Help a non British person with British Xmas dinner?

[RiceRiceBaby16]

My AIBU I guess can be- am I being unreasonable to think a non Brit can pull off cooking a British Xmas dinner? but really posting here for traffic...

I know everyone's busy but please HELP if you have a moment. Yes Google exists but I trust MN more😂

Having guests over tomorrow afternoon and my main aim is to cook / prepare as much as I can tonight when my 1 year old is asleep. I won't manage it all tomorrow with him awake. My main questions...

Out of these dishes, which ones can be cooked today and heated tomorrow and they won't taste awful??...

Turkey crown
Mac n Cheese (not traditional Xmas dinner I know)
Roasted veggies (carrots, lsprouts)
Stuffing
Cauliflower cheese
Roast potatoes (perhaps par boil today to roast tomorrow? Or will that turn out shit?)

lastly... any tips on cooking the turkey crown so it isn't dry? Never cooked turkey before in my life...

Any advice appreciated...Merry Christmas to all ❤️❤️🎄

P.S I've obviously never cooked a Xmas dinner / proper roast before, hence the very basic, "might be obvious" questions

Baste baste baste! Every so often baste the turkey with the juices. Move it around a bit. You can add bacon if you are worried about it getting too crisp. Never reheat turkey, it takes like crap if you do and it WILL go dry.

The vegetables are fine to pre-do though they taste a bit better on the day.

Mac n Cheese? Seriously? Oh stop! :P

Stuffing you can do ahead of time, its easy to make though if its pre-packed.

I'd say do the potatoes on the day, otherwise they go a bit dark and manky. When you boil then, drain the water and bash them around the pan. Get them to start flaking around the edges, then cook them longer than you think. The bashing will leave them crispy on the outside.

Mac and cheese could be reheated and be fine.

You can definitely parboil potatoes and roast tomorrow.

Stuffing can be prepared today and put in the oven tomorrow.

I only cook turkey once a year so I'm not an expert. I think the crown does tend to be drier but just baste it well.

I hope you have a lovely Christmas

Stuffing.
I would make the cauliflower cheese as far as cooking the cauliflower and sauce, but would do the final cooking with cheese on top tomorrow.
Macaroni cheese.

Otherwise, today is for veg prep. Put the carrots and sprouts in saucepans with a damp piece of kitchen towel on top. Yes, you can parboil the potatoes today, but make sure to drain them thoroughly.

Also Merry Christmas to you!

For a truly British Christmas dinner, make it as bland as you can with tonnes of thick, lumpy gravy (kidding). If you do the gravy though, add a bit of the turkey juice to the gravy as that makes it taste better. Don't forget to season with salt etc otherwise it is rather tasteless.

Is Mac n cheese just macaroni cheese? I’ve never heard it called that before!

Not sure about cooking stuff today and reheating tomorrow but I usually peel the potatoes today and leave in a pan of cold water overnight, then parboiled tomorrow.

Not sure if it is the same for a crown as a whole turkey, but we normally time things so the turkey has finished cooking up to an hour before everything else is ready, then wrap it in foil, which keeps it hot and moist.

I appreciate neither of these answers the main point of getting as much out the way whilst your toddler sleeps!

This is so useful. Thank you all!!! Still reading, I'll stick to cooking the turkey tomorrow definitely

I weave streaky bacon over the top of the turkey crown which helps keep it moist

Yes Mac n cheese is Macaroni cheese
I'm just making that one as I love it and never made it myself before

Haha good one 😂 great tip on the gravy thank you

Good advice on the turkey though thank you :)

Mac n cheese and cauliflower cheese don't belong in a Christmas dinner. The cheese will spoil the taste of the rest of the dinner.

Roast meat - marinate ahead & baste frequently
Stuffing balls - roll into balls ahead
Roast potatoes - peel and parboil ahead
Carrots - bung in oven with a bit of honey
Braised red cabbage easy to reheat
Brussels - if you have chestnuts then lightly saute in garlic & butter
Parsnips - bung in with carrots

www.bbcgoodfood.com/feature/christmas-dinner

Swap the mac n cheese for Yorkshire puddings

There are no rules for xmas dinner. Except that your dish is called macaroni cheese not 'mac n cheese' (shudder)

We have turkey, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrot and swede mash, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, yorkshires.

Today is the xmas eve table, food out all day to pick at, sliced meats, olives, toms, cue, pickled onions, pork pie, cheese, quiche, gammon tonight with some red cabbage

Will peel and keep potatoes in water until tomorrow

Mac n cheese done today to heat tomorrow

Cauliflower steamed today and sauce made tomorrow to bake it in

Stuffing prepared today cooked tomorrow

Turkey seasoned today? And cooked tomorrow

Veggies in tins today with wet paper towel on top ready to roast tomorrow

Sounds like a manageable plan, I think! You're all great. Will keep reading if anyone has any other useful tips

I wouldn't do this myself as I love the smell of the turkey roasting on Christmas Day, but dozens of MNers swear by cooking the turkey today, letting it cool, carving into slices, packing the slices into a container with a good lid, storing in the fridge overnight and either reheating tomorrow in the gravy (very gently, just to warm it through), or not bothering to re-heat and just putting on a hot plate with everything else and pouring hot gravy over the meat. They claim it tastes fine and is moist. So that's an option.

As for everything else, if you have the stuffing made up, the cauliflower cheese ready to put in the oven, macaroni cheese ditto, sprouts and carrots done today, and the potatoes parboiled either first thing tomorrow or today (another thing I've never tried but others swear by it) then it's really just a matter of pre-heating the oven and putting them in for the requisite time. Is your oven big enough to fit everything in at once? The parboiled potatoes should go into hot oil, so preheat the roasting tin with oil or fat in it, take it out, put the potatoes in and move them about so they get a good coating of oil, put back on the top shelf. They'll need longer than anything else except the turkey.

Good luck!

For really nice stuffing I use fresh breadcrumbs
chop a couple of onions and add butter. wrap in a foil parcel and add fresh chopped mixed herbs (or dried sage and rosemary)

its lovely

It's the American name for it that a lot of people in the Uk are adopting.

Hmm good point about those two not being part of it. Might miss the cauli cheese but just keep the mac n cheese as a side for me because I really want it 😂 I'm not a huge fan of meat as well

OP If you want Mac n' Cheese then go for it I say ! Eat whatever you love and never mind what anyone says.
I know my son would be amazed and surprised and delighted if I produced Mac n' Cheese at any time never mind Christmas ..lol

I always love mushy peas and have been known to do that for Christmas dinner and tinned new potatoes as well... on top of all the rest.

These days it is more of a feast for my eyes than on my plate as I can't eat a lot of dinner in one go any more, but there is always boxing day.. ha ha!

I've got Yorkies... frozen ones I'll be honest, maybe I'll try make my own next year once
Little ones bigger!

Sorry to offend 😂 I've always called it mac n cheese growing up

OP - lots of good advice but if you were following my Mum's MO, you should be boiling the sprouts like fury already so they are properly ruined by tomorrow.

If you can squeeze some butter under the skin of your Turkey, that will help keep it juicy.
I always cook my meat the day prior, that leaves more oven space for stuffing, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes etc.
buy as much pre made as you’re happy with, Marks & Spencer do lovely pre made pigs, red cabbage , stuffing etc. No dishes to wash as a bonus.