If you are throwing a Christmas party, no matter however small gathering it is going to be, you need to have a perfect plan for Christmas day dinner menu! And this is because you want to please your guests with mouthwatering food that they would remember till next Christmas. You are a very good cook but then you need to organize and plan for all- what Christmas dinner recipes are you going to make? What all ingredients and materials would you need for making these Christmas dishes? How much time would each of the recipe take to be prepared and so on. If your Christmas dinner menu is elaborate and if you think you can prepare it in a single day- you might be making a wrong prediction! You must, therefore spread out your work of preparing Christmas day dishes over a few days or weeks- depending upon your Christmas menu so that you are well prepared ahead of time and can enjoy the big day yourself too! Here are some tips and tricks on how to organize and plan for Christmas day dinner menu!
Decide the Recipes for Christmas Dinner!
First and the foremost work is to decide what recipes you are going to make for Christmas Dinner. Its better to do this planning well before time- about at least two weeks ahead of Christmas day! Follow these tips while you decide on the recipes for Christmas dinner!
Decide the Christmas dinner menu. For this, you can shortlist two to four menus depending upon your choice and preferences of your family and guests. Ideally your Christmas dinner menu should include meat, a carbohydrate dish, a starch dish, and a vegetarian dish- but there is no hard and fast rule for this.
Mix the traditional and old dishes for Christmas menu. This is important because you won't like t o test all new dishes and end up nobody liking even one. New recipes might fail due to several reasons like non compatibility with your or guests' taste buds, difficulty in following the exact recipe method while actually doing the things and so on. So, when you have some time tested dishes that you have made many a times earlier (and that are liked by all) along with new experimental dishes, you can always be confident that one or the other would definitely please your guests.
Know the ingredients and how to make the selected recipe. If you are trying something new for Christmas recipe that you haven't made earlier, its better to read the recipe the same time when you decide the menu. This way you will come to know the ingredients you would need as well as gage the convenience as per your capabilities regarding the preparation of the dishes. Moreover, you have ample time to collect the ingredients beforehand.
Collect ingredients for your decided recipes for Christmas day dinner. The written recipe you have in your hand might indicate ingredients for only 4-6 persons or even 2 persons whereas you might have, say 10 persons coming for Christmas party at your home. You should write down the changed proportions of the ingredients you need to buy for making your dishes.
Make Lists- The Christmas Menu Planner
Wherever, there is discussion for organizing and planning, making lists is the best and the most essential part of the process- including Christmas meals menu. So, prepare your Christmas menu planner for the big day to keep yourself hassle free and your guests pleased with your organized efforts!Make a list for all the Christmas meals you are planning and not just the dinner. This may include menu for Christmas Eve, Christmas morning breakfast, Christmas lunch and of course the Christmas dinner. You can make your planner something like what has been shown in the image below.
- After deciding your Christmas recipes, make a list for when would you make each of the planned dish. This will tell you how to spread out the cooking work over a few days or weeks.
- You can also make a list of when and what to buy for your recipes. This will make your work more easier. For example, some of the ingredients could not be stored before hand and you'll want them to buy fresh. When you know that you need to go to the market once before final act of the Christmas menu preparation, you can buy all these things at one instance.
How to Make Christmas Dinner According to Your Plan?
Now comes the big question- how to make the recipes you have selected after preparation of all the other preliminary things? The answer lies in spreading out your work of cooking over few days even if not a few weeks.
- If you see carefully at your selected Christmas dinner menu, you'll find that there are many recipes that can be prepared much ahead of time. Some examples of such recipes include chicken pot pie, stews, broth for fondue etc. These dishes can then be stored in freezer. They will taste as good as fresh ones when you serve them after thawing and heating them on the final day.
- Some of the other types of foods that are relished by mostly all on Christmas can be prepared days before and stored even without using freezer such as Christmas cookies and truffles. Wrap them up properly after making them and they'll feel fresh when served.
- Some other foods can be made a couple of days before (1-2 days before) and kept in fridge such as the special sandwiches for your Christmas morning breakfast.
- Now when you see at your Christmas day meals lists, you'll find that you are left with only few items to be made and that you can very well prepare fresh on Christmas day!
Christmas Dinner Menu Ideas!
For your help in deciding and choosing the perfect Christmas recipes, here are some Christmas dinner menu ideas, in fact, dishes that you can choose from!
- Roast Goose
- Baked Ham
- Roast Turkey
- Roast Pork loin or Pork with Herbs
- Stuffed Panettone
- Parmesan Smashed Potatoes
- Roasted-Beet & Pistachio Salad
- Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts & Brown Butter or Lemon and Garlic
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