To not know how to cook a Christmas dinner?

[boto]

Ok I need help organising cooking Christmas Day. Please share your wisdom MNers!

(I am a fine cook and enjoy cooking, but usually cook a regular roast dinner for 2 and not a full Christmas dinner for 9!)

I am cooking for 6 adults and 3 children.

Things I definitely need to cook are lamb leg, turkey crown, potatoes (might cheat and use frozen ones), roast carrots and parsnips, Yorkshire puds, boiled broccoli, pigs in blankets (will use ready prepared), stuffing (will use ready prepared)

and gravy.

Would also like to do a Brussels/chestnut/pancetta dish and possibly brazed red cabbage. (But these are only if space and equipment allows)

Have access to small fan oven (can fit 3 trays), separate grill, 4 hobs, microwave, slow cooker, pressure cooker and possibly steamer.

How on earth am I going to have all this hot and ready to eat at the same time

Dinner will be at 3ish. Have time to prepare things the day before (but not great at reheating things and get a bit twitchy about reheating meat).

Please MNers will you help me devise an exact plan for how to make this happen?

Don't do frozen spuds but you can definitely get away with fore made Yorkers in this situation. Just get some posher ones. Will any of the meat fit in your slow cooker? I'd cook the lamb earlier and leave it to rest under foil and the crown in the sc for example. Peel and par boil roasts the night before. They are at their best when boiled and cooked before cooking, extra crispy. Prep all the veg too. You can do the cabbage in advance too and re heat same with the Brussels dish then you just need to bang it all in the oven once the meat comes out. The cabbage can go in the micro and the broccoli on the hob. Yorkshire's in last while serving the rest.

The only hard thing about a roast is the timing. It makes me feel better to write it all down with times to do it.

Apart from that, prep your veg the day before and don't forget to factor in resting time for your meat

Roast potatoes do not need animal fat. You just need to par boil them, fluff them up in the pan with a little semolina (not much) and then roast them in oil and a little butter.
If you can roast them around the chicken then even better but Goose fat does nothing for them at all.

Do your fancy veggies the night before to heat up on the day.
Time your meats to be ready 1hr 15 mins before serving. Take them out of the oven, wrap in tin foil shiny side down on the meat then wrap in a tea tower and bathroom towel over the top. They will still be nicely hot when opened for carving.
Buy the roasties ready made and delete the Yorkshires (too much last minute faff).
Once the meat is done nothing else should take more than 1 hr to cook.

I never put the veg that go on the hob on until I've taken the turkey out to rest. And I'd do the braised cabbage thing the night before, because it tastes even better on the 2nd day.

My method used to be prep veg, put turkey on, go to pub, come back 2 hours later, put (parboiled) pots and parsnips in. Drink champagne.

The only time this method failed was when the gas pressure was so low that the turkey, which should have been ready at 3, wasn't actually done until 5.30. It was a lovely meal, but one or two guests were too pissed to enjoy it.

All my Christmas dinner is already in the freezer thanks to M & S, no faff no bother.

Planning a very relaxed time

This was my plan from last year. But we intended to eat at 6pm (adjust times as relevant):

Chicken

Pork mince stuffing

Roasties

Parsnips

Pigs in blankets

Gravy

Yorkshires

Chestnuts
Shredded Brussels
Bacon bits

Cauliflower and cheese

Timing:
Oven on 3:15
Roast chicken 3:30- 5:20

3:15 blanket the pigs

3:30pm make Yorkshire batter and let rest

3:45 Peel and cut potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, shred Brussels

4:15 boil cauliflower and make cheese sauce

4:55 Boil potatoes for 30min
(5:35mash)

5pm put in oven:
Stuffing stars 4:50-5:20
Honey Parsnips 4:50-5:20
Pigs in blankets 4:50-5:20
5-5:20 put Cauliflower cheese in oven (on bottom)

5:10 Turn oven up 5:20 remove food and leave to heat - add Yorkshire for 25min

5:20 Use chicken liquid to make gravy

5:30 start frying bacon

5:35 mash mash

Add shredded Brussels and chestnuts to bacon and fry until done.

5:45-6pm eat

No mention of beef in your menu, so cross the Yorkshire puddings off your list, one less thing to worry about!

This!

For me it's all about timings and prep beforehand. If someone offers to peel/cut veg - e.g. sprouts then take them up on it and if possible and room prep the night before and in fridge.

I've also written/marked on ipad/phone lists of timings/set up timers of things to go on, so e.g. make gravy, when to put in certain veg, make bread sauce etc.

Delia's old style cook books (the black ones) are my go to for this sort of food but you may have ones you prefer.

I also prefer no one else in my tiny kitchen to help but you may want someone to help out. Keep plenty of things like aloe vera gel on hand for burns - gave myself a nasty burn on my wrist one year taking turkey out and had nothing for it - partner had to drive to nearest emergency chemist in town as we were in a cottage in middle of nowhere (but near a small town as well as village it turned out).

What dessert do you have planned? My fail safe for this is trifle made day or 2 days before with custard and add cream and decorations on the day. Lace it with plenty of trifle so annoying relatives fall asleep...

@GrannytoaUnicorn

Not with poultry they're not 🤮

When I was growing up in Yorkshire, Yorkshire puddings and gravy were the starter before any Sunday roast regardless of whether it was beef or a chicken or anything else.

But it was also a quarter of a huge YP.

Also toad in the hole has been around for decades (?centuries) and has no beef.