Speaking of CHRISTMAS... if you haven't seen my reaction video to Best British Christmas Adverts, check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/9luDzC78jYU/v-deo.html And watch for next Friday's video with 2022 Christmas adverts from both the US and UK!
Pigs in blankets: Pigs in blankets in the UK are normally something called cocktail sausages (basically normal sausage made smaller to the size for sticking on cocktail sticks) wrapped normally in streaky bacon. Bread Sauce: The essence of the bread sauce is making sure you thoroughly poach a medium onion with cloves stuck in it, stick about ten in it, maybe more to taste but without the taste of clove in the sauce it’s just a milky bread gloop, the onion needs to really well poached for the recipe. Stuffing: The traditional stuffing is Sage & Onion stuffing either, as the name implies putting or stuffing the ‘stuffing’ into the birds in nerds to be cooked with the bird. Coincidentally stuffing in the UK is associated with rolling a breast of lamb with it. Nowadays though the stuffing is mixed and made in a medium pie dish with extra real butter and my mum put the butter paper on top to stop it burning in the oven, the stuffing was dished up with a spoon A WORD OF WARNING, never, never, never make stuffing balls never, never, never make stuffing balls. For one thing they dry out the stuffing and they are now only useful for musket balls. Utter waste for a stuffing aficionado who is a gastronome like yourself as well. Roasted Potatoes: roasting potatoes nowadays has lost its way because of TV chefs, all they are worried about is the look of something or the texture in the mouth, enter the goose fat roasted potato. Goose fat has minimal taste to it but it doesn’t break down at higher roasting temperatures but has no other usefulness. Traditionally you have to roast potatoes using pork or beef dripping or fat, that’s because it adds taste to the potato which the goose fat doesn’t. Sweet chestnuts: A relatively new addition to the plate is the sweet chestnut this is used added to sprouts as well as chopped up slices of back bacon to make sprouts more palatable for the peons who “don’t like it” (sorry, I love them) Sprouts: love them or hate them but the sprouts are traditional, I think the popularly of sprouts changed, again, when the TV chefs said to cook them “Al dente” ie. Not soft. Until the sprouts are cooked soft they are slightly yuck when they are cook to soft they change to slightly sweet and to me nice tasting. Try and use the large sprout fully ripe not the chefs favourite ‘ tiny’. Parsnips: Normally boiled but Parsnips should not be cooked thin sliced (idiots) slice lengthways in half and if too big then slice again and if needed in half to max length about 3 to 4 inches. Can be cooked in the oven with honey. Carrots: normally boiled or cooked as the parsnips Pork: the other meat “put on the Christmas dinner table is roast pork, cooked with the skin on which is then left to make crackling, taken off and as well as the bacon which is placed on the skin of the turkey to cook as a way of making the skin tasty and keeping the turkey flesh moist, is taken off and broken up as a favourite pass-around pre-dinner as a finger treat. Gravy: the gravy traditionally is made using what we call the giblets which are the innards of the carcass and the neck and tail put in a bag and normally placed back in the cavity for the purpose of gravy. Basically boil the giblets in a medium saucepan with some herbs and spices as needed (I think basil and black pepper corns are used in there somewhere), get a bottle of gravy browning for thickening, that’s basically it. Cabbage: Savoy cabbage is an option of course maybe with an additional option of the sweet chestnuts instead of in the sprouts. Cranberry Sauce: and of course there is the devil brew called cranberry sauce to go with the Turkey. What devils spawn thought of this? Didn’t they just happened to be grown in the US? Should have known. Most people in the UK seem to like this (bit like apple sauce with the pork, far to sweet for me). Apple sauce: see above. That’s about it for the main meal, for starters it’s normally prawn cocktail or maybe pate of some sort and for sweet or pudding it’s obviously …… Christmas Pudding: Christmas pudding is nowadays had with brandy sauce (or the lesser known rum custard) the pudding is properly steamed so that it comes out moist and the flavours are not forced out by microwaving. For the way to make the original figgy pudding look to a recipe book but the essence or secret of the pudding is the soaking of the included fruit in spirits like whiskey, rum, brandy or maybe port depending on the recipe. I’m sure you can research this better than I can, I’ve just told you my experience with mum my first wife and my partner of 30years. Recipes and recipe fashions have changed over the years so have peoples tastes. Good luck for your own christmas journey this year. Happy Christmas to you and all your family. Cheers Aah kid!
Hiya Nick! Are you new to my channel? If so, welcome! You win the prize for longest comment on this video! Thanks so much for your very thorough comment on Christmas dinner! You are clearly very opinionated about cooking and food, but that's OK because so am I ;-) Cranberry sauce can be a wonderful thing. It has to be a good recipe, and when done right it is nice and tart, not too sweet. When you do have dry turkey, it makes it edible LOL I don't like Christmas Pudding or most steamed puddings like that. I would MUCH more prefer a fruit crumble, a bread pudding, or a sticky toffee pudding! In fact, I'm so obsessed with STP that I did a video all about the 10 I ate last year haha! ua-cam.com/video/ELlVs4NVJaY/v-deo.html Thanks so much for your comment! Dara
The ' Pub Christmas Dinner ' started so that people ( usually elderly ) could get a ' Home Cooked ' Christmas dinner at this time of year , usually people living on their own . it's a good thing and cheers them up =-)
I'm hugely in favour of that! This Thanksgiving, Ian and I ate at a restaurant. Thanksgiving is the huge meal that Americans cook, and it's just way too much bother when it's only the two of us. We aren't completely elderly YET... but I expect this tradition will continue ;-)
In the UK Gammon is meat that has been cured (by being salted, brined or smoked) and sold raw, whereas Ham is meat that has been dry-cured or cooked, and is sold ready to eat. In a nutshell; when you've cooked your Gammon, it becomes Ham.
Now I realise why this differentiation is never absorbed by my brain... so confusing! I think in the US the hams are always pre-cooked. Thanks for explaining this to me! Again, LOL!
@@MagentaOtterTravels in UK we think of ham as cold meat to eat with salad (do Americans do that?) whereas gammon is like thick large bacon served hot with chips and fried egg and sometimes a slice of pineapple on it.
Not really... you wouldn't eat gammon raw, obviously, but it's still gammon. I wouldn't call it ham after cooking it. I've also seen pre-cooked slices of gammon for sale... which were basically just thick slices of ham.
Finally Ha Ha! I'm impressed on how you ended this video I've come back here for more! Some compilation there i see. Gradually, you'll get there the top! Ciao!
We can have lots of Xmas dinners ;-) One with work, one with friends, one with the bowling club, one with the kids at Sea Cadets, etc. ;-) The main one is always the one at home on Xmas day with the family where we eat like pigs and can't move for days, and try to come up with creative ideas to finish off all the food over the following week 🙂
Yes, that sounds exactly like American Thanksgiving! We eat until we are in a food coma, and then use leftover turkey for days afterwards... turkey soup, turkey cranberry stuffing sandwiches (which I've seen in England in recent years!), and the dreaded turkey casserole! LOL
Sherry Trifle at Christmas is an absolute favourite tradition. Christmas pudding of course. Mince pies go hand in hand with a traditional British Christmas. Using the cold left-over Turkey for Turkey and chips with pickles and for sandwiches and a lot of us now use the Turkey left-overs to make either a curry, or a stew.
Pigs in blankets are chipolata mini sausages (not hot dogs) wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted with the bird. Bread sauce is only served for Christmas dinner. M and S always did a very nice bread sauce with alcohol but I am now gluten free so it is something I haven’t had for a long time. Growing up in the 60s and 70s my mum always cooked a turkey and roast pork for Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and we would then eat left overs for the next three days. In addition to the meat we had roast and mashed potatoes, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, sometimes bread sauce and gravy. Many people have Yorkshire puddings as well and then the obligatory Christmas pudding and brandy sauce or cream. It generally leaves you feeling like you can’t move and everyone falls asleep in front of the TV.
Yes, that is quite a lot of food to eat! I would be happy to eat just half that menu... and I'd opt for a crumble or bread pudding instead of the Christmas pudding I'm afraid! ;-) Thanks very much for your comment! XX Dara
Christmas is always the one where we see our weird crossover of some very British traditions and some very American ones... it always surprises me there's no Boxing Day to the south! But yes to the Christmas cracker crowns! Thanks for this Dara!
There's reasons for cooking different meats. It's to give people a little bit of everything. To keep the Turkey moist. To have different meats for cold meat and pickles.
Oh I think the level of gluttony is the same, here in the U.K. OMG you got the Turkey, sprouts, carrots, peas, red cabbage, Parsnips, stuffing, bread sauce, pigs in blankets, some families cook several meats, like a beef and a ham, I don’t turkey is hard enough to cook, but it is the biggest feast of the year, and I love it.xx
Dara excellent survey, research and fun video…I learned so much! I do recall The Grinch stealing “the Christmas Roast Beast!” 😂.. We typically do Italian for Christmas dinner and go to Church Christmas Eve. Wonderful video! 🎄~Cara
After I filmed this video one of my colleagues told me they have prime rib every Christmas! So obviously some Americans eat beef... but GOOSE?! Really?! Who are all these geese eaters?!?! On a different topic... I hope you have a WONDERFUL day tomorrow (Wed) and everything goes well! XX
Thanks for your comment! I'm not sure I've seen chipolatas here in the states, but I have seen them in Britain. Good to know what pigs in blankets are now! Cheers! Dara
If you want a goose in Texas you have two options. You can order one at least two months ahead of time to your butcher shop. Or you can go hunting in the far north of Texas. Dad and I used to go goose hunting in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
@@MagentaOtterTravels My dad was from Oklahoma and he lived in Kansas and Indiana before mom and me got him to Plano in 1980. So yes that was often on our holiday table along with beef or turkey. Now that I live down here in Corpus Christi I do try to get a wild Rio Grande turkey but that's hit or miss depending on the year.
Growing up in the 70s/80s we always had Turkey and gammon for Christmas day. One year my mother decided to go back to her childhood days and we had goose, but it wasn't popular. These days I don't eat meat so the options are salmon or nut roast. Of course there's still all the sides of roasted and steamed vegetables. For dessert it was Yule log cake which was always chocolate for the children. Christmas pudding, children only interested in it for the flames and hopes of finding their piece of silver. And Christmas cake, my father loved fruit cake. These days it's just a selection of cheeses, fruits, nuts and savoury biscuits.
That is where American and British Christmas traditions are so different... the desserts! I think American children would enjoy the spectacle of a dessert on fire... but I think 90% of Americans would NOT enjoy Christmas pudding or fruitcake. I know very few that like goose either. Most of us have probably never eaten it. I remember my mother one year getting all Dickensian and trying to cook a goose... I thought she was so weird! haha As for nut roast, I"m a big fan! I am currently editing next Friday's video of our favourite London restaurants, and a nut roast plays a role! ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravels yes think fruit cake and Christmas pudding are acquired taste, but also it's important to have a really good version of both. The texture and taste especially Christmas cake can vary an awful lot. I am not a fan of shop bought ones. But a really good homemade version is a different thing entirely. The other thing is only a small piece and I always have to have it with a lovely strong black coffee. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas
the turducken is not an American invention, the Tudors use to have multiple bird in bird roasts at their feasts. your American Pigs in Blankets are what us Brits call Mini Sausage Rolls. ours are little sausages wrapped in Streaky Bacon. on Boxing Day, most people eat cold meat sandwiches left over from the Christmas dinner and make Bubble and Squeak out of the veg. you missed out on the Christmas Pudding, where it is traditional to hide a coin inside it, which gives the recipient luck for the oncoming year. also the spectacle of lathering it with Brandy Butter and setting fire to it.
I didn't know about all the Christmas Pudding traditions, thanks for the info! I don't like Christmas pudding, and I would not eat brandy sauce, but I do like seeing flaming food LOL!
A guy I used to work with, did (and probably still does) have Christmas Dinner at his local pub, it is booked up months in advance. Shocked me as I thought the Pub would be closed, and assumed everyone stayed home with family.
@@Poliss95 Like many things in life, I guess it's what you are used to, for me growing up, Christmas day was always at home close family etc Years ago working in Blackpool, early December in what was probably the cheapest and most rundown B&B as we left, I said, well at least you can put your feet up for Christmas, the landlady amazed me, told me they were fully booked for Christmas and NY, same people came back every year. Friends always wanted to go on holiday somewhere warm at Christmas always felt tied to their parents idea of a family Christmas, when the time came, they went, said it was the best Christmas they had, planned to go away every year.
We ate Thanksgiving at a restaurant this year (just the two of us) and loved it! We got to eat just what we wanted, only had minimal leftovers, and did NOT spend two days cleaning the house and cooking and washing up!
I was wondering what the 'Turducken' was when I did your questionnaire, Dara. I must agree with you that it sounds a bit odd to even consider doing that to a turkey!! Nevertheless, it's good to know that such a thing exists. A blackberry & apricot crumble sounds sublime...yum!! Thank you for sharing your sweet holiday pictures with us as well. Very dear memories of when one's children are young(er) and still in the house. Blessings to you and Ian, dear
You can make a small version by using fillets. Put stuffing in between each layer then rap it with bacon. Drizzle with honey after it's cooked. Sliced and served hot or cold.
Never had bread sauce, lol! I was shocked that you didn't have Boxing Day when I came to America. Glad to hear you have Christmas crackers. Lovely photos!
Having experienced Christmas in New Zealand for 35 plus years, with very 'British tinted' but with a Kiwi slant, Christmas dinners in hot summer temperatures I can tell you that they were a challenge. The more modern Christmas with the 'younger' generation is more the Beach BBQ variety. Yes, three meats- done that! Then been creative the next weeks using up the left overs. Now, with the shrunken household and back in wintery Europe, we have actually taken the plunge and go out for Christmas dinner ( 5 course) alternate year I cook. Such fun. I guess who ever created the meal content would be surprised at the changes over the years. Your Thanksgiving meal is very compatible to the Christmas dinner. It is all deliciously yummy and maybe gluttony but also a great way to be together sharing food fun and laughter. A great run down of the differences and similarities Dara. Happy holidays. 🎅🎄🎉🇳🇿🙋♀🇳🇱
Thanks for sharing how the history of the meal has evolved for you over the years! A beach BBQ sounds lovely... but to someone who grew up in the snowy cold MidWest USA, it seems so odd for Christmas! haha A nice restaurant meal prepared by a pro can be a lovely thing on a holiday! I did enjoy that very much this year for Thanksgiving. And YES, it is a good thing we don't have that gluttony EVERY day of the year, right?! Cheers and Happy Christmas, Anita! XX
@@MagentaOtterTravels I have to say: Christmas seems more 'real' in a winter season...it somehow never really was my thing, a hot and sweaty Christmas. 😂 😎🥶🎅🍷🔥
My family always had prime rib for Christmas dinner and for Christmas Eve we always had deli foods. Both meals came from my dad's family. He had one grandmother who was a really good cook and one who wasn't that great at cooking. Both sets lived fairly near each other. Both of my parents grew up opening all their presents on Christmas Eve so we always did that, too. Another Christmas Eve tradition we had was driving around looking at Christmas lights. When we were little, we'd always hear one of the grown-ups who stayed home saying goodbye to Santa as we walked in the door. One thing I've noticed is that when Brits have gravy with their roast dinners, they pour it over everything and that it's always beef gravy. In America the gravy is usually made from the drippings of whatever type of meat was roasted and many just put it in a well made in the mashed potatoes, on the meat, and/or on the stuffing/dressing.
Yes! All very good observations! I enjoy hearing your family traditions. As for gravy, yes I was shocked when I saw British people pour beef gravy over ALL the stuff on their dinner plate! Peas and carrots and everything all drowned in brown gravy! haha Thanks for your comment, and Merry Christmas! XX Dara
Hi Dara & Ian. Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Great video, I didn’t see your questionnaire so here are a few bits that may be of interest. A few years ago a TV cook called Delia Smith demonstrated cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce had never been available in the UK. Within a few weeks you couldn’t get cranberry sauce anywhere what ever you were prepared to pay. The first year we had a turkey, very early 60’s. it wouldn’t fit in our oven! Dad had to plead with the baker at the end of the street to put it in his oven as he finished his own baking. In the 50’s we we used to get post/mail deliverers. Our postie was called Ambrose while eating breakfast it took Ambrose 5 minutes to pass our window, he had more than his fair share Christmas drinking treats! For us it’s always turkey with what we call “all the trimmings”. Included we have Yorkshire Pudding. Pigs in blankets and sausagemeat stuffing (sausage meat with breadcrumbs, butter and sage). Dessert is Christmas Pudding with either custard or Brandy Sauce. Boxing Day lunch is always cold meats with the left over veg formed into a bubble and squeak. Iced Christmas Cake, minced pies.
Thanks so much for your very entertaining comment! My favourite part was when you had to cook your turkey down the street at the butchers! Last year we remodeled a house that was in desperate need of updating. That kitchen had an oven so tiny you couldn’t fit a turkey in it either! Cranberry sauce is good stuff. This Thanksgiving we ate at a restaurant, and they served this amazing cranberry sauce. That was the best I’ve ever had!
Hi Dara ….. unfortunately we won’t be having our family Christmas dinner in America this year … we were all geared up for our annual Christmas visit to family in New Jersey …. but unfortunately my wife has suffered a perforated appendix last Thursday/Friday and she’s still in hospital recovering from a 2 hour operation that she had on Saturday evening … so all our well laid plans have been dashed …. I will probably be shopping desperately for a Turkey and the trimmings for the 2 of us … Hey Ho it’s life and that’s the way the cookie has crumbled …. On the bright side … thank goodness this didn’t happen whilst we were in America !!! Shudder to think how much this would cost ! Anyway our best wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year 🍻🥂🌟☃️❄️
I'm very sorry to hear that your wife is in hospital!!! I'm glad that you got care quickly, as those appendixes can be nasty business! And YES, it would have been a right mess to have that happen in the US. It would have cost a fortune. Don't worry about turkey... get something more delicious for the two of you. I hope you have a safe and healthy(ier) Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Give your wife my best regards XX Dara
Hi Dara & Ian... A typical start to our Christmas Day would be for Breakfast... A couple of Bacon and tinned Tomato Butties (Using Large Bread Rolls)... And about an hour before our Christmas Dinner... We would all have a Prawn Cocktail... But in answer to your question Dara... Pigs In Blankets are traditionally Pork Chipolata Sausages wrapped in ("American Style") Streaky Bacon... Chipolata Sausages are usually thinner... And are much shorter than the normal thick British Sausages that you might be used to... Although some supermarkets do market a variation of Pigs In Blankets using Hot Dog Sausages... But these are really only novelty items aimed at children... And not for having with a traditional British Christmas Dinner... Our Christmas Dinner for the whole family... Will usually include the following items... Turkey... Gammon... Lamb... Pigs In Blankets... Mashed Potatoes... Roast Potatoes... Roast Parsnips... Brussel Sprouts... Cauliflower... Broccoli... Peas... Carrots... Stuffing Balls... Yorkshire Puddings... Onion Gravy... Mint Sauce... The following items are also available for others to enjoy too... But i personally don't like them myself... (Cranberry Sauce)... (Apple Sauce)... (Bread Sauce)... Later in the day we would have a selection of various Cheeses and Savory Cracker Biscuits... Christmas Pudding Served with Custard... Followed later with Minced Pies and Double Cream... And also a few of the Chocolates from the family tub of Celebrations too... Add to that all the Alcohol... Tea... Coffee... Soft Drinks... It's a real blowout throughout the whole of Christmas Day for us... Which is why our Boxing Day Meal... Is typically Fresh Home Cooked Chunky Chips (French Fries)... Left over Cold Cuts of Meat... And a Simple Salad... 😋 Thanks for the video Dara... I hope you all have a fantastic time with the family over the Christmas Holiday Season... All the best... Enjoy guys!. 🎅
Wow, I feel both stuffed and exhausted just READING about all that food, Rick!!! Thanks for the detailed overview of your phenomenal holiday menu... very impressive indeed! I hope you have a safe, festive and DELICIOUS holiday with your family. We plan to do the same! 3 days after Christmas we go to Hawaii for the first time as a family ;-) Happy Christmas! Dara
British family living in France here. In the past we had turkey & rib of beef. This year we are having confit duck thighs & pave sanglier (wild boar) main and seafood starter.
Wild boar? How very Victorian of you! That is awesome. And the Confit Duck Thighs sounds like it has the French influence. Thanks so much for sharing your traditions and plans. I really enjoy hearing from people in different parts of the world! Cheers! (BTW, where in France? We just visited Colmar in September and I absolutely ADORED it! Can't wait to publish that vlog eventually!)
Hang on! Anything we know about the US over here, before getting into UA-cam, was gleaned from film and TV so we ‘know’ that the “Christmas meal” in the US is eaten on Christmas Eve before Christmas Day and you open presents at that time too. Do you mean to say US families have a traditional Christmas meal at Christmas lunch time exactly the way we do? Astonishing!
To be honest, there are so many different approaches between different families. Some have big meal Christmas Eve (like us) and others do Christmas Day. Some people open ALL their presents Christmas Eve, some open one Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas Day (like us) and some open ALL their presents Christmas Eve. ;-)
This is the first Thanksgiving that me and Jill have shared that we haven’t celebrated a mock Christmas Dinner. Its always been a tradition for us to have a personal trial Christmas Dinner on Thanksgiving after watching the Maceys Parade on NBC. Im quite grateful to only be eating Christmas Dinner once this year. The combination of almost flavourless turkey and that overload of carbs is now a once a year thing. Im sorry we missed your community survey, we only have youtube on the app which can’t run the community bits. Hopefully that will improve going forward! Im with the Americans all the way and having Turkey on Thanksgiving and celebrating on Christmas Eve! 👍mmm, Ham on the day? Yes please ❤
Are you on an iPad? Last I knew the app didn't have the Community page, but it does on the iPhones. Do y'all have spiral sliced Honeybaked Ham? That is the BEST!!! yummmm Thanks for watching! Cheers XX
@@MagentaOtterTravels yes unfortunately we are both on ipads, good to know it’s available on the iphone, we’ve been avoiding smartphones for years but we think our time doing that is coming to an end. They are just so practical now! Oh gosh spiral sliced honey baked ham, that used to be a Christmas Eve tradition when i was growing up. Latterly, now that we hardly ever indulge in bad carbs, apart from holidays and celebrations, we have renamed Christmas Eve Carbmas Eve and we go absolutely crazy with all those starchy carbs that we avoid the rest of the year! Cant wait ♥️
Henry the eighth used to have 12 bird roast one bird for every day of Christmas apparently 8 types of stuffing as well turkey, goose, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon squab, Aylesbury duck, Barbary duck, poussin, guinea fowl, mallard, and quail.
In England a pub ‘carvery’ usually has a choice of 3 roasts….and customers will usually say ooh can i have all three please to the question which meat would you like…so now loads of people want multi roast portions on Christmas Day….
Yes a Christmas meal is very common with your workmates. Had mine on Friday. I'm also having a get together with friends on the 21st where we swap gifts
Fun! I love gift exchanges when they are "white elephant" gifts. I don't like when you are supposed to buy nice gifts... to stressful and wasteful IMHO. But I love the "theives Christmas" game with white elephant gifts where you steal each other's gifts until they get stolen twice. Do you play that game?
Merry Christmas, Dara, Ian and family! Pigs in blankets? Definitely sausages and definitely streaky bacon. Do Americans sing the Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? I imagine maybe not because of the references to leaping lords, piping pipers and so on!
Oh yes we sing that! Like many old nursery rhymes and songs, it has all kinds of words that are not commonly used in the US these days, but it’s part of our heritage.😉🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸
I would happily eat roast turkey for Thanksgiving AND for Christmas dinner! Lucy & Ryne are hosting again - and again, Ryne's parents are cooking, Yay! Actually, I'm not sure what we're having - but will be happy with anything they prepare!
I was thinking that y'all need to do a video on Christmas Pudding! It's an important part of Christmas that I did not mention in the video but people have been commenting on! Americans don't light dessert on fire at home, usually. And the coin in the cake/pudding is also unusual.
I see another comment saying that pigs in blankets are cocktail sausages but they're also or even more often chipolata sausages which are normal British bangers but slightly smaller and thinner. I never buy them ready made but make my own with good quality chipolatas wrapped with streaky bacon, then baked for about half an hour in the oven. I've also never seen the attraction of bread sauce!
Pigs in blankets are mini sausages wrapped in streaky bacon. They are the most important part of a Christmas dinner for any meat eater. They are such a big thing here that some fast food places do them as a side dish. Subway, Greggs, Papa John's all do pigs in blankets at Christmas
Seems like I have about 15 more Christmas Dinners behind me. Love Prime Rib for Christmas Dinner! We always had the big dinner on Christmas Eve as I was growing up. Goose was popular in northern Wisconsin. My grandfather was a big hunter! Once Kathy and I got older we seldom had Christmas off, so we had many Christmas Dinners in the hospital/care facility cafeterias. The one that wasn't working would bring the kids there (different facilities) and we'd dine together. They really did it up nice. I could have 3 different meats too! 🤣🤣Now, we eat in restaurants since retiring. Who else will cook it? Enjoyed hearing about the traditions.
I'm with you, Dave! So nice to have a pro cook the lovely holiday meal and not have to clean the house or wash dishes!! Happy Christmas to you and Kathy! XX
Something that is common on Christmas morning is a glass of port. Also this time of year the supermarkets go crazy with party food. This is a term I don't think you use in the same way in the US. These are bitesize canape that come in so many difficult options. Both sweet and savoury. They are commonly served in a buffet format. You select a few and enjoy. These can be anything from mini sausage rolls to lobster Mac & cheese cups and yes there is mini sticky toffee pudding bites
Oh man... I should not be reading these comments... y'all are making me so hungry!!! The lobster mac & cheese sounds delicious! And I could go for a mini STP to go along with it right now! Merry Christmas, Greg!
@@MagentaOtterTravels same to you. To give you an idea of the type of party food you can get have a look at ocado (marks and Spencer party food is sold here) or Iceland who arguably are one of the best for variety
Five bird roast is over-rated but you should try it for yourself. Sausages wrapped in bacon (normal sausages or chipolatas) are pigs in blankets. Sausages or sausage meat wrapped in pastry is sausage rolls. Sausages in a round bread roll are also sausage rolls, or hot dogs if it's a long bread roll. The actual hot dog sausages vary a lot between vendors for viennas, frankfurters, British slime sausages (as I call them - very pasty), or decent butcher style sausages. Even German sausages in the posher places ;-)
For us it will be turkey and ham/gammon,for sweet Home made Christmas pudding and mince pies plus veg. Boxing day cold meat pickles and mash plus salad, Christmas pudding, mince pies, homemade pavlova plus a anything else we can stuff down. I have never had bread sauce for Christmas.
Oooooh, PAVLOVA! More Aussie than British, but a phenomenal dessert. I approve! The first time I ever saw one was at my British wedding reception. I've been a fan ever since! Thanks for your comment, Stephen!
Part of the good thing with multiple mains is lots of leftovers so it's far easier for the next few days - boxing day turkey curry is a classic, one year we did it as a suet pudding (think steak & kidney pud but turkey tikka) & it was delicious.
Very good point! Instead of just having turkey soup and turkey sandwiches and turkey casserole for days... you can mix it up and have a variety of leftovers!
@@MagentaOtterTravels my mom cooked a goose once and that was enough for her. It didn't have a lot of meat on it and was very fatty. I had some of it, but it was so long ago I don't remember how it tasted. Might get one sometime just to try it again.
We never eat eggs and bacon and "full English" stuff here for breakfast in Texas... BUT on Christmas day, we take slices of honeybaked ham from Christmas Eve dinner and fry it... it 100X better than bacon, and I love bacon! We eat that with fried eggs and toast and it is THE BEST!
As a single person I do treat myself for Christmas and Boxing day dinners. Guinea fowl is good, last year I had a duck, hoping this year to get a turkey thigh joint, the best bit of a turkey.
Fascinating! Just shows, you can never predict people's responses to a survey, but can you rely on the truth of the responses...? Turkey? If only you could get turkey this year! There's an acute shortage owing to avian flu. We'll have whatever's available, plus the obligatory pigs in blankets, Grandad's traditional home-made chestnut stuffing, last year's discounted Christmas crackers, and home-made mince pies with home-made mincemeat (sorry, Dara!). Love the way your Christmas Eve traditions have spread across family and friends!
I am sure that homemade mincemeat and homemade mince pies would be much tastier than the horrid stuff I’ve purchased from mass-produced packs bought in the supermarket! The avian flu this year was bad! I know it affected a lot of puffins as well. We were fortunate enough to go see them before the flu really hit, and it makes me sad thinking how many of them later died.😭😭😭 In our family, we are big on buying Christmas crackers after the holiday for half price as well! Lol.
I think in Medieval times when the rich had huge banquets, (that may have included Christmas) their cooks would sow two animals together (a pig and a sheep for example) and roast it. Or they would put animals within animals (like a Russian Doll) and roast that. I'm not a big fan of Turkey for Christmas (I think it can be too dry), I prefer Goose. I've also had Venison, Ham and Beef , but no Brussels Sprouts. I live alone so I have occasionally had Christmas Day lunch at a local restaurant over the years, it saves the pain in the backside cooking for one person and the washing up that produces.
Hiya Mark! Thanks for describing the medieval banquets... it sounds both fascinating and disgusting to have animals sewn together and roasted... or stuffed together like nesting dolls! I think most people think turkey is too dry. Here in Texas they do 2 things to improve that situation: smoked turkey or DEEP FRIED turkey. The latter results in many trips to the A&E (ER as we say here in the states)!
@@MagentaOtterTravels Smoked turkey sounds interesting, deep fried sounds terrifying. I'd guess the water in the meat doesn't mix well with the hot oil. Goose is an old fashion Christmas meat, but I remember my father liked it more than turkey so that's what we had Christmas Day after the gift unwrapping🎄
None of my extended family have ever made bread sauce, and of all the scores of Christmas dinners I've eaten over more than sixty years with family, friends, work colleagues, clubs etc. I've never even seen it served, so it's by no means universal.
I am alone at Christmas. I never want my Christmas dinner after I have spent hours in the kitchen preparing it. I usually eat about a third of what's on my plate but will keep what's left and eat it later. (hate waste). I always have turkey with all the trimmings. Boxing day is left overs and sandwiches, pate, cheeses etc. What I must do each Christmas day is watch my fave Christmas films. Scrooge with Alastair Sim, It's a Wonderful Life, The Grinch who stole Christmas, Love Actually. I watch them on dvds so I don't have to watch adverts or rely on tv listings.
Elliot, I hate hearing that you are alone... I want to invite you over for Christmas! We hate waste too. We throw away almost no food, unlike most Americans. I like your Christmas tradition of watching films! This year we are going to watch The Snowman, the British Christmas programme. None of us have seen it, so we will watch it on UA-cam with my 26 year old son here and my 24 year old son over Zoom! Spoiler: Friday's video mentions Love Actually... so now you have to watch it ;-) Cheers! XX Dara
HIYA BRENDA!!!! So good to hear from you! Merry Christmas! I think I just have a bad memory. I bet we used to eat beef on Christmas day when I was growing up…. We ate beef every day! Lol.
Pizza Hut here in the Philippines do what they call 'Sausag Rolls', but they're like the photo you show of US pigs in blankets with a small hot dog wrapped in pastry. There OK, they come with a nice honey mustard dip. On the very few occasions I've made pigs in blankets, I've used the small cocktail sausages and any bacon that happened to be in the fridge. -)
Pizza Hut does so many different things around the world based on local tastes. Interesting to hear they have Sausage rolls!! We don't really have anything called sausage rolls in American restaurants... but if you go to a Kolache shop (big here in Texas because of Czech immigrants) you will find them there. The bread rolls in those shops are the best ever... definitely better than a Greggs sausage roll IMHO.
Ever since becoming a grown-up (who doesn't cook) I've always taken my cue from Cher in the film Mermaids so Christmas for me is cocktails and a variety of delicious hot canapés consumed continuously throughout the day. Breakfast starts off with panettone and Buckfizz (mimosas), then a Snowball (basically alcoholic custard mixed with lemonade) for elevenses. Carefully paced pina coladas, cosmopolitans, mojitos and daiquiris follow a long walk along the deserted beach and board games into the night. Incidentally Sainsbury's have a cherry, rum and coconut mince pie which is absolutely amazing, so don't be afraid to venture from tradition at Christmas 🥧 😋
Can I just say that I absolutely adore that you take life advice from Cher characters?! Lol. Have you seen the movie Silkwood? That might be a good one too…Or Moonstruck? I once met Cher in person, and totally embarrassed myself. But that’s another story! As you may know, I am not a drinker, but I do love your idea of appetizers all day long! And have you ever made French toast (as we call it in 🇺🇸) from panettone? It is amazing!
@Magenta Otter Travels Of course, I've seen them all. My favourite is Tea With Mussolini. Cannot believe you met her. I haven't made French Bread with panettone but have used it in Bread & Butter pudding. Have you ever come across it here in the UK?
It almost feels sad that the day after Christmas in the states things are nearly back to normal. Boxing day is a great day to reflect and meet family you couldn't see Xmas day
Good video dara Us Brits had Roman roots for 400 years in Britain,. The Romans had a festival called saturnalia (a festival in which they wore crowns stuffed themselves with food drink themselves stupid and exchange gifts) sounds kinda like Christmas We copied Christmas tradition and celebrations from our forefathers the Romans, We were called Picts and worshipped our own gods till the Romans showed up Constantine converted everyone to Christians and changed us from Picts to British, Britannia , British, brittons , is what the Romans called us. I guess it just stuck, Great video dara hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas 🌲☃️👍🇬🇧
Thanks so much for the history lesson, James! Very interesting indeed! This time of year we usually eat too much as well... there are so many parties, and everyone makes and shares Christmas treats... it's lethal to the waistline! This year we are doing something very different and going to Hawaii a few days after Christmas... so Ian and I have been dieting! No Christmas cookies for me! BOO! I'd rather stuff myself like a Roman LOL Happy Christmas to you as well! XX Dara
Christmas Dinner for me will be turkey, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pigs, roast potatoes, roast parsnip, swede & carrot mash, red cabbage braised in port, Brussels sprouts & cauliflower cheese. And gravy. Dessert will be Christmas pudding & brandy sauce. Boxing day will be ham (cooked in Coca-Cola as per Nigella), stand pie + salads & pickles + sandwiches made from leftovers. On both says Christmas cake (with cheese) & mince pies will be consumed as and when any space becomes available.
@@MagentaOtterTravels I think this is a Yorkshire thing - it is a very large pork pie. When I was a kid I had to go to the butchers shop on Christmas Eve and stand in the huge queue to get our pie hot from the oven.
Here in Luxembourg (as in Germany, Belgium, and France too) December 26th is called St Stephan Day. St Stephan is celebrated directly after Christmas as he was the first one to die as a martyr in the name of Christ. December 26th is a bank holiday and a religious holiday here. So no shops and no work 👍
🎶Good King Wenceslas looked out on The Feast of Stephen.🎶 It's NOT a Christmas carol because it refers to the day AFTER Christmas, although I suppose it could count as Day 2 (2 turtle doves) of the 12 Days of Christmas.
Having more than one meat on Christmas Day isn't necessarily a lot of work on the day. I'm having chicken, lamb and beef. Only the chicken is being cooked on the day. The lamb and beef have been cooked already, sliced and frozen.. They'll be thawed on the day and served cold. For dessert, there's Christmas pudding, apple pie, sherry trifle and raspberry cheesecake. Does America have any traditional similar to the "sixpence in the Christmas pudding?" It's meant to bring luck (if not choking) to whoever finds it.
Geese was the main festival meat in Victorian (and before) times, in fact just before Christmas flocks of geese used to be herded from the country side yes in big long lines 5 to 10 abreast sometimes up 5o a mile long into the abattoirs of London Town. cheers Aah kid
Multiple bird roast date back to medieval times. Goose was common, back in the day, but not enough, meat on it, for large family. What about Christmas pudding with silver coin in it, prefer mine with brandy cream.
I didn't know about the Christmas Pudding tradition, thanks for adding that detail! BTW, Friday's video includes a flaming Christmas pudding... so you'll have to be sure to watch! Cheers! XX Dara
I will have the following for my Christmas dinner. Turkey, parsnips, carrots, peas, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, pings in blankets, mini sausages, home made stuffing balls, store bought stuffing slices and cheese sauce. Cheese sauce is a me thing as I am allergic to cauliflower so have always just had the cheese sauce since I was a kid. Desert is a choice between Christmas pudding, trifle or cheesecake
Christmas Dinner consists of: Turkey/beef/chicken Stuffing Roast potatoes Mashed potatoes Sprouts Carrots roasted and/or boiled Parsnips roasted and/or boiled Brussels sprouts. Pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in streaky bacon) Cranberry sauce/jelly/jam Yorkshire pudding (optional) Bread sauce (optional) Gravy FOLLOWED BY Christmas pudding served with Cream Brandy sauce/butter Custard Then the pulling of Christmas crackers The meal is served anytime between 1:00 p.m and 3: pm. normally.
Wow, that is a LOT of food! I'm exhausted just reading the list... I can't imagine cooking that all! We also do the Christmas Crackers after our meal, but I've seen that some families open them before. We have introduced that tradition to dozens of American friends and everyone loves it!
I have both passports are so many thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in America. U.K. Christmas dinner is better. Also you can have a Christmas menu which starts like 18th-27th and Christmas dinner is 25th
Thanks for your comment! Where do you live now? I have not spent Christmas in England yet, but it is obvious that there are lots of Christmas dinners being eaten all throughout December in just about every pub and restaurant there is! I would like to experience that. Happy Thanksgiving! Dara
One veg no-one has mentioned is 'swede' AKA 'neeps' or turnips or rutabaga [for Americans]. As important in Scotland as sweet potato is in America. As for dessert I'll eat all your Mince pie if you'll eat all the Pecan pie and Pumpkin pie. 🙂
I want to say that famed Louisiana Chef Paul Prudhomme either created or popularized the Turducken in the 70s and 80s. I'm not 100% certain that this is the case but I'm about 90% sure it's originally from Louisiana
Yes and no. The actual "turducken" is American from the time period. But the concept came from the medieval times when they stuffed animals/bird inside each other and cooked them for their lavish feasts. Such an odd (and rather revolting IMHO) idea!
I think Christmas Eve is less of a big deal in the UK (I guess we have Boxing Day so...). Through the prism of pop culture I get the feeling if you were working a regular 9-5 job on Christmas Eve that would be seen as kind of unfair? Pretty common here, maybe get out a bit early and go to the pub? I have always seen Christmas Eve as mostly for 'prep' for Christmas Day, maybe with a festive drink last thing when you can finally sit down and rest!
I agree... I think in the US the "extra" holiday is the 24th and in the UK the extra day is the 26th. Good point! Nobody works on Christmas Eve here if they have a regular office job. But of course the shops are VERY busy that day, so people working retail have a very busy day.
I think pumpkin pie in UK is different to USA? Don't you have it as a pudding/dessert? We have it with dinner and gravy over it. Same with sweet potatoes, they have always gone with dinner for us. Sweet potato chips are great! 🙂
Yes, sweet potatoes are one of my favourite foods... I like them ALL the ways: chips/fries, crisps, diced and roasted (how we eat them most in our home these days) and as a child I LOVED them on Thanksgiving all mashed up and covered in toasted marshmallows! Sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie are both sweet desserts and taste somewhat similar... but Americans usually have one or the other based on their cultural heritage. We don't really eat pumpkin pie any other time of year. I used to work for Nestle, which owns Libby brand (canned pumpkin) and they sold 90% of their annual volume in November. Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips in it is DELISH!!
I think they have only comparatively recently been called pigs in blankets. I call them bacon wrapped sausages, rather less… l was going to say romantic but somehow l don’t think that is quite the right word!
Saint Delia strikes again. All hail Saint Delia.. she certainly started the homemade cranberry sauce craze, before her recipe everyone bought it in jars. I used to make a really nice cranberry and kumquat sauce.
@@MagentaOtterTravels im not hosting Christmas this year so I'm not cooking turkey, Christmas day at in laws and boxing day at my brother first time in 4 years im not, but im still cooking pig in blanket & stuffing balls on 27th cos there our faves
Gammon is served hot, ham is served cold. Don't forget, with this type of survey, the large number of single people with no families who are living alone.
an English peculiarity is to have Gammon for a meal, a thick slice grilled or fried served with chips and possibly peas then a slightly grilled slice of tinned pineapple on top of the Gammon some burger bars will sell a smaller Gammon steak with pineapple in à bun and call it a Hawaian burger
I think you're both weird (UKers and USAians) when it comes to Christmas. 🤪😍However, we antipodeans are intimately familiar with most British and Yank Christmas traditions because we are inundated with media from both regions. But as far as our Christmases go I think a lot of it is based on British traditions with some distinctly Oz stuff thrown in. Stuff like seafood. Seafood markets have their biggest trade during the lead up to Xmas. Prawns etc are becoming typical as part of any Christmas lunch. Plus it is usually hot. Usually. This year feels decidedly un-christmasy. It has been cold. Winter like cold. Usually we will have days on end over 30 degrees. So far we've had one. Every day this week the top has been around 15 - 17 degrees. The mountains are even getting snow. 😂 Merry Christmas 🎄🎅🦃🐷🦐
Merry Christmas! My brother makes sushi over the holidays. You'd like celebrating with him ;-) His daughter married an Aussie, BTW. Very funny family... they have two children, a son and a daughter. The girl has an American accent like her mum and the boy has an Aussie accent like his dad! Even though they have always lived all together while the kids were growing up!
@@MagentaOtterTravels bilingual kids 😂 That's hilarious. Are they growing up in the US? If so it is impressive for the young bloke to have an Aussie accent. 😂 My brother lives in Germany his 10 year old speaks perfect German like his mum and perfect English with the slightest German accent. I think his English has a slight Aussie pronunciation. Probably closer to a neutral English though. Better than his dad's 🤣 Their youngest, 2 years, doesn't speak much yet but follows instruction in either language easily. Apparently he does know a couple of Anglo Saxon words which he uses with great amusement. 😂 Very cheeky. His older brother would never use them.
@@ShaneNixonFamily that’s adorable! My niece has lived with her family in both Australia and the US while the children were growing up. They graduated from high school last year.
As a Swede, I am seriously confused about all of this. It's soo different from our Christmas food. 🤣🤣🤣 We also eat ham. We call it "Julskinka" and it's a must for most Swedes at Christmas.
Here’s what I think is confusing… as an American, when I heard British people talking about eating Swedes I did not realize that was a root vegetable. To an American Swedes are humans! Do you eat any kind of fish at Christmas time?
Sounds delicious! I know other people who have Christmas lasagna as well. One person I know does a veggie lasagna and puts spinach on top in the shape of a Christmas tree! LOL
I prefer to have turkey, if it's good turkey, but it's become more of a family tradition to have chicken, since it's less likely to be dry, and also because my parents have just never been a fan of turkey. I dunno maybe my mum just can't cook turkey properly haha. Well we did have turkey again for 2 years recently, the first year it was delicious, tender and moist, so of course we decided to have turkey again the next year, but it was dry and disappointing. So we've gone back to chicken... Beef makes sense, we do like to eat roast beef, the French do literally call us "roast beefs" after all. I've personally never had it for Christmas dinner though.
Oh and I'm not at all familiar with Bread sauce either and I'm British. I've never had it. Pigs in blankets are just mini regular British sausages wrapped in streaky bacon. I'm a little disappointed this video didn;t go into what other things make up a Christmas dinner on either side of the pond. I still have no real idea of what an American Christmas dinner even is. I thought ham was the most traditional and common meat for American Christmas dinners so it was interesting to learn that over half of the people in your survey said they have turkey. But what do you have it with? A British Christmas dinner generally consists of turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, some variety of other vegetables which can vary; likely Brussels sprouts, carrots, maybe peas, maybe roast parsnips, maybe some mashed swede, possibly even a Yorkshire pudding, and of course gravy. For dessert you'd most likely have Christmas pudding.
@@PiousMoltar I wonder where bread sauce originated? It is probably not from the area where you grew up in Britain. It seems like there are lots of regional differences in cuisine across Britain! Ask for Americans' Christmas dinner, I don't think there is a standard menu. Thanksgiving has lots of common dishes that everybody does, but Christmas seems to be much more of a free-for-all. I think people just eat their favourite things!
A “British Christmas Tradition” in my house, or raaaather…. A British “unique probably to just only MY family …but I could be wrong 😉) Christmas Tradition is the “Christmas Cracker crappy present” argument combined with the “world beating sulk moment” The two sons (both adults … purleease…😫🙄) will - before they put the Christmas Crackers on the Christmas themed dining table - will shake the crackers in the hope it will give an indication as to what type of “present” will be inside - and on finding a cracker they think will contain the gift they so desire, will place at their own table setting. Neither of them will move what is “their” cracker. The Christmas Dinner and its accompaniments are placed on the table and before we all start to eat, the pulling of the yearly Christmas Cracker event commences, we pick up our placed crackers, link arms, a count of 1-2-3 and we all pull the crackers at the same time…. And that is when the Christmas Cracker Present trauma commences… I give you the scene - when the cracker gift wasn’t won by the person who chose the cracker- :: “hey, that’s Myyy Present, I chose that one! “ gift recipient:“ well, I’ve won it, so it’s mine now isn’t it (smug grin by present winner) Chosen Cracker Present loser: “mum! Tell him… 😡 ….I wanted that mini screwdriver set..” Wrong Cracker Present winner: “well, you can have what’s in my cracker then…” Present loser: “but I CHOSE THAT cracker though!” Present winner: “but it’s was me that pulled it harder so I won it fair and square….look, you’ve got another magic puzzle like last year’s! 😂 Present Loser: “well, those screwdrivers are naff anyway so nerrr.. and anyway Mum, I hope those other crackers do work, cos that one was a bit duff….” Peace keeping Mother promises that if there is a better gift in the rest of the crackers being saved for Boxing Day, he can have it. And once this absolutely RIDICULOUS yearly bun fight is over, the hats inside will go on heads, the dinner is eaten and enjoyed, the daft jokes or rhymes are told (as there’s always someone pointing out that …”ohhh, we had that joke LAST year…) and I just can predict that in 12 days time, two adult sons will argue about who wins what, in the Christmas Cracker tradition and it wouldn’t be “our” Christmas if the pair of them compromised about anything!
THANK YOU FOR THAT FABULOUS TALE! I think a similar thing happens in many households. I also have two sons, who are 24 and 26 now. They are American, but have grown up with Christmas Crackers every year. Whilst my sons do not argue over the cracker gifts, I've seen plenty of other kids do it... and the irony is, that when the evening is over and they go home, invariably ALL the naff gifts, every single one, even the much argued-over, are all laying on the floor or the table totally forgotten! So into the bin they go! LOL Happy Christmas! XX Dara
Turkey wasn’t traditionally the meat of choice for a British Christmas dinner as it’s not a native bird. Goose was the bird of choice until the Victorian era.
We used to do the christmas colleague party thing,but it became way too embarrassing with people who couldnt control their urges…so now everybody does ‘Uz Dinners’ at christmas..where the most embarrassing thing you can do is monopolise the Brussels sprouts bowl…
It’s a common phrase and saying by northerners….uz dinners is a phrase used as much as possible …whenever a meal is eaten….so ‘lets have uz dinners’ is a phrase used instead of the formal ‘should we dine’ It’s common parlance in the north…it really cheers me up when i hear it..
No blazing Christmas pud with lashings of custard, or sherry trifle? What about the Yorkshires, roast spuds, chestnut stuffing, SPROUTS and oodles of thick giblet gravy? Christmas cake with cheshire cheese, hot mince pies and brandy cream, cold meat leftovers with cheese, biscuits and pickles on boxing day. Also, you neglected Bubble and Squeak, the quintessential boxing day breakfast. You put your bread sauce on your gammon/ham, although I personally prefer horseradish.
I would love to have Bubble & Squeak on Boxing Day! We usually have ham on Christmas Eve and then fried ham and eggs on Christmas morning breakfast. Delish!
You missed out lots of British things. Roast potatoes. Yorkshire Puddings. Brussels Sprouts. Christmas Pudding and mince pies with brandy sauce. What Americans call Pigs in Blankets we call sausage rolls - although they are made with proper sausages and flaky pastry.
I grew up with pigs in blankets that used mini hot dogs and biscuit dough... they were tiny! Definitely a far cry from the proper British sausage roll! Seems like Christmas dinner for British people is a sundae roast dinner plus a million other things 🤣
Curious about what people think. Isn't it fun how fascinated we are with cultural traditions celebrated by English-speaking countries? We are just a tad bit different yet those differences enthrall us. Responses are welcome!
I guess we really shouldn't assume that our cultures will be similar just because we speak the same language. So it's interesting to see where our cultures differ.🇬🇧🇺🇸
Speaking of CHRISTMAS... if you haven't seen my reaction video to Best British Christmas Adverts, check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/9luDzC78jYU/v-deo.html
And watch for next Friday's video with 2022 Christmas adverts from both the US and UK!
@@Poliss95 nooooo… really? In tomorrow’s video I show 2022 ads.
@bobbybigboyyes all good things come from England! Lol
Pigs in blankets: Pigs in blankets in the UK are normally something called cocktail sausages (basically normal sausage made smaller to the size for sticking on cocktail sticks) wrapped normally in streaky bacon.
Bread Sauce: The essence of the bread sauce is making sure you thoroughly poach a medium onion with cloves stuck in it, stick about ten in it, maybe more to taste but without the taste of clove in the sauce it’s just a milky bread gloop, the onion needs to really well poached for the recipe.
Stuffing: The traditional stuffing is Sage & Onion stuffing either, as the name implies putting or stuffing the ‘stuffing’ into the birds in nerds to be cooked with the bird. Coincidentally stuffing in the UK is associated with rolling a breast of lamb with it. Nowadays though the stuffing is mixed and made in a medium pie dish with extra real butter and my mum put the butter paper on top to stop it burning in the oven, the stuffing was dished up with a spoon A WORD OF WARNING, never, never, never make stuffing balls never, never, never make stuffing balls. For one thing they dry out the stuffing and they are now only useful for musket balls. Utter waste for a stuffing aficionado who is a gastronome like yourself as well.
Roasted Potatoes: roasting potatoes nowadays has lost its way because of TV chefs, all they are worried about is the look of something or the texture in the mouth, enter the goose fat roasted potato. Goose fat has minimal taste to it but it doesn’t break down at higher roasting temperatures but has no other usefulness. Traditionally you have to roast potatoes using pork or beef dripping or fat, that’s because it adds taste to the potato which the goose fat doesn’t.
Sweet chestnuts: A relatively new addition to the plate is the sweet chestnut this is used added to sprouts as well as chopped up slices of back bacon to make sprouts more palatable for the peons who “don’t like it” (sorry, I love them)
Sprouts: love them or hate them but the sprouts are traditional, I think the popularly of sprouts changed, again, when the TV chefs said to cook them “Al dente” ie. Not soft. Until the sprouts are cooked soft they are slightly yuck when they are cook to soft they change to slightly sweet and to me nice tasting. Try and use the large sprout fully ripe not the chefs favourite ‘ tiny’.
Parsnips: Normally boiled but Parsnips should not be cooked thin sliced (idiots) slice lengthways in half and if too big then slice again and if needed in half to max length about 3 to 4 inches. Can be cooked in the oven with honey.
Carrots: normally boiled or cooked as the parsnips
Pork: the other meat “put on the Christmas dinner table is roast pork, cooked with the skin on which is then left to make crackling, taken off and as well as the bacon which is placed on the skin of the turkey to cook as a way of making the skin tasty and keeping the turkey flesh moist, is taken off and broken up as a favourite pass-around pre-dinner as a finger treat.
Gravy: the gravy traditionally is made using what we call the giblets which are the innards of the carcass and the neck and tail put in a bag and normally placed back in the cavity for the purpose of gravy. Basically boil the giblets in a medium saucepan with some herbs and spices as needed (I think basil and black pepper corns are used in there somewhere), get a bottle of gravy browning for thickening, that’s basically it.
Cabbage: Savoy cabbage is an option of course maybe with an additional option of the sweet chestnuts instead of in the sprouts.
Cranberry Sauce: and of course there is the devil brew called cranberry sauce to go with the Turkey. What devils spawn thought of this? Didn’t they just happened to be grown in the US? Should have known. Most people in the UK seem to like this (bit like apple sauce with the pork, far to sweet for me).
Apple sauce: see above.
That’s about it for the main meal, for starters it’s normally prawn cocktail or maybe pate of some sort and for sweet or pudding it’s obviously ……
Christmas Pudding: Christmas pudding is nowadays had with brandy sauce (or the lesser known rum custard) the pudding is properly steamed so that it comes out moist and the flavours are not forced out by microwaving. For the way to make the original figgy pudding look to a recipe book but the essence or secret of the pudding is the soaking of the included fruit in spirits like whiskey, rum, brandy or maybe port depending on the recipe.
I’m sure you can research this better than I can, I’ve just told you my experience with mum my first wife and my partner of 30years. Recipes and recipe fashions have changed over the years so have peoples tastes. Good luck for your own christmas journey this year.
Happy Christmas to you and all your family.
Cheers Aah kid!
Hiya Nick! Are you new to my channel? If so, welcome! You win the prize for longest comment on this video! Thanks so much for your very thorough comment on Christmas dinner! You are clearly very opinionated about cooking and food, but that's OK because so am I ;-)
Cranberry sauce can be a wonderful thing. It has to be a good recipe, and when done right it is nice and tart, not too sweet. When you do have dry turkey, it makes it edible LOL
I don't like Christmas Pudding or most steamed puddings like that. I would MUCH more prefer a fruit crumble, a bread pudding, or a sticky toffee pudding! In fact, I'm so obsessed with STP that I did a video all about the 10 I ate last year haha! ua-cam.com/video/ELlVs4NVJaY/v-deo.html
Thanks so much for your comment! Dara
The ' Pub Christmas Dinner ' started so that people ( usually elderly ) could get a ' Home Cooked ' Christmas dinner at this time of year , usually people living on their own . it's a good thing and cheers them up =-)
I'm hugely in favour of that! This Thanksgiving, Ian and I ate at a restaurant. Thanksgiving is the huge meal that Americans cook, and it's just way too much bother when it's only the two of us. We aren't completely elderly YET... but I expect this tradition will continue ;-)
In the UK Gammon is meat that has been cured (by being salted, brined or smoked) and sold raw, whereas Ham is meat that has been dry-cured or cooked, and is sold ready to eat. In a nutshell; when you've cooked your Gammon, it becomes Ham.
Now I realise why this differentiation is never absorbed by my brain... so confusing! I think in the US the hams are always pre-cooked. Thanks for explaining this to me! Again, LOL!
@@MagentaOtterTravels in UK we think of ham as cold meat to eat with salad (do Americans do that?) whereas gammon is like thick large bacon served hot with chips and fried egg and sometimes a slice of pineapple on it.
Not really... you wouldn't eat gammon raw, obviously, but it's still gammon. I wouldn't call it ham after cooking it. I've also seen pre-cooked slices of gammon for sale... which were basically just thick slices of ham.
@@PiousMoltar I have seen the same thing. It looks like what we call ham steak in the US
Finally Ha Ha! I'm impressed on how you ended this video I've come back here for more! Some compilation there i see. Gradually, you'll get there the top! Ciao!
We can have lots of Xmas dinners ;-) One with work, one with friends, one with the bowling club, one with the kids at Sea Cadets, etc. ;-) The main one is always the one at home on Xmas day with the family where we eat like pigs and can't move for days, and try to come up with creative ideas to finish off all the food over the following week 🙂
Yes, that sounds exactly like American Thanksgiving! We eat until we are in a food coma, and then use leftover turkey for days afterwards... turkey soup, turkey cranberry stuffing sandwiches (which I've seen in England in recent years!), and the dreaded turkey casserole! LOL
@@MagentaOtterTravels Somewhat of a British tradition is to use the leftover turkey to make a curry on Boking Day.
Sherry Trifle at Christmas is an absolute favourite tradition. Christmas pudding of course. Mince pies go hand in hand with a traditional British Christmas. Using the cold left-over Turkey for Turkey and chips with pickles and for sandwiches and a lot of us now use the Turkey left-overs to make either a curry, or a stew.
I made DELICIOUS turkey sandwiches on rosemary sourdough bread with mayonnaise, baby Swiss cheese, and HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE! So tasty!
Pigs in blankets are chipolata mini sausages (not hot dogs) wrapped in streaky bacon and roasted with the bird. Bread sauce is only served for Christmas dinner. M and S always did a very nice bread sauce with alcohol but I am now gluten free so it is something I haven’t had for a long time. Growing up in the 60s and 70s my mum always cooked a turkey and roast pork for Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and we would then eat left overs for the next three days. In addition to the meat we had roast and mashed potatoes, sprouts, carrots, parsnips, stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, sometimes bread sauce and gravy. Many people have Yorkshire puddings as well and then the obligatory Christmas pudding and brandy sauce or cream. It generally leaves you feeling like you can’t move and everyone falls asleep in front of the TV.
Yes, that is quite a lot of food to eat! I would be happy to eat just half that menu... and I'd opt for a crumble or bread pudding instead of the Christmas pudding I'm afraid! ;-) Thanks very much for your comment! XX Dara
Christmas is always the one where we see our weird crossover of some very British traditions and some very American ones... it always surprises me there's no Boxing Day to the south! But yes to the Christmas cracker crowns! Thanks for this Dara!
Thanks, Susan! It's fun to hear that you have both British and American traditions in your home ;-) Merry Christmas! XX
Totally agree, love mixing lots of different cultures
There's reasons for cooking different meats. It's to give people a little bit of everything. To keep the Turkey moist. To have different meats for cold meat and pickles.
That's really cool and interesting discussion my friend
The American pigs in blankets you referred to,I have seen them over here named as pigs in duvets
Are you serious, or taking the mick? That is hilarious!
@@MagentaOtterTravels no definitely seen them not seen them this year,but I haven't been looking.
Bread sauce can be eaten with any roast bird. It's easy to make and delicious.
Now that I’ve published this video, and his saying, we need to try making it again!
Typical meals for Christmas here in Luxembourg are: all sorts of game meat, Raclette, or fondue bourguignionne (meat fondue in hot oil)
Mmmmmm raclette… I need to celebrate Christmas in Luxembourg!
Oh I think the level of gluttony is the same, here in the U.K. OMG you got the Turkey, sprouts, carrots, peas, red cabbage, Parsnips, stuffing, bread sauce, pigs in blankets, some families cook several meats, like a beef and a ham, I don’t turkey is hard enough to cook, but it is the biggest feast of the year, and I love it.xx
Yes, same gluttony, just in November for the US and Christmas day in the UK ;-)
Dara excellent survey, research and fun video…I learned so much! I
do recall The Grinch stealing “the Christmas Roast Beast!” 😂.. We typically do Italian for Christmas dinner and go to Church Christmas Eve.
Wonderful video! 🎄~Cara
After I filmed this video one of my colleagues told me they have prime rib every Christmas! So obviously some Americans eat beef... but GOOSE?! Really?! Who are all these geese eaters?!?!
On a different topic... I hope you have a WONDERFUL day tomorrow (Wed) and everything goes well! XX
@@MagentaOtterTravels 💖💖💖 thank you and I’ve NEVER seen Goose in America markets! I’m going to start looking! 😂😂😂
Normally the pigs in blankets sausage is a chipolata, and it's wrapped in streaky bacon.
Thanks for your comment! I'm not sure I've seen chipolatas here in the states, but I have seen them in Britain. Good to know what pigs in blankets are now! Cheers! Dara
@@MagentaOtterTravels No worries, and any decent mini sausage will do.
If you want a goose in Texas you have two options.
You can order one at least two months ahead of time to your butcher shop.
Or you can go hunting in the far north of Texas.
Dad and I used to go goose hunting in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
Really?! Do you eat goose at Christmas?
@@MagentaOtterTravels My dad was from Oklahoma and he lived in Kansas and Indiana before mom and me got him to Plano in 1980.
So yes that was often on our holiday table along with beef or turkey.
Now that I live down here in Corpus Christi I do try to get a wild Rio Grande turkey but that's hit or miss depending on the year.
Normally in the UK we have our works party in a pub any time from mid December onwards which includes the meal and drinks in the bar afterwards.
That makes sense. Cheers! Dara
Growing up in the 70s/80s we always had Turkey and gammon for Christmas day. One year my mother decided to go back to her childhood days and we had goose, but it wasn't popular.
These days I don't eat meat so the options are salmon or nut roast. Of course there's still all the sides of roasted and steamed vegetables.
For dessert it was Yule log cake which was always chocolate for the children. Christmas pudding, children only interested in it for the flames and hopes of finding their piece of silver. And Christmas cake, my father loved fruit cake. These days it's just a selection of cheeses, fruits, nuts and savoury biscuits.
That is where American and British Christmas traditions are so different... the desserts! I think American children would enjoy the spectacle of a dessert on fire... but I think 90% of Americans would NOT enjoy Christmas pudding or fruitcake. I know very few that like goose either. Most of us have probably never eaten it. I remember my mother one year getting all Dickensian and trying to cook a goose... I thought she was so weird! haha
As for nut roast, I"m a big fan! I am currently editing next Friday's video of our favourite London restaurants, and a nut roast plays a role! ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravels yes think fruit cake and Christmas pudding are acquired taste, but also it's important to have a really good version of both. The texture and taste especially Christmas cake can vary an awful lot. I am not a fan of shop bought ones. But a really good homemade version is a different thing entirely. The other thing is only a small piece and I always have to have it with a lovely strong black coffee.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas
the turducken is not an American invention, the Tudors use to have multiple bird in bird roasts at their feasts.
your American Pigs in Blankets are what us Brits call Mini Sausage Rolls. ours are little sausages wrapped in Streaky Bacon.
on Boxing Day, most people eat cold meat sandwiches left over from the Christmas dinner and make Bubble and Squeak out of the veg.
you missed out on the Christmas Pudding, where it is traditional to hide a coin inside it, which gives the recipient luck for the oncoming year. also the spectacle of lathering it with Brandy Butter and setting fire to it.
I didn't know about all the Christmas Pudding traditions, thanks for the info! I don't like Christmas pudding, and I would not eat brandy sauce, but I do like seeing flaming food LOL!
And then you'd have to have another trip to the deathtist, Boppy!
A guy I used to work with, did (and probably still does) have Christmas Dinner at his local pub, it is booked up months in advance. Shocked me as I thought the Pub would be closed, and assumed everyone stayed home with family.
@@Poliss95 Like many things in life, I guess it's what you are used to, for me growing up, Christmas day was always at home close family etc
Years ago working in Blackpool, early December in what was probably the cheapest and most rundown B&B as we left, I said, well at least you can put your feet up for Christmas, the landlady amazed me, told me they were fully booked for Christmas and NY, same people came back every year.
Friends always wanted to go on holiday somewhere warm at Christmas always felt tied to their parents idea of a family Christmas, when the time came, they went, said it was the best Christmas they had, planned to go away every year.
We ate Thanksgiving at a restaurant this year (just the two of us) and loved it! We got to eat just what we wanted, only had minimal leftovers, and did NOT spend two days cleaning the house and cooking and washing up!
@@MagentaOtterTravels Oh I can see the attraction, I think more people will do the same
I was wondering what the 'Turducken' was when I did your questionnaire, Dara. I must agree with you that it sounds a bit odd to even consider doing that to a turkey!! Nevertheless, it's good to know that such a thing exists. A blackberry & apricot crumble sounds sublime...yum!! Thank you for sharing your sweet holiday pictures with us as well. Very dear memories of when one's children are young(er) and still in the house. Blessings to you and Ian, dear
Thanks, friend! Merry Christmas! XX
You can make a small version by using fillets. Put stuffing in between each layer then rap it with bacon. Drizzle with honey after it's cooked. Sliced and served hot or cold.
Never had bread sauce, lol! I was shocked that you didn't have Boxing Day when I came to America. Glad to hear you have Christmas crackers. Lovely photos!
YOU have never had bread sauce?! If you have turkey or chicken for Christmas, you need to make some!
Having experienced Christmas in New Zealand for 35 plus years, with very 'British tinted' but with a Kiwi slant, Christmas dinners in hot summer temperatures I can tell you that they were a challenge. The more modern Christmas with the 'younger' generation is more the Beach BBQ variety. Yes, three meats- done that! Then been creative the next weeks using up the left overs. Now, with the shrunken household and back in wintery Europe, we have actually taken the plunge and go out for Christmas dinner ( 5 course) alternate year I cook. Such fun. I guess who ever created the meal content would be surprised at the changes over the years. Your Thanksgiving meal is very compatible to the Christmas dinner. It is all deliciously yummy and maybe gluttony but also a great way to be together sharing food fun and laughter. A great run down of the differences and similarities Dara. Happy holidays. 🎅🎄🎉🇳🇿🙋♀🇳🇱
Thanks for sharing how the history of the meal has evolved for you over the years! A beach BBQ sounds lovely... but to someone who grew up in the snowy cold MidWest USA, it seems so odd for Christmas! haha
A nice restaurant meal prepared by a pro can be a lovely thing on a holiday! I did enjoy that very much this year for Thanksgiving. And YES, it is a good thing we don't have that gluttony EVERY day of the year, right?! Cheers and Happy Christmas, Anita! XX
@@MagentaOtterTravels I have to say: Christmas seems more 'real' in a winter season...it somehow never really was my thing, a hot and sweaty Christmas. 😂 😎🥶🎅🍷🔥
@@IamaDutch-Kiwi I agree ☺️
My family always had prime rib for Christmas dinner and for Christmas Eve we always had deli foods. Both meals came from my dad's family. He had one grandmother who was a really good cook and one who wasn't that great at cooking. Both sets lived fairly near each other. Both of my parents grew up opening all their presents on Christmas Eve so we always did that, too. Another Christmas Eve tradition we had was driving around looking at Christmas lights. When we were little, we'd always hear one of the grown-ups who stayed home saying goodbye to Santa as we walked in the door.
One thing I've noticed is that when Brits have gravy with their roast dinners, they pour it over everything and that it's always beef gravy. In America the gravy is usually made from the drippings of whatever type of meat was roasted and many just put it in a well made in the mashed potatoes, on the meat, and/or on the stuffing/dressing.
Yes! All very good observations! I enjoy hearing your family traditions.
As for gravy, yes I was shocked when I saw British people pour beef gravy over ALL the stuff on their dinner plate! Peas and carrots and everything all drowned in brown gravy! haha
Thanks for your comment, and Merry Christmas! XX Dara
Hi Dara & Ian. Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Great video, I didn’t see your questionnaire so here are a few bits that may be of interest. A few years ago a TV cook called Delia Smith demonstrated cranberry sauce. Cranberry sauce had never been available in the UK. Within a few weeks you couldn’t get cranberry sauce anywhere what ever you were prepared to pay. The first year we had a turkey, very early 60’s. it wouldn’t fit in our oven! Dad had to plead with the baker at the end of the street to put it in his oven as he finished his own baking. In the 50’s we we used to get post/mail deliverers. Our postie was called Ambrose while eating breakfast it took Ambrose 5 minutes to pass our window, he had more than his fair share Christmas drinking treats! For us it’s always turkey with what we call “all the trimmings”. Included we have Yorkshire Pudding. Pigs in blankets and sausagemeat stuffing (sausage meat with breadcrumbs, butter and sage). Dessert is Christmas Pudding with either custard or Brandy Sauce.
Boxing Day lunch is always cold meats with the left over veg formed into a bubble and squeak. Iced Christmas Cake, minced pies.
Thanks so much for your very entertaining comment! My favourite part was when you had to cook your turkey down the street at the butchers! Last year we remodeled a house that was in desperate need of updating. That kitchen had an oven so tiny you couldn’t fit a turkey in it either!
Cranberry sauce is good stuff. This Thanksgiving we ate at a restaurant, and they served this amazing cranberry sauce. That was the best I’ve ever had!
The Pigs in Blankets are small sausages wrapped in streaky bacon and bake in the oven the same time as the turkey.. but not in the same dish x
My son is doing the Texas version for this Christmas Eve dinner... jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon! haha
that sounds good too x @@MagentaOtterTravels
Hi Dara ….. unfortunately we won’t be having our family Christmas dinner in America this year … we were all geared up for our annual Christmas visit to family in New Jersey …. but unfortunately my wife has suffered a perforated appendix last Thursday/Friday and she’s still in hospital recovering from a 2 hour operation that she had on Saturday evening … so all our well laid plans have been dashed …. I will probably be shopping desperately for a Turkey and the trimmings for the 2 of us … Hey Ho it’s life and that’s the way the cookie has crumbled …. On the bright side … thank goodness this didn’t happen whilst we were in America !!! Shudder to think how much this would cost ! Anyway our best wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year 🍻🥂🌟☃️❄️
I'm very sorry to hear that your wife is in hospital!!! I'm glad that you got care quickly, as those appendixes can be nasty business! And YES, it would have been a right mess to have that happen in the US. It would have cost a fortune.
Don't worry about turkey... get something more delicious for the two of you. I hope you have a safe and healthy(ier) Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Give your wife my best regards XX Dara
@@MagentaOtterTravels cheers Dara 🥂🍻 … I’m sat here .. just me and the Dog 🐕 (Shadow) and you’ve just cheered me up …. Thanks 🙏❤️
Bubble and squeak with leftover turkey/meats and pickled onions, red cabbage for boxing day is a tradition in our house x
Oh, I love that! Sounds delicious!
Hi Dara & Ian... A typical start to our Christmas Day would be for Breakfast... A couple of Bacon and tinned Tomato Butties (Using Large Bread Rolls)... And about an hour before our Christmas Dinner... We would all have a Prawn Cocktail... But in answer to your question Dara... Pigs In Blankets are traditionally Pork Chipolata Sausages wrapped in ("American Style") Streaky Bacon... Chipolata Sausages are usually thinner... And are much shorter than the normal thick British Sausages that you might be used to... Although some supermarkets do market a variation of Pigs In Blankets using Hot Dog Sausages... But these are really only novelty items aimed at children... And not for having with a traditional British Christmas Dinner... Our Christmas Dinner for the whole family... Will usually include the following items...
Turkey... Gammon... Lamb... Pigs In Blankets... Mashed Potatoes... Roast Potatoes... Roast Parsnips... Brussel Sprouts... Cauliflower... Broccoli... Peas... Carrots... Stuffing Balls... Yorkshire Puddings... Onion Gravy... Mint Sauce... The following items are also available for others to enjoy too... But i personally don't like them myself... (Cranberry Sauce)... (Apple Sauce)... (Bread Sauce)... Later in the day we would have a selection of various Cheeses and Savory Cracker Biscuits... Christmas Pudding Served with Custard... Followed later with Minced Pies and Double Cream... And also a few of the Chocolates from the family tub of Celebrations too... Add to that all the Alcohol... Tea... Coffee... Soft Drinks... It's a real blowout throughout the whole of Christmas Day for us... Which is why our Boxing Day Meal... Is typically Fresh Home Cooked Chunky Chips (French Fries)... Left over Cold Cuts of Meat... And a Simple Salad... 😋 Thanks for the video Dara... I hope you all have a fantastic time with the family over the Christmas Holiday Season... All the best... Enjoy guys!. 🎅
Finally someone who has tin toms in bacon butties, my family always look at me weird when I do it
@@lennies_mindful_life 🤣 I absolutely love tinned Tomatoes my friend... I will happily eat them hot or cold straight from the tin... Delicious... 😋👌
@@rickb3645 so you were like me , when everyone else was panic buying TP I was stocking up on tin toms 🤣
@@lennies_mindful_life Absolutely mate... 🤣👍
Wow, I feel both stuffed and exhausted just READING about all that food, Rick!!!
Thanks for the detailed overview of your phenomenal holiday menu... very impressive indeed!
I hope you have a safe, festive and DELICIOUS holiday with your family. We plan to do the same! 3 days after Christmas we go to Hawaii for the first time as a family ;-) Happy Christmas! Dara
British family living in France here. In the past we had turkey & rib of beef. This year we are having confit duck thighs & pave sanglier (wild boar) main and seafood starter.
Wild boar? How very Victorian of you! That is awesome. And the Confit Duck Thighs sounds like it has the French influence. Thanks so much for sharing your traditions and plans. I really enjoy hearing from people in different parts of the world! Cheers! (BTW, where in France? We just visited Colmar in September and I absolutely ADORED it! Can't wait to publish that vlog eventually!)
@@MagentaOtterTravels SW of Poitiers. Plenty of boar here, Popular with the natives.
@@russcattell955i I had wild boar sausage in Devon once, and was surprised how delicious it was!
Hang on! Anything we know about the US over here, before getting into UA-cam, was gleaned from film and TV so we ‘know’ that the “Christmas meal” in the US is eaten on Christmas Eve before Christmas Day and you open presents at that time too. Do you mean to say US families have a traditional Christmas meal at Christmas lunch time exactly the way we do? Astonishing!
Yes, and presents are opened then too. It's a very busy day. Most people only open a token gift, like pajamas on Christmas Eve.
To be honest, there are so many different approaches between different families. Some have big meal Christmas Eve (like us) and others do Christmas Day. Some people open ALL their presents Christmas Eve, some open one Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas Day (like us) and some open ALL their presents Christmas Eve. ;-)
This is the first Thanksgiving that me and Jill have shared that we haven’t celebrated a mock Christmas Dinner. Its always been a tradition for us to have a personal trial Christmas Dinner on Thanksgiving after watching the Maceys Parade on NBC. Im quite grateful to only be eating Christmas Dinner once this year. The combination of almost flavourless turkey and that overload of carbs is now a once a year thing. Im sorry we missed your community survey, we only have youtube on the app which can’t run the community bits. Hopefully that will improve going forward! Im with the Americans all the way and having Turkey on Thanksgiving and celebrating on Christmas Eve! 👍mmm, Ham on the day? Yes please ❤
Are you on an iPad? Last I knew the app didn't have the Community page, but it does on the iPhones.
Do y'all have spiral sliced Honeybaked Ham? That is the BEST!!! yummmm
Thanks for watching! Cheers XX
@@MagentaOtterTravels yes unfortunately we are both on ipads, good to know it’s available on the iphone, we’ve been avoiding smartphones for years but we think our time doing that is coming to an end. They are just so practical now! Oh gosh spiral sliced honey baked ham, that used to be a Christmas Eve tradition when i was growing up. Latterly, now that we hardly ever indulge in bad carbs, apart from holidays and celebrations, we have renamed Christmas Eve Carbmas Eve and we go absolutely crazy with all those starchy carbs that we avoid the rest of the year! Cant wait ♥️
Henry the eighth used to have 12 bird roast one bird for every day of Christmas apparently 8 types of stuffing as well turkey, goose, chicken, pheasant, partridge, pigeon squab, Aylesbury duck, Barbary duck, poussin, guinea fowl, mallard, and quail.
He was known for his gluttony! And his 52 inch waist...
And gout
@@sbrykeddie yes, the disease of the rich and indulgent!
In England a pub ‘carvery’ usually has a choice of 3 roasts….and customers will usually say ooh can i have all three please to the question which meat would you like…so now loads of people want multi roast portions on Christmas Day….
I do love trying it a bit of everything at a carvery!
Yes a Christmas meal is very common with your workmates. Had mine on Friday. I'm also having a get together with friends on the 21st where we swap gifts
Fun! I love gift exchanges when they are "white elephant" gifts. I don't like when you are supposed to buy nice gifts... to stressful and wasteful IMHO. But I love the "theives Christmas" game with white elephant gifts where you steal each other's gifts until they get stolen twice. Do you play that game?
Merry Christmas, Dara, Ian and family!
Pigs in blankets? Definitely sausages and definitely streaky bacon.
Do Americans sing the Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas"? I imagine maybe not because of the references to leaping lords, piping pipers and so on!
Oh yes we sing that! Like many old nursery rhymes and songs, it has all kinds of words that are not commonly used in the US these days, but it’s part of our heritage.😉🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸
I would happily eat roast turkey for Thanksgiving AND for Christmas dinner! Lucy & Ryne are hosting again - and again, Ryne's parents are cooking, Yay! Actually, I'm not sure what we're having - but will be happy with anything they prepare!
I was thinking that y'all need to do a video on Christmas Pudding! It's an important part of Christmas that I did not mention in the video but people have been commenting on! Americans don't light dessert on fire at home, usually. And the coin in the cake/pudding is also unusual.
I see another comment saying that pigs in blankets are cocktail sausages but they're also or even more often chipolata sausages which are normal British bangers but slightly smaller and thinner. I never buy them ready made but make my own with good quality chipolatas wrapped with streaky bacon, then baked for about half an hour in the oven. I've also never seen the attraction of bread sauce!
Bread sauce is a bit of an odd creation, but my hubby loves it! Chipolata sausages are not some thing I see here in the states…
Pigs in blankets are mini sausages wrapped in streaky bacon. They are the most important part of a Christmas dinner for any meat eater. They are such a big thing here that some fast food places do them as a side dish. Subway, Greggs, Papa John's all do pigs in blankets at Christmas
Seems to me they should be a MAIN dish! haha
Seems like I have about 15 more Christmas Dinners behind me. Love Prime Rib for Christmas Dinner! We always had the big dinner on Christmas Eve as I was growing up. Goose was popular in northern Wisconsin. My grandfather was a big hunter! Once Kathy and I got older we seldom had Christmas off, so we had many Christmas Dinners in the hospital/care facility cafeterias. The one that wasn't working would bring the kids there (different facilities) and we'd dine together. They really did it up nice. I could have 3 different meats too! 🤣🤣Now, we eat in restaurants since retiring. Who else will cook it? Enjoyed hearing about the traditions.
I'm with you, Dave! So nice to have a pro cook the lovely holiday meal and not have to clean the house or wash dishes!! Happy Christmas to you and Kathy! XX
Something that is common on Christmas morning is a glass of port. Also this time of year the supermarkets go crazy with party food. This is a term I don't think you use in the same way in the US. These are bitesize canape that come in so many difficult options. Both sweet and savoury. They are commonly served in a buffet format. You select a few and enjoy. These can be anything from mini sausage rolls to lobster Mac & cheese cups and yes there is mini sticky toffee pudding bites
Oh man... I should not be reading these comments... y'all are making me so hungry!!! The lobster mac & cheese sounds delicious! And I could go for a mini STP to go along with it right now! Merry Christmas, Greg!
@@MagentaOtterTravels same to you. To give you an idea of the type of party food you can get have a look at ocado (marks and Spencer party food is sold here) or Iceland who arguably are one of the best for variety
Five bird roast is over-rated but you should try it for yourself. Sausages wrapped in bacon (normal sausages or chipolatas) are pigs in blankets. Sausages or sausage meat wrapped in pastry is sausage rolls. Sausages in a round bread roll are also sausage rolls, or hot dogs if it's a long bread roll. The actual hot dog sausages vary a lot between vendors for viennas, frankfurters, British slime sausages (as I call them - very pasty), or decent butcher style sausages. Even German sausages in the posher places ;-)
OK, British slime sausages sound absolutely dreadful!! Thanks for your comment, though! ;-) Dara
@@MagentaOtterTravels Jamie Oliver did a good show about them ;-)
We have our Christmas Dinner this Saturday and a proper Chrimbo 3 course dinner!
@@annienewton3999 fun! What is your main course?
@ I’ve gone with the Turkey Xmas Dinner. Out to a Pub on Boxing Day 26th Dec x
For us it will be turkey and ham/gammon,for sweet Home made Christmas pudding and mince pies plus veg. Boxing day cold meat pickles and mash plus salad, Christmas pudding, mince pies, homemade pavlova plus a anything else we can stuff down. I have never had bread sauce for Christmas.
Oooooh, PAVLOVA! More Aussie than British, but a phenomenal dessert. I approve! The first time I ever saw one was at my British wedding reception. I've been a fan ever since! Thanks for your comment, Stephen!
Part of the good thing with multiple mains is lots of leftovers so it's far easier for the next few days - boxing day turkey curry is a classic, one year we did it as a suet pudding (think steak & kidney pud but turkey tikka) & it was delicious.
Very good point! Instead of just having turkey soup and turkey sandwiches and turkey casserole for days... you can mix it up and have a variety of leftovers!
Goose used to be far more common in the UK for Christmas dinner many years ago.
Yes, it seems very Victorian to me! I've never met an American who likes goose, though...
@@MagentaOtterTravels my mom cooked a goose once and that was enough for her. It didn't have a lot of meat on it and was very fatty. I had some of it, but it was so long ago I don't remember how it tasted. Might get one sometime just to try it again.
We always have Egg & Chips for Christmas dinner.
I want egg and chips on Christmas Day…and paklava for pudding….with full fat chilled Coca Cola in a glass with a slice of lime..no ice lumps..
We never eat eggs and bacon and "full English" stuff here for breakfast in Texas... BUT on Christmas day, we take slices of honeybaked ham from Christmas Eve dinner and fry it... it 100X better than bacon, and I love bacon! We eat that with fried eggs and toast and it is THE BEST!
Very interesting
As a single person I do treat myself for Christmas and Boxing day dinners. Guinea fowl is good, last year I had a duck, hoping this year to get a turkey thigh joint, the best bit of a turkey.
Good time of year to treat yourself! I agree with the strategy of having only the best bits of the bird ;-)
The five bird roast can be full birds, but tend to be more expensive than the Iceland bits mashed together. Tends to be a bit dry for my taste.
The whole thing is a bit suspicious to me! LOL
Fascinating! Just shows, you can never predict people's responses to a survey, but can you rely on the truth of the responses...? Turkey? If only you could get turkey this year! There's an acute shortage owing to avian flu. We'll have whatever's available, plus the obligatory pigs in blankets, Grandad's traditional home-made chestnut stuffing, last year's discounted Christmas crackers, and home-made mince pies with home-made mincemeat (sorry, Dara!). Love the way your Christmas Eve traditions have spread across family and friends!
I am sure that homemade mincemeat and homemade mince pies would be much tastier than the horrid stuff I’ve purchased from mass-produced packs bought in the supermarket!
The avian flu this year was bad! I know it affected a lot of puffins as well. We were fortunate enough to go see them before the flu really hit, and it makes me sad thinking how many of them later died.😭😭😭
In our family, we are big on buying Christmas crackers after the holiday for half price as well! Lol.
@@MagentaOtterTravels Crackers: Great minds! Puffins: Great pity. Mince pies: Great pastry!
I think in Medieval times when the rich had huge banquets, (that may have included Christmas) their cooks would sow two animals together (a pig and a sheep for example) and roast it. Or they would put animals within animals (like a Russian Doll) and roast that. I'm not a big fan of Turkey for Christmas (I think it can be too dry), I prefer Goose. I've also had Venison, Ham and Beef , but no Brussels Sprouts. I live alone so I have occasionally had Christmas Day lunch at a local restaurant over the years, it saves the pain in the backside cooking for one person and the washing up that produces.
Hiya Mark! Thanks for describing the medieval banquets... it sounds both fascinating and disgusting to have animals sewn together and roasted... or stuffed together like nesting dolls!
I think most people think turkey is too dry. Here in Texas they do 2 things to improve that situation: smoked turkey or DEEP FRIED turkey. The latter results in many trips to the A&E (ER as we say here in the states)!
@@MagentaOtterTravels Smoked turkey sounds interesting, deep fried sounds terrifying. I'd guess the water in the meat doesn't mix well with the hot oil. Goose is an old fashion Christmas meat, but I remember my father liked it more than turkey so that's what we had Christmas Day after the gift unwrapping🎄
I've never eaten Christmas dinner (lunch) at a pub or restaurant on Christmas Day. I have eaten a Christmas meal with my work colleagues though.
I learned so much about this!
I've always had Christmas dinner on Christmas day.
Bread sauce? Where are you from???
Another planet! 👽
None of my extended family have ever made bread sauce, and of all the scores of Christmas dinners I've eaten over more than sixty years with family, friends, work colleagues, clubs etc. I've never even seen it served, so it's by no means universal.
I am alone at Christmas. I never want my Christmas dinner after I have spent hours in the kitchen preparing it. I usually eat about a third of what's on my plate but will keep what's left and eat it later. (hate waste). I always have turkey with all the trimmings. Boxing day is left overs and sandwiches, pate, cheeses etc. What I must do each Christmas day is watch my fave Christmas films. Scrooge with Alastair Sim, It's a Wonderful Life, The Grinch who stole Christmas, Love Actually. I watch them on dvds so I don't have to watch adverts or rely on tv listings.
Elliot, I hate hearing that you are alone... I want to invite you over for Christmas!
We hate waste too. We throw away almost no food, unlike most Americans.
I like your Christmas tradition of watching films! This year we are going to watch The Snowman, the British Christmas programme. None of us have seen it, so we will watch it on UA-cam with my 26 year old son here and my 24 year old son over Zoom!
Spoiler: Friday's video mentions Love Actually... so now you have to watch it ;-) Cheers! XX Dara
@@MagentaOtterTravels The Snowman is lovely.
@@elliotgeorge999 I’m looking forward to watching it!
Dara we're eating both turkey and ham, and yes I've had the occasional roast beef on Christmas day.
HIYA BRENDA!!!! So good to hear from you! Merry Christmas! I think I just have a bad memory. I bet we used to eat beef on Christmas day when I was growing up…. We ate beef every day! Lol.
Pizza Hut here in the Philippines do what they call 'Sausag Rolls', but they're like the photo you show of US pigs in blankets with a small hot dog wrapped in pastry. There OK, they come with a nice honey mustard dip. On the very few occasions I've made pigs in blankets, I've used the small cocktail sausages and any bacon that happened to be in the fridge. -)
Pizza Hut does so many different things around the world based on local tastes. Interesting to hear they have Sausage rolls!! We don't really have anything called sausage rolls in American restaurants... but if you go to a Kolache shop (big here in Texas because of Czech immigrants) you will find them there. The bread rolls in those shops are the best ever... definitely better than a Greggs sausage roll IMHO.
Ever since becoming a grown-up (who doesn't cook) I've always taken my cue from Cher in the film Mermaids so Christmas for me is cocktails and a variety of delicious hot canapés consumed continuously throughout the day. Breakfast starts off with panettone and Buckfizz (mimosas), then a Snowball (basically alcoholic custard mixed with lemonade) for elevenses. Carefully paced pina coladas, cosmopolitans, mojitos and daiquiris follow a long walk along the deserted beach and board games into the night.
Incidentally Sainsbury's have a cherry, rum and coconut mince pie which is absolutely amazing, so don't be afraid to venture from tradition at Christmas 🥧 😋
Can I just say that I absolutely adore that you take life advice from Cher characters?! Lol.
Have you seen the movie Silkwood? That might be a good one too…Or Moonstruck? I once met Cher in person, and totally embarrassed myself. But that’s another story!
As you may know, I am not a drinker, but I do love your idea of appetizers all day long! And have you ever made French toast (as we call it in 🇺🇸) from panettone? It is amazing!
@Magenta Otter Travels Of course, I've seen them all. My favourite is Tea With Mussolini. Cannot believe you met her.
I haven't made French Bread with panettone but have used it in Bread & Butter pudding. Have you ever come across it here in the UK?
It almost feels sad that the day after Christmas in the states things are nearly back to normal. Boxing day is a great day to reflect and meet family you couldn't see Xmas day
@@04taylorj yes, I think we should have Boxing Day as well!
Good video dara
Us Brits had Roman roots for 400 years in Britain,. The Romans had a festival called saturnalia (a festival in which they wore crowns stuffed themselves with food drink themselves stupid and exchange gifts) sounds kinda like Christmas
We copied Christmas tradition and celebrations from our forefathers the Romans,
We were called Picts and worshipped our own gods till the Romans showed up
Constantine converted everyone to Christians and changed us from Picts to British,
Britannia , British, brittons , is what the Romans called us. I guess it just stuck,
Great video dara hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas 🌲☃️👍🇬🇧
Thanks so much for the history lesson, James! Very interesting indeed! This time of year we usually eat too much as well... there are so many parties, and everyone makes and shares Christmas treats... it's lethal to the waistline! This year we are doing something very different and going to Hawaii a few days after Christmas... so Ian and I have been dieting! No Christmas cookies for me! BOO!
I'd rather stuff myself like a Roman LOL
Happy Christmas to you as well! XX Dara
@@MagentaOtterTravels hope you enjoy Hawaii 👍
Christmas Dinner for me will be turkey, bread sauce, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pigs, roast potatoes, roast parsnip, swede & carrot mash, red cabbage braised in port, Brussels sprouts & cauliflower cheese. And gravy. Dessert will be Christmas pudding & brandy sauce.
Boxing day will be ham (cooked in Coca-Cola as per Nigella), stand pie + salads & pickles + sandwiches made from leftovers.
On both says Christmas cake (with cheese) & mince pies will be consumed as and when any space becomes available.
I love that you say “as in when”! Lol
What is stand pie?
@@MagentaOtterTravels I think this is a Yorkshire thing - it is a very large pork pie. When I was a kid I had to go to the butchers shop on Christmas Eve and stand in the huge queue to get our pie hot from the oven.
Here in Luxembourg (as in Germany, Belgium, and France too) December 26th is called St Stephan Day. St Stephan is celebrated directly after Christmas as he was the first one to die as a martyr in the name of Christ. December 26th is a bank holiday and a religious holiday here. So no shops and no work 👍
Very interesting! I didn't know that. And do you eat leftovers like the Britons do on Boxing Day?
In Ireland it’s St. Stephen’s Day too😊
🎶Good King Wenceslas looked out on The Feast of Stephen.🎶
It's NOT a Christmas carol because it refers to the day AFTER Christmas, although I suppose it could count as Day 2 (2 turtle doves) of the 12 Days of Christmas.
Having more than one meat on Christmas Day isn't necessarily a lot of work on the day. I'm having chicken, lamb and beef. Only the chicken is being cooked on the day. The lamb and beef have been cooked already, sliced and frozen.. They'll be thawed on the day and served cold.
For dessert, there's Christmas pudding, apple pie, sherry trifle and raspberry cheesecake.
Does America have any traditional similar to the "sixpence in the Christmas pudding?" It's meant to bring luck (if not choking) to whoever finds it.
Geese was the main festival meat in Victorian (and before) times, in fact just before Christmas flocks of geese used to be herded from the country side yes in big long lines 5 to 10 abreast sometimes up 5o a mile long into the abattoirs of London Town.
cheers Aah kid
Now that would have been a sight to behold. The noise must have been deafening.
That's quite the image!
Multiple bird roast date back to medieval times. Goose was common, back in the day, but not enough, meat on it, for large family. What about Christmas pudding with silver coin in it, prefer mine with brandy cream.
I didn't know about the Christmas Pudding tradition, thanks for adding that detail! BTW, Friday's video includes a flaming Christmas pudding... so you'll have to be sure to watch! Cheers! XX Dara
When I was a child, we always had turkey and pork and I carried on with that after I got married. Yes, I did the cooking and the washing up.
Impressive! And did you have 72 side dishes?
@@MagentaOtterTravels Nooo!
@@Beejay950 very sensible!
I will have the following for my Christmas dinner. Turkey, parsnips, carrots, peas, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, pings in blankets, mini sausages, home made stuffing balls, store bought stuffing slices and cheese sauce. Cheese sauce is a me thing as I am allergic to cauliflower so have always just had the cheese sauce since I was a kid. Desert is a choice between Christmas pudding, trifle or cheesecake
Do you put the cheese sauce on the stuffing slices, or the sausages... or what does it go on?
Christmas Dinner consists of:
Turkey/beef/chicken
Stuffing
Roast potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Sprouts
Carrots roasted and/or boiled
Parsnips roasted and/or boiled
Brussels sprouts.
Pigs in blankets (sausages wrapped in streaky bacon)
Cranberry sauce/jelly/jam
Yorkshire pudding (optional)
Bread sauce (optional)
Gravy
FOLLOWED BY
Christmas pudding served with
Cream
Brandy sauce/butter
Custard
Then the pulling of Christmas crackers
The meal is served anytime between 1:00 p.m and 3: pm. normally.
Wow, that is a LOT of food! I'm exhausted just reading the list... I can't imagine cooking that all!
We also do the Christmas Crackers after our meal, but I've seen that some families open them before. We have introduced that tradition to dozens of American friends and everyone loves it!
I have both passports are so many thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in America. U.K. Christmas dinner is better. Also you can have a Christmas menu which starts like 18th-27th and Christmas dinner is 25th
Thanks for your comment! Where do you live now? I have not spent Christmas in England yet, but it is obvious that there are lots of Christmas dinners being eaten all throughout December in just about every pub and restaurant there is! I would like to experience that. Happy Thanksgiving! Dara
Would love to have some bread sauce. Haven't had it in many years. Have no interest in pigs in blankets, whether it's the American or British version.
Ok let’s make bread sauce!!👍
You MUST spend Christmas in the UK one year, Dara & Ian!
I know, right?! I need to see the Christmas decorations in London... and I would like to have a dusting of snow in the Cotswolds too, please ;-)
One veg no-one has mentioned is 'swede' AKA 'neeps' or turnips or rutabaga [for Americans].
As important in Scotland as sweet potato is in America.
As for dessert I'll eat all your Mince pie if you'll eat all the Pecan pie and Pumpkin pie. 🙂
Deal! 🥧 😋
‘Pigs in blankets’….is popular.
They seem to be everybody's favourite part of the meal!
I want to say that famed Louisiana Chef Paul Prudhomme either created or popularized the Turducken in the 70s and 80s.
I'm not 100% certain that this is the case but I'm about 90% sure it's originally from Louisiana
Yes and no. The actual "turducken" is American from the time period. But the concept came from the medieval times when they stuffed animals/bird inside each other and cooked them for their lavish feasts. Such an odd (and rather revolting IMHO) idea!
Your pigs in blankets look like our sausage rolls (sausages wrapped in (usually) flaky or puff pastry)
I think Christmas Eve is less of a big deal in the UK (I guess we have Boxing Day so...). Through the prism of pop culture I get the feeling if you were working a regular 9-5 job on Christmas Eve that would be seen as kind of unfair? Pretty common here, maybe get out a bit early and go to the pub? I have always seen Christmas Eve as mostly for 'prep' for Christmas Day, maybe with a festive drink last thing when you can finally sit down and rest!
I agree... I think in the US the "extra" holiday is the 24th and in the UK the extra day is the 26th. Good point! Nobody works on Christmas Eve here if they have a regular office job. But of course the shops are VERY busy that day, so people working retail have a very busy day.
We have lamb chicken for Christmas Dinner gamon for boxing day ham egg chips
That sounds like a great menu!
You haven’t heard of the 5 bird roast?
No, it sounds very complex!
I think pumpkin pie in UK is different to USA? Don't you have it as a pudding/dessert? We have it with dinner and gravy over it. Same with sweet potatoes, they have always gone with dinner for us. Sweet potato chips are great! 🙂
Yes, sweet potatoes are one of my favourite foods... I like them ALL the ways: chips/fries, crisps, diced and roasted (how we eat them most in our home these days) and as a child I LOVED them on Thanksgiving all mashed up and covered in toasted marshmallows!
Sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie are both sweet desserts and taste somewhat similar... but Americans usually have one or the other based on their cultural heritage. We don't really eat pumpkin pie any other time of year. I used to work for Nestle, which owns Libby brand (canned pumpkin) and they sold 90% of their annual volume in November. Pumpkin bread with chocolate chips in it is DELISH!!
I think they have only comparatively recently been called pigs in blankets. I call them bacon wrapped sausages, rather less… l was going to say romantic but somehow l don’t think that is quite the right word!
@BPS&D, you could be right, but whoever came up with them, thank you!
I think Delia is possible for both the British pigs in blankets craze as well as the cranberry sauce craze!!
Saint Delia strikes again. All hail Saint Delia.. she certainly started the homemade cranberry sauce craze, before her recipe everyone bought it in jars. I used to make a really nice cranberry and kumquat sauce.
Non mention of roast potatoes and parsnips always as side dishes at Christmas never mashed potatoes
Ooooooohhhhhh I LOVE roasted potatoes! They are the best part of a roast dinner. Well, next to the Yorkshires with gravy ;-)
Pig in blanket are the best bit of Christmas Dinner and little real sausage wrap in streaky bacon, I would rather have pigs in blanket than the turkey
Isn't it funny? Both Britons and Americans seem to not REALLY like turkey that much... we just cook it because that's what everyone else does LOL
@@MagentaOtterTravels im not hosting Christmas this year so I'm not cooking turkey, Christmas day at in laws and boxing day at my brother first time in 4 years im not, but im still cooking pig in blanket & stuffing balls on 27th cos there our faves
Gammon is served hot, ham is served cold. Don't forget, with this type of survey, the large number of single people with no families who are living alone.
I never knew that about gammon and ham! Cheers! Dara
an English peculiarity is to have Gammon for a meal, a thick slice grilled or fried served with chips and possibly peas then a slightly grilled slice of tinned pineapple on top of the Gammon some burger bars will sell a smaller Gammon steak with pineapple in à bun and call it a Hawaian burger
We do the same thing... just call it "ham steak" and pineapple. And of course, there is Hawaiian pizza (with ham and pineapple). ;-)
I think you're both weird (UKers and USAians) when it comes to Christmas. 🤪😍However, we antipodeans are intimately familiar with most British and Yank Christmas traditions because we are inundated with media from both regions. But as far as our Christmases go I think a lot of it is based on British traditions with some distinctly Oz stuff thrown in. Stuff like seafood. Seafood markets have their biggest trade during the lead up to Xmas. Prawns etc are becoming typical as part of any Christmas lunch. Plus it is usually hot. Usually. This year feels decidedly un-christmasy. It has been cold. Winter like cold. Usually we will have days on end over 30 degrees. So far we've had one. Every day this week the top has been around 15 - 17 degrees. The mountains are even getting snow. 😂 Merry Christmas 🎄🎅🦃🐷🦐
Merry Christmas! My brother makes sushi over the holidays. You'd like celebrating with him ;-) His daughter married an Aussie, BTW. Very funny family... they have two children, a son and a daughter. The girl has an American accent like her mum and the boy has an Aussie accent like his dad! Even though they have always lived all together while the kids were growing up!
@@MagentaOtterTravels bilingual kids 😂 That's hilarious. Are they growing up in the US? If so it is impressive for the young bloke to have an Aussie accent. 😂 My brother lives in Germany his 10 year old speaks perfect German like his mum and perfect English with the slightest German accent. I think his English has a slight Aussie pronunciation. Probably closer to a neutral English though. Better than his dad's 🤣 Their youngest, 2 years, doesn't speak much yet but follows instruction in either language easily. Apparently he does know a couple of Anglo Saxon words which he uses with great amusement. 😂 Very cheeky. His older brother would never use them.
@@ShaneNixonFamily that’s adorable! My niece has lived with her family in both Australia and the US while the children were growing up. They graduated from high school last year.
As a Swede, I am seriously confused about all of this.
It's soo different from our Christmas food. 🤣🤣🤣
We also eat ham. We call it "Julskinka" and it's a must for most Swedes at Christmas.
Here’s what I think is confusing… as an American, when I heard British people talking about eating Swedes I did not realize that was a root vegetable. To an American Swedes are humans!
Do you eat any kind of fish at Christmas time?
@@MagentaOtterTravels Hahaha I would have been confused too and maybe a little scared. 😅😅
Yes we eat salmon and herring.
We have lasagna or cavatelli for Christmas lunch or dinner, and we aren't Italian.
Sounds delicious! I know other people who have Christmas lasagna as well. One person I know does a veggie lasagna and puts spinach on top in the shape of a Christmas tree! LOL
L88. Wow. Really now information for me. Difference b/w British and American xmas dinners. General Knowledge update for me here
Cheers Aishu!
The whole gluttony thing definitely occurs on a British Christmas Day!
Along with maybe a bit of drinking? I didn't want to bring that up on the video LOL
I prefer to have turkey, if it's good turkey, but it's become more of a family tradition to have chicken, since it's less likely to be dry, and also because my parents have just never been a fan of turkey. I dunno maybe my mum just can't cook turkey properly haha. Well we did have turkey again for 2 years recently, the first year it was delicious, tender and moist, so of course we decided to have turkey again the next year, but it was dry and disappointing. So we've gone back to chicken...
Beef makes sense, we do like to eat roast beef, the French do literally call us "roast beefs" after all. I've personally never had it for Christmas dinner though.
To be honest, I don't think anybody knows how to cook turkey properly! Everyone complains about it being dry 😂
Oh and I'm not at all familiar with Bread sauce either and I'm British. I've never had it. Pigs in blankets are just mini regular British sausages wrapped in streaky bacon. I'm a little disappointed this video didn;t go into what other things make up a Christmas dinner on either side of the pond. I still have no real idea of what an American Christmas dinner even is. I thought ham was the most traditional and common meat for American Christmas dinners so it was interesting to learn that over half of the people in your survey said they have turkey. But what do you have it with?
A British Christmas dinner generally consists of turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, some variety of other vegetables which can vary; likely Brussels sprouts, carrots, maybe peas, maybe roast parsnips, maybe some mashed swede, possibly even a Yorkshire pudding, and of course gravy.
For dessert you'd most likely have Christmas pudding.
@@PiousMoltar I wonder where bread sauce originated? It is probably not from the area where you grew up in Britain. It seems like there are lots of regional differences in cuisine across Britain!
Ask for Americans' Christmas dinner, I don't think there is a standard menu. Thanksgiving has lots of common dishes that everybody does, but Christmas seems to be much more of a free-for-all. I think people just eat their favourite things!
A “British Christmas Tradition” in my house, or raaaather…. A British “unique probably to just only MY family …but I could be wrong 😉) Christmas Tradition is the “Christmas Cracker crappy present” argument combined with the “world beating sulk moment”
The two sons (both adults … purleease…😫🙄) will - before they put the Christmas Crackers on the Christmas themed dining table - will shake the crackers in the hope it will give an indication as to what type of “present” will be inside - and on finding a cracker they think will contain the gift they so desire, will place at their own table setting. Neither of them will move what is “their” cracker.
The Christmas Dinner and its accompaniments are placed on the table and before we all start to eat, the pulling of the yearly Christmas Cracker event commences, we pick up our placed crackers, link arms, a count of 1-2-3 and we all pull the crackers at the same time….
And that is when the Christmas Cracker Present trauma commences… I give you the scene - when the cracker gift wasn’t won by the person who chose the cracker- :: “hey, that’s Myyy Present, I chose that one! “ gift recipient:“ well, I’ve won it, so it’s mine now isn’t it (smug grin by present winner)
Chosen Cracker Present loser: “mum! Tell him… 😡 ….I wanted that mini screwdriver set..”
Wrong Cracker Present winner: “well, you can have what’s in my cracker then…”
Present loser: “but I CHOSE THAT cracker though!”
Present winner: “but it’s was me that pulled it harder so I won it fair and square….look, you’ve got another magic puzzle like last year’s! 😂
Present Loser: “well, those screwdrivers are naff anyway so nerrr.. and anyway Mum, I hope those other crackers do work, cos that one was a bit duff….”
Peace keeping Mother promises that if there is a better gift in the rest of the crackers being saved for Boxing Day, he can have it.
And once this absolutely RIDICULOUS yearly bun fight is over, the hats inside will go on heads, the dinner is eaten and enjoyed, the daft jokes or rhymes are told (as there’s always someone pointing out that …”ohhh, we had that joke LAST year…) and I just can predict that in 12 days time, two adult sons will argue about who wins what, in the Christmas Cracker tradition and it wouldn’t be “our” Christmas if the pair of them compromised about anything!
THANK YOU FOR THAT FABULOUS TALE! I think a similar thing happens in many households. I also have two sons, who are 24 and 26 now. They are American, but have grown up with Christmas Crackers every year. Whilst my sons do not argue over the cracker gifts, I've seen plenty of other kids do it... and the irony is, that when the evening is over and they go home, invariably ALL the naff gifts, every single one, even the much argued-over, are all laying on the floor or the table totally forgotten! So into the bin they go! LOL
Happy Christmas! XX Dara
Turkey wasn’t traditionally the meat of choice for a British Christmas dinner as it’s not a native bird. Goose was the bird of choice until the Victorian era.
Makes me think of A Christmas Carol every time I hear someone talk about goose for dinner!
We used to do the christmas colleague party thing,but it became way too embarrassing with people who couldnt control their urges…so now everybody does ‘Uz Dinners’ at christmas..where the most embarrassing thing you can do is monopolise the Brussels sprouts bowl…
what is an 'uz dinner?
It’s a common phrase and saying by northerners….uz dinners is a phrase used as much as possible …whenever a meal is eaten….so ‘lets have uz dinners’ is a phrase used instead of the formal ‘should we dine’
It’s common parlance in the north…it really cheers me up when i hear it..
No blazing Christmas pud with lashings of custard, or sherry trifle? What about the Yorkshires, roast spuds, chestnut stuffing, SPROUTS and oodles of thick giblet gravy? Christmas cake with cheshire cheese, hot mince pies and brandy cream, cold meat leftovers with cheese, biscuits and pickles on boxing day. Also, you neglected Bubble and Squeak, the quintessential boxing day breakfast. You put your bread sauce on your gammon/ham, although I personally prefer horseradish.
I would love to have Bubble & Squeak on Boxing Day! We usually have ham on Christmas Eve and then fried ham and eggs on Christmas morning breakfast. Delish!
You missed out lots of British things. Roast potatoes. Yorkshire Puddings. Brussels Sprouts. Christmas Pudding and mince pies with brandy sauce. What Americans call Pigs in Blankets we call sausage rolls - although they are made with proper sausages and flaky pastry.
I grew up with pigs in blankets that used mini hot dogs and biscuit dough... they were tiny! Definitely a far cry from the proper British sausage roll! Seems like Christmas dinner for British people is a sundae roast dinner plus a million other things 🤣
17:21 Thought you said "we religious" but not totally convinced you said "we really just" :)
😆😆😆 I am pretty religious, but hopefully I have better grammar than that! I guess I just need to work on my elocution! 😉
"Turducken" really, if you hadn't informed us what that was I would have defiantly steered clear that one!
Yeah, I would have guessed it's a turkey/duck crossbreed though it would require some weird science to accomplish.
You STILL should steer clear... nasty business that! haha
Love christmas crackers!
It has been fun introducing them to so many of our American friends. The children LOVE them!
Curious about what people think. Isn't it fun how fascinated we are with cultural traditions celebrated by English-speaking countries? We are just a tad bit different yet those differences enthrall us. Responses are welcome!
I guess we really shouldn't assume that our cultures will be similar just because we speak the same language. So it's interesting to see where our cultures differ.🇬🇧🇺🇸