First solo attempt at Christmas dinner.

[ChristmasBreak]

This will be my first year hosting Christmas at our new house and cooking for the whole family - seven adults (one vegetarian) and three children.

I am not usually a complete disaster in the kitchen but don't usually cook for so many and am nervous about holding it all together as would really like everyone to enjoy after a bit of a rubbish year.

Anyone have any tips to make it extra special / otherwise survivable?

A stockpile of wine to drown my sorrows celebrate with afterwards obviously goes without saying.

I'm in the same boat and am planning the following:

• a couple of trial runs in the weeks leading up to Christmas (which doesn't give me long - eek!) Cracked the roast potatoes this week (have never been great at them and at nearly 40 I thought I really should learn!) but the parsnips stuck to the dish so need some more thought - this is what I want to find out now, not on Christmas morning!

• lots of lists - everything from timings to what food goes in which serving dish so I don't run out. I'll list each meal and the drinks that go with it then what I need to buy, what I can prepare in advance (as much as I can), how long it will take to make etc.

• keeping things simple wherever possible so not making anything too complicated or anything I've never made before.

• not feeling pressured to make everything from scratch - DD loves Yorkshire pudding so I'd like her to have them with her dinner but making them would be one more thing to worry about so a couple of Tesco own brand Aunt Bessie's popped in the oven at the last minute will be fine.

• some kind of plan to keep people out of the kitchen while I'm cooking except for DH who is good at whisking away dirty pans and keeping things tidy. Everyone else's chat, advice etc will have to wait until later or I will screw something up!

• a large glass of gin on the go at all times :)

Hope yours goes well, good luck!

Remember it's only a roast dinner.
Write a time plan (or get a food magazine and copy/adapt theirs)
Make sure you have enough pans, oven space, serving dishes etc.
Forget the starter, and have something cold.

Don't start drinking until you've got everything out of the oven. Burns are painful!

Avoid boiling pans:
Parboil and freeze the roast spuds beforehand and cook from frozen.
Xmas pud can be steamed in a slow-cooker.

Ready made stock is handy for gravy.

Accept all compliments and sit back and relax while someone else clears up.

Thank you, yours too!

Your lists sound like a good idea and I'm with you on the not-making-anything-I've-never-made-before front.

In fact I'm hoping to prep as much as possible on Christmas Eve so I don't suddenly find out I don't have enough saucepans or have run out of some random but necessary ingredient, which is exactly the kind of thing I'm worrying about.

I would say know your limitations. I'm an ok cook but not massively inventive and will be short of time leading up to the day with working full time.

Knowing this there is no way I am going to try and make my own pigs in blankets, home made stuffing, canberry sauce, bread sauce etc etc etc The supermarker to perfectly lovely ready made stuff which will make our day all the nicer for me being less stressed out

ohhh stackable steamers are great for veg by the way - you can do tons of it all in one go without using every sauce pan in the house!

oh also, I always put someone in charge of drinks - it's impossible to cook and top up everyones drinks at the same time.

As above, but also think through what pans and serving dishes you're going to put things in, so that you don't suddenly at the last minute have to wash up a pan while stirring three things and getting something out of the oven!

Also, if you are planning to use your top oven as well as the main oven (assuming you have one!) try to remember to take the grill pan out before heating up the oven, and put it somewhere out of the way (assuming of course as well that you are not going to grill anything...). Because it's a real pain to suddenly need the top oven and have to take out the hot grill pan with your oven gloves and then look round the room for somewhere safe to put it down, which there won't be because all the surfaces have something on them.

One small drink while cooking can be ok, but more does not help

My toppest top tip for Christmas dinner is the same as Chippyminton's - parboil the potatoes beforehand (now, if you like!) and freeze them. Open freeze on trays them bung into plastic bags. You can put them straight from frozen into the hot fat and they are actually better than if they hadn't been frozen.
Xmas pud can be microwaved.
I wouldn't do a trial run, just make sure you have a time plan that includes every single thing. Get all the veg prepped the day before (even better, get somebpdy else to do it).

I've got one of those steamers - it's my favourite member of the family!

I'm definitely going to freeze pre-prepared potatoes and parsnips for roasting on the day, thanks Chippy. Will probably also make something easy for dessert a few days before and do the same.

May warn the in-laws beforehand that they could be in danger of a beans on toast supper rather than a lunch-time roast if it all goes wrong.

Now, tell me all you know about turkeys! I don't think I have ever cooked one!

The best tip I was ever given about turkey was that you should let it rest for the same amount of time it cooked for.

If its a frozen one, make sure its properly defrosted - the legs should move quite easily if you wiggle them about.

Remember to take the giblets out

You need a big metal roasting tin (just get a cheap one) and turkey foil.

Spread margarine all over the foil, put the middle of the foil in the tin, then the turkey on, then join the ends together to keep the steam in. You can also cover the top side of the turkey with streaky bacon if you like.

The wrapper for the turky should give yo utimes and temperatures. I never stuff the turkey, but if you do you have to add that weight to the weight of the bird to get the proper cooking time.

Stick it in the oven as per instructions, and look at it from time to time (it doesn't do anything interesting, but I always feel I ought to look)

Spike the fattest bit of a leg with a bit skewer or a fork to check that the juices run clear - if not, it needs longer

Turkey roasting times vary enormously. I like the fast, higher temperature version (Nigella, I think) but only if the bird is medium-sized and unstuffed. Then it can be wrapped in foil and rested for an hour whilst the oven is full of spuds, parsnips, stuffing etc., and you make the gravy using the pan juices.

Oh yes, enough pans and oven space - I always get caught out with that! Great tip about pre-boiling the veg, will definitely do that. Hopping round the kitchen trying to find space for a boiling hot grill pan sounds exactly like the sort of thing I'd usually be doing!