Hi all

I have decided this year that we are not having a traditional Christmas dinner or a roast of any sort.

Can anyone recommend an alternative and perhaps point me in the right direction of a recipe please?

Will watch this with interest!

I suggested no turkey to my OH and he was disgusted.  So I've ordered a turkey crown. 

we never have turkey,i like roast beef,but to be honest with you,i would rather be with the kids and dogs than sweating in a kitchen,i always fancy a cold pic and mix,salads,cold meets,pickles,cheeses,etc,but other half says no!!!!

OH used to end up working on Christmas Day, daughter and myself would have Salmon roasted/grilled with vegetables and raspberry meringue for dessert :-D 

We'd have Christmas dinner when he turned up days later :)

I'd prefer the Salmon personally

Can you give us a little more to go on?  How many are you feeding and what sort ofthings do you like/not like.  No point in me suggesting an Indian banquet if you don't like curry, for instance ;-)

I do LOVE Indian :)

4 of us - 2 adults - 2 kids 15 and 11.

We love all the cold meats, cheese, pickles etc - but we usually have that for breakfast.

I won't eat lamb or duck.

Like all vegetables.  Ermmmmmmmmm we like spicey things too.

What else??  Am thinking lol

Good luck! I suggest this every year to my sons, who claim not to like turkey very much, but guess what we end up having! I'd prefer to cook venison or a rabbit pie (aka "field chicken"--my children would have refused to eat it when they were small), and I love meze type meals with loads to pick at.

For me the 'big day' is the 24th rather than Christmas day (a hangover from German family traditions), but this has become a bit watered down with my children who think our tree should go up at least a week before like everyone else's and we should eat the same old stuff...*SIGH*

So I have ordered a Norfolk bronze and two ribs of beef from our excellent butcher, with all the usual bits of this and that to go with them. The turkey will be 80% uneaten, so the dogs and I will have a fantastic week or so to follow--no cooking, lots of leftovers.

We had canada goose one year--took me a day to pluck the bird and there was enough on it to feed a family of 10--tasted very like lamb, not surprisingly. No one else seemed to care for it though.

we l just be having a buffet this year,il still do sliced meats,but quiche,salad,and plenty of other bits and bobs.maybe not very christmassy but ive done all that for the last 40 or so years,and id like chance to sit and chat with my family this year,for a change,instead of staggering out of the kitchen once pud and pots are done!

I would love to get away from the traditional lunch but there would be an outcry in my house.

I don't like tradition and trying to get my family to change is impossible.

This is what a friend has done with her family for a number of years and it sounds like fun.

They put a number of countries in a hat, someone pulls out a country and then that Xmas all food and drink is served from that country. They also dress up and dress the room up in the countries theme.. Brilliant I thought..

They did Mexico the other year - Margarita anyone? :-D

oh,I remember my german born mum telling me she used to get her presents on christmas eve!I have fond memories of her singing"stille nacht"(spelling may be wrong!)It sounds so much better sung in german,to my ears!She also used to sing(and I know this spelling will be wrong!"schnee flechion"(snow flake?)and I used to beg her to sing it when I wanted it to snow!happy memories!

What about a stir fry, depending on the number of people obviously.

Lidls have ostrich burgers in their freezers, or they did have last time I managed to get out. ;-) They also have pheasant, venison and duck. I am hoping they also have goose, though I didn't look. Just something different to turkey, which I haven't had for years. :-)

colliepam, your spelling is not so far off :) schnee flockchen (the 'o' with an umlaut, the double dots!).

It's a bit early, but frohliche Weihnachten (ohne umlaut!) und ein glückliches neues Jahr! :)

Du auch :-D

Here we have Christmas dinner twice :(    on Christmas eve for Oma who insists on the full works and then on Christmas Day for my family, who also insist on the full works :(

I'd prefer one or the other, two Christmas dinners in a row is too much for me :( 

I'd like any alternative dinner - I was lucky enough to have a haunch of Venison one year :-p but Bro doesn't go shooting any more :(

JAY15 you made me laugh with the rabbit name, i used to call it 'prarie chicken'.

two Christmas dinners in a row is too much for me

But not for those doing the eating, eh! The cook rarely gets a say in our house. I get my revenge by sneaking in dishes that I think belong there--himmel und erde (a great simmered pan of red cabbage, apple and a bit of onion flavoured with peppercorn and juniper, for anyone wondering what heaven and earth has to do with food--wakes up the turkey though!) and lebkuchen being two favourites I still make.

Tell me what your Oma has auf tisch, Dill, I would love to know.

hi Sullysmum, I bet we all have our little euphemisms for food we used to feed our kids and never let on what it really was! My neighbour used to bring me a bin liner full of rabbits, always a good cue for a barbecue--skin, gut and joint them, leave marinating in olive oil, lemon juice and garlic for a day or even two and then grill them--never had any child say no to field chicken :)

I think there actually is a prairie chicken...isn't it some kind of big grouse type bird?

I just thought people called Rabbit, Prairie chicken I didnt realise there actually was such a thing? :)

I believe it is indeed a real bird--couldn't recall whether it is grouse or bustard related though so checked it out on Wikiwonderful :) and here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Prairie_Chicken

Another creature on the brink, sadly

Last year it was just my partner and myself and we had some smoked salmon and bits earlier in the day and decided we didn't actually fancy turkey that day so we just picked. Had our turkey on Boxing Day. Easier to do that sort of thing when there are only two of you! We rear cows and sheep but I expect he'll insist on turkey for Christmas. Do love turkey sandwiches though :)

I don't cook the first one, Oma does that ;) Turkey and Pork with brussels sprouts and other veg. with gravy.   She doesn't do the red cabbage with apple at Christmas - which I love, I can't stand sprouts which are cooked in a pressure cooker 

Dessert is usually ice cream ???   she hates anything with dried fruit in, so no Xmas pud or cake :(  

Maybe I'll do the red cabbage this year :-p

It's me who can't do the eating of 2 Christmas dinners :(  I find it too much and too heavy :(   when I was growing up we'd have fish on Christmas Eve as it was light - ready to pig out on Christmas day :)

Not sure what to get for this year, I feel like a change,  but can't persuade OH to have Salmon on Christmas day :(

As for Lebkuchen :-p :-p    I miss them so much :( :(  I can't have them as they have wheat and Gluten in them and would make me ill  :(   My favourites were the white and pink sugar-coated ones - they seem to be everywhere this year :(

> Maybe I'll do the red cabbage this year :-p

I will.. my mum won't eat it, but I love it. It's not Christmas without spiced red cabbage. The irony is that it was mum who did that years ago when I was young, but she's forgotten that now.

Lidls do a lot of German things... I love going to see what they have, the spiced biscuits ummmm Picture Biscuits? can't remember the real name... also marzipan and Stollen!!!!

Oh yes JAY15, thanks.

I must be the only person that actually couldn't be bothered one christmas, and had scrambled egg on toast.

danke schon!same to you,and all champdoggers!

Spekulatius - spiced Christmas biscuits :-D

About 4 years ago we went down with a really vicious tummy bug on Christmas day!!!

DS had it 2 days earlier and was fine, but we had to cancel MIL who was NOT amused   she was convinced we were fine really

Both myself and OH spent the day running to the bathroom and with our heads down the loo :(

DS (aged 9) made himself a lovely dippy egg and soldiers for Christmas dinner :)  it was all we could bear to smell cooking.  It was New Years Day before we could have a full dinner!