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[Chris__M]

I think we should try a UK/US combo. Sausage, wrapped in bacon, wrapped in croissant pastry.

[02ebz06]

When I grew up, pigs in a blanket was bacon inside beef.
Mother would cut a round steak into about 1.5 - 2" lay the bacon on the strips, roll them up, toothpick to hold it together, then bake.
Never knew there were other foods called pigs in a blanket until years later...

[jdmessner]

I know the menu will change several times between now and January 6, but I need to start somewhere. So here is the first draft:


Appetizers
Pigs in a Blanket
French Onion Soup or Squash Soup
Smoked Salmon Terrine
*Salad (?) In all the things I have read about traditional English dinners, I have not seen anything about salads. I am good without it, but it kind of seems like we should have something.
*Dinner Rolls (?) If I do stuffing and Yorkshire pudding, would rolls be needed? 

Main Dishes
Roasted Top Sirloin
Turkey

Sides
Yorkshire Pudding
Stuffing
Potatoes
Carrots and Parsnips
Brussel Sprouts

Desserts
Flaming English Pudding
Mincemeat Pie
Yule Log

[Kristin Meredith]

I don't think dinner rolls are needed and I don't think a salad is needed especially with both appetizers and soup and your side veggies. A Buche de Noel!!!  Fabulous!  Are you making from scratch?

[jdmessner]

I don't think dinner rolls are needed and I don't think a salad is needed especially with both appetizers and soup and your side veggies. A Buche de Noel!!!  Fabulous!  Are you making from scratch?

If I talk nicely to my wife, I am thinking she will do it. She has been known to make them in the past! When I asked her if she might be up for it, she said something along the lines of: That's not till next year, I'm not thinking about that now!

I will probably be on my own with the English pudding and the mince meat, she is not a big fan.

[Chris__M]

Salad with a Christmas meal isn't something I've experienced. I wouldn't bother, but no worries if it is something you wanted.

This is a side that I have done a few times that I really like. It provides some acid on the plate to cut through the richness of everything else.

Christmas Cabbage (red cabbage with cranberries):

https://www.foodadventure.org.uk/wordpress/2019/12/25/christmas-cabbage/

This was my Christmas last year:

https://www.foodadventure.org.uk/wordpress/2020/12/27/christmas/

[jdmessner]

Now that Christmas is all most over (still have a few stops to make), it is time to redirect my attention to the Epiphany dinner. I am starting to make some menu tweaks so it will be a little easier to manage. In past years we were able to put the kids to work on appetizers and other assorted jobs. However, kids grow up and we are without their help this time around. A lot of food will be made off site, so that is also part of the consideration. Timing will be crucial. Still not sure how many people are attending. RSVPs have been a bit slow coming in.

Appetizers
Pigs in a Blanket -  Bacon and sausage
French Onion Soup or Butternut Squash Soup (it will require less fuss than French Onion)
Smoked Salmon Terrine
Salad (?)
Dinner Rolls (?)

Main Dishes
Roasted Top Sirloin
Turkey

Sides
Yorkshire Pudding – After looking at it closer, I will probably make it as popovers in muffin tins.
Stuffing – For all practical purposes it came down to either stuffing or YS pudding.
Potatoes - Mashed
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Honey Glaze
Brussel Sprouts
Turkey Gravy – I would prefer beef gravy, but with the top sirloin there probably won’t be a lot of drippings and they will be used for the YS pudding.

Desserts
Flaming English Pudding
Mincemeat Pie – filled cookies
Yule Log

[Kristin Meredith]

Looks like a great final menu.  Are you having wassail?

This was the song that our madrigals sang as the flaming wassail bowl was paraded through the hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6HZVch7t_8

[02ebz06]

I'd have a tough time getting beyond the Pigs In A Blanket.    

[jdmessner]

Looks like a great final menu.  Are you having wassail?

This was the song that our madrigals sang as the flaming wassail bowl was paraded through the hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6HZVch7t_8

Loved the song!

Depending on the weather and the cooperation of a couple of friends, I would like to have a wassail and hot chocolate station set up outside around a fire pit with carolers. If the weather is bad, we will do it inside (minus the fire)! Odds are good we will be inside!

[Kristin Meredith]

That sounds lovely!  Hope the weather cooperates.

[jdmessner]

I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.

[Chris__M]

I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.

Might not help you, but for the fun of information: "Aunt Bessies" is a brand of frozen Yorkshire pudding that has become very popular in the UK. So frozen Yorkies is a thing, certainly. I don't know of anyone who has frozen their own, although I reckon it probably isn't complicated.

[Chris__M]

And today I learned something I didn't know. Before launching the Aunt Bessies brand in retail, the company behind the brand has been supplying frozen yorkshires to Butlins (major chain of holiday camps) since the 1970s.

[jdmessner]

I have not made Yorkshire pudding or popovers in a very long time. It has always been my understanding that they need to be served fresh out of the oven. Read an article today that said they can be made in advance and even frozen, then reheated and served. Is this true? If so it would make the timing of things much easier for the dinner.

Might not help you, but for the fun of information: "Aunt Bessies" is a brand of frozen Yorkshire pudding that has become very popular in the UK. So frozen Yorkies is a thing, certainly. I don't know of anyone who has frozen their own, although I reckon it probably isn't complicated.

Thank you Chris. I think this at least calls for an experiment. My kids are coming for Christmas dinner this weekend. I will make some up ahead of time and see how they hold up.