Re: trifle... My wife makes a most excellent trifle based on raspberries, and using large quantities of Crème de Framboise rather than sherry. We've not had it on this year's menu though, and tbh, I've not missed it - it's not like we've been short of food.
We usually just have a crown rather than a full bird. I was tasked with buying one when I was in Waitrose the other day and they only had medium sized ones in, no large ones. It looks like more than enough to feed six people to me so I got it. My wife wasn't so sure, but that's because she likes to have plenty left over to ensure we go through the rigmarole of having turkey for every bloody meal for the following week. WHY???
Unsurprisingly, the "serves six" label was an understatement and the six of us* ate handsomely with plenty of meat left over for subsequent enforced turkey consumption. I actually found the damn thing surprisingly edible, largely thanks to a) the fact that our oven never achieves the stated temperature, so it got a nice, slow cooking; b) use of the Thermapen to ensure we removed it from the oven the moment it was done all the way through rather than left in there until it had well and truly dried out as usual; and c) about an hour's resting while we finished off the accompaniments - being such a dense lump of protein, it was still hot by the time we served it.
*seven, if you include the dog - and he has certainly had his fair share of the meat.
The only appeal of Christmas pudding is pyromania
My family are always impressed by my ability to generate significant flames on the pud. The trick, as any fule kno, is to zap the brandy for 20 seconds in the microwave before ignition. I find that a good flambéeing genuinely improves the flavour of a Christmas pud - gives it a nice hint of caramel/toffee. And I like Christmas pud anyway - as long as it's not too stodgy.
We also started a new family Christmas tradition this year: Oysters Rockefeller. My brother and his family came down just before Christmas, so we had a pre-Christmas Christmas dinner on Saturday 23rc at my parents'. They brought a big box of oysters, half of which we had raw, the other half Rockefeller style - cooked with spinach and Pernod with a crispy breadcrumb topping. Never had it before but turns out it's a really nice way to have oysters. So I posted on facebook that eating oysters Rockefeller was the traditional start to Christmas festivities for our family, thereby making it a historical fact. Will definitely be doing that again.
Unfortunately, by Sunday night, I was struck down with norovirus, and discovered later that my dad, my brother and his wife had been similarly afflicted. We worked out that it must have been the raw oysters - and indeed, I remember while we were opening them thinking that perhaps we should have been keeping them on ice until it was time to serve them... That's definitely not becoming a family tradition if I can help it.
For Christmas Day itself (which we postponed until the 26th, by which time we were mostly over the norovirus), we indulged in a genuinely longstanding family Christmas tradition, with quails' egg and smoked salmon tartlets, as per an old Michel Roux recipe. We've been having these every Christmas for probably the best part of 30 years - bitesize shortcrust pastry cases filled with chopped smoked salmon, topped with a lightly boiled quail's egg and smothered in a 'thousand island' type sauce (basically a mix of ketchup, mayonnaise and brandy). We have them late morning/lunchtime to keep us going until the main event and they are sublime. For me, it wouldn't be Christmas without them.
