# Traditional Christmas Dinner **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604 "2012-11-30T19:47:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/21 "2012-12-03T02:40:50Z")
And, of course, you’ll want to have a traditional Christmas lasagna. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/22 "2012-12-03T02:57:08Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > …and bread sauce with the turkey. The English in-laws introduced me to this and I heartily endorse it. Turkey, I can take or leave, but for bread sauce I’ll definitely take it! ---
**Author:** ![Kasper1014](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c89c15/32.png) [@Kasper1014](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kasper1014)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/23 "2012-12-03T03:46:53Z")
I have never heard of bread sauce, what exactly is it? ---
**Author:** ![Kasper1014](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c89c15/32.png) [@Kasper1014](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kasper1014)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/24 "2012-12-03T03:47:56Z")
Pigs in a blanket…I’m assuming its not the Americanized pigs in a blanket? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/25 "2012-12-03T07:53:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And, of course, you’ll want to have a traditional Christmas lasagna. Actually, we DO traditionally have a lasagna around Christmas in my family, for when we want something other than turkey. It’s generally not served on Christmas day, but over the holiday, generally it’s made and served a couple of days after Christmas. I’m not going to try to claim that this is an English tradition, though. It’s definitely from my dad’s side of the family. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/26 "2012-12-03T09:54:40Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > Gotta do some creamed spinach with the rib roast. Oh, and don’t forget the horseradish cream too. > > Green bean casserole with the turkey. My father-in-law makes a green bean casserole where he makes his own cream of mushroom soup, fries his own onions, and uses fresh green beans. It is to die for. Nothing remotely english about a green bean casserole, I’m afraid. Also, as Marcus points out, Roast beef isn’t traditional for Christmas day, even if 'some’people do it. Turkey is it, with a few posh people having goose. Obligatory components: 1. [Christmas Crackers](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+crackers&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D11&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=n3W8UPLOD8W3hQeijIDoAw&biw=1507&bih=1089&sei=onW8ULrCC_CY1AWe34HgBw#um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&tbm=isch&q=pulling+christmas+crackers&revid=762490683&sa=X&ei=onW8UOiwD-ek0AXsg4CgCA&ved=0CFAQgxY&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=c7ad508e5e8485cd&bpcl=39314241&biw=1507&bih=1089). You must pull these before you eat, read out the silly jokes to the whole table, gawp at the crapness of the plastic toy inside and wear your paper hat for at least the rest of the meal, if not the rest of the day. Christmas isn’t Christmas without the crackers. 2. Stuffing, either pork and sage or chestnut, or both. 3. Pigs in blankets: these are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. YUM. 4. Sprouts. Nobody likes them, but everyone has to eat at least one. 5. Roast potatoes. Definitely never mashed. 6. Cranberry sauce 7. Homemade gravy 8. Whatever other vegetables you prefer. The meal should be finished off with a Christmas pudding. Wrap a pound (dollar) coin in foil and push it inside the pudding. Whoever gets the coin gets to make a wish, and keep the cash. In the kitchen, douse the pud in brandy and set fire to it, carrying the flaming pud into the dining room for everyone to ooh and aah over. Serve piping hot with cream, custard and brandy butter. Then plonk yourself down on the sofa to watch the Queen’s speech at 3pm. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/27 "2012-12-03T10:00:23Z")
> [@Kasper1014](#): > > I have never heard of bread sauce, what exactly is it? An ancient medieval warm sauce made from bread crumbs, milk, onion, bay leaf, cloves, pepper, mace, maybe some cream and some of the juices from the roasting tin. Traditionally served with roast birds, like chicken. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/28 "2012-12-03T10:18:05Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Nothing remotely english about a green bean casserole, I’m afraid. > > Also, as Marcus points out, Roast beef isn’t traditional for Christmas day, even if 'some’people do it. Turkey is it, with a few posh people having goose. > > Obligatory components: > > 1. [Christmas Crackers](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+crackers&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D11&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=n3W8UPLOD8W3hQeijIDoAw&biw=1507&bih=1089&sei=onW8ULrCC_CY1AWe34HgBw#um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&tbm=isch&q=pulling+christmas+crackers&revid=762490683&sa=X&ei=onW8UOiwD-ek0AXsg4CgCA&ved=0CFAQgxY&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=c7ad508e5e8485cd&bpcl=39314241&biw=1507&bih=1089). You must pull these before you eat, read out the silly jokes to the whole table, gawp at the crapness of the plastic toy inside and wear your paper hat for at least the rest of the meal, if not the rest of the day. Christmas isn’t Christmas without the crackers. > 2. Stuffing, either pork and sage or chestnut, or both. > 3. Pigs in blankets: these are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. YUM. > 4. Sprouts. Nobody likes them, but everyone has to eat at least one. > 5. Roast potatoes. Definitely never mashed. > 6. Cranberry sauce > 7. Homemade gravy > 8. Whatever other vegetables you prefer. > > The meal should be finished off with a Christmas pudding. Wrap a pound (dollar) coin in foil and push it inside the pudding. Whoever gets the coin gets to make a wish, and keep the cash. In the kitchen, douse the pud in brandy and set fire to it, carrying the flaming pud into the dining room for everyone to ooh and aah over. Serve piping hot with cream, custard and brandy butter. > > Then plonk yourself down on the sofa to watch the Queen’s speech at 3pm. Excellent - you’ve picked up all the bits I missed. Particularly important are the crackers and paper hats and the flaming brandy on the Christmas pud - try not to mix the two 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/29 "2012-12-03T10:20:23Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > An ancient medieval warm sauce made from bread crumbs, milk, onion, bay leaf, cloves, pepper, mace, maybe some cream and some of the juices from the roasting tin. Traditionally served with roast birds, like chicken. Don’t tell anyone but frequently made using a packet of powder and a pint of milk! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/30 "2012-12-03T10:36:16Z")
> [@MarcusF](#): > > Don’t tell anyone but frequently made using a packet of powder and a pint of milk! Outrageous… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/31 "2012-12-03T11:21:38Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Nothing remotely english about a green bean casserole, I’m afraid. > > Also, as Marcus points out, Roast beef isn’t traditional for Christmas day, even if 'some’people do it. Turkey is it, with a few posh people having goose. > > Obligatory components: > > 1. [Christmas Crackers](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+crackers&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D11&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=n3W8UPLOD8W3hQeijIDoAw&biw=1507&bih=1089&sei=onW8ULrCC_CY1AWe34HgBw#um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&tbm=isch&q=pulling+christmas+crackers&revid=762490683&sa=X&ei=onW8UOiwD-ek0AXsg4CgCA&ved=0CFAQgxY&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=c7ad508e5e8485cd&bpcl=39314241&biw=1507&bih=1089). You must pull these before you eat, read out the silly jokes to the whole table, gawp at the crapness of the plastic toy inside and wear your paper hat for at least the rest of the meal, if not the rest of the day. Christmas isn’t Christmas without the crackers. > 2. Stuffing, either pork and sage or chestnut, or both. > 3. Pigs in blankets: these are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. YUM. > 4. Sprouts. Nobody likes them, but everyone has to eat at least one. > 5. Roast potatoes. Definitely never mashed. > 6. Cranberry sauce > 7. Homemade gravy > 8. Whatever other vegetables you prefer. > > The meal should be finished off with a Christmas pudding. Wrap a pound (dollar) coin in foil and push it inside the pudding. Whoever gets the coin gets to make a wish, and keep the cash. In the kitchen, douse the pud in brandy and set fire to it, carrying the flaming pud into the dining room for everyone to ooh and aah over. Serve piping hot with cream, custard and brandy butter. > > Then plonk yourself down on the sofa to watch the Queen’s speech at 3pm. My name is amanset and I endorse this post. However, it al depends on what we mean by “traditional”. Do we mean “the way they used to do a century ago” or “what is considered tradition now”? Now is definitely turkey and has been for some decades. Back in the times of Dickens, less so. You also missed Christmas Cake, you heathen. Some mince pies should be eaten at some point too. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/32 "2012-12-03T11:39:24Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > You also missed Christmas Cake, you heathen. Some mince pies should be eaten at some point too. Well, yes, plus the entire contents of a Cadbury’s selection box and several kilos of walnuts, but I was saving those for afters. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/33 "2012-12-03T11:54:41Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > 1. Sprouts. Nobody likes them, but everyone has to eat at least one. Two weeks ago, I ate my first brussel sprout, as an experiment. I didn’t dislike it. But then again, I didn’t get more, either. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/34 "2012-12-03T12:01:00Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Two weeks ago, I ate my first brussel sprout, as an experiment. I didn’t dislike it. But then again, I didn’t get more, either. Exactly. Some people say they like them, but never cook them other than at Christmas, even though they are readily available. Every Christmas, magazines flood us with more and more elaborate ways of cooking sprouts – with bacon, with chestnuts, stuffed, shreaded, fried, creamed… basically every which way to disguise them as something else. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/35 "2012-12-03T12:41:50Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Every Christmas, magazines flood us with more and more elaborate ways of cooking sprouts – with bacon, with chestnuts, stuffed, shreaded, fried, creamed… basically every which way to disguise them as something else. I do think you have to cook them in such a way as to take the oversprouty edge off. I like to trim them, halve them, fry until slightly blackened with a bit of garlic added late on, before adding a little stock to soften them satisfactorily. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/36 "2012-12-03T13:09:23Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > 1. Pigs in blankets: these are **cocktail sausages** wrapped in bacon. YUM. You mean, like, tinned Vienna sausages ( **YIK!** ), or something more like English bangers? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/37 "2012-12-03T13:11:58Z")
God no, not tinned. Like miniature english bangers, like [these](http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/sainsburys-price-comparison/sausages_and_burgers/sainsburys_taste_the_difference_outdoor_bred_pork_cocktail_sausages_18_per_pack_250g.html). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/38 "2012-12-03T13:15:28Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > God no, not tinned. Like miniature english bangers, like [these](http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/#/sainsburys-price-comparison/sausages_and_burgers/sainsburys_taste_the_difference_outdoor_bred_pork_cocktail_sausages_18_per_pack_250g.html). Aha! Those are available in Canada. Is the bacon the streaky kind, or more like a proper rasher? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/39 "2012-12-03T13:39:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Aha! Those are available in Canada. > > Is the bacon the streaky kind, or more like a proper rasher? Normally streaky, for the full salt/fat attack. [If you want to see what they look like](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pigs+in+blankets&hl=en&tbo=u&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iqu8UIuGAcbB0gWCnIH4CA&ved=0CFMQsAQ&biw=1646&bih=1155)… They are normally roasted in the oven on a tray for about 20 mins, from memory. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604/40 "2012-12-03T13:47:47Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Normally streaky, for the full salt/fat attack. > > [If you want to see what they look like](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pigs+in+blankets&hl=en&tbo=u&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB503GB504&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=iqu8UIuGAcbB0gWCnIH4CA&ved=0CFMQsAQ&biw=1646&bih=1155)… They are normally roasted in the oven on a tray for about 20 mins, from memory. Yum-O! 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traditional-christmas-dinner/642604.md?page=3)