Please critique my Boxing Day menu

I am hosting a luncheon party for 12 family members on Boxing Day! How does this sound? Smoked salmon on toast, cream cheese, traditional accompaniments Gooseberry tarts with goat cheese crowns Arugula, pear, walnut salad Watercress soup (chilled) Beef stew (hot) with homemade rolls, mushroom butter Scallop and garlic mousse, fried shallots Asparagus, chile hollandaise Rack of lamb with mint jelly Potatoes au gratin Cider donuts, powdered sugar Strawberry sorbet, fudge sauce Drinks: Eggnog spiked with rum, tea, coffee, blueberry or lime cola Thoughts?

Sounds delicious but VERY rich. I guess I don't understand why the stew AND the lamb.
How old are the people in your family? It seems a bit much -- and the day after Christmas when most people have too much to eat, I think most people would prefer something a bit on the lighter side.
Oh .. HYACINTH!!!
Liz%20next%20door
I think it sounds wonderful, and am assuming that it will be beautifully presented luncheon buffet. But listen Mary. I want the recipe for the stew, and the scallop and garlic mousse, and I want it NOW.
Did%20I%20type%20that%20out%20loud%3F
Too much food Cold soup in December? Do a buffet or eliminate one of the meat courses Cider donuts seem inelegant when compared to the rest of the menu
I don't eat seafood or lamb or eggnog. Everything else sounds yummy.
The overelaborate preparations of the Fussy Menu Queen are a Datalounge holiday tradition!
Strawberry sorbet and asparagus??? In December???
You sound like a prissy little piss-pot. I hope you have the nearest cardiac care unit on stand-by!
Oh. My. Word. Aren't WE fancy!? Gooseberry tarts with goat cheese CROWNS! Get the HELL over yourself!
[quote]I don't eat seafood or lamb or eggnog. The children's table will be set with Kraft Mac and Cheese just for you, Lambchop.
Will you be serving it on the Royal Worcester double-glazed Avignon china, or the Royal Doulton china with the hand-painted periwinkles?
Sheridan
Sounds delicious, op.
Can I come?
how funny a pretentious American pretending to be having a Boxing Day celebration. The cream cheese was a dead give away
[quote] Cold soup in December? The OP could be in Australia or New Zealand. It's summer there, ya know.
What a bunch of stupid twaddle. It's gonna end up in the crapper the next day.
How do I get an invitation OP? Sounds wonderful.
Still having little staggers over your menu, OP
Liz%20next%20door%2C%20staggering.
What time is dinner????
Picking%20out%20my%20Christmas%20Caftan%20as%20I%20type%20this
Skip the cider doughnuts and the potatoes au gratin. Those are comfort food for Secret Santa fraus. The rest of it is great.
That's a hell of a lot of food for 12 people.
Starving%20African%20Orphans
Lord, that's a lot of food! Are you cooking all of that yourself? Is there no Chinese take-out close by? That's better after all the heavy Christmas food.
I%27m%20sure%20it%20will%20be%20swell
What a coincidence. It's exactly what I whippped up for myself for dinner tonight when I got home from work.
[quote] in other words... Please tell me how fabulous I am!
I%20already%20know%2C%20but%20want%20to%20hear%20it%20from%20you.
A bit prosaic, but for family it doesn't really matter. For Boxing Day I'd reconsider the chilled cress soup, and go with a hot creamed watercress soup so you can have a proper choice with the "stew." Drop the rolls with the stew - not right with this menu. Are the shallots on or in the mousse? Scallop mousse is dodgy, you know. Choose a lighter potato dish and add a green vegetable, please. You ARE serving this a la Russe, of course? NOT buffet? Otherwise fuck off.
If you are going to be boxing, I suggest something much lighter. Otherwise you will be vomiting all over the ring.
Cold soup on Boxing day? Could one face green liquidized stuff on Boxing day? It all sounds very nice, but simplify it. No one will have room for all that food after Christmas day.
W&W for R26.
What's Boxing day? I'm too tired to Google.
OP, are you gay? Because that menu makes you sound gay.
I'm just sayin'
Ho-hum....
Enough%20said....
[quote]Smoked salmon on toast, cream cheese, traditional accompaniments No creme fraiche?
and makes his quests sound like hogs. How much food do these people put away. You're cooking for an army.
Will you be serving colonics afterwards?
Burp
Maybe it's like a tasting menu?
Hmm...Boxing Day... No jockstrap en croute (cup optional)?
Very pedestrian.
Yum, sounds fantastic.
So pretentious.
Well, of course he's gay. How could he not be? Are we not renowned for this sort of extravagance, and deservedly so? I for one am impressed with the tasking and creativity involved with all of this, and I'm sure the guests will as well. (Might consider putting an extra fan in the powder room.)
[quote]Smoked salmon on toast On toast? With cream cheese? Must be an American. So why are you celebrating Boxing Day? If you were a Brit you'd be eating cold turkey, salad, leftover Christmas Pud and then going down the pub for the evening.
blueberry cola?
Is this The Fabulous OP? I've missed you and you're SubZero delightfulness!!
I want to throw up just reading your menu
OP - Here are my thoughts... Overall comments: I can't work out how you are structuring the menu - entree?, mains? desert? There are too many 'fancy' dishes. And there are too many rich dishes. And some of the dishes are very fiddly. "Smoked salmon on toast, cream cheese, traditional accompaniments" Is this an entree? And why on oast? "Gooseberry tarts with goat cheese crowns" Is a sweet or savoury dish? "Arugula, pear, walnut salad" Why Arugla? And what is this an accompaniment to? "Watercress soup (chilled)" Is watercress easy to obtain? And why chilled? All of the above dishes are 'fancy' and things that many people might not like. I wouldn't eat any of them. "Beef stew (hot) with homemade rolls, mushroom butter" Why homemade rolls? And why not just plain butter? "Scallop and garlic mousse, fried shallots" Is this hot or cold? What accompanies it? And why fried shallots? "Asparagus, chile hollandaise" Hot or cold? And why 'chile' hollandaise? Rack of lamb with mint jelly Potatoes au gratin Where are the other vegetables? And what about the vegetarians? "Cider donuts, powdered sugar" Can't you have these at the basketball game? "Strawberry sorbet, fudge sauce" Why fudge sauce? "Drinks: Eggnog spiked with rum, tea, coffee, blueberry or lime cola" Why blueberry? While lime cola?
I think that you are trying too hard, OP!
I agree with R45 - it seems like you're trying too hard. "Fancy" doesn't necessarily mean better.
I would like mashed potatoes and meatloaf, please.
All ingredients are readily available in Australia. You must be an Aussie.
Unlikely to have cider donuts in Australia.
Sorry OP, I'm ready to vom thinking about all the smells and how the flavors just don't go together. And it's way, way too much food. Mushroom butter sounds vile.
Lamb with mint jelly is so '50s. And does anyone even like mint jelly? There are so many better ways to serve lamb.
We're having halupnicks. Cabbage rolls and coffee... can't be beat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqvFYXybtgA
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Scrapping the donuts and potatoes (too carby) and subbing in another salad -- feta and orzo, perhaps! I cannot wait to get cooking. Yes, I'm making it all myself, and it will be served buffet-style. My family consists of many big eaters, so I'm not afraid of having too much food. All leftovers will go to my local soup kitchen. Should I also include wine or sparkling?
Gallant%20Gourmet
Yes, definitely include wine. And I'd like to bring regular Coke to drink, would that be okay?
Feta and orzo is as carby as gratin potatoes. Also, you don't serve soup or stew buffet style.
I'm RSVP'ing ...I won't be there, the meal sounds disgusting.
Now now, r56. We can't all graze at Taco Bell every day!
I wouldn't feed that shit to my dog.
Like little houses, all of them.
Anna Wintour
I hope one of your guests takes a dump on your sofa.
It is all over the map, and mint jelly is used to cover the flavor of old mutton and not to be served with lamb.
What? No spaghetti and meatballs?
This really does read like the holiday menu at a "good" hotel in Racine, Wisconsin.
Good to see you dropped the potatoes and donuts. but still too much food. You should still simplify your menu even further. How about dropping the gooseberry tarts and the watercress soup as well? A soup in a buffet just gets messy. And the arugula, pear and walnut salad sounds disgusting -- how about just a green salad instead? And you still need another vegetable dish. Every dish doesn't have to be a work of art, you know. Why are you so obsessed with impressing your family members with your fancy menu?
OP, yours is the gayest post ever on DL.
Arugula, pear and walnut salad sounds fabulous to me.
What the fuck is Boxing Day?
clueless%20southerner
Everything sounds great, but the stew doesn't fit in with the rest of the menu.
This is why they hate us.
[quote]I don't eat seafood or lamb Every host's dream guest: An adult with the culinary tastes of a bratty 8 year-old.
The menu seems a tad girly for watching a boxing match.
"What the fuck is Boxing Day?" On December 26, you take all the boxes from Christmas morning and recycle them. And then you have lunch. Boxing Day.
OP - Americans only care about Boxing Day if we are invited over to eat.
Canada%20Almost%20American
OP, are you and your family in service?
Queen Victoria
So many clods here. Ho ho for the sports posts. Idiots. OP, don't add that salad. You really are going over with it. Enough. Ignore the ass chiding the mint jelly. Lamb is perfectly well serves with it, especially if it is a family favorite OR if the family is unfamiliar with it. Remember to have fun.
Boxing Day was traditionally the servant staff celebrated Christmas. I think I do know that when we were in London one Christmas, the city was pretty much shut down both days. No tube service on Christmas. cabs were double the price. No West End theatre performances either day.
I love the spirit with which OP R53 reads it all and moves right along. Host with the Most.
Boxing Day is leftovers from Christmas Day plus something a cold ham if there won't be enough. It's never anything that fancy or fussy. It's supposed to be a hyper-relaxed, minimal cook type of a day. The idea of cooking an elaborate menu for it is just bizarre. Simple cold cuts plus salad and whatever and then the leftover Christmas pudding and another dessert choice in case people don't want more pudding.
I thought it was something like the Super Bowl, but instead people would gather to watch a boxing match.
WTF is "orzo"?
I call BS on OP / r53. No respectable soup kitchen would accept the half eaten watercress soup or scallop mousse (sounds gross by the way)from some unknown twit schlepping it in after fingering it all day.
So how was it OP? Did you prepare your menu as planned or did you vary it according to the "collective wisdom" of DL posters? Was it a resounding success? I am assumming you are an Aussie so this is the day after here.
It was a "knock-out" in the first round.
Neighbor,( but you didn't hear from me)
Orzo is rice shaped pasta
It could be a "Low T" meeting.
Not enough food.
Chaz%20Bono
A strange, non-complementary assortment of ultra rich foods. I'm sure most people are still trying to digest the last few days of excessive dinners. Make sure you have candles and air freshener in your toilet area, and I might suggest covering your furniture with some sort of plastic.
The lamb was loaded with e-coli and Aunt Marg is apparently allergic to shellfish. 2 dead. 7 in hospital.
op
Was Helena invited? Did she behave?
25% success rate then "small" op, R88 assuming the remaining 3 guests are all healthy and asked for third helping. You can work on that for next year's menu. Congratulations for trying.
[quote]I wouldn't feed that shit to my dog. He fed this to his dog on the day after Boxing Day. He no longer has a dog.
All you're saying OP is that you grew up trash and are now trying to overcompensate for your feelings of inferiority. All of those carbs paired with stew? I pity people like yourself who live in a fantasy and are always scheming for the approval of others. You're a silly person.
Where can I get a hamburger?
Ick.
Have take-out pizza on standby. Vomitrocious array of crap.
Ha ha [R86]: Not enough food! Yes, it is a rather paltry offering. GG, you're getting cheap and stingy. Come on.