Top tips needed to make cooking Christmas lunch easy

[Kendodd]

What can I do in advance?

I plan to prepare the day before-
Stuffing- to be cooked on the day
Mashed carrots and swede- cooked and to be microwaved on the day
Sprouts prepared- to be cooked on the day
Red cabbage- cooked and to be microwaved on the day
Sausages with bacon wrapped round- to be cooked on the day
Bread sauce- to be microwaved

What else can I do in advance and do you think any of the above will suffer if not done from scratch on the day?

If I quarter onions for roasting the day before will they be ok over night?
If I par boil potatoes and parsnips will they go brown if left in the fridge overnight?
I was planning to make prawn cocktail with cubes of avocado mixed in as a started. Will this be ok if made the day before or will the avocado go brown?

Also money saving tip needed- can I use lard instead of goose fat for roasting?

Thank you in advance MNers.

I just prepare everything on xmas eve - not cooked though and then on the day I cook the vegtables par boiled only and then pop in a hostess, by the time we eat they are cooked lovely.

lay the tablwe on xmas eve and put the crackers etc out ready with napkins

yes you can use lard for cooking the potatoes - but they will not have the same flavour

Things like prepping all the other veg abd leaving in pans or bowls of water.

You can par boil the potatoes in advance thn freeze them on a tray. On the day you need to get the fat really hot and throw in the potatoes straight from the freezer. If you're not sure, have a practice run.

Am planning to make and freeze the red cabbage too.

Agree with you on the prawn cocktail, avocado will probably go brown and the lettuce will wilt if the sauce comes into contact with it before being served.

Not doing onions so can't help you on that one sorry.

do you have a freezer? Of your list, the sprouts are the only thing I wouldn't make/prep ahead and freeze (tho I expect you could).

We also grill the bacon on Christmas Eve and have bacon butties for breakfast. I've got one of those bacon microwave things from Poundland to warm it up. You really wouldn't know that they hadn't just been cooked.

(I meant the first list re freezing, obviously not prawn cocktail/avocado!) Par boiled pots can be frozen as can parsnips (I like Delia's parmesan roasted parsnips and they are fine)

Top tips, thank you.

I will boil the spuds/parsnips and freeze them.
Cooking them with lard though, do they still taste nice?

your red cabbage will freeze beautifully if you don't want to do it the day before

onions will be grand overnight

pots can be parboiled, given a good bash in pan, coated in semolina and then frosen.

I wouldn't chop the avocado till the morning.

It's Christmas, I'd use goosefat not lard unless you're really skint.

Coat pots in semolina? what does that do?

it makes them all crunchy!

makes the roast potaos crunchy

Go out for lunch

Both a money and time saving tip is to only use just enough water to cover the veg. There's no need to have veg in massive pots of water as it just takes ages to heat up and gets the kitchen all steamy.

Also, sandwich bags are your friends - use them for your peeled sprouts, quartered onions etc the night before then you don't have extra washing up.

Using clotted cream or mascapone on your Christmas pudding is also handy - no prep, so far easier than custard.

Get the whole lot from M+S and shove it in the oven/microwave at the appropriate time. Expensive but worth it!

You can make your stuffing now and freeze it. You can make your breadcrumbs now and freeze them.

I wouldn't cook your vegetables the day before and reheat in the microwave - just prep them the night before (potatoes keep overnight in a bowl of water) and cook them on the day.

You could try beef dripping rather than lard for the pots - still cheap but a bit tastier IMO.

I wouldn't bother with a starter for Christmas Dinner. We have never ever had a starter, and certainly haven't missed it.

Just keep telling yourself "its just a roast dinner". And limit the number of veg and extras.

I always cook the turkey on Christmas eve and then just carve it, "drizzle" a bit of stock (slightly watered down juices from the roasting tin) over it, cover with foil and pop at bottom of oven for 20 mins before dish up time. It warms up, doesn't dry out and means (1) you can plan your timings without the will it/won't it hassle of the turkey's cooking time, and (2) you have you whole oven for all the really important bits like your spuds, parsnips, chipolatas etc. Also make bread sauce and peel all veg except the parsnips the day before. Plus I also find it helps to have made big inroads into the sherry before you start any of this

Asda have really cheap goose fat atm. It's on offer.

Tips from a seasoned Christmas dinner cooker (41 years so far).

1. No starters. Fills everyone up and small children get irritable at the table. Instead, buy (do not make!) lovely small canapes (Waitrose or M & S) which you can lay out on a tray and put out in the living room to nibble with your champagne pre-lunch. Things on sticks/smoked salmon/blinis/prawns all good. You won't need many so probably cheaper than prawn cocktails. Also avocado is always over-ripe or under-ripe (bitter experience!).

1. If you can afford it, buy your stuffing/red cabbage/sausage and bacon rolls from M & S and freeze. Defrost night before. Red cabbage then put in serving dish and microwaved. Alternatively if making yourself you can do all the prep beforehand. Red cabbage freezes very well.

1. DO NOT USE LARD. Sorry to shout. The cost of goose fat for roasties more than worth it for a special occasion. Or you could use duck fat, which is cheaper. Lard will taste of pork fat, which it is.

1. Prepare all veg on Christmas Eve and leave in cold water (parsnips, potatoes, carrots, sprouts, whatever). No need to freeze. Just dry thoroughly and quickly par-boil potatoes and parsnips in the morning (can do this early on).

1. Take care with turkey cooking. Very easy to overcook and it gets dry. Stick to the exact timings given by Delia, but be prepared to alter if bird looks like cooking too quickly. We take ours out, cover with foil and rest for at least 30 minutes before carving.

1. Carve in the kitchen and plate up turkey, sausages, bacon etc individually. All veg served in warmed vegetable dishes.

1. Make Delia's cranberry sauce on Christmas Eve - dead easy and not expensive. Looks lovely in a glass dish.

1. Have a ready-make alternative dessert available, especially for the children. Use M & S ready-made custard for the Christmas pud, with their brandy butter as an alternative. Or fresh cream. You don't want to be making custard at the end of it all that cooking.

I have in the past made everything from scratch. It is never worth it. Much better to be relaxed and have the time to play with the children.

re lard for roast tatties......... trex or similar white veg fat is really way better than lard - and you can use leftovers for making pastry. Goose fat is (IMHO) the best, but not worth the price unless you are loaded. I only ever use it if we are having goose anyway.

41 years, surely its someone else's turn?

I like the idea of canapes I might go for that. The only problem would be space in the oven if we wanted anything hot.

The consensus seems to be that lard is no replacement for goose fat, so I'll go with the goose fat, wish it came in blocks not jars though.

would just like to repeat ( as a massive foodie!!!) that there are cheaper options to goose fat - trex etc..............