Cooking for group - tips?

[TempestHayes]

Being in a tiny house with tiny oven (one tray only), I've never had to cook for more than four. I've invited the whole family as we're moving house and will have the space, but I just realised I still don't have any idea how to cook for a large group.

Oven space - where does it all go if I've only got two, maybe three shelves? What extra devices might help - microwave? I was thinking of borrowing my mum's electric steamer for the veg, but I'd rather roast it.

A whole new world opens up. All tips welcome!

Two things that I would recommend:

Tiered steamer - assume that you have hob space? Great for 2 or three different veggies.

Slow cooker - good for chillies, stews etc.

Standard ovens are obviously bigger but never as big as you would like!

I presume you mean Christmas dinner?
If so, I'd cook the turkey the day before so on the the day it's just the veg to do.

Does this mean you eat the turkey cold?

The turkey rests for half an hour and the spuds and veg go in the vacated oven.

Write down a plan with timings. See what you can chop and prepare the day before. Set the tableday before. Several magazines have timelines to help.
You can steam veg in the microwave. Its tricky with one oven but turkey can rest for 45 minutes (keep it wrapped up in foil and a tea towel). Also can you have people bring stuff that doesn't need cooking? Like dessert, cranberry sauce etc? Have someone else be in charge of the drinks?
Basically you need to relax and if things don't come out perfectly timed it's no big deal, another glass of wine and no one will notice!

Get the turkey out of the oven at least 45 mins before serving.
When you take the turkey out, you can put in the roast potatoes and pigs in blankets. Mary Berry says that you can half roast the potatoes the night before so they only need 20-30 minutes in the oven.
15 minutes before serving, get potatoes and pigs out of the oven and wrap in foil to keep warm. Put your Yorkshires in the oven. If you make your Yorkshires ahead and freeze them, they only need about 8 minutes www.saga.co.uk/magazine/food/cooking-tips/best-ever-yorkshire-pudding-recipe When Yorkshires are done, turn oven off and put plates in to warm for 5 minutes.

Stuffing freezes well – you can even freeze it in an oven dish, so once it's defrosted, you can pop the dish straight into the oven. Some people go so far as to cook the stuffing before freezing, so on the day it only requires warming up: a good idea when oven space is at a premium.
Braised red cabbage is one of those foods that actually improves its flavour over time, so it’s well worth making in advance. It will keep a few days in the fridge, and reheats brilliantly.
Bread sauce freezes well, but it also keeps for a surprisingly long time in the fridge - just make it a few days before, and you'll only need to add a splash of milk and microwave it.
You can boil your parsnips and keep them in the fridge for up to a day before, to cut down on the cooking time. Alternatively, you could freeze them. Delia's Parmesan parsnips have freezing instructions.

Slow cooker is good for red cabbage.

The meat can come out a couple of hours before, just wrap in foil and cover in tea towels and it stays stupidly hot. Gives you plenty of time to carve it as well then and just recover it to keep warm. Doesn't leave too much to do in the oven towards the end then. If you're doing red cabbage, the slow cooker is good for that and you can put it on overnight if you eat at lunch time.

Do you have a freezer? If so, do the roast potatoes ahead using this method:
Parboil potatoes as usual but for longer so they are almost cooked
Drain and then leave in colander with a the towel over for at least 20 minutes.
Put baking paper on a baking tray.
Place the potatoes on the baking tray spread put in one single layer and not touching.
Open freeze for 24 hours then transfer into bags and return to freezer.
When ready to cook. put remove from freezer and put into a roasting dish with some oil. Toss to coat in oil then put in oven for approx 40 minutes.

They are delicious and you dont have the hassle of trying to boil the potatoes that morning when juggling everything else.