Christmas Dinner tips

[emsmum79]

First timer for making Christmas dinner - any tips? 6 adults and 2 children.
All wisdom welcome!

We always have 2 meats. I do the gammon overnight Xmas eve in the slow cooker. I cook the turkey on Christmas morning (but have it prep'd up in the fridge day before) so it's usually out by 12pm freeing up my oven for roast pots and pigs in blankets etc.
I have a 3 tier veg steamer so prep that in the morning and its sitting ready to go on in the afternoon.
We usually eat around 2ish

I prep everything the day before...and i do mean absolutely everything

get all your veg sorted and in the pans ready to go, anything that needs to be steamed goes in the steamer covered with a damp teatowel
I parboil the parsnips and roasties sometimes...let them dry and set them on a lightly oiled tray, cover with a dry teatowel, keep somewhere cool

if you are doing yorkshires make the batter, keep in fridge, i tend not to do them unless we have a nice bit of beef.

make the pigs in blankets, into an ovenproof dish, cling film, make at least double what you think you could possibly need if you have everyone in the street coming...even if it's only you and grandma there will not be any left by boxing day tea time.

Get the breadsauce and cranberry made too, it microwaves nicely

Get all the meat into appropriate roasting trays and cover with cling or a tea towel...mine goes out to the shed

All you should be doing on Christmas Day is opening and closing the oven door! and raising your glass

I start the meat going as soon as I am up...oven on and hurl in the pork, turkey goes in later, beef when there is space....any decent sized joint needs to rest for at least half an hour and will hold its heat for ages. If it is a little cooler than you would wish at carving time get it on hot plates and cover with a little hot gravy
Keep all the joints together, somewhere warm covered in foil and yet more clean teatowels
Deglaze pans as you go with some veg water for the gravy

Set your alarm on your phone for things...or alternatively a ping every 45 minutes to remind you to go to the oven and check will mean nothing is burned to a crisp

We don't have starters, I do ALL the veg in the world, but because I do such a variety it does mean I don't have to do too much quantity wise

Get help...I am cooking which means I do not tidy or load the dishwasher or lay the table or clear up after....I don't need to do it these days as they are all well trained but make sure everyone is pulling their weight chores wise and knows that a means business, be confident and delegate!

And don't get sidetracked into a massive breakfast....no one is going to starve, breakfast chez LaurieSchaeffer is something in a glass and maybe toast/ croissants, but don't get trollied unless that is when you do your best work.

Get a teenager to set timers on an iPad for tasks once you have done your timetable, for example, set one to go off when the potatoes need to go in. Works a treat, even after a couple of glasses of fizz!

I’ve never thought to steam my veg .... what veg would you steam for Christmas dinner?

I steam spuds before roasting, sprouts and carrots are steamed (sprouts then pan fried in butter with bacon and chestnuts, carrots glazed with tarragon butter).

Another tip if you make your own Yorkshire puds, make them any day before Xmas, take out of the oven and put in the freezer immediately. When you want to use them simply take out of freezer and put into hot oven for 3 mins.

My mum cooks the turkey,ham and stuffing on Christmas Eve,carves them and puts them all together with some stock then just reheats the next day. There’s 18 of us for dinner so her and my sister also peel all the potatoes and keep them in water.

My brother makes the roast beef in his that morning and brings it over cooked and carved.

My auntie makes the soup Christmas Eve and brings that.

Many hands make light work!

If you're serving a late lunch say 3pm onwards then serve the starters or party canapés as an early lunch at 12pm. This will prevent hangry tantrums and soak up the alcohol preventing people getting drunk too early. Lots of threads appear on AIBU post Christmas about people spoiling the day due to getting drunk too early.

I always make Jamie Oliver’s get ahead gravy (leave out the star anise) then put it in the freezer. I take it out late on Christmas Eve and it defrosts in time. It only needs a bit of finishing off on Christmas Day so it’s really easy.

Read Delia Smith's list of what to do in the run up, and her guide to timings.

Make red cabbage, a cold starter, the ham, bread sauce on Christmas Eve. Peel and prep other veg and put in water on the hob so you're not peeling veg on Christmas Day. Get your turkey out of the fridge the night before to come to room temperature.

Check you have enough crockery, cutlery, glassware, chairs. Have you got enough booze/soft drinks? Have you checked for dietary requirements of guests?

It really is just a big roast, so don't worry :) just have a time sorted for when you want to eat, and work backwards from that for your timings. Get OH to lay the table and pour drinks/serve nibbles for guests so you don't have to.

Enjoy!

Prep all day before.
I cooked for 14 last year. I was prego and dying with hg. Duno how the fuck i did it!
Anyhoo. Spuds all washed and peeled. One pot for roasties, in water with splash of milk to keep them nice and white. Another pot for mash.
Veg peeled and cut. I steamed the sprouts last year. Nowhere nesr as bitter. Also tried jamie olivers red cabbage dish. Awesome!
Stuffing- breacrumbs onion butter and parsley.

Didnt bother with starter. Gammon soaked in cider over night. In oven first thing. Turkey on as soon as i got up so it had time to rest and freed up the oven.
I would set table on christmas eve if possible. I cant as we use it for breakfast.
I try to wash up pans etc as i go along. Less crap to sort after dinner. I dont do the washing up as theres always somebody up to the sink when theyve finished to start clearing up.
Its just a roast dinner. Try not to stress.

Thank you so much. I'm now feeling significantly better!

Parboil and freeze potatoes and parsnips for roasting.
I make ahead and freeze bread sauce too.
Red cabbage in the slow cooker ( can be made several days ahead).
Don't bother with starters, buy in nice nibbles (or make and freeze cheese straws)
Good idea to think ahead about cutlery and crockery.
Try not to lapse into hostess neurosis

PLAN!
Ideally backwards from when you want to dish up.

Label the serving dishes with post it notes so you and any helpers know what is to go where.

Use foil trays to save on clean up. PPs suggestion of using the foil trays as a liner for glass or metal trays is, frankly, genius! Why have I never thought of that before???

Make sure that all the trays you intend to use can fit into the oven at the same time.

Use a timer/alarm clock to stay on top of timings. It is not silly or overkill. The alternative is something overcooked or undercooked.

Lay the table (or get someone else to) the day before. Including serving spoons/utensils which are easily forgotten.

Consider if you really want a starter with such a big meal.Starters are not traditionally served with roasts anyway. If you decide to do a starter, serve soup (easily made the day before and reheated) or something cold like smoked salmon. Or just have canapés or nibbles available to keep people going until lunch time.

Don't get stressed about timing - you'll eat when it's ready.

Another tip - make sure you don’t prep everything to the point that something is in the microwave just waiting for you to press start. I’ve found something from yesterday’s supper still uncooked in the microwave at lunchtime.

Your oven will cook slower with food for 8 in so factor that in.

As PP said get the turkey out an hour early cover with foil and lots of teatowels or an old bathtowel. Will still be piping hot.

Shut yourself in the kitchen. Ban everyone else. Use your DP or a trusted helper to ferry stuff to the table/intercept drink requests so you can focus on timings. I like music and a drink

Not popular on MN but I use pre-made roasties/yorkshires to reduce potential things that can go wrong.

Wear a summer top not a Xmas jumper as its hot work!

Think about what size turkey you will need, do you want lots of left overs, etc.
As there are only 8 of you, you could consider a turkey crown, most supermarkets will have a guide to how many servings you will get from the various birds, a medium size turkey will easily feed 8 people.

Yes remember to factor in enough time for you to freshen up and change your top.

Get the men to cook and organise dinner.

Then sit down and drown yourself in prosecco or gin or whatever. Let them at it. Their problem if it doesn't work out really.

Merry Christmas to the wifeworking Christmas slaves.

Roast turkey in a roasting bag - no mess!

@MustardScreams Do you store your parboiled potatoes in the fridge in water? Or literally just 'naked' (!) and uncovered? Thanks!

Is this all women's work?

If so why, is it a controlling thing or thinking that men cannot cook or help to prepare a Christmas Dinner?

For the record I know that many men will cook and help out too.

@Rufffles naked and uncovered! They form a skin over them that then crisps up incredibly in the hot fat. Best roasties ever!

Thanks again everyone. We've got a turkey crown ordered already, so I'm glad that featured in your tips. Your advice about prepping the veg the day before is really helpful. And I now have a good excuse to browse Christmas magazines.

**Get the men to cook and organise dinner.

Well, I like cooking and my dh is awesome at chopping and peeling veg, clearing up, washing and drying dishes, etc. No need to assume he's sitting with his feet up while I'm doing it all.

I usually buy a whole turkey in, noticed in the butchers on their order sheets alot of orders for turkey crown rather than full turkey. Is turkey crown the way to go then or does it depend on numbers?