Christmas 2021 Menu - Low Key yet Classy
Hello lovely people! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the year! It’s been quite hectic and eventful and I’m really looking forward to slowing down for the end of the year and enjoying my holidays!
I’m also very aware that I haven’t been very regular with posting on my blog and that’s a whole other story, probably for another post, but to cut a long story short, I had Writer’s Block and I’ve been trying different ways to get over it!
Anyway, today I want to share my lovely low key Christmas lunch menu with you all. I had a great time with a few friends and we cooked up a mini feast. There was chatting and eating and gifts, and Dirty Santa and lots of giggles!
Usually our Christmas menu is quite elaborate and there’s too much of everything, but this time it was more restrained and made with every intention to not waste any food! So let’s go straight to the menu, with links to some of the recipes (wherever applicable)
Cheese platter
Appetisers:
Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels: This is one of the easiest appetisers ever, and I made it the previous night because it sets nicely and is easier to slice when it’s cold! I’m very partial to recipes that can be prepared in advance because there’s less to do on the actual day! It is an absolute crowd pleaser and I’ve linked the recipe above!
Camembert Pecan Bites: I hadn’t made this before, and I tweaked the recipe slightly, but again, this takes about 10 minutes to prep and is absolutely delicious! I had everyone asking me for this recipe! I’m definitely going to use it again and customize it for different fillings in future parties. The perfect, quick, no-mess appetiser!
Cheese platter: There’s always scope for a cheese platter or a nibbling/grazing board. I feel like when guests start coming in, they need something to get started, along with the drinks of course, so in my parties, you’ll always find some type of grazing platter! There’s no recipe for this, I just arranged the cheese, crackers, grapes, fig chutney, pecan nuts like a wreath and added a sprinkling of rosemary. A few Christmasses ago, I had a Christmas tree cheese board which was equally well received! So here’s an opportunity to get creative!
Mains:
Camembert Pecan Bites
Roast Chicken and Potatoes with Stuffing: A whole roasted chicken is such a crowd pleaser! None of our friends like turkey, so we always have chicken. My husband makes the best roast chicken - beautifully seasoned with lemon and herbs, surrounded by carrots, onions and potatoes. It was tender and juicy and even the kids loved it! I can’t take any credit for the stuffing, because my friend made it and it was the perfect accompaniment!
Vegetarian Baked Vegetables: This is again a very simple bake with white sauce and lots of cheese (as you can see, we love cheese!). We steamed the veggies on the previous night - cauliflower, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, babycorn. And on the day, just made a nice white sauce with garlic and cheese, poured it over the veggies, and baked it for about 25 minutes! It was rich and creamy and extremely yummy!
Spaghetti with Pesto: This was mainly for the kids and the vegetarians and again, one of the simplest thing to put together. My husband made the pesto the previous night and all we had to do on the day was boil some pasta and stir in the pesto. Can’t get easier than that! There are loads of pesto recipes out there - we make ours classic - with basil, pine nuts/walnuts, olive oil, garlic and salt.
Winter salad: There has to be something fresh to counter all that cheese, and this winter salad was perfect for the occasion. I loved the dressing and we assembled it in minutes! The crunch from the apples, shallots, and pecans and the slight sharpness of the dressing was much needed and appreciated!
Desserts
Banoffee Cheesecake: I love banana based puddings - give me anything with a bit of banana and I will happily lap it all up! So Banoffee Cheesecake was a very easy and obvious choice when we decided to make a cheesecake. This is a no-bake cheesecake so mostly assembling stuff and as always, my favourite bit is that this was made the previous day! Please don’t use low fat cream cheese for this recipe as it will not set - just go all out with the full fat stuff and enjoy!
Hope this inspires you to create your own mini feast and select recipes that you can pre-cook or pre-prep so you don’t spend all your time in the kitchen on the main day! There was no food wastage this time and we are certainly going to use the ‘less is more’ approach in future Christmas meals! Here are some pictures! :)
