Help me to not spend Christmas in the kitchen please

[SugarAndLemon]

I see people here speak of a cozy and fun Christmas Eve, going for walks on Christmas morning, and I don't know how they do it. My husband does an equal amount of food prep/cooking but it feels like Christmas is spent in the kitchen rather than enjoying the day. Even the night before we are prepping food rather than relaxing. Can you help us?

We don't have many people to feed and want to do a traditional roast with sides. Ordering or relying on pre-prepared food is not an option unfortunately. Where are we going wrong and how can we better arrange our days?

Do you have space in your freezer? If not, try to run it down as much as possible just now.

There are so many things you can prepare ahead, when you have more time and then freeze to be cooked on the day - roast potatoes (boil then coat in oil/goose fat, open freeze then put into a food bag once frozen - they can be then cooked from frozen on the day - 50 min in hot oven). You could do similar with carrots / parsnips / sprouts / other veg by preparing and blanching then freezing. Other things like pigs in blankets, gravy, sauces etc can all be made in advance and frozen.

We cook our turkey in the morning - the oven goes on as soon as we get up and it cooks as we open presents/have breakfast. Once ready, we cover it in foil and a kitchen towel and it stays warm and moist until we are ready to eat it.

The more you do ahead of time will cut down on your stress and give you much more time on the day.

Love this thread! I usually feed about 12 and have it down to a fine art. It's my favourite part of the day. I spend probably an hour in the kitchen in the morning, then another half hour before we eat mid afternoon. Stick on some festive tunes, turf everyone out of the kitchen, make a cocktail and get on with it.

Starter: platter of antipasti and grissini at lunchtime. 2 minutes to shove on a plate.

Day before: slow cook a ham in honey and have it as pulled ham for dinner with enough leftovers for those who want the next day

Night before:
Peel potatoes, parsnips and carrots
Chop broccoli
Make garlic / tarragon butter and stick it under skin. Bacon on the bird, lemon up its arse, half a bottle of wine in its dish
Slather beef fillet in mustard and garlic and
Yorkshire batter ready in the fridge
Get all the dishes out and ready to go

I make and freeze: cauliflower cheese, get ahead gravies, cranberry and port sauce

Stick the bird in super early, then wrap it in foil and towels while everything else gets sorted.

Kids dress the table, mum washes bits up as I go along.

Roast carrots, parsnips and potatoes together in goose fat
Packet stuffing and pre made pork stuffing balls
Cook from frozen piggies
Steam greens and cook yorkies last

Get someone else to carve while dishing up into big spode bowls

Buy several fancy puddings and a shit tonne of double cream, cheese and grapes and let everyone help themselves later on. Get someone else to deal with the dishwasher.

I really do not like a hotchpotch of beef and bird: they are each best complemented by totally different sides.

Yorkies have no place alongside Turkey, Turkey goes well with fruity / acidic flavours like cranberry and spiced red cabbage. Also salty rich meat such as chipolatas / bacon rolls.

An exquisite beautiful flavoured feast is easier than a great plateful of mismatched quantity. IMO.

We're hosting with a newborn this year. Ive brought everything prepared. I'm not doing a thing it's all just going in the oven

Don't be daft @EdgeoftheSky! If people want Yorkshire puddings with their turkey, then why not?!

Beef is for DH, he dislikes turkey and is quite capable of selecting the sides he likes best. Kids love the yorkies, it's their Christmas too, so they avoid the cranberry and load up on white meat, good gravy and yorkshires, I wouldn't call that a hotchpotch 🤷🏻‍♀️

Easy for the in-laws to make a big song and dance about how everything needs to be done from scratch, when they aren't the ones doing the grunt work.

Your DH needs to nicely tell his parents that it's basic manners to eat what you are given without launching into a critique of how the food was prepped. The alternative is that they aren't invited - simple.

@EdgeOfTheSky

I really do not like a hotchpotch of beef and bird: they are each best complemented by totally different sides.

Yorkies have no place alongside Turkey, Turkey goes well with fruity / acidic flavours like cranberry and spiced red cabbage. Also salty rich meat such as chipolatas / bacon rolls.

An exquisite beautiful flavoured feast is easier than a great plateful of mismatched quantity. IMO.

Or people can just eat what they enjoy because each to their own, no?

Yorkies belong with every roast there is!!

COOK is your best friend here

Is Cook nice? I've had a couple of their curries and they were pretty horrible. Really sweet and fake tasting.

Yes to PP who asked about a freezer. We are going to start making room in there this week and pigs in blanket will be going in first. I have been screenshotting replies and will make a plan with DH this weekend. I am already feeling much more optimistic about this Christmas.

Also I appreciate everyone who has posted suggestions for sides to go with beef and happy to hear some more. Any easy breakfast ideas that don’t involve eggs? I am determined to have a plan and enjoy it all this year.

Go continental for an easy breakfast, some nice bread, sliced ham, a cheese or two, some jams, possibly croissants or brioche.
Any left over ham & cheese will be useful for sandwiches at another meal.

@BackBackBack Or people can just eat what they enjoy because each to their own, no?

Of course...but the OP is trying to cut down on endless sides and stuff made from scratch. Having one main meat and sides that actually go with that cut down work while not upsetting the enjoyability of the meal. IMO. We are all giving our opinions on creating a nice meal with less work.

@BIWI

Don't be daft *@EdgeoftheSky*! If people want Yorkshire puddings with their turkey, then why not?!

Heathens!

Easy sides to go with beef...
Buttered leeks...wash leeks and slice into rings, tip into a large microwaveable bowl, add a couple of knobs of butter. Microwave for about two or three minutes depending on size of serving. Done this way the leeks keep their nice bright colour.

Carrot & celery combo... wash both, and chop carrots into rings, celery into small sections. Pile both onto a large square of foil, add a knob pf butter. Wrap the foil up into a well sealed parcel.
Put in the oven to braise for 30 to 40 minutes.
This is a useful dish, as it fits anywhere in the oven, and its timing isn't critical, it doesn't use a pan or a top burner.

If you're thinking of doing mashed potatoes as an extra, use ready frozen mash, simplicity its self!

I have this down to a fine art. I do have an Aga which in some ways makes things easier but....

1. Pigs in blankets ready in tray in fridge Tobe put in.
2. Overnight Turkey so it's ready an hr or 2 before we eat.
3. Ham cooked day before so just warmed up in the gentle Aga oven from the morning.
4. Roast potatoes - semi roasted even weeks in advance then frozen. Just throw them in to brown up on day. Best toasties ever (super crispy)
5. Sprouts blanched night before and in fridge. Tub of lardons and preprepped garlic butter ready to flash fry the lot.
6. Stuffing done day before, just a quick crisp up.
7. Gravy premade and ready to be heated up only. Bread sauce and cranberry also made in advance.
8. Carrots peeled, dressed with lemon and butter and oil on a tray in fridge from day before.
9. Deserts all ready a few days in advance.

10. I premake rocket pesto etc to have in fridge for boxing day left overs or Christmas night snacking.

Oh and cauliflower cheese freezes great!

I put everything in disposable trays as a treat. Though on the day find I can't bring myself to throw them out and wash and reuse instead. At least I've the option!!

@SugarAndLemon

Also I appreciate everyone who has posted suggestions for sides to go with beef and happy to hear some more. Any easy breakfast ideas that don’t involve eggs? I am determined to have a plan and enjoy it all this year.

Nice granola Lots of fresh fruit Small pastries

Nothing heavy

Buy your veg ready to pop into pan to cook, so all pealing and scraping done. I buy cauliflower and broccoli in a bag and just through into saucepan. Carrots ready pealed and sliced up. Just throw in saucepan to cook. I make gravy night before. I buy cocktail sausages and streaky bacon and make own pigs in blankets night before then pop back into fridge. DH peals potatoes night before. I use Paxo stuffing but sneakily rough grate a few breadcrumbs into it and a few bits of fresh parsley chopped. No one realises it is not home made. I do this afternoon before when others not around. I cook a turkey crown and a beef on Xmas day. I open gifts from stockings Xmas morning. Play with grandkids. Once meat is in oven it cooks then taken put to rest in foil. Potatoes and parsnips go onto oven to roast. I make Yorkshire puds and place in oven 30 mins before potatoes ready at same time as pigs in blankets. Dc set table with best cutlery and crackers. Champagne chilling in fridge. I have hostess tray thing to keep food hot. Fill up each tray with veg, potatoes pigs in blankets, carve up meat. Reheat gravy until boiling hot, pour in jugs. Serve. I only spend less than 1 hour in kitchen on Xmas day. Longer for prep on Xmas Eve.

@SugarAndLemon

Yes to PP who asked about a freezer. We are going to start making room in there this week and pigs in blanket will be going in first. I have been screenshotting replies and will make a plan with DH this weekend. I am already feeling much more optimistic about this Christmas.

I know this is going to sound really geeky, but back in my meat-eating days I used to sit down round this time of year, and make a list of what we were going to eat - every single dish for every meal during the time that we'd be entertaining.

My next list (I like lists!) would be to get together my list of ingredients, see what I need to buy and how much, and also to check if I had the right cookware and so on.

My final list would be to work out what could be made in advance and frozen - e.g. the cheese sauce for cauliflower cheese, gravy, pigs in blankets, bread sauce etc. I'd then have a separate list of things that I knew I could prep the day before - such as floreting the cauliflower, prepping sprouts, peeled spuds stored in water in a container in the fridge and so on.

I know it probably sounds really daft, but doing it like this made it so much easier because I knew exactly what I was doing and when. And it meant on the day I spent very little time in the kitchen because all of the thinking and prep work had already been done. I also used to really enjoy the organising as well

Breakfasts -

Bacon rolls
Hash browns, sausages (both are easy to bung on a tray in the oven) & baked beans.
Cereal, including some nice muesli and granola
Croissants, brioche, pastries
Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels (super easy and take about 5 mins to do)

@BackBackBack I do exactly the same. Makes life so much easier.

Breakfast Ideas:
Waffles or buttermilk pancakes with fruit compote and cream (or maple bacon if you must), or crumpets as they don't contain egg.

Sourdough toast, avocado and tomatoes with a topping of streaky bacon

Overnight oats (soaked in juice and yoghurt) served with mixed fruit