cooking help

Plum pudding

Smoked salmon (wild) and prawn**tail (fresh mayo) starters. They'll all be drunk as hell by the dessert. A good sorbet. Sharp citrus...

sorbet sounds good. You're right, everyone will be smashed. I'm an ok cook, but should I go for the three roasts (goose with pear, duck with apricot, turkey with?) and copy some simple recipes...was thinking something different for starter as well..nothing definite yet.

Thanks for the help.

Musks sausages to go with the main course. Oscar Meyer bacon even? Co-op prime cranberry sauce. Goose-fat roast potatoes.

shipment of potatoes coming for sure. Some cheeky parsnips as well...

for starter maybe some different bruschettas (aubergine, artichoke?) and some smoked salmon on the side with a nice frsh salad? Thoughts?

Too many vegetables!

Unless you have vegetarian/vegan hags.

Can't go wrong with lots of green salad, though.

one nut/berry eater yeah...just stuck on the starter...can't go wrong with some melon/pineapple hmmm

choice of 3 for main ...alot of messing about....u could bone all 3 out and roast as one ..just a thought.

cold starters choice of 2....

smoked salmon dill /lemon mayo garnish,trio of smoked fish...salmon, smoked trout,king prawns etc with horseradish sauce.
trio of melon ball with raspbrry or mango coulis ..or fanned melon.melon with port
pate with melba toast and cumberland sauce/chutney
filo baskets with goats cheese sundried tomatos and dressed rocket leaves
medley of mushrooms in white wine and tarragon sauce sered in a warm pastry case.

desserts:

plum duff and brandy sauce
summer berry pavalova with chocolte twirls
eton mess with fresh raspberries
warm choclate fondant with creme anglais
poached spiced pears in red wine served with vanilla ice-cream
creme brulee....strawberry/ginger & orange
lemon citrus tart with crem chantilly
brandy snap baskets with trio of sorbets and summer fruits
peach melba with sugar basket

cheese board / cheese straws/bicuits /grapes and figs

BON APPETIT hope it all goes well

toast with pate is a good starter

tic, not going to do a turducken, 3 seperates,

Thanks a mill for those, exactly what I wanted. I will definitely choose one for starter/dessert. I will toast one silently for ya!

Face it - they'll be drunk (ish) after the first course. Ignore dessert - few will make it that far.

true true, off to bed, thanks guys. There are some good people out there. I'm used to the sarcastic, trolling saddos!

no problem ..need any cooking help give me a shout....prepartion is the key...hope it all goes well for you.

tic

Usually you keep the starter simple especially if taking on a task with the main. If I were you I would find something that can be prepared the day before and served up quickly on the day.

How will you keep 3 roast warm? I am assuming you have not got 3 ovens?

Some very good suggestions above.
I am just wondering how you can possibly seat, and cater for,
so many without a restaurant style kitchen and at least three helpers!
I have a double oven, plus a range with six burners, and a deep fat fryer,
but I wouldn't fancy taking on what you are doing!
Not exactly inexperienced but I wouldn't do a sit down meal for more than twelve max!
Def stick to pre prepared cold starter and, have this on the table before anyone arrives, I would say!
A cheeseboard is a great call to finish and then xmas cake and mince pies with the coffee.
This way you are released to put all your effort into the main.
Just trying to imagine the sheer volume of food on the table and 25 people sitting around it!
Sorry I can't be there to see it but the very best of luck and a very Happy Christmas.....

duck, goose and turkey!!! you must have a big oven.

you will get buckets of fat from the goose, so it would be a crime not to use that forthe roast potatoes. In fact you wil stilll havebuckets spare.

Pate a good, and simple, call for starter. I always think something fishy and simple is thebest bet for a starter. If not pate then nothing wrong with quality smoked salmon and a few prawns imo. Not so expensive as you think - served with salad and buttered brown bread and a seafood sauce. whether you plate them up for them or put platters on the table is up to you - i don't really understand what sort of a "do" it is.

Not sure about dessert. Cheese board is easy and tasty (imo). Christmas pudding/cake is easy and disgusting (imo).

Anything else is a ball ache as far as i'm concerned -depends if they are expectng anything more interesting than the above.

An old boy, family friend since i was a baby, who is now sadly departed said of christmas pudding

"If the lord mad a more revolting concoction he kept it for himself" and he is about right. Though he ate mincepies like they were going out of fashion which amused me.

Hi,

I'm going to do all three birds on the day and then heat them up nicely just before serving - yep, goosefat potatoes is a must. What do I do with the Turkey (it's not a whole one, it's a massive chunk of turkey breast (I didn't opt for 3 whole birds). So I have a massive turkey roll, a big goose and a medium duck!

I'm going to think about the deserts using tact's stuff, but it will probably have brandy in it whatever it is :)..

If you can get all 3 in the oven (might take some planning) then you could get away with taking them out an hour before kick off and just leaving them on the side (in as warm a place as possible) ucovered in foil ntil you carve it for dinner - I think this is better than re heating it. Then you have room for mountain's of roast potatoes (and parsnip if applicale) in the oven. Veg should be easy, tonnes of sprouts, boiled for less than 10 minutes - use the water you par boiled the potatoes in for this, and you should be able to get away with steaming a lot of veg off the top of it. use the water then for gravy.

You can v.easily cook for 25 off one standard oven imo, even a 3 course meal, but is a bit tricky cooking 3 different roasts.

The nice guys as SPIN gave me a nice side of smoked Salmon.. We are using that

Thank god they're not coming to our house... I've only got 6 plates!
I wish you well.

Ham and a massive Turkey is the best bet imo. A14lb turkey with a decent sized ham would be ample imo.