frozen roast potatoes are for emergencies not for Christmas day

[PrincessScrumpy]

I made a double chocolate baked cheese cake for Christmas with the in-laws - they didn't eat it and chose tesco value chocolate cake over my homemade dessert. I had to laugh - my dessert was yummy and dh and dd both ate mine. dh was horrified that his family were so rude and also by their taste buds.

I was alarmed when I went to the fridge on Christmas eve for dd's milk to see no sign of a Christmas dinner. My assumptions were correct - all from the freezer - even the veg including roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings to go with the Iceland roast pork and lamb.

Luckily, my aunt made a fab Christmas dinner on Monday so at least I've had real Christmas dinner.

Don't mean to sound snobby, but I come from a family that enjoys homemade food.

I just want to add, in amongst all of this potato slinging, that:

1. Washing and peeling 3-4kg worth of spuds does take a fair amount of time and effort!

1. I am crap at parboiling potatoes - use the largest pot imaginable and the ones at the bottom have always fallen apart by the time the ones at the top are ready. I use a steamer for "par-steaming" instead :).

1. Add to that washing, peeling and chopping carrots, peeling and preparing parsnips, washing, scoring sprouts and not forgetting the chestnuts, pancetta and pinenuts, making pigs in blankets, slicing and braising red cabbage... (we have always cheated on the stuffing)

1. Catering for vegetarians and those on restricted diets also....

1. Cooking for 12-15 adults plus 4 children under 4 with a 4 ring gas hob and 1 1/2 ovens requires military preparation and timing. The only way we can heat the plates is to stick them in a bath of hot water... or I told my sister to use the airing cupboard this year ;).

1. Too many cooks in the kitchen always makes me blow a fuse. Especially when my sister is removing my stuff from the oven half-cooked to make room for hers :o.

1. The joint is the least of my worries - that's the easy bit!

I cook a lot from scratch. When it's my turn to do Christmas dinner it's pretty much done from scratch. I also think that M&S pre-prepared roasties and parsnips are crap in comparison to the home-made version. But I would NEVER be anything but GRATEFUL to my MIL for doing the Christmas dinner when it's her turn!

You need to feed them more frozen roasties. They are clearing missing a key nutrient that contributes to the enjoyment of the wii!

Look all you people with frozen veg and small kitchens. Don't you realise if you just made more of an effort in life, you too could be much richer and have a big kitchen like Lequeen's. Your choice of potato is indicative of your lack of self-motivation and self-advancement. No wonder your kitchen is small.

Arf @Fellatio

Love it :o

Cannot believe how many comments this has got - really wasn't that stessed about it all - maybe should have worded the 1st bit better. This isn't about class - In-laws are not better or worse than me imo.

Cheesecake wasn't "vile" but even if it was, a kind "thank you" would have been nice - in the same way I thanked MIL for dinner. It's a courtesy thing.

I think some people are a bit "class" obsessed in this thread! Not sure frozen potatoes are a sign of class, just cooking style and taste.

I used frozen sprouts on Christmas day.

Well you should leave MN immediately Thevisitor

Princess I see your points but what made you think this was a thread that would get a kind reception on mumsnet?!
Many people take shortcuts for big Christmas dinners but I would agree that the roast potatoes are not the thing to compromise on.

Ready cooked roasties and Yorkshires are the work of the devil IMO!

I find it sad that people will buy and eat such crap, all full of chemicals. Is it due to laziness? Lack of confidence in their own cooking skills, or just proof that people will eat any old crap if a supermarket labels it as a valid foodstuff?

That said, sitting wincing through tasteless meals at a relatives at Christmas is a long held tradition in my family...I am shuddering now at the memory of my aunt's over sweet trifle made with the cheapest cooking sherry and also her thrice boiled sprouts.
Not served together but they may as well have been.

laziness here mostly

I have mastered the art of the perfect non- mushy non-sulpherous sprout, courtesy of my mum who got it from Gordon Ramsay I think.

You bring salted water to the boil, THEN plop in sprouts, boil them (not simmer) repidly for 8 mins exactly then strain them and run them under the cold tap to stop them cooking any further. Not so much they they go completely cold though. Or you can make them completely cold, in advance, then warm them through in a pan with melted butter, or the fat from frizzled pancetta. They are perfect.

I should have told you this last week shouldn't I?

Sprouts should be steamed. Frozen veg are excellent cos they retain the vitamins far longer than fresh.

Usual Suspect, I may hang in here a little longer.

repidly? You from new zealand?

Not according to Gordon, TheVisitor. Do you want to take this outside?

I did previously steam them but I have seen the light now.

vanitypear: It was a bit tongue in cheek and I'm not shocked at people's opinions, just at how nasty some people are in their wording. When I asked for advice re childbirth I got 9 replies, this has more than 200.

Was the Iceland meat free range?

I do hope so Thevisitor I need some lazy arse frozen veg allies

I've suddenly had enough of reading on Mumsnet that frozen vegetables are full of crap /chemical / devoid of nutrients. Nothing personal, Miggsie, it was just your post that pushed me over the edge (into the freezer, hurrah!)

Bessie's spuds contain:
Potato (91%)
Vegetable Oil
Batter (contains: Wheat Flour; Dextrin; Salt; Modified Tapioca Starch; Skimmed Milk Powder; Dextrose; Turmeric; Paprika Extract)
Stabiliser (E450)

E450 is a mineral salt, one of the ingredients in baking powder.

Numerous studies have shown that frozen veg contain MORE of their natural nutrients than 'fresh' from the supermarket. 'Fresh' fruit & veg have often been stored for weeks or months in an artifical atmosphere.

If you wanna be snobbish about the way you cook, go ahead. But don't label all convenience as crap and/or bad for you. You don't know what you're talking about.

Well, Fellatio, Gordon is a bit of an arse.

I will often use frozon for big family meals. Especially if I am cooking it having been up for 30 hours and just in from a night shift with no prospect of sleep until that night.

"repidly? You from new zealand?"

and giggle - now I've forgotten what I was going to say

Oh yes, LeQueen is, in my considered opinion, about as real as BonsoirAnna. A parody, if you will. It is actually much harder to be that smug if you can't begin every sentence with Well, in Fraaaaaaaance we do it like this. LeQueen I salute you for your skills in smuggery.

I love LQ! She's ace, although I do think she's been watching too many Nigella smugfests and trying to pass off her life off as such. Come on LeQueen, fess up; it's you sweating away in the kitchen whilst Mr LQ scratches his bum in front of christmas Top Gear whilst your guests are tossing Ferrero Rocher into their traps whilst fighting over the megadrive or whatever console in en vogue nowadays.

And the best way to not get stressed about Christmas dinner is not to cook for 12-15 people.

Frozen roasties and yorkies taste vile.

I would rather do without the later, which surely better suit beef than poultry.

As for roasties. Why are they such hard work?
In casa Litchick, they just sit there in their tin for 50 mins. Do other people have more comlex methods?