How am I cooking this Christmas dinner?! Help

[christmassymcchristmas]

Hi, should've had new kitchen by now but haven't. We have 9 coming for Christmas dinner.

If you had one single oven (3 shelves) and one slow cooker, 4 rings on the hob but no microwave how would you do a full Christmas dinner including a soup starter?

Considering doing the turkey/ham the night before, they gravy will warm it up won't it?

Get yourself a steamer for the vegetables... you'll be able to do them all in it and leave the hob free

You can also leave the turkey wrapped in tin foil while you roast the potatoes / pigs in blankets etc

You can rest a turkey for an hour and a half under foil and a towel and it will still be absolutely piping hot (and delicious!) after then.

I get the turkey in, then once it’s out resting shove in potatoes on high heat, then stuffing/parsnips etc.

Works like a charm.

Ham can be done in the slow cooker, make soup ahead and heat on hob.

Green veg etc into a 3 tier steamer. Gravy one ring, bread sauce make ahead and serve room temp. Parboil the potatoes during the day, they’re better roasted from cool anyway.

Ok, wrapping the turkey in a towel sounds like a plan

If I steam veg and leave the hob free what will I use the hob for instead? Thought that was the least of my problems but clearly not.

Bloody microwave went bang and I really don't want another

Do an evening dinner so you'll have all day to use the oven and stovetop rings for the soup, turkey, potatoes and veg?

Bake the ham the day before.

I do a full roast turkey and roast potatoes dinner twice a year without recourse to the microwave. It takes a bit of juggling but is definitely doable.

Do you have a bbq? dont laugh, it has been done (not indoors) A halogen oven doesnt cost much and are brilliant at roast potatoes. Cook your turkey overnight on a very low temp. When cooked it needs 40 mins rest, plenty of time to do other stuff. All veg steamed on the top, Red cabbage and stuffing made the day before and warmed in the microwave, also gravy, just add the meat juice at the end

Oh, the soup! Will ham in a slow cooker go mushy?

Buy a cheap microwave, you can get them new from Tesco for £20, or look on eBay. Give it to charity or sell it on afterwards if you’re having a new one with your kitchen.

Haha, Xmas bbq. I could do my pigs in blankets on that! No microwave so I think it'll be instant gravy

I could probably borrow a microwave from somewhere thinking about it. I'll do the ham the night before if I can get away with that then!

We used to do the dinner every year with 4 rings and one small oven - that's what everyone had then. it wasn't that tricky.

Do the ham the night before.

Turkey rests for an hour while the potatoes/any veg for the oven/pigs in blankets do.

Soup on the hob. Make gravy on the hob once the turkey is out - it can stay hot in the pan.

Do most of the prep well in advance. I always do!
Over the next couple of weeks I will make the carrots (glazed in butter and orange juice), make the pigs in blankets, stuffing, roast and mashed spuds and gravy base. I put them in zip lock bags and freeze. We never have a hot starter!
The night before, get all the frozen food out and put it in foil trays ready to reheat in the oven. Cover pigs in blankets, stuffing, mash and carrots with more foil. On the day, roast the turkey so it's ready 2 hours before you want to eat it. Keep in the roasting tin and cover with layers of foil when cooked. It will stay warm for ages. Then chuck the foil trays into the oven, roasts on the top shelf (with parsnips if you must), mash and carrots on next one, pigs and stuffing on the third. Leave base to warm plates. We have frozen peas, which can go on the hob. Finish making the gravy with the turkey juices and a good glug of wine or port.
If you must have soup, again make it in advance and freeze them put the frozen soup in your biggest pan on the day to reheat gently once the veg has gone in the oven.
If you use serving dishes, bung em in the sink and run the hot tap to warm them through.

It will be fine.

Ham in the slow cooker first thing.

Turkey ready an hour before you are to dish up.

Part roast the potatoes, carrots and parsnips the day before. Finish off in the oven before you dish up the soup. Put stuffing and pigs in blankets now too.

Pans for green veg, gravy and soup.

Enjoy.

I do

Oven
Turkey in the oven, take out a little over an hour before eating and then whack potatoes, parsnips, stuffing, pigs etc in at various intervals

Slow cooker
Ham

Hob
Veg, gravy. Etc

We eat starter about an hour before main course so soup etc can be heated way before you need to put veg on

Buy one of these for keeping all your veg warm, wrap turkey well and it will keep warm for at least an hour, and warm plates in a sink of hot water.

www.google.com/shopping/product/9923872511172155411?q=heated+warmer+tray&client=ms-android-huawei-rev1&biw=360&bih=623&tbs=vw:l,ss:44&prmd=sivn&sxsrf=ACYBGNQ7A_vdIfvuPgnbx6I2IPMK6hO9Kg:1575388925723&prds=num:1,of:1,epd:10227484719676537447,paur:ClkAsKraX0hUi7c30MrR2CVKizfQrD233ns6EJQ2AnxIzX1E4X0ZrZqwIrAARDDRZPtjG_8uywdAr2l7e8WshVV_5ZOirtD-IqcrJqSJVQ5c591OhcxiFoxWDBIZAFPVH73x6OBU0WKZpQOLUR5XAs1hGHLdfQ,prmr:1,cs:1

Have I fallen in to some Mumsnet wormhole- most people surely have an oven, 4 ring hob (with maybe an additional grill?). Wtf does it mean by it's what people used to have? What am I missing?

I would cook the ham in the soup the day before, kill two birds etc.

In the slow cooker. When the ham is cooked, remove and shred agave meat u want in the soup and keep the rest for dinner

last year MIL did most in advance as we all went away together. the turkey she'd roasted, carved and frozen in its gravy.
as far as i recall everything was delish!

I tried ham in the slow cooker this week as a trial for Christmas. A £10 unsmoked gallon was covered in posh apple juice cooked in about 6 hours. First hour on hot and last 30 minutes on hot. I then trimmed the skin off, scored it and covered in it, honey. 20 mins in the oven and it was delicious. I wanted proper slices or I would have cooked for longer.

So much of a Christmas dinner can be done the day before.

Get some throw away tin foil trays.
Prep all your pigs in blankets the day before and leave in tray in the fridge ready to roast.

Get some pre-made gravy, bread sauce, cranberry sauce. This really cuts down on cooking time.

Mary Berry does a great make and freeze roast potato recipe, they take about 30 mins once you go to fully cook them on the day from frozen and are honestly the best roast potatoes I’ve ever had. Crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle.

Do your starter, soup I assume, the day before (or week before and freeze) a heat for 5-10 mins on the hob when you’re ready to.
The reason I suggest throw away tin foil trays, is because they bend and you can get two side by side with a bit of bending at the corners in the oven. Absolute game changer for when there’s so much to go in the oven.

Does the starter have to be soup? It would help if you did something that didn't need cooking, like prawn cocktail.

Ham in the slow cooker overnight, turkey to be ready an hour or so before you want to eat and cover in foil and tea towels to keep warm while you do the roast potatoes, stuffing, pigs in blankets and veg.

Easy!

simple most people have at least a microwave now.

That’s all I have and I have catered for 20 on boxing Day. It’s not hard. Just sort your timings.

I am sure most people have what you have.