What to cook Christmas day, given we are committed to roast goose on Boxing Day?

acpgee
acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.
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Replies

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Prime rib maybe?
    The ends can be cooked more than the center.
    Do your guests like ham? Or crown of pork?
    KFC sounds good though. 🙂
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,983 Member
    My parents usually make a prime rib roast. I like the end pieces that are more cooked than the rare pieces in the middle. So, it works for people who like a range of "doneness" for their beef.

    Pork roast or a ham are good options, too.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    We're non-traditional this way, but we always do brunch with French toast, fruit salad, and egg bakes. With lots of cookies to follow.

    Of course maybe we're not doing anything this year...
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    Ham is a great idea. I normally do rib of beef sous vide followed by reverse sear, which gives a uniform cook of medium rare. A little nervous of changing my normal cooking technique on beef. But yeah, I have never cooked a large ham so should be more nervous about that.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    @acpgee you are a great cook, from the posts I see here. Ham is probably one of the easiest things to cook. IMHO. Ham is a pretty common Christmas dinner in the US.

    There’s always your British Beef Wellington. I remember it was done on GBBO one season in mini individual servings. You could control the doneness that way.

    I’m sure whatever you choose will be well received by your guests.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    Turkey or ham. Or another goose since it will be different people.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    We are on lockdown now, but rumours in the press have it that social gatherings for up to six people will be permitted for a window around Christmas.
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    We are starting a new lockdown at midnight tonight for 4 weeks, so lasting until 12/18, hoping things will be better by Christmas. Our (US) Thanksgiving is next Thursday. Our governor (MN) has limited Thanksgiving celebrations to only people residing in the residence full time, excluding students living at college, extended family, and friends. Holiday parties are not happening this year. Hopefully, this will work here, as well as in the UK, so we can at least have a more normal celebration for Christmas. Nothing at all wrong with planning, and hoping, for a little cheer in this year of so much sadness.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

    She didn’t say it’s happening today. It’s over a month away. Nothing wrong with planning. My state government (MN), and the UK, are doing lock down now, so hopefully, we can have a more normal Christmas. Numbers are going up, but this measure will hopefully bring them down. It’s one of the reasons our leaders have given us for lock down now. Mainly because of the critical situation with hospitals and health care workers, which is absolutely imperative.
    What better time, than Christmas, for hope.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

    She didn’t say it’s happening today. It’s over a month away. Nothing wrong with planning. My state government (MN), and the UK, are doing lock down now, so hopefully, we can have a more normal Christmas. Numbers are going up, but this measure will hopefully bring them down. It’s one of the reasons our leaders have given us for lock down now. Mainly because of the critical situation with hospitals and health care workers, which is absolutely imperative.
    What better time, than Christmas, for hope.

    🤷‍♀️ Good luck with all that 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

    She didn’t say it’s happening today. It’s over a month away. Nothing wrong with planning. My state government (MN), and the UK, are doing lock down now, so hopefully, we can have a more normal Christmas. Numbers are going up, but this measure will hopefully bring them down. It’s one of the reasons our leaders have given us for lock down now. Mainly because of the critical situation with hospitals and health care workers, which is absolutely imperative.
    What better time, than Christmas, for hope.

    🤷‍♀️ Good luck with all that 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

    Look, being cynical won’t solve the problem. Some of us have been following guidelines all along. Mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, staying home except for essential trips for food and necessities. Avoiding group situations. We are part of the solution, not the problem. You are preaching to the choir. The experts arrived at the 4 week time for slowing this back down. Do you have alternative information with different outcome🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

    She didn’t say it’s happening today. It’s over a month away. Nothing wrong with planning. My state government (MN), and the UK, are doing lock down now, so hopefully, we can have a more normal Christmas. Numbers are going up, but this measure will hopefully bring them down. It’s one of the reasons our leaders have given us for lock down now. Mainly because of the critical situation with hospitals and health care workers, which is absolutely imperative.
    What better time, than Christmas, for hope.

    🤷‍♀️ Good luck with all that 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

    Look, being cynical won’t solve the problem. Some of us have been following guidelines all along. Mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, staying home except for essential trips for food and necessities. Avoiding group situations. We are part of the solution, not the problem. You are preaching to the choir. The experts arrived at the 4 week time for slowing this back down. Do you have alternative information with different outcome🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

    🤷‍♀️ No one is cynical. Good luck with all that again. 👍
  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Gisel2015 wrote: »
    acpgee wrote: »
    We have friends coming over for roast goose on Boxing Day. These are people with family in the UK who want to do a second Christmas dinner cooking a traditional goose with friends.

    Now the hubby has invited another family over on Christmas day itself, because these people won't be allowed international travel to visit their parents because of lockdown.

    So what would you cook at Christmas if you already have plans for roast goose on Boxing Day? An extra complication is that she likes red meat well done for herself and the kids, whereas everyone else likes rare to medium rare, so a rib of beef or lamb of leg won't work. A lamb rack could work for a group of people who like red meat cooked to different degrees of doneness.

    Ideas welcome. Maybe we just need to do the Japanese Christmas tradition of KFC.

    Don't you have COVID n the UK? I don't worry about Christmas or Holidays meal at all this year. As long as my husband and I are healthy and breathing on our own, a sandwich and a glass' of wine will do. Our home is close to guests of any kind. Hard but necessary to keep everybody healthy.

    I just can't believe that people gets so workout with holidays meals when we are in the middle of a pandemic, with hospitals at maximum capacity, medical personnel overburden and exhausted, and people still dying. It just drives me NUTS!!

    Agreed. No guests of any type for us until this is over. Numbers are going up everywhere. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

    She didn’t say it’s happening today. It’s over a month away. Nothing wrong with planning. My state government (MN), and the UK, are doing lock down now, so hopefully, we can have a more normal Christmas. Numbers are going up, but this measure will hopefully bring them down. It’s one of the reasons our leaders have given us for lock down now. Mainly because of the critical situation with hospitals and health care workers, which is absolutely imperative.
    What better time, than Christmas, for hope.

    🤷‍♀️ Good luck with all that 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

    Look, being cynical won’t solve the problem. Some of us have been following guidelines all along. Mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing, staying home except for essential trips for food and necessities. Avoiding group situations. We are part of the solution, not the problem. You are preaching to the choir. The experts arrived at the 4 week time for slowing this back down. Do you have alternative information with different outcome🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

    🤷‍♀️ No one is cynical. Good luck with all that again. 👍

    Thanks! Have a great day☀️
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    We plan to be compliant with any restrictions there are in place but had a date with a couple to roast a goose on Boxing Day in the event that restrictions are relaxed. I am just daunted by now needing to cook two Christmas dinners on consecutive days in the event that restrictions are lifted. My freezer can hold one goose in the case that Boxing Day dinner doesn't happen but not sure how to handle logistics about planning another potential Christmas dinner.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 978 Member
    @acpgee Do you have any available freezer space now? I've been to Lidl this evening and bought a Three Bird Roast, a Three Game Roast and an Easy Carve Stuffed Goose - but they're all frozen. You probably won't want goose twice, but one of the others might be a good option. I think the game one says it serves 4 and the bird one says it serves 6.

    Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose always get good ratings for their gammon and ham joints - we've had a glazed gammon from Waitrose, on Boxing Day, for the last couple of years. The hard part is actually getting hold of one as people tend to buy as soon as they're in stock (especially if they're mentioned as a 'best rated' in any of the papers or magazines). However, ham or gammon would normally be a Boxing Day thing, with turkey or goose being the more traditional offering on Christmas Day, at least in more modern times. Perhaps consider a small turkey crown?

    You can at least prep all your veg on Christmas Eve, for both days.

    We may end up at my sister and brother-in-law's, as normal, on Christmas Day (depending on what the rules are by then) or it may be myself and my Dad, my brother and my niece (they live together / I'm in a bubble with them). Regardless, I'll be with my dad, brother and niece on Boxing Day. I decided to buy all three options in Lidl (as we like the sound of them all) and what we don't eat over Christmas can be eaten in January or February.

    In case you're interested, Iceland's Luxury All Butter mince pies, yet again, got rated as being the best to buy.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,553 Member
    I have ordered a 5 kg goose arriving 23 Dec. In case there are no lockdown relaxations and we can't have dinner party Boxing Day was planning to to remove legs and wings and roast the crown for the two of us at Christmas and freeze the dark meat.

    If we order a gammon joint (=ham) for for delivery about the same time could probably manage to cook half and freeze half in the case that lockdown lifting doesn't happen on Xmas day,
  • littlegreenparrot1
    littlegreenparrot1 Posts: 694 Member
    I'd go for a wellington, I've seen some lovely looking recipes for vegetarian ones.

    Fingers crossed some restrictions are lifted, we're supposed to be going to Paris :'(
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 978 Member
    Seems we might be allowed small get-togethers, per today's announcement. @acpgee, if you order a gammon joint for delivery on 23rd as well, that should be fine. I'm sure your friends will appreciate it, regardless, and at least it removes any issue with how well-done to cook something.