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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

One oven! One! Five guests. HOW??!!

190 replies

roarfeckingroarr · 01/12/2020 15:53

I'm a control freak who loves to cook and normally do everything at my parent's house with guests and my fiancé. This year we have a tiny baby so people are coming to our London flat. It's going to be me, partner and baby, DP's sister, my dad and his dad. COVID police - bugger off, support bubbles.

We have one oven and one microwave and a job with four spaces. How can I even start to do a proper Christmas dinner?!

Even worse, I won't actually be cooking becauSe of aforementioned tiny baby, so DP and his sister are doing it all while I hold baby and drink champagne. They're not bad cooks but what can I do in advance well so I don't have to trust them with everything?

OP posts:
Redyoyo · 01/12/2020 23:12

What is Christmas coleslaw....?

StrippedFridge · 01/12/2020 23:49

@Redyoyo

What is Christmas coleslaw....?
Mint matchsticks in a bowl with orange matchsticks. Maybe garnish with some holly and candied lemon. May only be eaten when too full already, slightly drunk and talking nonsense with an uncle who is more drunk. A bit like regular coleslaw imo.
ALLIS0N · 02/12/2020 04:54

Mint matchsticks in a bowl with orange matchsticks. Maybe garnish with some holly and candied lemon. May only be eaten when too full already, slightly drunk and talking nonsense with an uncle who is more drunk

That’s my kind of recipe.

Hohomerryxmas · 02/12/2020 06:39

My aunt only as one oven and one microwave and she cooks for 6+ every year, relax, you'll be fine OP, once the turkey is out it'll need to rest for a couple of hours and thats when you cook everything else.

roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 14:15

@StrippedFridge noooo!!! If they find a porkier bubble I won't be able to spend the whole day acting like a piggy myself - I'll actually have to do something! With only one oven FFS!

OP posts:
roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 14:16

@Woolysock I feel vindicated by you too finding it tricky. So many dishes and one small oven!

OP posts:
roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 14:17

I really like you @StrippedFridge . I'm assuming by "fridge" you mean a cardboard box left outside because anything else would be decadent.

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roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 14:21

@Circusoflove

Ah you’ve had a very privileged life roarfecking. The Aga. The crab starters. I can picture it now. Guess what, most people don’t live like that. You’re out of touch with reality doll.
I grew up in the countryside. Agas don't equal wealth - partly because they're damn expensive to run now 😂. Likewise crab... really not expensive if well sourced. Pretty sure you can get them for a fiver from Lidl like lobsters.
OP posts:
StrippedFridge · 02/12/2020 15:02

@roarfeckingroarr

I really like you *@StrippedFridge* . I'm assuming by "fridge" you mean a cardboard box left outside because anything else would be decadent.
Outside!!! I can only dream of having a cardboard box and an outside. God you are so entitled.
CorvusPurpureus · 02/12/2020 18:16

Turkey cooked & resting under foil & a towel. Then you cook everything else, which should take less than an hour if it's all prepped & ready to go in the oven or on the hob.

Prep the veg in advance - parboil the spuds the day before & keep in fridge. They crisp up brilliantly if they go into hot fat from cold. They can go in as the turkey comes out.

Depending on your veg - if hob space is limited you could stick sprouts & carrots into one pan & cook them together, if everyone likes both. Or pre cook & zap in microwave. Red cabbage is all the better for this treatment tbh - definitely cook ahead then microwave.

Things like stuffing balls & pigs in blankets - again, prep ahead. Shove in oven halfway through potato cooking time. Same for parboiled parsnips (& carrots if you like them roasted).

You might need a few roasting tins to juggle, but if yours are really large just buy smaller foil disposable ones so everything fits.

Have all your sauces, gravy & what have you done the day before & just heat up on the hob whilst cooking the fresh veg. Or again, microwave.

Ideally have some nice serving dishes which a) are microwave friendly & b) can go straight to the table.

Put all dinner plates into washing up bowl of scalding water & dry quickly before they go to the table. Warm plates give you a bit more wriggle room with food that's perhaps had a few minutes to cool down.

If you're doing another meat - beef is incredibly forgiving of resting & stays hot for hours, besides tasting great if it's not red hot. Ham the same, so for either, cook alongside the turkey & probably get a crown, not an entire bird, so both fit.

Total non problem tbh. I've fed 12-15 for Xmas dinner with one oven!

TheRubyRedshoes · 02/12/2020 18:34

I've not read the thread, I'm just dreaming of where ops from, Richard Curtis, huge Georgian Manor somewhere, a couple of kitchens, ranges, argas, mini kitchens....

roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 22:50

@TheRubyRedshoes 😉

OP posts:
Mountainash · 02/12/2020 23:09

People don’t know there born nowadays.
In my Mother’s day we had umpteen for dinner and all we had was shoebox in’t middle o’road.

CandyLeBonBon · 02/12/2020 23:09

Frankly op I'd burn the house down and start from scratch somewhere new!
Preferably with two ovens and an aga!

roarfeckingroarr · 02/12/2020 23:33

@Mountainash

People don’t know there born nowadays. In my Mother’s day we had umpteen for dinner and all we had was shoebox in’t middle o’road.
You had a shoebox and a road? You're beyond entitled. Not only do you not know how normal people live, you don't know what a person is. SHAME ON YOU.
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