Christmas Dinner - Help!

[Musidora]

Hi all, eager for your wisdom and expertise here! This year we are having Christmas at my GPs' house because they can't travel far. DM and I will do the cooking. The tricky part is that we won't drive to GPs' until Christmas morning (3-hour journey) and then we will be cooking - for 11/12 people - in an absolutely TINY and ANCIENT kitchen.

My question is: can you think of things that we can do in advance to make it all easier? Food that we can prepare and then transport with relative ease to finish off/heat up once we're there? So far all I can think of is to do some red cabbage in advance as that will freeze and then survive the journey in some tupperware... What else?!

Unfortunately asking others to bring dishes isn't really an option (long story), and nor is having a buffet or some other meal. It has to be the traditional Christmas roast for my GPs' sake.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Things I make and freeze - red cabbage, swede and carrot mash, cauliflower cheese or leeks in cheese sauce, gravy.
That leaves spuds and sprouts on the day.
You might want to make and freeze in foil trays.

Even if you can't get other people to cook can you ask them to bring plates, glasses, cutlery, serving spoons, i napkins, crackers, tablecloth etc?

You could also consider doing the turkey on the morning so it was ready to take with you just before you left. It needs to stand anyway, so drain all the juices off and remember to take them with you for gravy, then cover it well with several layers of foil, making it water tight. Then several layers of newspapers, a couple of old big (clean!) towels all the way around, and anything else you have that is good for insulating it - even an old duvet or one of those foil blankets you see wrapped around runners after they've done a marathon or been rescued with hypothermia.

Then you'd have a nice turkey to carve at - I don't really like turkey to eat personally and I don't like gravy or stock so always feel very hard done by if I just get ready plated, re-warmed, gravy covered meat. Much nicer to watch it being carved in front of you!

If they have a microwave, definitely consider using it for the veg. Bonus is that the veg will taste much nicer and less watery than when cooked in lots of water on the hob too

Btw doesn't everyone not use loaf tins or foil trays for stuffing!

I have been served balls of stuffing, in the past.

I've tried the Mary berry freeze potatoes in advance, worked really well. I also made the red cabbage and a carrot and swede mash to reheat on the day. Chop veg the night before and put in bags in the freezer then it's just a case of a few veg on the hob and meat, pigs in blankets and stuffing on the day. I agree you could could the turkey before and that will save you even more time. Jamie's make ahead gravy went down well with my family last year. Good luck!

Hi op
I have just got the November issue of GoodFood mag and on page 184 there is a full guide to what you can make ahead plus recipes for it all. I just remembered this thread when I saw it! HTH

cold starter and pud can be nuked anyway. Cook the Turkey the evening before, but for goodness sake leave it whole, cut it up and it'll go dry really quickly! Also the day before gravy, stuffing, pigs in blankets can be cooked and then reheated on the day. Veg can be steamed until just nearly cooked through, cooled, chilled and reheated in a microwave (you can always take one with you?) Roast potatoes can be cooked and then drizzled with oil and reheated/crisped in a hot oven. We have done this before now and worked a treat. Couldn't tell the difference at all. :)