prep with xmas dinner

[lilly153]

im hopeless i usualy spend hours in the kitchen on xmas day cooking because i never prep anything but my son is a bit older now so defo dont want to be doing that this year

what do use do to make things a little easier on xmas day

ive seen a few of use saying prep the veg and potatoes but how do u do this do u leave them soaking in water over night in the fridge or what?

thanks in advance

[flossie64]

You can peel and freze your carrots and parsnips up to a month before .
Make your bread sauce and freeze that.
Sprouts can be prepped then kept in pplastic bag, in salad drawer for a couple of days .
Potatoes can be done and kept in water overnight, but I always find fridge space is at a premium so do this on the day.
Another option for keeping them is to do put in a sealed tub ,with water and keep incool garage. HTH

[mummyofexitedprincesses]

I prep a lot on Christmas Eve and put things in water. I also cheat with pigs in blankets and similar trimmings and get (nice) shop bought ones. It is my Christmas too so I don't want to be in the kitchen all day. How many are you cooking for?

[lilly153]

im only cooking for 3 mabee 4 depending on mil but i always cook a chicken a ham joint roast potatoes veg and then sauces prob doesnt sound that much mabee just need to organise things a bit better

[MamaVoo]

I'm planning on buying everything pre-prepped and ready to bung in the oven from M&S. Christmas day is not a day to be stuck in the kitchen.

[flossie64]

If you are doing a ham ,cook that on Xmas eve , it will keep really well for a few days.
We do a ham and have it with mash and cauliflower cheese on Xmas eve every year, and the rest is used up over the holiday in sandwwiches etc.

[cherrymonster]

cook the meat on christmas eve, peel and cut up the veg, put them in saucepans of water on christmas eve and leave on the hob overnight. make pigs in blankets, put on plate and put clingfilm over, put in fridge overnight, same with stuffing balls. i do all this, then cooking christmas day is really simple, only gotta do the spuds, boil the veg and put other stuff in the oven

[deemented]

I do everything on Christmas eve. I prep all veg, roast my turkey crown, make my stuffing up. Spuds, carrots and sprouts are fine in water overnight - i just change water to boil them in. The only thing i do cook on Christmas day is the roasties.

[CupcakesHay]

Def do parsnips in advance - Delia has a great recipe for freezing parsnips which I use, and it never fails. And prepare cauli cheese or mashed potatoes on Christmas Eve.

[MmeBlueberry]

Get Delia's Christmas book. It gives you a minute by minute guide to the last 36 hours.

I do all my veg prep on Christmas Eve (parsnips, sprouts, carrots and potatoes). I put them in ziplock bags or boxes with a little water, and keep them in the fridge.

[tefal]

I am an M&S girl for Christmas! All ready done for me so it just goes in the fridge.

[MmeBlueberry]

I don't see the point in having it all ready made. Christmas lunch is a feast and part of the joy of it is the preparation, especially if you can make the preparation a joint affair.

On the few times we have had people staying for Christmas, much of the fun was on Christmas eve with the SILs peeling brussel sprouts and other veggies. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

[lilly153]

thanks very much for all the tips will save me soo much time on xmas day :)

[RatherBe]

You can parboil potatoes and then freeze them. On the day just put them into the hot oil still frozen. I know it sounds like it shouldn't work, but it does!

[MistsAndMellow]

Oh I got Delia's book last year from DH. I had quite forgotten it might actually be useful!

[CDMforever]

Shouldn't really brag but last year DH did the turkey, ham, made gravy from scratch and parents brought over veg all ready prepared. I did, er, nowt. Bloody marvellous. Though I spose I do make the dinners for the 364 other days of the year :)

[funkybuddah]

I buy bagged ready prepped carrots, green beans, I prep spuds and parsnips the night before and leave in water (we have a lunchtime xmas dinner) and i chop the cabbage once other have started cooking.
Sausages in bacon all shop brought, frozen yorkies.
The only sauces we have are gravey, cranberry for me, mint for DP (ketchup for ds) so that doesnt take long.

We dont really do pudding but i have a nice yule log or somethign, plenty of squirty cream and ice cream.

We dont do starters either, in fact its a normal sunday roast lol

[unfitmummy]

christmas eve we do everything! we have ham for dinner on christmas eve then there's leftovers on christmas day. all veg are peeled etc and left in pans in water in the garage overnight. sausages, kilted sausages and stufing is cooked and kept in tin foil in the garage overnight. leeks in white sauce made and kept in garage, turkey cooked and juices put in gravy pan.
on christmas day just have to roast potatoes and parsnips, re-heat other veg, turkey, sausages, stuffing etc, make gravy (remove fat from top of cooled juices first). still tonnes to do that mum and i do together but much more managable! we cook for 13 on christmas day and 12 on christmas eve!

[iwilldothis]

please excuse my ignorance, but what on earth are "pigs in blankets????" //blush

[CupcakesHay]

I call sausages wrapped in bacon (YUMMMMM)pigs in blankets but i also think some people say sausages wrapped in kind of half pastry bits are pigs in blankets too - so kind of a bit sausage roll like.

[iwilldothis]

ah, ok, thank you, cupcakes. Yes, I agree, they're yummmmmmmm....just never heard them called that before! :)