pate & Mushroom Dome with
Vegetarian Red Wine Gravy 

Turkey prices are expected to be high again this Christmas.

Pairing up with a pal to buy half a bird each is possible, as is buying a joint of turkey.  In past years, Selfridges sold solitary (large) legs and wings but the meat department has just been taken over by the very posh Donald Russell.  Markets or frozen supermarket birds may be the better bet.  

If your household is opting for something smaller but doesn't want to sting on the usual trimmings, these recipes from the archive offer scrumptious main courses.  They run the range from spectacular to frugal, some are quite healthy, most are easy and some can be prepped in advance. 

Buy the best you can afford.  If organic is out of the question, some higher welfare meats are a good third cheaper.  But even common-all-garden supermarket meat, presented in an exciting new way, can provide a tasty attractive crowd-pleaser for the festive table. 

The usual alternative to the Big Bird is Chicken but others are guinea fowl and capon, pork, beef, lamb and fish, vegetarian or vegan delights.  

 

POULTRY

Festive Desserts including 'Cheats" treats: indulgent and wallet friendly

OK, we can indulge during the Christmas and Hannukah, and any of these terrific recipes is guaranteed to wow guests and family.  

Some are easy, some healthier than most; some 'never-mind-the-calories; just enjoy the deliciousness!'  But all are mouthwatering and utterly delicious.

Options include luxury, tea-time, easy, vegan & cheats' delights.

Many have not appeared in previous compilations.

Note: for those celebrating Hannukkah, the dairy free options are clearly marked.  Or some friends make the cream-filled desserts as a speical treat but wait 1-6 hours after the main course before offering them to guests.

Many posted Prices do not reflect recent inflation; note the dates on the individual posts, top left hand above the photo. 

 

1.  SPECIAL OCCASION -- Pure Indulgence

Luxury Pistachio Cheesecake: pale richly creamy fillling, studded with bright green chopped pistachios, slathered over a generous crumb crust

Singleton's Quick & Easy Chocolate Coconut Cream Torte; 15 mins prep; option for full size:high calories but wallet-friendly ingredients. Tasters said: 'Restaurant quality; sublinme; light, airy and delicious.

Egg Nog Truffles: boozy, creamy rich indulgence, surprisingly easy to make

 

Choco-Mint Croissant Bread & Butter Pudding: Truly To die for.  Households have  been known to make one for Christmas Mass supper and another for Christmas Day.  Rich, light, gooey, with a crispy top, the intensity of chocolate sends guests into raptures.  Cook's Delight: its made 3 days before it's needed and left until it's time to bake.

Triple Chocolate & Cointreau Shortbread, melts in the mouth, warms as it goes down!

Triple Chocolate Truffle Brownies, WOW!

2.  FESTIVE FABULOUSLY FRUGAL & WALLET-FRIENDLY 

Creamy Pineapple Pudding, thrifty, easy, dairy free opt, choice of fruit

Boozy Orange Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding: Inexpensive but yummy with an alcoholic twist 

 

TEA-TIME TREATS

Twisted Scone Wreath stuffed with Chocolate & Nuts, Orange & Cinnamon

Sensational Lemon-Mint Angel Food Cakes: tender fluffy interiors with unexpectedly  crackly tops. Think they look boring?  Prepare to be blown away!  

Blueberry, Pineapple & Walnut Cake: rich, fine-crumbed Blueberry, Pineapple & Nut Cake is the perfect indulgence for visitors/guests. Tasters loved it.

Light Gingerbread Sheet Cake - (Dairy-free option) gingerbread cake but not as we know it, Jim: it's lighter and less gummy, fine textured and 'scrummy' without losing its gingery-ness.  Heavily praised by tasters!

3.  DIETERS' DELIGHTS

Skinny Chocolate Peppermint Mousse:  Dairy-free unless you want it as a to - and the pudding's choolate flavours are still deep & dark.  Option to replace mint with fresh fruit soaked in liqueur.  

Light & lovely but still intensely chocolatey; 
no-bake, butter-free, cream optional

Luscious Lemon Pudding: gloriously gorgeous crowd-pleaser; diary-free option:; yoghurt lightens & enhances creaminess and flavour; 67's Foolproof lemon curd instead of shop-bought elevates the dish

4.  Easy-Peasy

4-ingredient shortbread: dairy-free option; first class melt-in-the-mouth Scottish treat, needs only butter, sugar, flour and flavouring. And you can leave out the flavouring!  Perfect for a cost of living crisis. 

1 Recipe=2 Delicious Treats: Cinnamon Breakfast Twists for breakfast & Blueberry Scones for Tea: mouthwatering contrast of flavours 

5.  VEGETARIAN/VEGAN 

Special Occasion Lemon Drizzle Cake: VEGAN, Indulgent, fat & egg free.  Easily the best of the vegan cake recipes tested by 67goingon50.  Truly fabulous taste & texture but cake has a maddening tendency to sink in the middle but taste & texture not affected, just fill the dip with fresh fruit!

Cherry Garcia Ice Cream: VEGAN , easy-peasy; the nicest, tastiest, healthiest ice cream ever; no cream - just bananas...

'Irish Coffee' Chocolate Cake':  Vegan-glorious; dark, rich and gorgeously chocolatey, the cake is fine-crumbed and hints of whiskey.  The frothy topping is served on the side or turned into icing 

Pomelo (Chinese grapefrut) fruit platter with Cinnamon Vanilla Yoghurt Cream: wallet-friendly, low-fat 

Orange Berry Plate: fresh, colourful, guilt-free, budget friendly

6.  CHEATS' DELIGHTS

Cheat's Christmas Log: When the pressure's on, a good supermarket Swiss Roll, smothered in simple home-made chocolate ganache, makes a great impression.  

Cheat's Black Forest Trifle: Simple, light but ever-so-delicious, so yummy & quick

For more Christmas dishes, see How to...on the Nav Bar above; they're 2/3 of the way down the page

These recipes have been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

How to...Cranberry Sauce

While 67goingon50 always has on hand a jar of supermarket Cranberry Sauce (preferably with Port) for emergencies, when it comes to Christmas dinner Cranberry Sauce is always home-made and always from fresh berries

Neither difficult nor time-consuming, make-your-own cranberry sauce is lower in sugar, free of the usual preservatives and so tasty, diners are astounded.  Once you've made your own, there will be no going back

Cranberry Red Wine Sauce

Easy, make ahead, low sugar & preservative 

Sophisticated, a little different but full of character.  Punchy but not over-the-top, savoury rather than sweet with a hit of fresh ginger  - and all the better for it.  Tasters usually reel back a little, go 'Whoa!!' and enthusiastically dig in again.

Kid-friendly Cranberry Orange & Cinnamon Sauce

Make ahead, lower sugar & preservatives; freeze till needed

Does what it says on the tin; kids love it, especially the jewel-like texture

 

Please leave a Comment in the box below

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.