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 ❤️❤️🎄

Did Anyone see Mary Berry's Christmas on TV the other night?

She does a full Traditional Xmas dinner and cooks virtually everything the day before.

To avoid a dry Turkey, I slice into the skin and force butter into it, cover with bacon, and then every 30 minutes I baste it with the juices.

I also cook it wrapped in loose foil, and then remove the foil for the last 45minutes for it to crisp up on the outside.

I also stuff oranges and cranberries up it's arse into the cavity 😂 but you have a crown so won't need to do this.

For best roasties - peel, cut at sharp angles, quite small - par boil for 10 mins. Then drain - leave in a colander above pan with a little bit of heat beneath to get the moisture out. Then rough them about in the dry pan with lid on.

pre heat ordinary cheap vegetable oil to 220c / 200. (I’ve faffed about with olive oil, goose fat, you name it). Put spuds in - roll them about leaving spaces around each. 45 mins. Turn them half way thro. Roasties makes the meal
imho.

Don't forget the Yorkshire puddings, that would be an unforgivable sin in our house!

DH is quite good at turkey - I believe he puts butter under the skin and covers with bacon

I wouldn't have anything with cheese on my Christmas dinner as the taste can overpower the rest. But if you're dead set on macaroni cheese then make sure it stays fully separate and dish it up on the table, don't plate it in the kitchen (not sure what your plan is for that!). I would also ditch the cauliflower cheese entirely because the smell is disgusting!

I did! It was a revelation TBH (embarrassingly so!)

DS1 is going to attempt her roast potatoes this year which involves roasting them today and reheating tomorrow.

Just put them in the fridge (or covered outside if it's cold). Mine have never gone black.

I did that, they ended up with bits of black on them, not quite sure why.

Peeled, uncooked potatoes will go black. I guess if you don’t parboil them enough, this may still happen?

If your oven is really full it can take longer to cook stuff. Also, oven space is at a premium - so you need to plan for space and timings.

So my ideal is always to get everything "cooked" that can be reheated without impacting the flavour. Then all you have to do it reheat it on the day and, as long as it is hot, it is good - you will not have to reheat for as long as you need to cook. Hence over space is easier to juggle.

So Today:
Make your stuffing balls and cook today.
Ditto pigs in blankets.
Make gravy today - have in a saucepan to reheat on hob
Cheese sauce (for Mac and Cauli). Put in microwavable jug to reheat

Then you just have to reheat these.

Also, prep veg - but don't cook.

Then on the day
Turkey in/out at least an hour before you need it.
Whilst this doing par-boil pots/cook macaroni/boil cauli/microwave to reheat cheese sauce.
Once turkey out put in the oven:
Potatoes/Carrots/Sprouts (or fry carrots/sprouts if easier oven space wise)
Mac n Cheese/Cauli Cheese (as cauli/pasta/sauce all hot they won't take too long
Reheat pigs/stuffing - cooked - so even if they only reheat to warm/hot they won't be raw in the middle.
Reheat gravy

Frozen yorkies take c 5 minutes - so actually could be cooked whilst everything else been taken out/dishing up.

Work out if all the reheat stuff will fit in your oven/ovens at the same time. If not, what can shift (grill the cauli/mac - as hot it will just be to brown them? Or grill the pigs on low setting as a way or reheating - they will taste good if warm- will not matter if not piping hot.

Good luck.

Next year buy good quality frozen roasties. It's so liberating. It's oven space and timings that make the meal a little daunting. If you're not confident keep it really simple. You don't need four different veg etc.

Politely ignore people suggesting you honey glaze the carrots or sauté sprouts with bacon and chestnuts. That can be something for later years when you're more confident

By decent gravy stock and cranberry. Gravy always stresses the chef. Just skim the meat juices to get rid of the visible fat and add to the bought gravy. Season to taste.

You can part cook stuffing balls and pigs in blankets today and then just pop in tomorrow but to be honest they are easy enough to slam in on high when the meat comes out.

Deffo cover the bird with bacon and work out your cooking time. No ones going to mind if things are a little late

Don't bother with starters. More washing up. And as much as I love them yorkies are just a faff that's not needed.

Unless everyone loves Xmas pudding stick to something cold and lush you've bought in. If you are doing hot pud you can microwave it to save a kitchen full of steam and the risk of chef scalds.

Set the table this evening if you can. That's what elevates Xmas dinner from a Sunday roast to an event. Crackers. Candles. Decorations etc

Ignore some of the pedants here. Even M and S sells Mac and Cheese. I'm veggie and id be happy with that

Have fun

Enjoy!,

I imagine that is the problem you need to parboil them for as long as you dare 😂. I do 8-10 mins.
If you cooked mashed potato & kept it in the fridge it wouldn't go black & neither should par boiled.

Butter under the skin and roast UPSIDE DOWN for the first 2/3rds of roasting time.
then turn right side up to finish and brown the skin - keeps all the juices in the breast, best way to roast Turkey and chicken hands down.

I think doing Mac and cheese as well as cauli cheese sounds like a lot of work. I'd buy frozen Aunt Bessie's roast potatoes and pre made stuffing for ease. Don't forget the pigs in blankets! Instant gravy (Bisto best) is easy and tastes okay too. Good luck!

You need pigs in blankets but they are sausages wrapped in bacon not the USA ones which are wrapped in pastry.

All you need to do is work out timings and if not confident make a list or set an alarm.

I do my turkey crown in my slow cooker and finish it in the oven to brown it. Stays nice and moist. Just make a trivet for it to rest on with some veg - carrots or parsnips work best, or halved onions. Then out it on when you first get up. Nice and easy.

I always give the turkey a loose fitting blanket of foil for most of the cooking time and then take off at the end to brown the skin and bacon rashers on the top, keeps it lovely and moist. If you rest the turkey as well that helps, on a plate with foil cape and then covered in tea towels. I think it's normally for about 15 minutes or so depending on how much faffing is going on.
Like others I par boil the potatoes leave to dry a bit, shake and then into hot oil, yum :)

You've forgotten the bread sauce!

Merry Christmas everyone.

What a great idea thank you. I have a slow cooker

I'll be honest - never heard of it really until this Xmas

Amazing tip thank you

Somebody else might have suggested already but you don't mention Yorkshire puddings so I'd go and get a bag of Aunt Bessie's and don't forget a jar of cranberry sauce.

Yes Ive done mine upside down before, its the best way

Also the turkey comes out about an hour before I serve it while I do the stuffing/veg/pots in the oven otherwise theres no space

Thank you so much - again a huge help and I appreciate your time in typing this out!