BBB Christmas Countdown - How to plan the perfect Christmas Menu

Training: Swim 1.2 km

After 3 days of no exercise following the Half Ironman, but feeling quite anxious at a busy work schedule and still having lots of unpacking to do, I knew that a workout was exactly what I needed.

So, after work, I headed straight to my favourite outdoor pool for a swim. The sun was shining, the pool was quiet, and 1.2km later,  the sense of calm I felt was amazing.

BBB Christmas Countdown - 10 days to go

As you know, Mr BBB are hosting our first family Christmas lunch this year. While this may be a daunting task for some, as a person who has more recipe books than they can count, and an abundance of 'must make' recipes saved on their computer, my biggest problem was narrowing down my options!

So, with 10 days until Christmas, this evening I set about finalising our lunch menu.  

So how exactly do you plan the perfect Christmas Menu??

1. Numbers

Work out how many guests will be attending. If you have a larger group, easier "make ahead" dishes may be the way to go. Alternatively, if you are catering for a smaller crowd, you may wish to select more intricate dishes. After all, preparing soufflé for 4 people is likely to be a whole lot easier than preparing soufflé for 12!

In my case I have 9 people attending our Christmas lunch.

2. Dietary requirements

As I am wheat intolerant, I know all too well the perils of not mentioning it and being left with little options at the dinner table. Not only is it embarrassing for the host, it can also leave me quite hungry! I recommend that you find out any dietary requirements of your guests, together with any specific dislikes. It would be a rather sad lunch if your impressive whole baked fish was served to a room full of non-seafood eaters.

Aside from my dietary requirements, I also have a guest who dislikes pork. While I will still be including pork on our lunch menu, I have made sure to include other meat options also.

3. Style

Are you wanting to create an elegant formal meal, or a casual banquet style lunch? As Christmas day can be hot in Australia, a lot of people will tend to go for a bbq or seafood lunch.

I want to put on a rather traditional 'fare' seeing as this is our first time hosting Christmas lunch. But I also want to keep it fairly relaxed at the same time.

4. Keep it simple

I am not necessarily talking about 'simple' food here, but rather the overall collection of food that you will offer your guests. I know only too well how tempting it can be to want to offer 8 side dishes, or a table full of desserts. Not only can this be wasteful, but it can also detract from the overall meal itself.

This year I have decided to go with 3 meat varieties (but I could have quite easily have gone with 2),  4 vegetable side dishes, and 1 dessert.

5. Know the season

I had hoped to make homemade cranberry sauce this year to accompany the roast turkey. However, I could not find fresh cranberries anywhere and I later discovered that cranberries are not grown in Australia. I could have saved myself a lot of time and stress by finding out what was in season in December and using those products as a base.

6. Compatibility

It is easy to get 'hooked' on a particular dish when it comes to planning a menu - so much so that it doesn't really fit into the rest of the meal. Try to remember that you want you guests to have enjoyed their meal, and not be overwhelmed by it. If you have planned a heavy main course, perhaps go for a smaller or lighter entree (or you could skip it all together!). The same goes with dessert - if you have a carb-heavy main course, perhaps opt for a fruit or cheese platter instead of a pudding!

7. Research

After completing 1 to 7 above, you should have a good sense of what sort of menu you are looking for, and what sort of dishes you want to create. I find that with this information in hand, it is a lot easier to find recipes that will suit the occasion. While the internet is a great source of inspiration, I don't think anything can beat my tried and true favourite cookbooks.

8. Stick with it

Once you have your menu planned, try not to keep changing your mind. Just because you later come across a 'must make' recipe, remember there will always be other occasions where that 'to die for' cake can make an appearance.

Having completed steps 1 to 8 - I can now present you with the BBB Christmas Lunch Menu....

Now I just have to practice what I preach and not change my mind!

So with the menu planned, stay tuned for my next Christmas Countdown steps!

What about you? What is on your Christmas menu this year?

Happy Baking :)